Full Tilt Poker NJ

Traffic: FTP volume trending downward since launch

After launching with a bang in November 2012, Full Tilt Poker has been mired in a perpetual downtrend – one that is just beginning to level off.

Cash-game traffic

According to PokerFuse Pro via PokerScout, 7-day cash-game averages on FTP are hovering around 1,400, with 24 hr peaks rarely exceeding 2,500. That’s good enough for sixth place globally, but places it last among what most consider the “big names” in online poker (PokerStars, 888, PartyPoker, iPoker and Bodog).

To put FTP’s fall from grace into perspective, the site currently pulls in approximately 1/15th the cash-game volume of its new owner PokerStars; a far cry from the pre-Black Friday days when the two waged war for online poker supremacy.

FTP’s ring game offerings run the gamut from traditional forays such as Hold’em and Omaha to flavors of the month like 2-7 Triple Draw, 7 and 8-Game and Irish Poker.

As diversified as FTP’s game types are, its available stakes are even more varied. On any given day, FTP pros like Gus Hansen and Victor Blom can be found inflating pots at stakes as high as $500 / $1,000, while at other tables $0.01 / $0.02 micro-grinders battle it out over loose change.

It’s hard to envision a scenario where FTP NJ supports the same stakes and game variants as its global companion. That’s bad news for a site that seems overly reliant on its commitment to diversity, especially in a iPoker sector that has a hard enough time getting off $.50 /$1.00 7-Stud, let alone $400 / $800 Badugi.

SNG traffic

Traditional low buy-in 6 and 9-Max SNGs appear to the be the most popular format on the network, with upwards of several hundred concurrent games running during peak hours.

Less popular are FTP’s many, and I do mean many, takes on the Sit & Go.

Its probably best if most of these are left off the FTP NJ lobby, as I can’t see too many New Jersey players signing up for FL Raxx 6-Max Turbo Deepstack Matrix tournaments in droves. Maybe it’s just me.

Jackpot SNGs, which are 3-man hyper-turbos with a fixed buy-in but a randomly generated prize pool, are the latest rave on FTP.

Considering that they’re little more than slot machines veiled as a poker game, I have a hard time seeing JSNGs coasting through the regulatory approval process. Don’t expect them in New Jersey at launch.

MTT traffic

Full Tilt’s biggest weekly major is a $215 buy-in, $150,000 guaranteed freezeout. Featured on the weekday schedule are nightly $15k guarantees – each one boasting a slightly different twist.

For instance, Monday’s tournament is a deep stack bounty where the blinds gradually increase in length, while on Thursday players can partake in a more traditional deep stack turbo.

Special events, such as MiniFTOPS, tend to support larger guarantees (up to $1 mm) and do run on a semi-consistent basis.

FTP’s most notable MTTs consistently crush their rather conservative guarantees, with at least a handful of weekly roll outs religiously attracting more than 500 regs.

Should FTP port over a similar version of its MTT schedule to New Jersey, I’d imagine players would go for it, if only because the current schedules hosted by WSOP.com and Party / Borgata are lacking in imagination. And a NJ version of FTOPS would serve as a worthy rival to whatever Stars throws at its Garden State faithful.

MTTs are probably the one area where FTP’s exceedingly ambitious approach to online poker may pay off.

Value/Promotions: Ranges from lacking to average

Like PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker’s promotional roll out is the least appealing aspect of its poker product. Unlike Stars, FTP can’t justify such an average promotional schedule and welcome bonus solely on the merits of its player loyalty program.

Promotions

FTP welcomes new players with a 100% match bonus up to $600. A quick look:

• One unique facet of the bonus payout structure is that it pays out in 10% increments or fixed amounts of $20, whichever is smaller. This works to the advantage of players who opt in for the full amount.
• In order to unlock a $20 increment, players need to accumulate 500 Full Tilt Points, which equates to an impressive 40% rakeback deal.
• However, the bonus must be cleared within a limited 60-day time frame, which may prove too exhausting to casual grinders.
• As far as I can see, outside of being able to spend accumulated Full Tilt Points on tournament or ring game tickets, there are no other fringe benefits of opting into the welcome package.
• Worse yet, it doesn’t appear that new registrants on FTP receive anything in the way of freeroll tickets or bonus cash.

FTP’s other promos are pedestrian at best, with most tailored towards the site’s casino players. Outside of a Game of the Week promo, which is really little more than a gimmick designed to generate interest in FTP seldom played games, the site offers a swatch of promos that enable players to accumulate FTP points at an augmented rate.

The best of these is Happy Hour, where grinders who play eligible games during off-peak hours will be awarded up to 3x the points they would have received otherwise.

Overall, FTP’s promotional palette is still better than what Stars is currently offering, but not by a long shot.

VIP

Full Tilt’s player loyalty program (Edge) functions differently than most in that it calculates player status based on rolling point averages as opposed to monthly totals.

For instance, in order to achieve Platinum Status – the fourth of six loyalty tiers – players must maintain a rolling average of 150 Full Tilt Points ($15 in contributed rake or entry fees) per day for a 30-day period, or an average of 100 points over 100 days.

Rakeback is awarded weekly, with monetary awards based on the number of points accumulated and a player’s current loyalty status. At the lowest eligible tier, grinders receive 10% rakeback. Move up the ladder and Edge Rewards are handed out at a 25% cashback deal.

The good news is that players do not have to forgo their hard earned points to receive weekly rewards. These can be used to purchase items from the Full Tilt Store, or exchanged for tournament and ring game tickets. Players who achieve at least Bronze level are also invited to participate in a handful of daily and weekly freerolls.

Overall, this has the effect of increasing the amount of potential rakeback to be had by playing on Full Tilt.

Due to jurisdiction limitations, I was not able to access to the exclusive Diamond Edge Store, although several sources claim that players who achieve top dog status and opt to exchange their points for additional cash bonuses can effectively bolster the amount of rakeback they receive to 65%.

Although it sounds generous, FTP’s loyalty system comes up short when compared to Stars’ system. In a smaller market such as New Jersey, I would expect any Full Tilt VIP program to offer even less than its global counterpart.

Still, it’s hard to imagine FTP NJ rewarding less loyalty cash than the state’s current operators.

Value

The real value of playing on FTP may come in the way of its creative and fairly ambitious tournament schedule, which regularly hosts $100k guaranteed MTTs and one-off events with up to $1 million prize pools. This, despite catering to a relatively small segment of the market.

Players versed in fast-fold poker might also be happy to know that Rush Poker Tournaments are a frequent occurrence on Full Tilt, and could very well make their way to New Jersey.

And while it’s no certainty, I would imagine that Full Tilt NJ will come out swinging in the first round with a slew of attractive promos designed to balance traffic between it and PokerStars, similar to how 888 balances itself against WSOP.com in New Jersey.

Software: Old familiar

Full Tilt’s desktop software will appear familiar to US players who played on the site prior to Black Friday. But upon closer inspection, it appears that much has changed.

Among the plethora of new features added since Full Tilt’s relaunch include:

• New to the Game tables: As the name implies, New to the Game tables are targeted towards new and casual players who prefer a slower pace of play and in-game tutorials to guide them along.
• Unregister from all tournaments: Have an unexpected emergency? Full Tilt now allows players to unregister from all of their scheduled MTTs with a click of a button.
• Preferred seat selection: Available for full ring, 6-max and heads-up games.
• Tournament/SNG widget: Displays a player’s upcoming and ongoing MTTs and Sit & Go’s in a side panel from the main lobby.
• Hand history improvements: New features include the ability to delete hands and view pot sizes after each street.
• In-game enhancements: Includes the ability to easily add another table of a player’s preferred stake. Also provides the option to enable one-click buy-ins for ring games and augments the FTP’s Rush Poker experience.

Inside the lobby at Full Tilt Poker

FTPs main lobby is divided into two views. From Basic View, players who already have a strong idea of what they’re looking for can readily find a game of their preference.

The process is highly intuitive yet somewhat restrictive, if only because it impedes a player’s ability to table select.

On the other end of the spectrum is Standard View. Players familiar with online poker software should feel right at home from this lobby. A variety of powerful built-in filters allow players to rapidly scour through available games.

Side panel widgets display pertinent info such as player names and stack sizes (ring games) and starting times, max players allowed and status information for tournaments.

My only qualm with Standard View is that the display feels a bit too busy, especially when viewing the site’s tournament schedule. While I realize this has more to do with FTP offering so many MTT variants than anything else, it would have been nice if the software harnessed its visual real-estate a bit more effectively.

As sleek and modern as the lobby is, the in-game interface is an clownish as ever. While I admire the sheer amount of visual and gameplay customization available, it’s hard to get over the fact that the player to my immediate left is represented by a chicken.

Maybe it’s just me, but FTP’s default game interface feels more like it belongs in a social gaming setting than a real-money one.

That being said, the software itself is as smooth and responsive as ever.

Whether NJ players can expect the same level of responsiveness and interface customization is currently unknown, although I would tend towards guessing yes.

Full Tilt also boasts an app for both Android and iOS devices. Unfortunately, the app has yet to be optimized for iPads and currently only permits single table play.

Customer service: Vastly improved since PokerStars acquisition

Back in 2009, Full Tilt’s customer service team was the bane of my existence. I found them rude, curt and generally unhelpful.

But since PokerStars took over, there have been few accounts of inquiries not being answered in a timely, informative matter.

FTP’s FAQ page provides adequate answers to most common issues, including connectivity issues, software freezes and installation troubles. For more in-depth questions, players are encouraged to contact support via email.

One issue I took with FTP’s customer service department, and it’s a big one, is that there is no live chat support or telephone support.

PokerStars abides by a similar model, so I don’t see this changing anytime soon.

Otherwise, the site’s representation on popular forums such as Two Plus Two meets industry norms.

Whether or not the pair will offer players in NJ a more intimate customer service experience is yet to be seen.

Overall: Full Tilt expected to focus mostly on casino games

Given Full Tilt’s connection to PokerStars (players are permitted to transfer funds between the sites) and the smallish size of New Jersey’s iPoker market, I have a hard time envisioning a scenario where both PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker thrive.

Instead, PokerStars will likely capture the vast majority of the state’s poker market, while FTP dedicates the bulk of its efforts to its increasing array of casino offerings.

Still, there’s a novelty aspect to FTP that isn’t present on Stars. And if one can get past its cartoonish look, the underlying software is among the best in the business.

Full Tilt’s brand is so tarnished, especially among US players, that expectations for its return are likely fairly low. This could bode well for the site, especially if it manages to release a version of its software that’s on par with its ROW counterpart.

FTP NJ won’t generate more traffic than Stars NJ, and given how different the two platforms are, it’s hard to imagine that the pair will share liquidity.

But FTP’s action-oriented approach to online poker could still find a niche among NJ players, particularly those who abide by the credo, “the more ways to gamble, the better.”