@Doubleme I agree with you - promos to attract new players is vital/ But loyal players are also leaving which means that there are few games for recs to join.
Having 6 recs occasionally playing each other means that there is nobody to learn from.
Moving up to playing high stakes MTT or DYMs with Timmy helped me learn and spend more time on the site.
This for me is the edge Sky has on the other sites if you are a beginner.
Yes - the early lockdown was great but if you talk to the SnG players, they'd tell you that they're not leaving because the lockdown boom is over.
The main issues that come up on the doorstep are: - Rake - Software - Lack of traffic (perhaps linked with the above)
@Doubleme I agree with you - promos to attract new players is vital/ But loyal players are also leaving which means that there are few games for recs to join.
Having 6 recs occasionally playing each other means that there is nobody to learn from.
Moving up to playing high stakes MTT or DYMs with Timmy helped me learn and spend more time on the site.
This for me is the edge Sky has on the other sites if you are a beginner.
Yes - the early lockdown was great but if you talk to the SnG players, they'd tell you that they're not leaving because the lockdown boom is over.
The main issues that come up on the doorstep are: - Rake - Software - Lack of traffic (perhaps linked with the above)
I have not done well in dons if i analyse my results across any single stake level turbo or non turbo its not statistically significant but if i pull my results across the board together it is. I have statistically significant evidence therefore that I beat the standard and lose to the rake. clealry there are adjustments which I can make to my game in these which would change this.
However I dont think it makes sense for me to go that route I do have statistically significant evidence that I win at hyper turbo heads up games so it makes sense to focus on these.
further the issue is that don traffic could dry up and these games could no longer run enough so if i put the work in i could be drawing dead so to speak learning to play a format that may not exist enough soon to be able to grind out any decent income.
furthermore one bad incident i had was when there was a power cut and i had something like 16 don tables going at once and could not get back in and lost every single table.
had another issue today where my girlfriend got stuck in the bedroom because of the door and had a panic attack which caused me to lose all my heads up hypers had £10 worth of games going if that had been turbo dons it would have been something like £50 i would have just dropped or £74 when i had the power cut.
on top of this the client seems to quit out when it goes overloaded with tables this has not happened when i been doing heads up hypers.
my future direction im thinking is to focus on mtts and heads up hypers. if you can convince me otherwise that it would be in my interest to do dons maybe you can persuade me but I just dont see it.
it makes sense for you because you already are making decent money from it you might as well milk the format for what you can get then.
i just dont see the sense in going for formatt which i am not currently up to the standard to make decent money from when this format could die.
I really need to learn how to play bounty hunters effectively. I know the way to do it is not to play as a standard tourney eg people will call you down if they have you covered so try to extract a lot of value when you have it and bluff less when you dont because people chase your bounty. and that you can call all ins lighter because you have the added benifit of bounty but how much lighter? people were calling my shoves with hands like 67 suited and 107 and even q5 i think that is mostly mistakes. However surely you can call people lighter then normal if you got them covered but exactly how much lighter?
generally I am at the point when I would consider paying for a bounty hunter coaching but who even does that? and could I really even afford that? plus people probably would not like coaching me when I learn i like to question and debate its how I learn and last time i tried poker coaching they got annoyed and just said listen to what we tell you and do exactly that so it did not work. i respect someone who has better results then me is likely right when we disagree but i need to debate it and dispute it if it is not making sense to me in order to learn. plus some people have tried to sabo me before i litereally had a poker buddy who delibrately tried to give me bad advice so i would lose money, were no longer talking but he doesnt know that.
@Doubleme I recognise your experience. Have lost a lot of cash using the client but just stick to browser now. Why Customer Service insisted it was the most reliable platform I don't know.
As for the poker coaching, there is plenty of studying material you can find online.
I'm not good enough to advise but I guess you gotta spend more time training and less time playing.
I've played a few 6 max (Speed) SNG's recently with the other regs, (prompted by @FeelGroggy to join), but they do take ages to fill up, if they ever do.
They've been fun, but I do think 10% rake is too high for any single table SNG whether it is a DYM or normal.
Would be good to get a few people playing the 6max speed ones, as they don't go on forever.
I will reg late evening most nights this week, and see if there's any interest, so if anyone fancies a six max SNG, you may well find me there.
@Tikay10 if something can be done about the rake, I would be happy to coordinate getting more people to play them and potentially do a league table for a bit of fun.
I've played a few 6 max (Speed) SNG's recently with the other regs, (prompted by @FeelGroggy to join), but they do take ages to fill up, if they ever do.
They've been fun, but I do think 10% rake is too high for any single table SNG whether it is a DYM or normal.
Would be good to get a few people playing the 6max speed ones, as they don't go on forever.
I will reg late evening most nights this week, and see if there's any interest, so if anyone fancies a six max SNG, you may well find me there.
@Tikay10 if something can be done about the rake, I would be happy to coordinate getting more people to play them and potentially do a league table for a bit of fun.
need to lower the rake for sngs to be worthwhile for me if that is done i will give them another go.
but need some recs too if I am just going to be playing you guys not sure that works for my bankroll. reg wars are never ideal as its hard for anyone to have the edge to be able to beat the rake even if the rake is lower.
@K0BAYASHl a healthy relationship does not work like that. if your partner makes a mistake you dont bill them for it. I could also have hounded her for compensation when she got us kicked out of a club we had traveled to london for and i had bought a hotel room for. of course I cant go into details of that here because that will be inappropiate for these forums. when you love someone your a team. if we go to the shops and buy food we dont add it up and decide who owes who what. sometimes i get it sometimes she does.
@Doubleme I strongly disagree with what you're saying. The being kicked out of the club story needs to be told with haste.
unfortunately that story wold be to adult in nature and involves adult content, whilst i know we are all over the age of 18, i think things of a certain explicit nature are not appropriate for these forums.
I've played a few 6 max (Speed) SNG's recently with the other regs, (prompted by @FeelGroggy to join), but they do take ages to fill up, if they ever do.
They've been fun, but I do think 10% rake is too high for any single table SNG whether it is a DYM or normal.
Would be good to get a few people playing the 6max speed ones, as they don't go on forever.
I will reg late evening most nights this week, and see if there's any interest, so if anyone fancies a six max SNG, you may well find me there.
@Tikay10 if something can be done about the rake, I would be happy to coordinate getting more people to play them and potentially do a league table for a bit of fun.
I'll pass it on, but I'd be astonished if they reduced the rake - or made any other price or policy changes - until the new software arrives. (And the date of that remains under wraps for now). What happens after that remains to be seen.
It's the middle of a blistering summer, money is tight, poker generally & globally is in gentle decline & SNG/DYM traffic is always at it's nadir at this time of year. Surely none of that is a surprise to anyone?
I've played a few 6 max (Speed) SNG's recently with the other regs, (prompted by @FeelGroggy to join), but they do take ages to fill up, if they ever do.
They've been fun, but I do think 10% rake is too high for any single table SNG whether it is a DYM or normal.
Would be good to get a few people playing the 6max speed ones, as they don't go on forever.
I will reg late evening most nights this week, and see if there's any interest, so if anyone fancies a six max SNG, you may well find me there.
@Tikay10 if something can be done about the rake, I would be happy to coordinate getting more people to play them and potentially do a league table for a bit of fun.
I'll pass it on, but I'd be astonished if they reduced the rake - or made any other price or policy changes - until the new software arrives. (And no, sorry, I don't have a date yet). What happens after that remains to be seen.
It's the middle of a blistering summer, money is tight, poker generally & globally is in gentle decline & SNG/DYM traffic is always at it's nadir at this time of year. Surely none of that is a surprise to anyone?
Hey Tony
Nadir...lovely word to describe a shite situation!
Historically why does it decline this time of the year? ( I know most of the better younger players are getting ready to go back to school... )
Has the pandemic flurry of activity on the site reduced to normal or below expectations?
I thought the suits must have been quite happy with the levels of player activity increasing over the summer? Surely must have (over) compensated for the known period of decline around now...
ps Great to have the SPT back! pity we can't share a beer together but hey
I don't really want to go down this rabbit hole but someone needs to appear for the defence, & to provide a balanced discussion.
As best as I can recall, Happy Hours (well, POWER hours actually) was last done in January & Streak Week (specifically for DYM & SNG players) was at the end of April, less than 4 months ago.
Sky Poker were criticised for running Happy/Power Hours as "it only benefited the bigger players" but that's standard stuff & I daresay it will return at some stage. Of course, they get stick for every single Promo they run & so nothing new there.
PS - there is no difference between Happy Hours & Power Hours but the name had to be changed for Regulatory & Compliance reasons. You have no idea what a regulatory minefield it is these days.
Streak Week was end of April & worked OK I thought. It's specifically for DYM's & SNG's but needs to be carefully managed as those formats are susceptible to collusion. It will probably return at some point.
Note, by the way, that the current Sky Poker Premiership works quite well for DYM players as we can see by perusing the league tables.
All types of players & play need to have Promotions. Cash, (by FAR the biggest segment, twice as big as MTT's & DYM's combined), MTT's & DYM/SNG's but there's only 12 months in a year, so everyone just needs to exercise a little patience, Sky Poker can't address every format & desire every month. Then there's those at both ends of the buy-in & affordability range, all of them need to be addressed. It can't be all about Team Big Boy.
The last few months have specifically addressed the smaller bankrolls, with stuff like Escalator Freerolls & Eliminator Freerolls. It's essential that these guys get a chance to be involved in Promos from time to time, & I hope nobody begrudges them that.
Sky Poker Promos don't just appear on a whim - typically they are planned 3 to 4 months in advance, as they have to be planned & go through all sorts of approval processes to ensure they are Compliant & don't fall foul of any Regulatory stuff, plus they need to be financially stress-tested to ensure they work. Assets also needs to be designed & created. In the current environment (think of the monstrous & unprecedented traffic swings we have seen this year) that's quite a tough gig, as traffic levels are a moving feast at the moment.
Anyway, I'll ensure your comments are passed on to the guys with their hands on the tiller - Sam & James. And if you were not already aware, both of them are sharp & shrewd, & have considerable experience of managing an online card room, & I'm quite sure they will do the right thing. Mostly.
I've played a few 6 max (Speed) SNG's recently with the other regs, (prompted by @FeelGroggy to join), but they do take ages to fill up, if they ever do.
They've been fun, but I do think 10% rake is too high for any single table SNG whether it is a DYM or normal.
Would be good to get a few people playing the 6max speed ones, as they don't go on forever.
I will reg late evening most nights this week, and see if there's any interest, so if anyone fancies a six max SNG, you may well find me there.
@Tikay10 if something can be done about the rake, I would be happy to coordinate getting more people to play them and potentially do a league table for a bit of fun.
Kudos for coming on this thread and offering to do something positive.
I love the 6 max format, has to be the best for a player wanting to learn how to play the various stages of an MTT.
A 6 max based challenge on the forum would definitely get my backing, although joining a line up as described above would not be +EV I am sure it would be a good learning experience.
I've played a few 6 max (Speed) SNG's recently with the other regs, (prompted by @FeelGroggy to join), but they do take ages to fill up, if they ever do.
They've been fun, but I do think 10% rake is too high for any single table SNG whether it is a DYM or normal.
Would be good to get a few people playing the 6max speed ones, as they don't go on forever.
I will reg late evening most nights this week, and see if there's any interest, so if anyone fancies a six max SNG, you may well find me there.
@Tikay10 if something can be done about the rake, I would be happy to coordinate getting more people to play them and potentially do a league table for a bit of fun.
I'll pass it on, but I'd be astonished if they reduced the rake - or made any other price or policy changes - until the new software arrives. (And no, sorry, I don't have a date yet). What happens after that remains to be seen.
It's the middle of a blistering summer, money is tight, poker generally & globally is in gentle decline & SNG/DYM traffic is always at it's nadir at this time of year. Surely none of that is a surprise to anyone?
Hey Tony
Nadir...lovely word to describe a shite situation!
Historically why does it decline this time of the year? ( I know most of the better younger players are getting ready to go back to school... )
Has the pandemic flurry of activity on the site reduced to normal or below expectations?
I thought the suits must have been quite happy with the levels of player activity increasing over the summer? Surely must have (over) compensated for the known period of decline around now...
ps Great to have the SPT back! pity we can't share a beer together but hey
It declines at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere as it's summer, light nights, pleasant weather, none of which are conducive to sitting in front of a computer for long periods, plus of course people go on holiday & whatnot. It's works the other way round in the Southern Hemisphere of course. So global rooms like Poker Stars get a better balance than we do, although poker activity is higher in the Northern Hemisphere I suspect.
Has boomlet traffic reduced in line with expectations? I doubt they knew what to expect, as it was all unprecedented. Traffic increased almost THREE FOLD overnight, here & most other card rooms, stayed there for a while & then gently fell back to previous levels. You can't really have realistic expectations in such a volatile market. There's much evidence emerging of a "second wave", & I have no idea what they might do to traffic levels if there were another Lockdown. Pray to God there is not.
"I thought the suits must have been quite happy with the levels of player activity increasing over the summer? Surely must have (over) compensated for the known period of decline around now..."
I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I think the Suits have been reasonably satisfied with traffic levels given the circumstances.
I've played a few 6 max (Speed) SNG's recently with the other regs, (prompted by @FeelGroggy to join), but they do take ages to fill up, if they ever do.
They've been fun, but I do think 10% rake is too high for any single table SNG whether it is a DYM or normal.
Would be good to get a few people playing the 6max speed ones, as they don't go on forever.
I will reg late evening most nights this week, and see if there's any interest, so if anyone fancies a six max SNG, you may well find me there.
@Tikay10 if something can be done about the rake, I would be happy to coordinate getting more people to play them and potentially do a league table for a bit of fun.
I'll pass it on, but I'd be astonished if they reduced the rake - or made any other price or policy changes - until the new software arrives. (And no, sorry, I don't have a date yet). What happens after that remains to be seen.
It's the middle of a blistering summer, money is tight, poker generally & globally is in gentle decline & SNG/DYM traffic is always at it's nadir at this time of year. Surely none of that is a surprise to anyone?
Hey Tony
Nadir...lovely word to describe a shite situation!
Historically why does it decline this time of the year? ( I know most of the better younger players are getting ready to go back to school... )
Has the pandemic flurry of activity on the site reduced to normal or below expectations?
I thought the suits must have been quite happy with the levels of player activity increasing over the summer? Surely must have (over) compensated for the known period of decline around now...
ps Great to have the SPT back! pity we can't share a beer together but hey
It declines at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere as it's summer, light nights, pleasant weather, none of which are conducive to sitting in front of a computer for long periods, plus of course people go on holiday & whatnot. It's works the other way round in the Southern Hemisphere of course. So global rooms like Poker Stars get a better balance than we do, although poker activity is higher in the Northern Hemisphere I suspect.
Has boomlet traffic reduced in line with expectations? I doubt they knew what to expect, as it was all unprecedented. Traffic increased almost THREE FOLD overnight, here & most other card rooms, stayed there for a while & then gently fell back to previous levels. You can't really have realistic expectations in such a volatile market. There's much evidence emerging of a "second wave", & I have no idea what they might do to traffic levels if there were another Lockdown. Pray to God there is not.
"I thought the suits must have been quite happy with the levels of player activity increasing over the summer? Surely must have (over) compensated for the known period of decline around now..."
I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I think the Suits have been reasonably satisfied with traffic levels given the circumstances.
I think the OP was talking about reducing rake Has this been looked at? Would it be expected that there would be an increase in traffic if rake was reduced?
Other sites do charge less rake for these formats and is there any particular reason why Sky continue with the 10%. I could totally understand it a while when traffic was high. However, you’ll know better than me but it does seem at an all time low
I've played a few 6 max (Speed) SNG's recently with the other regs, (prompted by @FeelGroggy to join), but they do take ages to fill up, if they ever do.
They've been fun, but I do think 10% rake is too high for any single table SNG whether it is a DYM or normal.
Would be good to get a few people playing the 6max speed ones, as they don't go on forever.
I will reg late evening most nights this week, and see if there's any interest, so if anyone fancies a six max SNG, you may well find me there.
@Tikay10 if something can be done about the rake, I would be happy to coordinate getting more people to play them and potentially do a league table for a bit of fun.
I'll pass it on, but I'd be astonished if they reduced the rake - or made any other price or policy changes - until the new software arrives. (And no, sorry, I don't have a date yet). What happens after that remains to be seen.
It's the middle of a blistering summer, money is tight, poker generally & globally is in gentle decline & SNG/DYM traffic is always at it's nadir at this time of year. Surely none of that is a surprise to anyone?
Hey Tony
Nadir...lovely word to describe a shite situation!
Historically why does it decline this time of the year? ( I know most of the better younger players are getting ready to go back to school... )
Has the pandemic flurry of activity on the site reduced to normal or below expectations?
I thought the suits must have been quite happy with the levels of player activity increasing over the summer? Surely must have (over) compensated for the known period of decline around now...
ps Great to have the SPT back! pity we can't share a beer together but hey
It declines at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere as it's summer, light nights, pleasant weather, none of which are conducive to sitting in front of a computer for long periods, plus of course people go on holiday & whatnot. It's works the other way round in the Southern Hemisphere of course. So global rooms like Poker Stars get a better balance than we do, although poker activity is higher in the Northern Hemisphere I suspect.
Has boomlet traffic reduced in line with expectations? I doubt they knew what to expect, as it was all unprecedented. Traffic increased almost THREE FOLD overnight, here & most other card rooms, stayed there for a while & then gently fell back to previous levels. You can't really have realistic expectations in such a volatile market. There's much evidence emerging of a "second wave", & I have no idea what they might do to traffic levels if there were another Lockdown. Pray to God there is not.
"I thought the suits must have been quite happy with the levels of player activity increasing over the summer? Surely must have (over) compensated for the known period of decline around now..."
I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I think the Suits have been reasonably satisfied with traffic levels given the circumstances.
I think the OP was talking about reducing rake Has this been looked at? Would it be expected that there would be an increase in traffic if rake was reduced?
Other sites do charge less rake for these formats and is there any particular reason why Sky continue with the 10%. I could totally understand it a while when traffic was high. However, you’ll know better than me but it does seem at an all time low
I doubt they have given thought to it, no. I addressed that in my reply to StayOrGo, as follows;
"I'll pass it on, but I'd be astonished if they reduced the rake - or made any other price or policy changes - until the new software arrives. (And the date of that remains under wraps for now). What happens after that remains to be seen.
It's the middle of a blistering summer, money is tight, poker generally & globally is in gentle decline & SNG/DYM traffic is always at it's nadir at this time of year. Surely none of that is a surprise to anyone?"
You also asked;
"Would it be expected that there would be an increase in traffic if rake was reduced?"
If, theoretically, reg fee was halved, traffic would likely increase, but it would not increase 100%, which is what it would need to do to stand still.
As to pricing generally, I'm not party as to what they do & why, but I think they have a firm view of the ROI the business is expected to return. We could debate all day about the merits or otherwise of the risks inherent in halving rake in an attempt to double traffic & I'm not sure there would ever be a meeting of minds.
Over & above all this, I go back to the point I made to Graham earlier - I don't expect there will be too many changes of this nature before the new platform arrives. I don't have a seat at the top table but that's the impression I get.
Comments
I agree with you - promos to attract new players is vital/ But loyal players are also leaving which means that there are few games for recs to join.
Having 6 recs occasionally playing each other means that there is nobody to learn from.
Moving up to playing high stakes MTT or DYMs with Timmy helped me learn and spend more time on the site.
This for me is the edge Sky has on the other sites if you are a beginner.
Yes - the early lockdown was great but if you talk to the SnG players, they'd tell you that they're not leaving because the lockdown boom is over.
The main issues that come up on the doorstep are:
- Rake
- Software
- Lack of traffic (perhaps linked with the above)
However I dont think it makes sense for me to go that route I do have statistically significant evidence that I win at hyper turbo heads up games so it makes sense to focus on these.
further the issue is that don traffic could dry up and these games could no longer run enough so if i put the work in i could be drawing dead so to speak learning to play a format that may not exist enough soon to be able to grind out any decent income.
furthermore one bad incident i had was when there was a power cut and i had something like 16 don tables going at once and could not get back in and lost every single table.
had another issue today where my girlfriend got stuck in the bedroom because of the door and had a panic attack which caused me to lose all my heads up hypers had £10 worth of games going if that had been turbo dons it would have been something like £50 i would have just dropped or £74 when i had the power cut.
on top of this the client seems to quit out when it goes overloaded with tables this has not happened when i been doing heads up hypers.
my future direction im thinking is to focus on mtts and heads up hypers. if you can convince me otherwise that it would be in my interest to do dons maybe you can persuade me but I just dont see it.
it makes sense for you because you already are making decent money from it you might as well milk the format for what you can get then.
i just dont see the sense in going for formatt which i am not currently up to the standard to make decent money from when this format could die.
I really need to learn how to play bounty hunters effectively. I know the way to do it is not to play as a standard tourney eg people will call you down if they have you covered so try to extract a lot of value when you have it and bluff less when you dont because people chase your bounty.
and that you can call all ins lighter because you have the added benifit of bounty but how much lighter? people were calling my shoves with hands like 67 suited and 107 and even q5 i think that is mostly mistakes. However surely you can call people lighter then normal if you got them covered but exactly how much lighter?
generally I am at the point when I would consider paying for a bounty hunter coaching but who even does that? and could I really even afford that?
plus people probably would not like coaching me when I learn i like to question and debate its how I learn and last time i tried poker coaching they got annoyed and just said listen to what we tell you and do exactly that so it did not work. i respect someone who has better results then me is likely right when we disagree but i need to debate it and dispute it if it is not making sense to me in order to learn. plus some people have tried to sabo me before i litereally had a poker buddy who delibrately tried to give me bad advice so i would lose money, were no longer talking but he doesnt know that.
I missed the episode where Coronation Street enter the plot.
I actually enjoyed reading that. Looking forward to the next episode.
I recognise your experience. Have lost a lot of cash using the client but just stick to browser now. Why Customer Service insisted it was the most reliable platform I don't know.
As for the poker coaching, there is plenty of studying material you can find online.
I'm not good enough to advise but I guess you gotta spend more time training and less time playing.
The likes of @loololollo @destinycod and @Curt360x27 @lwwl also playing a few.
They've been fun, but I do think 10% rake is too high for any single table SNG whether it is a DYM or normal.
Would be good to get a few people playing the 6max speed ones, as they don't go on forever.
I will reg late evening most nights this week, and see if there's any interest, so if anyone fancies a six max SNG, you may well find me there.
@Tikay10 if something can be done about the rake, I would be happy to coordinate getting more people to play them and potentially do a league table for a bit of fun.
but need some recs too if I am just going to be playing you guys not sure that works for my bankroll. reg wars are never ideal as its hard for anyone to have the edge to be able to beat the rake even if the rake is lower.
@K0BAYASHl
a healthy relationship does not work like that. if your partner makes a mistake you dont bill them for it. I could also have hounded her for compensation when she got us kicked out of a club we had traveled to london for and i had bought a hotel room for. of course I cant go into details of that here because that will be inappropiate for these forums. when you love someone your a team. if we go to the shops and buy food we dont add it up and decide who owes who what. sometimes i get it sometimes she does.
the problem door still needs to be fixed.
Morning Graham.
I'll pass it on, but I'd be astonished if they reduced the rake - or made any other price or policy changes - until the new software arrives. (And the date of that remains under wraps for now). What happens after that remains to be seen.
It's the middle of a blistering summer, money is tight, poker generally & globally is in gentle decline & SNG/DYM traffic is always at it's nadir at this time of year. Surely none of that is a surprise to anyone?
Nadir...lovely word to describe a shite situation!
Historically why does it decline this time of the year? ( I know most of the better younger players are getting ready to go back to school...
Has the pandemic flurry of activity on the site reduced to normal or below expectations?
I thought the suits must have been quite happy with the levels of player activity increasing over the summer? Surely must have (over) compensated for the known period of decline around now...
ps Great to have the SPT back! pity we can't share a beer together but hey
I don't really want to go down this rabbit hole but someone needs to appear for the defence, & to provide a balanced discussion.
As best as I can recall, Happy Hours (well, POWER hours actually) was last done in January & Streak Week (specifically for DYM & SNG players) was at the end of April, less than 4 months ago.
Sky Poker were criticised for running Happy/Power Hours as "it only benefited the bigger players" but that's standard stuff & I daresay it will return at some stage. Of course, they get stick for every single Promo they run & so nothing new there.
PS - there is no difference between Happy Hours & Power Hours but the name had to be changed for Regulatory & Compliance reasons. You have no idea what a regulatory minefield it is these days.
Streak Week was end of April & worked OK I thought. It's specifically for DYM's & SNG's but needs to be carefully managed as those formats are susceptible to collusion. It will probably return at some point.
Note, by the way, that the current Sky Poker Premiership works quite well for DYM players as we can see by perusing the league tables.
All types of players & play need to have Promotions. Cash, (by FAR the biggest segment, twice as big as MTT's & DYM's combined), MTT's & DYM/SNG's but there's only 12 months in a year, so everyone just needs to exercise a little patience, Sky Poker can't address every format & desire every month. Then there's those at both ends of the buy-in & affordability range, all of them need to be addressed. It can't be all about Team Big Boy.
The last few months have specifically addressed the smaller bankrolls, with stuff like Escalator Freerolls & Eliminator Freerolls. It's essential that these guys get a chance to be involved in Promos from time to time, & I hope nobody begrudges them that.
Sky Poker Promos don't just appear on a whim - typically they are planned 3 to 4 months in advance, as they have to be planned & go through all sorts of approval processes to ensure they are Compliant & don't fall foul of any Regulatory stuff, plus they need to be financially stress-tested to ensure they work. Assets also needs to be designed & created. In the current environment (think of the monstrous & unprecedented traffic swings we have seen this year) that's quite a tough gig, as traffic levels are a moving feast at the moment.
Anyway, I'll ensure your comments are passed on to the guys with their hands on the tiller - Sam & James. And if you were not already aware, both of them are sharp & shrewd, & have considerable experience of managing an online card room, & I'm quite sure they will do the right thing. Mostly.
I love the 6 max format, has to be the best for a player wanting to learn how to play the various stages of an MTT.
A 6 max based challenge on the forum would definitely get my backing, although joining a line up as described above would not be +EV I am sure it would be a good learning experience.
It declines at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere as it's summer, light nights, pleasant weather, none of which are conducive to sitting in front of a computer for long periods, plus of course people go on holiday & whatnot. It's works the other way round in the Southern Hemisphere of course. So global rooms like Poker Stars get a better balance than we do, although poker activity is higher in the Northern Hemisphere I suspect.
Has boomlet traffic reduced in line with expectations? I doubt they knew what to expect, as it was all unprecedented. Traffic increased almost THREE FOLD overnight, here & most other card rooms, stayed there for a while & then gently fell back to previous levels. You can't really have realistic expectations in such a volatile market. There's much evidence emerging of a "second wave", & I have no idea what they might do to traffic levels if there were another Lockdown. Pray to God there is not.
"I thought the suits must have been quite happy with the levels of player activity increasing over the summer? Surely must have (over) compensated for the known period of decline around now..."
I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I think the Suits have been reasonably satisfied with traffic levels given the circumstances.
I think the OP was talking about reducing rake
Has this been looked at? Would it be expected that there would be an increase in traffic if rake was reduced?
Other sites do charge less rake for these formats and is there any particular reason why Sky continue with the 10%. I could totally understand it a while when traffic was high. However, you’ll know better than me but it does seem at an all time low
Hi Paul,
I doubt they have given thought to it, no. I addressed that in my reply to StayOrGo, as follows;
"I'll pass it on, but I'd be astonished if they reduced the rake - or made any other price or policy changes - until the new software arrives. (And the date of that remains under wraps for now). What happens after that remains to be seen.
It's the middle of a blistering summer, money is tight, poker generally & globally is in gentle decline & SNG/DYM traffic is always at it's nadir at this time of year. Surely none of that is a surprise to anyone?"
You also asked;
"Would it be expected that there would be an increase in traffic if rake was reduced?"
If, theoretically, reg fee was halved, traffic would likely increase, but it would not increase 100%, which is what it would need to do to stand still.
As to pricing generally, I'm not party as to what they do & why, but I think they have a firm view of the ROI the business is expected to return. We could debate all day about the merits or otherwise of the risks inherent in halving rake in an attempt to double traffic & I'm not sure there would ever be a meeting of minds.
Over & above all this, I go back to the point I made to Graham earlier - I don't expect there will be too many changes of this nature before the new platform arrives. I don't have a seat at the top table but that's the impression I get.