My Wacky Hacky
This is about a friend. She's PokerHack over on PokerWorks – my old home. Nice kid; a former dealer; better than average player. She blogged about the PLO game for bloggers over on P* where she ended up being repeatedly dissed.
Now that you've browsed the hand history, the remarks weren't shattering. What they were was infantile. Yeah, we could discourse on glass tapping and all that but we're grownups here and don't need to rehash all that.
My RSS feed has been full of P* logos pimping their involvement with this tournament. It appears that all it takes to be a blogger is a blog with the word poker in the single blog posted; that will qualify one. It is all about SEO points. OK, that at least semi-legit. But, it really is a freeroll like all the others.
Her buddy and boss (of sorts at least) commented. It was similar to her old posts when she dealt and blogged – loved those. Those old blogs described the scum that can float to the surface at tables and would have made better reality TV than all the dross in the current TV lineup.
I want to mention screen names. Yeah, we can really We1rD those to the point of silliness. But, PokerHack07 is self-demeaning. It pokes fun at herself. Healthy attitude. And the twit's screen name? It is: imahugeshark. Talk about insecure. You knew he was a donk before he typed in the chat box.
There is a comment to her article that reflects on all of us – compliments of P*. The guy thought blogger might be something a bit above. Well, there are likely more bloggers in regular tournaments than were likely present in the WBCOOP. P* set that standard and it was as low as it gets. So, give us another chance, TenMile.
People play poker for a lot of reason. Included in that are all the foibles that define the human experience. They can go beyond the bounds of polite society under the best of circumstances. It is a given when you use P* standards of what constitutes a poker blog.
I guess I have to give some props to P*. They've thrown out a nice pile of gilt. But, lets call it what it is: an SEO bonanza for their site that is a bit of Internet angle shooting without any real regard for the Iggy's, Linda's and Pauly's that created the genre. And PokerHack's blog for the day points to their failing to have any standards for qualification.
ADDENDUM:
I'll now reveal my bias. Some time ago, I asked P* to close my account -- reason myown. I wanted to open a different account. Now I did that about the same time over on UB. I had to jump through some hoops to get that accomplished and talk to their security people. P* approached it differently. They threatened me. If I closed the account, I could never play on their site again. Well, don't threaten grumpy, old men! I am banned for life there. Interesting approach by an online site.
P.S. Using P* instead of plugging their actual name was intentional.
No related posts.
P* is definitely getting the SEO bonanza of a lifetime in one short week. It’s sick to always play in a tournament where you get a seat to another tournament – unless of course it’s the main event of the WSOP. I doubt I will do much blogging on any of this because…well…reason stated above.
Yeah, bloggers in the real world are a lot more fun than the bloggers playing online.
In my half-full glass world I call my own, it’s kind of nice to at
least see some type of effort headed our way. Could be worse right?
Could be a cheating scandal.
Just sayin’
Silly cave dweller!
I just got $25 from Party Poker for adding 9 meaningless words with a link included to an old blog. All they needed was the link. And, it pays annually with no further efforts on my part. Another site gave me $75 but needed more words and it was a one-shot payment.
See what the value is for something well under the requirements of P* I’ve registered logo/link?
For most in on that deal, the cup ain’t half full and someone put a cigarette out in it to boot. Law of averages says you did better winning that .05 in that freeroll.
Thanks for the mention Ken
How did you get anything from PartyP post UIGEA or am I missing something?
I have no BR on P* anymore, I cashed out and am just playing the freebies. IMO they give 0 back to the players and I am tired of the runner runner improbable beats amyway. The act like they are the only game in town and we have news for them lol.
This WBCOOP is nothing but a free marketing ploy by them, they are giving nothing away…
Hope alll is well in your part of the world.
The Hack
SEO optimization ignores the UIGEA. They want link to improve their standing with the search engines.
As to * and FT and ad infinitum, yes, they don’t have to give a rat’s patoot about the players. I’ve got a sweat shirt still in the bag. I’ve got a nice dress shirt I wore once. I’ve a mug I gave to a friend. And, so on and on. P* doesn’t even offer rakeback. I feel like the kid who’s folks went to Florida and all he got was the crummy t-shirt.
Before the UIGEA when I played at PokerRoom, they offered 3-$2000 freerolls each day. You needed player points to collect but even with that they didn’t take the points back when you won. They dropped them to a grand a bit before the UIGEA hit but they gave their regulars a decent chance for a decent cash. I took hundreds out of those freerolls. Now, the big deals are $50 freerolls or ticket for a chance at a ticket for the most part.
You are right about WBCOOP. Even if you win something the ticket is locked and you have to play the tournament or satellite they award. That’s stacks it for their real user base. The real amount some blogger will pull out of it — baring a miracle — is maybe some chump change. And based on the hours of play, think less.
UB does let one cash in their player points for actual cash and offers rakeback. And, its softer than most sites. You can click on the rakeback offer on the right and get something instead of nothing.
Well you know, I also have the link for Party Gaming and the pay is greatly appreciated. I just think P* deserves a little attention, for something that they really don’t have to do for us. I do the same for Al and FT, when they get something going as well.
They put the funds in the pot and I’ll certainly try to win them but if I don’t, I’d like to think that they appreciate the support just the same through my words.
I am after all transformed and in my Optimus Prime.
Ah gotcha was thinking player not affilaite for PP.
No P* does not have to do anything for bloggers but they are getting a zillion $$$ worth of advertising for free, so who really is benefitting the most?