Too honest? I don't think anyone CAN be too honest, but I take your point.
However, I don't think - I may be wrong - it demonstrates any lack of stability or robustness by the Site, not at all. Personally, I think the more of this sort of stuff we share, the better it is for all.
I can only assume you are alluding to the concern of the business not to give away huge chunks of overlay. I can't think why a well-managed business would NOT concern itself with such things. You use the name FTP a few times - well clearly they never worried about such matters, but they were not operating within the law, & not part of a PLC with a very strong & valuable brand. We are, so everything has to be squeaky clean, obviously, but more important, the financial side of the business has to be managed with skill, & care.
"Overlay" is known within the business as "subsidy". Subsidy is a BAD thing, a dirty word. It comes off the bottom line, no caveats.
Overlay by £5,000, & that money has to be earned first, given away, earned again to stand still, then earned yet again to be viable.
Imagine £1,000 of subsidy every night. That is £7,000 per week. £350,000 per year. That is a lump of money to ANY business, especially as it has no payback.
And we do have subsidy, & plenty of it. But it is strategic, & controlled. That is the key to giving away money.....
I won't & must not go into details, but you would be astonished at how many different parameters & KPI's the business uses. Every Friday morning, all of these are published internally for the previous week, which ends at Midnight on the Thursday, so within hours of the "week end". (In fact, they are published daily, @ 9am, but only summarised once a week). There are, literally, hundreds of graphs, & thousands of lines of analysis. Every single nut & bolt of the business is analysed, every buy-in level, every format, new players, re-activates, MPU, MPD, UPD, CPA, Subs, VLW, VLY, YoY, weather, & this that & the other.
Weather? Yup, weather. Do you know that the business can predict traffic levels to within extremely small tolerances when they know what the weather pattern will be? Or when Champions League Football, or X-Factor or such stuff is on.
That is not a business which is in any way not robust or stable - quite the opposite.
I like to try & explain these things, but if a danger exists that they will be misinterpreted, or twisted, or taken out of context, then I guess I'll have to cease doing it. Personally, I think that would be a shame.
I'll reply to the other stuff seperately, if I may.
Random comment....Dont ya think for big events like the super roller and mains it would be a good idea to include all the upcoming satellites on the lobby of the tourney?? Posted by BigHawk89
Morning Hawky,
It would be nice, yes, but for technical reasons - mainly the sheer number of sats, lack of space in the lobby, & need for the satellite schedule to be dynamic, it is not really viable I'm afraid.
They would have to change the blurb every time the schedule changes, which would mean the tail would wag the dog, & the changes not happen because of the Admin time that accompanies them, relative to a very small gain in exposure.
You will see the Tourney Guarantees growing, bigger prize pools, & ROLLERS & UKOPS stuff, as well as a new Cash Promotion. Some of these wil be announced later this week.....the planning & flow of new promotions is relentless, & non-stop. The duck might seem to be serenely floating along on the top of the water, but look underneath, & his little legs are paddling along 15 to the dozen.
It's late Autumn, this is the Online Poker Season starting it's winter period, when the business really gets active.
It will continue that way until Easter, with a peak at Christmas, & if & when real bad weather comes along.
Next spring, it will then face the annual summer lull.
It always was, & always will be, that way.
What the business has to do is navigate round those things. It cannot change them, only mitigate against the quiet seasons, & become more active in the busy seasons.
The suggestion that the business is "not affluent" is a bit odd really. The BSKYB Group publishes annual accounts, & from those it can be seen that SB&G had another incredible year, thanks to, amongst other things, an incredibly loyal Client-base.
I get what your saying, i like sky, i like what the offer and i will hopefully contribute to future success of the site.
Don't cease posting such detail on my account, i think it's needed discussion. The ability to converse with a representative of a poker site is a luxury in itself and at no point could anybody EVER question sky over any other site when it comes to credibility / ethics / adaption.
Anyway back to sky roller i expect it to hit 290 runners. A really good prizepool. Good luck to everyone then.
Cheers Tikay, You're a guru.. I get what your saying, i like sky, i like what the offer and i will hopefully contribute to future success of the site. Don't cease posting such detail on my account, i think it's needed discussion. The ability to converse with a representative of a poker site is a luxury in itself and at no point could anybody EVER question sky over any other site when it comes to credibility / ethics / adaption. Anyway back to sky roller i expect it to hit 290 runners. A really good prizepool. Good luck to everyone then. Posted by pr1nnyraid
Well I would LIKE to discuss this sort of stuff openly, I think it is good for both sides of the Table, but I have to be very careful, if it is going to be decontextualised, then I'll have to stop, which would be a shame imo. I'll be honest, your Post has spooked me a bit.
"Mums the word" in future, I guess.
290 runners for the SUPER ROLLER this Sunday?
Ooh, that would be something.
Right now, I'd settle for 250.
On the last Sunday Roller, we (the Staff) were all in touch with each other all day & evening, monitoring progress & registrations. Once we "got over the line", there was a bity of whooping & hollering, "happy days, YES, we set an ambitious target & GOT THERE".
If I recall correctly, we got over the line before it started, then Late Reg showed his face & we got a bunch more.
Don't underestimate the excitement we in the business all feel, too, the Staff in Leeds, the TV Channel, right down to the water-carrier (that's me), everyone gets revved up by these things.
The Summer can be a bit glum for Online Poker, whatever happens it is tough to get the numbers up, but now the leaves on the trees are turning golden, it's all excitement, hustle & bustle. Best time of the year.
In Response to Re: This Sunday's SUPER ROLLER" Thread : I like it when you insight some of your industry / behind the scenes knowledge & this is a really interesting post, it’s also very honest.. perhaps a little too honest. I feel as a poker site it is paramount to portray solidarity and wealth in order to attract players and encourage player confidence, perhaps the best at this was FTP, albeit that this is all they were good for :-/ I mean in times of financial ruin they still managed to keep all but the skeptical players depositing at will. Right up to the point of collapse. Not to say that Skypoker should look to copy FTP’s model, far from it, but it is important to portray a robust and stable business regardless of what is going on behind the scenes. I’ll be honest, in reading the above, it doesn’t emit an impression of affluence within the site. However it is good to see that Skypoker are pushing to make the Skyroller a real flagship tournament, it surpassed the guarantee last time and you have increased it straight away, this is good to see sky take a gamble. Hopefully heading into the winter months they will continue to add to the guarantee, eventually offering the Primo alongside it rather than in place of.. I think the one thing sky does miss is the ability to grind mtt’s of any particular level. The WCOOP is a good example of how an mtt series can generate action all over the site, any time the wcoop is on, the cash games are 3 times as active at all levels and the buzz on the site is intense. FWIW I think the guarantee will be surpassed in the roller again, I’m sure a lot of players just reg on the day and will be UK regs playing alongside the Sunday grind on other sites. Looking forward to it and good to see skypoker trying to grow! Posted by pr1nnyraid
Morning again Mr Pr1.
I don't know why, but I had a "light bulb" moment about that Post, & my reply, overnight.
When these Guarantees are set outside the norm, & fairly big, of course the business does not want to set fire to a few grand, that would be crazy.
But the REAL reason we all get nervous & excited is because we want to get it right. Get it wrong, & the ego takes a dent, & as you know, we get reminded pretty sharpish when we do!
Professional pride is a good thing. We want to get "the line" right, as often as we can.
There are TWO of those "ALL-IN" satellites scheduled for tonight, & although they did not do as well as hoped last night, both will run tonight, come what may, as players are already registered for both.
Which is a hint, as there MAY be some overlay........
INteresting thread - How about a competition? - e.g. at what time will the super roller finish? (I did think about no. of runners, but that restricts numbers a bit) Stimulate interest, small prize, (e.g. Entry into DTD next Monday) happy days! Oh, and it keeps thread on front page. ;-)
I may do something along those lines tomorrow, but it would be in a seperate thread, as I don't want to drown out the essential info.
FWIW - & you probably know this - but when we do those kind of things, the business logic is to raise awareness of the Tourney, or Promotion, to those who may not otherwise be aware.
We often try to get word to those OUTSIDE the site, via Twitter or whatever, because that hits those who are not Sky Poker regulars, who, we hope, already know all about the SUPER ROLLER. So it may be a Twitter-based thing.
Tikay, just a small point I remember discussing with Adam at Newcastle, while showing me one of the tweaks ( which I think have been implemented now) I was told that the tabs in the tourney lobby could be changed to include big tournaments similar to UKOPS having it's own tab.
Would there not be a case for putting the Super Roller into this category and including all the sats into it in the same section.
As you pointed out earlier there are many different equations to take in when making any business decision, but I think this would benefit all sides.
Can Sky poker only advertise on 861? Can it advertise on the 5 basic channles 1,2,3,4 and 5? I dont understand how it works. Probably a stupid question
Can Sky poker only advertise on 861? Can it advertise on the 5 basic channles 1,2,3,4 and 5? I dont understand how it works. Probably a stupid question Posted by shaun09
Tikay, just a small point I remember discussing with Adam at Newcastle, while showing me one of the tweaks ( which I think have been implemented now) I was told that the tabs in the tourney lobby could be changed to include big tournaments similar to UKOPS having it's own tab. Would there not be a case for putting the Super Roller into this category and including all the sats into it in the same section. As you pointed out earlier there are many different equations to take in when making any business decision, but I think this would benefit all sides. Keep up the great work Chris Posted by scouse_red
Thanks Chris.
Yes, I believe that is the plan, once the UKOPS brand has been established.
Oh ok Because i dont see much promotion of sky on other channles to be honest, but thanks for letting me know. what about instead of advertising sky poker and there sign up bonus, having a added version to advertise the 25k roller
Comments
Very interesting Post, Pr1.
Too honest? I don't think anyone CAN be too honest, but I take your point.
However, I don't think - I may be wrong - it demonstrates any lack of stability or robustness by the Site, not at all. Personally, I think the more of this sort of stuff we share, the better it is for all.
I can only assume you are alluding to the concern of the business not to give away huge chunks of overlay. I can't think why a well-managed business would NOT concern itself with such things. You use the name FTP a few times - well clearly they never worried about such matters, but they were not operating within the law, & not part of a PLC with a very strong & valuable brand. We are, so everything has to be squeaky clean, obviously, but more important, the financial side of the business has to be managed with skill, & care.
"Overlay" is known within the business as "subsidy". Subsidy is a BAD thing, a dirty word. It comes off the bottom line, no caveats.
Overlay by £5,000, & that money has to be earned first, given away, earned again to stand still, then earned yet again to be viable.
Imagine £1,000 of subsidy every night. That is £7,000 per week. £350,000 per year. That is a lump of money to ANY business, especially as it has no payback.
And we do have subsidy, & plenty of it. But it is strategic, & controlled. That is the key to giving away money.....
I won't & must not go into details, but you would be astonished at how many different parameters & KPI's the business uses. Every Friday morning, all of these are published internally for the previous week, which ends at Midnight on the Thursday, so within hours of the "week end". (In fact, they are published daily, @ 9am, but only summarised once a week). There are, literally, hundreds of graphs, & thousands of lines of analysis. Every single nut & bolt of the business is analysed, every buy-in level, every format, new players, re-activates, MPU, MPD, UPD, CPA, Subs, VLW, VLY, YoY, weather, & this that & the other.
Weather? Yup, weather. Do you know that the business can predict traffic levels to within extremely small tolerances when they know what the weather pattern will be? Or when Champions League Football, or X-Factor or such stuff is on.
That is not a business which is in any way not robust or stable - quite the opposite.
I like to try & explain these things, but if a danger exists that they will be misinterpreted, or twisted, or taken out of context, then I guess I'll have to cease doing it. Personally, I think that would be a shame.
I'll reply to the other stuff seperately, if I may.
Morning Hawky,
It would be nice, yes, but for technical reasons - mainly the sheer number of sats, lack of space in the lobby, & need for the satellite schedule to be dynamic, it is not really viable I'm afraid.
They would have to change the blurb every time the schedule changes, which would mean the tail would wag the dog, & the changes not happen because of the Admin time that accompanies them, relative to a very small gain in exposure.
Going back to Mr PR1's Post.
You will see the Tourney Guarantees growing, bigger prize pools, & ROLLERS & UKOPS stuff, as well as a new Cash Promotion. Some of these wil be announced later this week.....the planning & flow of new promotions is relentless, & non-stop. The duck might seem to be serenely floating along on the top of the water, but look underneath, & his little legs are paddling along 15 to the dozen.
It's late Autumn, this is the Online Poker Season starting it's winter period, when the business really gets active.
It will continue that way until Easter, with a peak at Christmas, & if & when real bad weather comes along.
Next spring, it will then face the annual summer lull.
It always was, & always will be, that way.
What the business has to do is navigate round those things. It cannot change them, only mitigate against the quiet seasons, & become more active in the busy seasons.
The suggestion that the business is "not affluent" is a bit odd really. The BSKYB Group publishes annual accounts, & from those it can be seen that SB&G had another incredible year, thanks to, amongst other things, an incredibly loyal Client-base.
It plans to repeat that in the 12/13 FY.
"Mums the word" in future, I guess.
290 runners for the SUPER ROLLER this Sunday?
Ooh, that would be something.
Right now, I'd settle for 250.
On the last Sunday Roller, we (the Staff) were all in touch with each other all day & evening, monitoring progress & registrations. Once we "got over the line", there was a bity of whooping & hollering, "happy days, YES, we set an ambitious target & GOT THERE".
If I recall correctly, we got over the line before it started, then Late Reg showed his face & we got a bunch more.
Don't underestimate the excitement we in the business all feel, too, the Staff in Leeds, the TV Channel, right down to the water-carrier (that's me), everyone gets revved up by these things.
The Summer can be a bit glum for Online Poker, whatever happens it is tough to get the numbers up, but now the leaves on the trees are turning golden, it's all excitement, hustle & bustle. Best time of the year.
I don't know why, but I had a "light bulb" moment about that Post, & my reply, overnight.
When these Guarantees are set outside the norm, & fairly big, of course the business does not want to set fire to a few grand, that would be crazy.
But the REAL reason we all get nervous & excited is because we want to get it right. Get it wrong, & the ego takes a dent, & as you know, we get reminded pretty sharpish when we do!
Professional pride is a good thing. We want to get "the line" right, as often as we can.
The numbers edged up from 28 to 40 yesterday, aided by the revised Satellite sructure.
Yesterday's Satellite schedule will remain UNCHANGED today.
They all did pretty well except the ALL-IN Sats, which struggled a bit, so unless numbers pick up today, they may reduce to just one tomorrow.
Here's the current field....
There are TWO of those "ALL-IN" satellites scheduled for tonight, & although they did not do as well as hoped last night, both will run tonight, come what may, as players are already registered for both.
Which is a hint, as there MAY be some overlay........
A good clean & she'll be just fine......
Hi pad,
I may do something along those lines tomorrow, but it would be in a seperate thread, as I don't want to drown out the essential info.
FWIW - & you probably know this - but when we do those kind of things, the business logic is to raise awareness of the Tourney, or Promotion, to those who may not otherwise be aware.
We often try to get word to those OUTSIDE the site, via Twitter or whatever, because that hits those who are not Sky Poker regulars, who, we hope, already know all about the SUPER ROLLER. So it may be a Twitter-based thing.
52 runners now.
Looks like we will head into Sunday morning with around 70 or 80 - very close to the figure at that stage last month.
Yes, Sky Poker advertise on other channels.
Yes, I believe that is the plan, once the UKOPS brand has been established.