Cash in your ARP!

[flair1239]

[ QUOTE ]


Lighten up buddy.
There is no "spirit" here -- we're poker players.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, in this case you are a thief... plain and simple. The terms and conditions of the offer explicitly prohibit what you are doing.

If you were a poker player you would be playing poker instead of trying to go through contortions to scam a website out of $50-$100.

I think it is a great offer by Absolute, it is just a shame that so many of you are looking to run a scam job on a website that is already very generous to their players in terms of bonus and rakeback.

[ElSapo]

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I think it is a great offer by Absolute, it is just a shame that so many of you are looking to run a scam job on a website that is already very generous to their players in terms of bonus and rakeback.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes and no. I agree with you, but I also think you should be able to simple exchange the points for money.

I do agree however that internet poker players as a whole, and specifically low limit bonus whores, have a tendancy to abuse promotions and rationalize it in the name of EV.

This one is so easy to abuse, however, that it seems difficult to fault players.

[Rogue5]

Thank you for the ethics lesson, your belief system intrigues me.

[flair1239]

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Thank you for the ethics lesson, your belief system intrigues me.

[/ QUOTE ]

These people looking to scam the gift certificate offer are the same ones who will whine their asses off if there is a rake increase.

Absolute already supports and condones rakeback. They also offer so many bonuses that I doubt any of us have ever played a hand there without a bonus.

El Sapo says that he believes that we should be paid for points... we are already.. twice. Once in the form of rakeback and once in the form of bonuses (Which are not deducted from your MGR, so your RB % at Absolute is actually higher than a equivalent % at other sites). Also as an added bonus, the games 10/20 and below are soft. So if you are a reasonably competent player you will earn a profit off of your play.

And still after all this, you have people looking to scam the website. If this was Party Poker... I could maybe see it... as Party seems to make a special effort to irritate their players.

However, Absolute aside from a few isolated and minor problems, has always tried to cater to the hard core players. I have recieved about 4-5 phone calls from them the last year... all just to see if there was anyway they could improve. As a matter of fact if there were industry awards... Absolute should get most improved site IMO.

Still after all this they run a promotion, that actually offers a decent return, a good use (They probably hope to pick up some additional customers), and actually is a good gift idea... and the first thing people do is try to figure a way to scam it. Think about it... one of the few sites that actually makes an effort to service their customers and so many people here are so anxious to piss on them.

What is more irritating is that I am sure people rationalise it in their minds that they are not stealing.

[roundest]

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[And still after all this, you have people looking to scam the website. If this was Party Poker... I could maybe see it... as Party seems to make a special effort to irritate their players.

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay. So this isn't a black and white moral issue for you after all. Maybe you could quit calling people thieves now.

[flair1239]

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[ QUOTE ]
[And still after all this, you have people looking to scam the website. If this was Party Poker... I could maybe see it... as Party seems to make a special effort to irritate their players.

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay. So this isn't a black and white moral issue for you after all. Maybe you could quit calling people thieves now.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I still would not do this even to Party. But I would be more understanding of someone who wanted to "sock it to Party", since Party has taken a almost hostile stance with it's most loyal customers. However Absolute to my knowledge has never been anything but accomodating to serious players.

So for these people to take the first oppurtunity they get to abuse a promotion just smacks of shortsightedness and is really in poor taste.

BUt anyway go ahead with your petty scamming... just seems pretty classless to me.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Thank you for the ethics lesson, your belief system intrigues me.

[/ QUOTE ]

These people looking to scam the gift certificate offer are the same ones who will whine their asses off if there is a rake increase.

Absolute already supports and condones rakeback. They also offer so many bonuses that I doubt any of us have ever played a hand there without a bonus.

El Sapo says that he believes that we should be paid for points... we are already.. twice. Once in the form of rakeback and once in the form of bonuses (Which are not deducted from your MGR, so your RB % at Absolute is actually higher than a equivalent % at other sites). Also as an added bonus, the games 10/20 and below are soft. So if you are a reasonably competent player you will earn a profit off of your play.

And still after all this, you have people looking to scam the website. If this was Party Poker... I could maybe see it... as Party seems to make a special effort to irritate their players.

However, Absolute aside from a few isolated and minor problems, has always tried to cater to the hard core players. I have recieved about 4-5 phone calls from them the last year... all just to see if there was anyway they could improve. As a matter of fact if there were industry awards... Absolute should get most improved site IMO.

Still after all this they run a promotion, that actually offers a decent return, a good use (They probably hope to pick up some additional customers), and actually is a good gift idea... and the first thing people do is try to figure a way to scam it. Think about it... one of the few sites that actually makes an effort to service their customers and so many people here are so anxious to piss on them.

What is more irritating is that I am sure people rationalise it in their minds that they are not stealing.

[/ QUOTE ]

You certainly do not understand the concept of running a business. They have thought about this. They are in the business of making money, and like us poker players, they aim to engage in +EV activities. When Wal-Mart prices something at cost or below cost to increase store traffic, is it stealing to try and purchase as many of that item as you can (with multiple people, since there is usually a limit)? Certainly not. I realize that this is not the same as Absolute's case, but it's analagous. More free money = more people liking them = increased customer loyalty. Hell, if I were one of their executives and did not see people actively transfering ARPs to money, I'd be worried that the business is headed downhill. It's a business. We're not robbing a charity organization or cheating the government out of taxes. So, in conclusion, stop calling this stealing, because it isn't.

[flair1239]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Thank you for the ethics lesson, your belief system intrigues me.

[/ QUOTE ]

These people looking to scam the gift certificate offer are the same ones who will whine their asses off if there is a rake increase.

Absolute already supports and condones rakeback. They also offer so many bonuses that I doubt any of us have ever played a hand there without a bonus.

El Sapo says that he believes that we should be paid for points... we are already.. twice. Once in the form of rakeback and once in the form of bonuses (Which are not deducted from your MGR, so your RB % at Absolute is actually higher than a equivalent % at other sites). Also as an added bonus, the games 10/20 and below are soft. So if you are a reasonably competent player you will earn a profit off of your play.

And still after all this, you have people looking to scam the website. If this was Party Poker... I could maybe see it... as Party seems to make a special effort to irritate their players.

However, Absolute aside from a few isolated and minor problems, has always tried to cater to the hard core players. I have recieved about 4-5 phone calls from them the last year... all just to see if there was anyway they could improve. As a matter of fact if there were industry awards... Absolute should get most improved site IMO.

Still after all this they run a promotion, that actually offers a decent return, a good use (They probably hope to pick up some additional customers), and actually is a good gift idea... and the first thing people do is try to figure a way to scam it. Think about it... one of the few sites that actually makes an effort to service their customers and so many people here are so anxious to piss on them.

What is more irritating is that I am sure people rationalise it in their minds that they are not stealing.

[/ QUOTE ]

You certainly do not understand the concept of running a business. They have thought about this. They are in the business of making money, and like us poker players, they aim to engage in +EV activities. When Wal-Mart prices something at cost or below cost to increase store traffic, is it stealing to try and purchase as many of that item as you can (with multiple people, since there is usually a limit)? Certainly not. I realize that this is not the same as Absolute's case, but it's analagous. More free money = more people liking them = increased customer loyalty. Hell, if I were one of their executives and did not see people actively transfering ARPs to money, I'd be worried that the business is headed downhill. It's a business. We're not robbing a charity organization or cheating the government out of taxes. So, in conclusion, stop calling this stealing, because it isn't.

[/ QUOTE ]

I bought $100 worth for my Fiance. It says pretty specifically that you are not allowed to purchase them for your own use.

Hence.. when you purchase them with intention of eventually using the money yourself you are violating the terms of the agreement. If they did not care about the issue.. they would not specifically prohibted buying them for yourself.

They fact that they reserve the right to terminate the promotion shows they suspect a certain amount of fraud (ie..stealing) and are prepared to limit their damages.

Make no mistake it is stealing.. but as I said people will try to rationalise it as something else.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


Lighten up buddy.
There is no "spirit" here -- we're poker players.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, in this case you are a thief... plain and simple. The terms and conditions of the offer explicitly prohibit what you are doing.

If you were a poker player you would be playing poker instead of trying to go through contortions to scam a website out of $50-$100.

I think it is a great offer by Absolute, it is just a shame that so many of you are looking to run a scam job on a website that is already very generous to their players in terms of bonus and rakeback.

[/ QUOTE ]

Scam job? Come on. They offer this knowing full well that players will try to make as much $$ off of it as they can. Promotions like these (and their plethora of bonuses) are what cause them to even have players. If they decide it isn't worth it for them, they'll cancel the promotion. Until then, I expect every intelligent poker player to take advantage of it. It's not a matter of ethics. It's merely another form of rakeback.