Global Poker: The Overnight Success

When I first wrote about Global Poker at the start of the year it seemed to be just another, albeit very interesting, addition to the online market – a unique sweepstake-method and PayPal cashout process which had the huge bonus of including players from the USA.

 Now, only three months in, Global Poker appears to have become the hottest potato in the online poker world as it continues to smash the numbers ceiling, with over 1200 ‘$weeps Cash’ players hitting the site at its peak.

The latest figures show that the innovative and much-needed new platform has really captured the imagination of players, up to 190 tables running at the same time, rivalling ‘sites and networks such as Unibet, MPN (Microgaming), and iPoker – and around 400% bigger than PokerStars New Jersey’, according to HSDB.com.

 As always in poker, the proof of the pudding is not only in the number of players but in the related ‘money won’ column – and last week saw a huge pot in the $10/20 stakes, ‘iLLusivE’ taking down a fantastic $34,281, showing the kind of growth that has propelled Global Poker up the Pokerscout rankings. You can check the software here.

>> Sign Up: $2 Free No Deposit Required!

It’s a relatively new concept in the poker world – and the $16million in funding Global Poker raised has been money well-spent if the reviews on forums are anything to go by, reflecting the quick rise in players the site is attracting.

“As a 15 year veteran of online poker I signed up, played some, lost some…", writes Jeremiah Vinsant on 2+2. “Cashed out once got requested for id and documents, sent the info… standard for all sites right. No biggie. Got my stuff verified...  just did my first big cashout yesterday 5 figures - money in my PayPal within 48 hours, will be in my bank with the next 24. Great job Global, keep this up and you will be a pinnacle of reputation!”

As most will know, real money poker has been struggling for legitimacy in the US for several years, but Global Poker’s use of the sweepstake-method and PayPal transactions has avoided all of these negatives – players receive free bonus $weeps cash with every purchase of Gold Coin virtual currency.

The reason for the almost overnight boom in numbers? Well, it appears that not only have they produced a model which appeals to players, but they’ve been very active, even pro-active - in ironing out any glitches and problems – the curse of online poker sites which you can read on a daily basis all over the internet.

>> Sign Up: $2 Free No Deposit Required!

There has always been a delicate balance for new sites (and old for that matter) between concentrating their efforts and money on providing good software and plenty of game choice, with the necessary and often difficult customer support and payment processes.

So far Global Poker have been up to the challenge, offering everything from $0.02/0.04 ‘$weeps Cash’ games up to $10/20 PLO tables  - which may well be the biggest legal online game in the US as things stand.

In addition, MTT players are being catered for with the Daily Purchase Challenge $500 Freerolls, the Wednesday Weekly Guaranteed $2500 and the daily $200 and $1500 guaranteed events among others. S&G’s from $1.10 up to $22 $weeps Cash and tournaments up to 45 seats round out a very good offering in their first year of operation. 

That’s over $50k in guarantees weekly, with rumors of a WSOP-timed promo guaranteeing $1million, which if they pull it off will show their sights are set firmly on the top of the poker site leagues.

As I wrote previously, for those who had no idea they could be winning real money in the US, here’s how Global Poker’s clever approach to online poker works:

You can play with two currencies, Gold Coins and $weeps Cash.

• When you buy Gold Coins we give you bonus $weeps Cash free of charge.
  
• Gold Coins let you play for fun, but switch to $weeps Cash and you can play for REAL MONEY!
• $weeps Cash wins can be legally cashed out in the US because they are FREE.

With the focus on the USA and Canada for the moment, if these numbers continue to grow it should only be a matter of time before Global Poker does indeed go global.

>> Sign Up: $2 Free No Deposit Required!