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Guarantees down again

EssexphilEssexphil Member Posts: 7,958
Guarantees have plummeted-yet again.

The 8pm £33 re-entry (Gold Rush) down 20% from £5k to £4k
Summit £110 re-entry down 20% £5k to £4k
Mini-Last week £2k, now £1.5k, so 25% down in a week.

The 6pm semi for the Main tonight was cancelled cos it couldn't get 12 runners.

I appreciate a lot of focus is going into Live stuff-SPTs Vegas/Glasgow, etc.

But this needs to be a viable online poker site. And-I am sad to say-this is not looking like one right now.


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Comments

  • DoublemeDoubleme Member Posts: 1,432
    to be fair it is eurovision tonight.
  • Tikay10Tikay10 Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 158,861
    Doubleme said:

    to be fair it is eurovision tonight.


    @Doubleme


    That might just be a contender for Post of the Week.

    VWP
  • EssexphilEssexphil Member Posts: 7,958
    Tikay10 said:

    Doubleme said:

    to be fair it is eurovision tonight.


    @Doubleme


    That might just be a contender for Post of the Week.

    VWP
    I think @Doubleme is being serious.

    Last week was just a gripping Champions League Semi-final. Whereas this week, on BBC3, is a Eurovision Semi not involving the UK.

    I worry about him....
  • DoublemeDoubleme Member Posts: 1,432
    lol I am well aware that Eurovision is not something universally popular around the UK.

    its kind of a niche thing. I do like to be a bit silly mind.

    My volume will be lower then the usual volume for a poker session from me tonight mind.

  • craigcu12craigcu12 Member Posts: 3,960
    Sky has got to do something with it's site for sure.
    These live events are great but if it means doing nothing about the site itself maybe they will have to stop or perhaps have a maximum of 2 events per year.

    The main reasons I rarely play much sky now is because the software is poor, the selection of MTTS are poor, HH review is poor. Basically sky poker is so out dated.
  • Jac35Jac35 Member Posts: 6,471
    craigcu12 said:

    Sky has got to do something with it's site for sure.
    These live events are great but if it means doing nothing about the site itself maybe they will have to stop or perhaps have a maximum of 2 events per year.

    The main reasons I rarely play much sky now is because the software is poor, the selection of MTTS are poor, HH review is poor. Basically sky poker is so out dated.

    I think you should say what you really mean Craig
  • craigcu12craigcu12 Member Posts: 3,960
    edited May 2022
    Jac35 said:

    craigcu12 said:

    Sky has got to do something with it's site for sure.
    These live events are great but if it means doing nothing about the site itself maybe they will have to stop or perhaps have a maximum of 2 events per year.

    The main reasons I rarely play much sky now is because the software is poor, the selection of MTTS are poor, HH review is poor. Basically sky poker is so out dated.

    I think you should say what you really mean Craig
    basically what I mean is sky is so out dated. The software on sky is so poor, when will we be able to have bet sizing buttons in a poker era where 33% and over bets are used, when will we be able to see our stacks in BB.
    What's the point of grind on sky £22 and £11 MTTS if I can make more cash grinding on cash game poker.
    on other sites antes begin at the beginning of MTT poker yet sky still doesn't have them at all.

    When it comes to reviewing my hand history and database, most other sites I know allow me to get the history onto my HUD even ones which don't allow HUDs like GG and party yet you can't do that on sky
    Sky is just so out dated

    Maybe it's down to less and less regs. What I mean is over time the regs who were already with sky will keep dropping ie bates is no longer with sky much and with gambling regulations it's become far more harder for poker newbies to become a regular.
  • bbMikebbMike Member Posts: 3,701
    What is the point indeed.
  • markycashmarkycash Member Posts: 2,837
    It's definitely sad to see traffic dwindle.

    I spotted a £55 DYM with 3 regged last night so registered but it never got above 4.

    I could be wrong - it happens on rare occasions - but I don't think the live promos are the problem. They probably do a decent job of retaining a pool of regs here.

    Although there were always bounty hunters elsewhere they weren't 'that common' so were a bit of a unique selling point for Sky but they are very common everywhere now.

    My personal take is that if there is a desire to keep/grow the player pool then - in addition to the live promo stuff - there really needs to be some very fresh imaginative promos.

    The problem is I doubt the Sky Poker brand is a huge priority for the new owners. Therefore, I fear the downward spiral may continue which is sad for us players but above all I hope the great staff at Sky are looked after and not too negatively affected.

    If there is scope and a desire to keep/grow the player pool and have some fresh/imaginative promos it might be a good idea to involve the community here to get some ideas. Then Sky could pick anything they feel is viable. 1 or 2 new unique selling points might just come out of it.

    I'd say sorry for the ramble but I haven't indulged for a while so you'll all just need to deal with it :)

    GL at the tables all!
  • EssexphilEssexphil Member Posts: 7,958
    edited May 2022
    markycash said:

    It's definitely sad to see traffic dwindle.

    I spotted a £55 DYM with 3 regged last night so registered but it never got above 4.

    I could be wrong - it happens on rare occasions - but I don't think the live promos are the problem. They probably do a decent job of retaining a pool of regs here.

    Although there were always bounty hunters elsewhere they weren't 'that common' so were a bit of a unique selling point for Sky but they are very common everywhere now.

    My personal take is that if there is a desire to keep/grow the player pool then - in addition to the live promo stuff - there really needs to be some very fresh imaginative promos.

    The problem is I doubt the Sky Poker brand is a huge priority for the new owners. Therefore, I fear the downward spiral may continue which is sad for us players but above all I hope the great staff at Sky are looked after and not too negatively affected.

    If there is scope and a desire to keep/grow the player pool and have some fresh/imaginative promos it might be a good idea to involve the community here to get some ideas. Then Sky could pick anything they feel is viable. 1 or 2 new unique selling points might just come out of it.

    I'd say sorry for the ramble but I haven't indulged for a while so you'll all just need to deal with it :)

    GL at the tables all!

    I agree with all of that.

    However, the problems Sky face are sometimes even simpler than that. In the last 16 years, I have played on all the major sites, other than the dodgy American ones, and the ones that do not admit UK players (I missed the Winamax window). That is a lot of sites.

    For the first time in those 16 years, I have spent a few weeks not playing poker. A lot of sites have been contacting me. Offering me free stuff, asking if they have upset me, sending me surveys. you know the drill.

    Sky? Not a thing. It has done nothing to attract new players in years. And now no longer seems to want to compete for business.

    Its staff (as well as its players) deserve better.

    Some suggestions?

    1. Advertise for new players. How about a depositors freeroll?
    2. Various Flutter businesses congregate under the i-poker banner. consider moving the UK/Ireland customers of 1 of them across to Sky
    3. Try using Stars to cross-sell Sky Poker-for example SPT/UKIPT
  • giesahaungiesahaun Member Posts: 109
    The numbers in mtts's have been dropping particularly in the last 6 weeks.

    I think the trigger for this has been the headline promotions, namely Las Vegas SPT. For various reasons this has not generated the enthusiasm of previous years. Through the years the various promotions have been a great reason for playing on the site and in general this remains the case, especially since Sky seems to be by far nowadays the best for this. The trigger but not the problem.

    The software has always been basic but has served the site well until the glitches started in 2021. Communicating these glitches to customer services or in the forum has been difficult and unrewarding. The goodwill the site had among the players has eroded to an all time low because of the glitches and the resulting problems. Players have been either drifting away or playing less on the site since. Thus we have the main reason why the numbers are poor in mtt's.

    The management will have a lot of data available to them to help them manage the site. They are lacking in the knowledge of the problems the players are having on the site. I remember one week when I had a lot of disconnections from the site. I was playing 6 micro TDYM's at a time for about 1 hour. During that period there was on average of 1 player sat out at each table. Poor sods disconnected I presumed. I also presumed , like me, they would not bother for the small cost of the entry fees to think it was worth the bother of trying to explain to cs their woes. So unhappy customers but worse no chance for Sky to know the true extent of the problems and address them. This example is not an isolated one rather being an example repeated too numerous to appreciate.

    Sky did have plans to migrate to Stars software but as far back as June 2021 we were told this was on hold. I think a migration to Stars software could be the best way forward. The forum is a great resource for the site. Use it to get the type of feedback needed to save the site.

  • CammykazeCammykaze Member Posts: 1,397
    Tikay10 said:

    Doubleme said:

    to be fair it is eurovision tonight.


    @Doubleme


    That might just be a contender for Post of the Week.

    VWP
    He has his moments :D
  • CammykazeCammykaze Member Posts: 1,397
    markycash said:

    It's definitely sad to see traffic dwindle.

    I spotted a £55 DYM with 3 regged last night so registered but it never got above 4.

    I could be wrong - it happens on rare occasions - but I don't think the live promos are the problem. They probably do a decent job of retaining a pool of regs here.

    Although there were always bounty hunters elsewhere they weren't 'that common' so were a bit of a unique selling point for Sky but they are very common everywhere now.

    My personal take is that if there is a desire to keep/grow the player pool then - in addition to the live promo stuff - there really needs to be some very fresh imaginative promos.

    The problem is I doubt the Sky Poker brand is a huge priority for the new owners. Therefore, I fear the downward spiral may continue which is sad for us players but above all I hope the great staff at Sky are looked after and not too negatively affected.

    If there is scope and a desire to keep/grow the player pool and have some fresh/imaginative promos it might be a good idea to involve the community here to get some ideas. Then Sky could pick anything they feel is viable. 1 or 2 new unique selling points might just come out of it.

    I'd say sorry for the ramble but I haven't indulged for a while so you'll all just need to deal with it :)

    GL at the tables all!

    Hi,

    That is quite common at least outwith promos, I have not been following the TDYM Rake promo and been caught up in life stuff however this could be due to a couple or three reasons, maybe Timmy/John/FeelGroggy would be best placed to answer this however can give my perceptive.

    1. Could be bankroll management by the regs to a degree.

    2. They are doing ok without the need to hit these tougher games and play against each other for points they are all getting in the same game anyway. Not sure if that makes complete sense though as pretty tired tonight.

    If the 11s/22s and even 33s are drying up then that is more of a concern especially the 11s as they are top of the list under the DYM tab obviously making them easier to spot by the recreation players.

  • TheEdge949TheEdge949 Member Posts: 5,077
    When the 1am Freezeout, £100 guarantee, can't get the 5 runners to start then it spells real trouble.

    Was always 20+ but lately it's bad.
  • thedazzmanthedazzman Member Posts: 926
    Just want to give my 2 cents to this debate.

    It is an utter shame that numbers seem to be dwindling. I have not enjoyed poker anywhere near as much as I have over the last couple years since starting to play 99% of my online poker on Sky.

    Like some others, I have been a member of just about every online poker site over almost 20 years. Of course, Sky is a bit of a niche site, but it suits a lot of players, and that is probably why many have remained active for so long. However, as mentioned, that goodwill [especially for the recurring software issues] seems to be fading fast without much of a counter.

    I totally agree with @Essexphil , and we may be wrong, but there doesn't seem to be much, if any, activity in trying to encourage non-active members to play again or to even attract new members.

    The ironic thing is that after only a handful of games and many years of inactivity on Sky, I received an email with a free non-deposit £11 ticket. I took that offer up and been active ever since.

    Sky is a great site to play on for many reasons; the generous promotions, the community spirit, the exclusivity for UK players means smaller (there is still a happy-medium though) and familiar player pools.

    However, the outdated software, stricter gambling regulations and the increase to cost of living are bound be impacting numbers to an extent, but there is no reason why Sky cannot be as popular as it once was.

    Whatever happens, I sincerely hope that the recently dwindling player numbers can be reversed.
  • DoublemeDoubleme Member Posts: 1,432
    The thing is I tried to be serious but as in most places I usually get ripped on and ignored so I just post silly comments for my own amusement.

    I will try a serious post now, Generally I think there a few things that will be hurting sky poker traffic.

    Firstly affordability checks which cannot be helped because that is now UK regulation. I don't know enough about the regulations and what the exact rules are I have not deposited in years, So I cannot comment on this but have read things in the forums which imply that some people are having trouble getting funds on the site. If the recs cant reload easily the site traffic will die. It is not the same issue on sites that offer games to an international base as if we lose UK recs we still have recs from elsewhere.

    I think another major issue is the software glitches and peoples condescending attitude of if you don't like it here go somewhere else. It does not help things. If I was new to this site, I went to go and play a few games the software crashes and I complain to sky staff and then am offered a £5 token or the likes when this has cost me say £25 in tournaments then I complain on the forums and people are like well if you don't like it go somewhere else I would and I would never return.

    How many times has that been said. I get that some people like this site and can see the hard work Tikay puts in and don't want that belittled. Tikay is an asset to this community and we should all appreciate that, however customers get mad when they lose money due to software issues and get belittled and they are rarely if ever attacking Tikay for this.

    Ultimately I think this site is on limited shelf life, due to the UK regulations and affordability checks. Any site will need losing players to sustain the site and this will be limited now. Long term the only way to keep this site alive would be to integrate with Stars. they could still keep sky only tournies giving customers the best of both worlds. Then I guess I would play on here until rec after rec is forced out and eventually I can no longer beat games which now consist of only lolufold mattbates arrogant lolol etc etc.

  • giesahaungiesahaun Member Posts: 109
    Essexphil said:



    I agree with all of that.

    However, the problems Sky face are sometimes even simpler than that. In the last 16 years, I have played on all the major sites, other than the dodgy American ones, and the ones that do not admit UK players (I missed the Winamax window). That is a lot of sites.

    For the first time in those 16 years, I have spent a few weeks not playing poker. A lot of sites have been contacting me. Offering me free stuff, asking if they have upset me, sending me surveys. you know the drill.

    Sky? Not a thing. It has done nothing to attract new players in years. And now no longer seems to want to compete for business.

    Its staff (as well as its players) deserve better.

    Some suggestions?

    1. Advertise for new players. How about a depositors freeroll?
    2. Various Flutter businesses congregate under the i-poker banner. consider moving the UK/Ireland customers of 1 of them across to Sky
    3. Try using Stars to cross-sell Sky Poker-for example SPT/UKIPT

    It is important to listen to Essexphil and his like. It is not the first time he has posted concern over the site. Over the years on the forum there have been 6 or 7 posters like him who I would class as people who should be paid close attention to. They have all made sensible posts with genuine purpose. When they raise the alarm about the site it is time to act. Since the beginning of 2021 the alarm seems to be going off without any notice not only from this group but from many others.

    Since Sky has started their offerings little has changed except the closure of the tv channel. It is a niche Uk only poker site so you do not expect them to compete in the say way as other sites.

    In the last few years Twitch and Discord are ways that other sites are benefiting from. There is a Discord group with 150+ passionate Sky players who are essentially the who's who of Sky players. This group see little point in trying to help the site any more.

    You realise that the site will not be around for ever. It is time to play on other sites with a view to the day when you play only on the other sites or even find another activity to spend your time on.







  • FeelGroggyFeelGroggy Member Posts: 824
    The writing has been on the wall ever since sky made zero attempts to gain any new players during the Covid poker boom, when every other site was pushing hard to take advantage of the big influx of new players. It's been clear since then that Flutter (or whoever the **** owns sky) has zero interest in Sky poker and is simply leaving it to its own devices until it fails to be profitable enough to continue to exist. There will be no investment into the site and no software improvements. Sky are offering an inferior product than their competitors and it seems to me there is little that could be done to attract a worthwhile amount of new players that would be cost effective. I'm not too sure how many more years Sky will be around so I would just enjoy it/ take advantage while it's still here.

    In sky's defence it is harder for U.K gamblers to get money onto sites and this time of year traditionally does start to get dry- I believe it's the first year since 2019 that won't have numbers artificially inflated because of Covid restrictions. But Sky very much is a site that is in decline and It will likely continue to do so.
  • Pommy2021Pommy2021 Member Posts: 28
    Sites on its knees. Need regular UKOPS like structures, not pennies for 4K guarantees.
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