Online Poker Traffic Update

8 years ago
New network joins top ten
21:06
30 Nov

PokerStars grinders are still fuming over the announced changes to the player loyalty program, so much so that ring game player traffic fell 3.3% in November.

The Nov. 1 announcement that takes effect on Jan. 1 and cuts rewards for high stakes players was followed by a decrease of 500 players shortly thereafter and has remained at 14,500 ever since, according to PokerScout.com. Those angry players are rallying together to boycott the site for three days from December 1-3.

Let's see how the player strike affects traffic totals next month, as upward of 1,000 players have posted their intention to take part in the boycott. Some estimates put the number at perhaps 2,000 when the strike date arrives.


MPN on the Move

The Microgaming Poker Network (MPN) spent the latter part of November doing an imitation of George Jefferson and his wife Weezy on the popular old TV show "The Jeffersons" by moving on up into the top ten in player traffic. Thanks to a €50,000 Cash Drop promotion that began on November 20, MPN has made its way to no. 8 worldwide with a seven-day average of 850 cash game players.

That promo pays out €5 to random ring gamers every five minutes and will last through December 17 and also features a €10,000 leaderboard race. Leaving the top ten due to MPN's ascent were PokerStars.fr (750) and Adjarabet (650), who were tied at 750 players when November began.

The only other top ten poker rooms that gained players over the last 30 days were 888Poker (2,400) and Bodog/Bovada (1,800). Ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively, each picked up 100 players, with 888Poker likely grabbing some of the fallout from incensed PokerStars players.


Stable Poker Rooms

Trailing those poker sites in the rankings is the iPoker Network, who remained stable at 1,450 players and in 4th place. iPoker has announced a €100k Merry Missions promotion that may cause player traffic to boost in December.

Three missions are available each day during the promo and the object is to accomplish one and get a ticket to a Daily €500 freeroll. There are also five €10,000 Weekly freerolls on the schedule. Head over to iPoker skins if completing challenges and playing freerolls sounds like a good game plan for December.

Also experiencing no change in cash game player traffic were 7th ranked Winamax.fr (1,050) and Full Tilt (800). Winamax rolled out Sit & Go Killer bounty-only games in November, while Full Tilt is in the midst of a Million Dollar Breakaway promotion that also requires challenges to be met in order for players to be rewarded with cash bonuses, casino chips, coins and tickets. Full Tilt is tied for 9th place industry-wide.


Poker Sites that Lost Player Traffic

PokerStars.es (800) is the poker room in a dead heat with FTP after losing 50 players over the last 30 days. Also on the decline were PokerStars.it (1,100) and Partypoker (1,100), who both also dropped 50 players on average. Those two poker sites are tied for 5th place and have a ways to go (350 players) before catching the network slotted just ahead of them, iPoker.

Partypoker hopes to close the gap with several promotions including The Gladiator that begins December 1 and runs the entire month. The more points earned and the more days played results in more freeroll tickets and larger cash bonuses, including up to $4,000 for high volume grinders.


U.S. Regulated

New Jersey online poker players hit the cash game tables in larger numbers in November - 50 more to be exact. The WSOP.com and 888Poker NJ combo enjoyed the bulk of the increase, from 160 to 200 players. The action might become even more intense in December as WSOP.com is offering a 100% up to $600 reload bonus the entire month.

The Partypoker NJ and BorgataPoker partnership picked up only one-fourth of the total increase of their competition in the Garden State during the month. After gaining 10 players, that tandem currently averages 140 ring game players.

WSOP.com in Nevada and its interstate partnership with Delaware didn't fare as well as New Jersey. Player traffic dipped by 10 players from 170 to 160. But December may see a rise in player numbers as the same reload bonus is available for WSOP.com Nevada players - 100% up to $600.


U.S. Unregulated

Americans want to play online poker and that desire was reflected in traffic number increases almost across the board at non-regulated sites serving the U.S. market. The only non-gainer among the major poker networks was Equity, and EPN at least kept pace with October's average of 110 players.

Other than Bovada, who was mentioned previously as a top ten site that grabbed 100 more players, the Winning Poker Network (WPN) experienced the next largest increase at 75 cash players. That brought the network average up to 650. WPN is in the midst of its Online Super Series V that will run through December 6.

Following WPN, the Chico Poker Network (600) added 25 players, while Merge (240) added just shy of that with 20. Rounding out the major unregulated poker networks is Revolution, who continues to gain in popularity and saw 10 more players sit down at its ring game tables. Revolution (120) passed EPN's average thanks to the new players.


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Charles is a Chicago native and long time poker player who dusted off his journalism degree and began writing about poker following the events of Black Friday in 2011. He has written for a number of leading poker websites, offering his insights and expertise on subjects ranging from online poker leg...Read more

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