You know, the affiliate business just ain't what it used to be. The perks that poker sites gave to their affiliates even just a couple of years ago only made sense in a booming poker economy. Without the growth that we saw pre-Black Friday, it just does not return dividends to give away money.

Freerolls, guarantees, and money added games make sense when an affiliate site can use those to bring in new, depositing players. I've seen affiliate sites that were once large and booming poker communities reduced to a crawl, with little to no participation, and little no player recruitment. A consequence of that is they loose their freerolls, guarantees, and money added games, as it is no longer cost effective to give those away.

From the information I have been able to cull on the recent developments reported about Carbon poker, it seems that this is what it is about. Cutting back on the give aways some affiliates have gotten used to because they are not generating enough to cover those expenses is only natural, and necessary to stay in business.

Players get upset because we live in an entitlement society whereby we get used to having things given to us and feel slighted when they stop, rather than being appreciative of what we had been given so far. But that is just the way it goes.

So what is an affiliate to do when their deals are cut? I see players talking about "well let's just move the games to . . . poker room." But that is again from the player perspective, and leaves out where the money for the freerolls, guarantees, and money added games is going to come from.

You have to look at the direction the money flows. An affiliate site, like this or any other, cannot afford to pay players to play. That is not how the affiliate business works. Affiliates get paid to get players to play. Most of the perks affiliates offer are paid for by the poker sites, not the affiliates themselves. This isn't 100% strictly true. Some are affiliates, like myself and a few others here, not so much for profit but for the benefit of a particular group of players. But a big site like this one costs money and time and effort to maintain. And it needs to make money not just to pay for it's own existence, but as it's overall goal.

It's a sign of the times, poker rooms need to cut back on expenses. The affiliate model doesn't work productively in a zero growth poker economy.So support your favorite poker affiliate by downloading and opening new accounts from their links, make a minimum deposit, and generate some rake.

If you choose to never deposit on a poker site, you must accept as a consequence the loss of the perks that were once generated from an abundance of depositing players at the tables.

Just a quick note to extend greetings and well wishes to the entire Poker.org community. I've only been here a few months, but I've had a lot of fun and met some good folks, and found some new table foes

There is every reason for all of us to be optimistic about the coming year. Though I doubt anyone ever gets anything they want, let's all take some positive energy into the New Year. There is much more out there to be gained, let's all get our share!

Peace to all!

I got an e-mail from Lock informing me that I was pre-registered for the Battle of the Knights Tournament of Champions Freeroll, this Sunday at 21:00 et. How many of you are also in this game?
If you play on Lock, you can also join me for the LPP Lockdown at 21:45 on Sunday. This game is a $2.20 buy-in and the pwd is LPP. It's a new game and I am trying to build a following, so jump in and play with some great people.

Both of these games are under the private tab in the tourney section of your Lock Poker lobby.

-curtinsea

I was playing in a $2 bounty tourney on Lock Poker tonight, and my was there some fishy play going on. Many an asstrout shoving all in 75bb deep with rag aces and suited anything. It brought to mind a topic I saw here before about how to play when you are at a table full of donkeys.

As a career micro-donk myself, perhaps mine is not solid gold advice, but there is a saying "you get what you pay for" and tonight my advice is free. So I offer you my ABC's of Fishing . . .

A) TIGHT - you really need to just stay out of trouble. If you are limping or even 3x betting into pots with marginal hands, you end up having to fold to the knucklehead who shoves over you. Better to just stay out of the way, especially in the early goings.

B) AGGRESSIVE - when you have a monster, bet that sucker. Bet it big, even shove it if that is the type of play you are seeing from others. You want to get called by worse hands, don't be afraid of the suckout. But be sure you are the one doing the betting, not the one calling.

C) AVOID CALLS - Im not trying to even race anyone in the early goings, I'm folding most hands to raises. Aces and Kings of course I'm jamming back at them, or calling a shove. But most everything is foldable in the early goings.

Now if you have done your ABC's in the early stages of the game, you have built your stack up a bit, you have some room to move, and a good share of the donkeys are on the rail. Those who have been paying attention now know you aren't entering a pot without a big hand, and you can pull some standard plays and pick up some pots along the way. This is an important stage of the tournament, that will determine whether you are making the final table or just getting close.

APPROACHING THE BUBBLE

It's at this stage of the game you have a couple of exploitable player types . . . the nit trying to make the money, and the aggro player trying to exploit the nits. The nit wants to make the money. He is folding most of his hands, and shoving anything strong. So you don't want to make large raises against this player. Minraise him and he will fold weak and shove strong, then you know you can fold if need be without spewing too many chips. The Aggro player is 3x and 4x betting a lot of hands. Mostly avoid him, but when you wake up with a hand, jam it down his throat. He will likely call because he feels his raise has committed him. Make him pay for that mistake with his stack.

THE FINAL TABLE

The final table dynamic is always interesting. Usually you will find a short stack or two that clung on long enough. Probably a familiar face as well. Tonight my mate "cheapseats" was across the table from me. My best advice for final table play is simply "don't stop playing"

By now the blinds are increasing drastically, and if you sit back and wait for spots for too long you will find yourself on the short stack in short order. Sometimes the cards just aren't there and you can't feel comfortable about making a move, but position is your strongest weapon, use it when you have it.

I had to settle for third in this one. As we got short handed, two players made some key knockouts and when we got to three handed, my 10bb stack was little match for my two opponents. A bad turn for me and to the rail I went. I could have been far more aggressive than I was, perhaps finished fifth or fourth, but with a better chance of the win. It's important to always think about the win. If you have a high ITM% but a low ROI%, you are not being aggressive enough in the later stages. Trade some of those mincashes for wins, and your profit will increase.

My final word of advice is this . . . when you sit down to play, come to play. Pay attention to the game, think about every decision as if the game depends on it, because ultimately, it does.

gn

Everyone who plays the game surely has heard of the Poker Players' Alliance. They are (purportedly) working on our behalf to help clear the way for safe, legal, online poker in the USA. The effectiveness of that effort is subject to debate, as well as just who they represent in this issue.

My question is, how many of you actually belong to the PPA? Those that do, have you gone further than just registering, like donating any cash?

Further still, do you follow their activity at all, do you know what they are up to and what they are seeking to accomplish??

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this group, whether you believe they are an effective advocate, what you think they should do different (if anything), and what should we as players be doing to further our own cause . . .

As an American, I am unhappy with my Government's position on internet poker. Beyond that, I am further dismayed that the reasons they oppose internet poker could be changed if the right amount of money reaches the right pockets. We have corruption in our government, only we call it campaign finance.

Some of our elected leaders are trying to change things. They see the potential benefits in the gaming industry, as well as potential tax revenue. Furthest from their minds are the individual liberties of the people. So what can we do?

As an individual, your voice is not a very loud one. As a group, it gets a little louder. One thing players can do is get on board with the PPA's daily action plan, which comprises mostly using social media to try to get our voices heard. I laud them for the efforts, but I find that to be mostly fluff. Elected officials do not seem to listen to the will of the people. As for the PPA, their focus is in my view a bit misguided and lacking any real promise for results. So what can we do?

Twenty-five States in this Union have a ballot-initiative or referendum process, by which the citizens themselves can effect change in the laws that govern them. We as players should be taking advantage of this opportunity in each of these states to enact real sensible laws that give us a safe and legal environment in which to play the game.

It's easy to just complain about the loss of our right to play the game, but if that is all we do, then we have ceded those rights voluntarily. A government of, by, and for the people, requires that those people get up and work towards real change. If we accept the decisions of our elected officials as final, then we have absolutely nothing to complain about, and it's game over.

But it doesn't have to be that way. I encourage everyone to look at the law in your State, and see if there is a process by which it can be changed. Then find a way to change it. Use social media to gather support from all of the players in your State. Scream at the PPA to help us effect change at the State level. They have resources that are invaluable. They have contacts of thousands of players in every State. We need to mobilize the players and march them in the right direction.

We can change things, we just have to get out of the chair and do it.

The Hyper-turbo HUSNG!!!

How many of you play these? I am a bit hooked, ok a lot hooked lol. They are a lot of fun, quick action, fast paced . . . .

but there is very little edge, it's definitely something you need to grind out a ton of volume on and try to maintain your sanity through unbelievable beats and terrible downswings just to edge out a profit, if you can. But definitely fun.

Hi everyone!

I am the world famous microdonk known as curtinsea! Many of you know me, even more are familiar with me, some I'm sure have been annoyed by me ;)

I heard about this place from a couple of different friends, finally got myself together enough to jump into the fray. Already I've seen a lot of familiar names, and this looks to be a far more happening place than other communities I belong to.

I'm no expert on the game, but I do love it so. I am always either playing poker, thinking poker, or talking poker it seems, and I do so enjoy the company of others who feel the same. I like to post hands for discussion, to guage my own knowledge of strategy, and to learn from others, and maybe even help some coming along newly to the game.

I am armed with a sharp wit and abundance of opinion, neither of which I mind sharing at all. You will find me at the tables to be an always pleasant fellow with a good attitude, easily approachable and always friendly.

I currently host a couple of private games that are a lot of fun, and I have a couple more in the works. It looks like you have quite a lot of game activity going on here, I hope to get in on the action.

That's enough for now, there will be more to come, until then see you all on the virtual felts!

Curt