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Poker Share - Justifying The Hype
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Author: Marc Weinberg
The award for most intriguing new online poker room has to go to PokerShare.com, which has just relaunched following their scandalous run-in with Ultimate Bet and Excapsa last year. So, I decided to join and play at Poker Share and see if the hype is justified.
The Hook
Poker Share is very different from other poker rooms in that they offer a novel selling point to their loyal clients. Instead of giving you a hat or a key ring after you've spent thousands of dollars there in lost rake, PokerShare gives you a share of their company. Your reward points are still redeemable for tournaments, promotional gifts, and the usual stuff that's offered by every site, but they're also held in a trust for that fabled day when Poker Share goes public. If the company ever lists on a stock exchange and hits the online poker jackpot you get a share of the action.
It's a really interesting idea, and a great hook. Basically 40% of the company will be owned by this players' trust, and those players who have been most loyal (played there for a long time and racked up rewards points) will reap the rewards. It smacks of socialism, which might explain why Poker Share is now teamed up with a Swedish software developer, and why a lot of the players there have a vaguely Scandinavian flavor to them.
The Reality
Poker Share proved incredibly popular when it first launched as part of the Ultimate Bet network run by Excapsa software. A little too popular as it turned out. Ultimate Bet forced Poker Share out of the network and they had to shut down operations. So, now they're back with this Swedish software and the same aggressive marketing - check out our news article where Poker Share is trying to buy the name of an abandoned town in Alaska called Bluff and then legally change it to PokerShare.com, AL. It's the type of marketing favored by Golden Palace and it definitely works.
I joined up with Poker Share today, and this was my experience:
First of all you get an excellent sign up bonus by signing up through the Insider: 100% match up to a max of $300. It also looks like the bonus is pretty easy to clear. They release $1 for every 10 points earned, and if you play at their NL tables you earn points rapidly.
The Registration Process
This part was a little confusing on Poker Share, and it could be because I have joined plenty of online poker rooms and they tend to be the same, so slight differences throw me off completely. First you are redirected to their website, and go off their software client in order to sign up and use the banking facilities. Ok, that wasn't the main problem - that came after I made my NETeller deposit on their banking page and went back to the lobby to play for real money. It said my balance was $0 even though I knew the deposit went through.
Turns out that Poker Share has an extra step where you have to transfer your funds from something called your share account into your poker account. I assume this Share Account has something to do with the equity I will one day own in Poker Share, but for now it is an annoying and confusing extra step. You basically hit a transfer button and then the money appears in your 'poker' account, and then you go back to the client browser and find that you can play.
The New Software
It reminds me of the Tribeca network in terms of look and feel - think DoylesRoom, but the stats are more advanced, and they have a lot of cool little extra features. I'll put all of those into a proper review of Poker Share (forthcoming), but trust me, the software is very user-friendly and easy to navigate.
A snide aside: When you see the latest poker lobbies it makes you wonder how long the Paradise Poker's of this world can hang on to market share with their outdated and lame software.
Overall Impression
I don't know whether this company will ever go public, nor am I holding my breath to get rich through their rewards points. I'm more interested in the poker they offer now. There were a lot of players online and the game selection was surprisingly good. I assume they have teamed up with some European poker rooms that also run off this Swedish software, and my initial experience as a result was very positive.
They have a slick product, want your business badly, and offer a good mix of games. That's enough for me to play there, so I'd definitely recommend Poker Share.
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