Hey guys,
Still really mad about the I-poker situation, so much so that I decided to post on the forum the following:
+1 on the ipoker issues. This has taken a month to be "fixed" then everyone is slowrolled by an update that does not fix the problem. There are a couple of issues that Holdem Manager should be aware of when it comes to things like this:
1. HM products are being mis-sold to new customers by claiming to support networks it only half supports or does not properly. This should made clearer on the sales website: like Ipoker supported for 6max and HU (no 9max support-pending).
2. The numerous issues concerning HM2 should be worked on day and night until resolved to mitigate the reputational risks associated. You cannot continue to run a successful business whereby new customers feel as if they have been mis-sold a product/ are unhappy with the response time of the resolution of issues- by the number of issues on the forums it seems very likely that a large %of customers encounter problems. This could have of course been mitigated by thoroughly beta testing HM2 before release- the ever changing nature of poker client software must however be taken into account- but the staff should be there to ensure that issues are dealt with in a timely fashion. In relation to the Ipoker 9max issue; a month is not what one would constitute a "timely fashion".
3) Holdem Manager as a company should perhaps be worried by the number of issues that users are having with this software, as current customers are inevitably disappointed by the untimely fashion that many issues are dealt with- resulting in a significant number of users being unhappy. Poker tracking software has a relatively limited market so damage to reputational risk will of course be more acute then other more open markets. With the release of PokerTracker 4 Beta and its impending release for sale will result in HM2's monopoly on next generation tracking software being broken. It would seem prudent to act now and fast whilst a strong customer base still exists.
- In terms of recommendations and feedback it is apparent that HM2 needs more programmers to deal with all these issues in order to tackle these issues in a timely manner- people are generally reasonable but a month for a issue such as this not to be fixed is not good business for anyone.
Having said this HM2 is a good product when it works, sadly it just doesn't work enough of the time properly. Poker players need confidence in the 3rd party software they use due to their heavy reliance on it. Now that PT4 is set for general release it would be best advised to do something about corporate structure to increase response time to such issues before its to late.
If you want to continue to be standard by which other tracking software is measured against sort this out soon.
Sigh how is it still not working don't get it.
Take care.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
OMG HM2 has done the Ipoker fix!!!
Wow I can play on Ipoker again.
Really happy about that and in time for some sick promotions next month. Time to work hard and get a 2k bonus.
Take care
Really happy about that and in time for some sick promotions next month. Time to work hard and get a 2k bonus.
Take care
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
2012 budget and its impact on uk poker
Hey guys,
Interesting news in today's budget, with proposals to introduce a new operator tax on online gaming companies. Essentially what is being proposed is operators anywhere in the world will be required to pay gambling duties on gross profits generated from a UK based player pool. Thus, the topic of offshore gambling providers avoiding UK taxation is being addressed. This should in fact make the UK poker market more competitive for players, as firstly the tax is placed on operators, secondly a few operators such as bet365 and Coral have been operating at a disadvantage by opting to maintain UK centric operations. These changes will level the playing field and increase operator competitiveness in the UK poker market and therefore it is unlikely that increased levels of taxation will be passed onto players.
Details will be ironed out in the upcoming Finance Bill, so check this out for legislative changes.
Take care.
Interesting news in today's budget, with proposals to introduce a new operator tax on online gaming companies. Essentially what is being proposed is operators anywhere in the world will be required to pay gambling duties on gross profits generated from a UK based player pool. Thus, the topic of offshore gambling providers avoiding UK taxation is being addressed. This should in fact make the UK poker market more competitive for players, as firstly the tax is placed on operators, secondly a few operators such as bet365 and Coral have been operating at a disadvantage by opting to maintain UK centric operations. These changes will level the playing field and increase operator competitiveness in the UK poker market and therefore it is unlikely that increased levels of taxation will be passed onto players.
Details will be ironed out in the upcoming Finance Bill, so check this out for legislative changes.
Take care.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Why am I still waiting???
Hey guys,
What a frustrating month this has been. Holdem manager still hasn't released the ipoker update and keeps on promising to do it- this has resulted in the majority of my roll being locked up in Ipoker doing nothing. To be honest I'm breaking even on life this month- with council tax etc- which is pretty disgusting.
So what have I done with my time- whilst sitting like a lemming waiting for this update???
1) Bought notecaddy- this is a revolutionary piece of software and I recommend everyone invest the $60 and time in learning how to use it effectively- in essence it enables you to make perfect Gbucks decisions (for those who don't know what Gbucks are, consult Phil Galfond's article on the subject- plus he's the best).
In essence notecaddy enables one to play "perfect poker" in terms of the battle of ranges. Proponents of Sklansky would disagree- but his theories have the inherent flaw that your opponents hand is never flipped up and thus this 'perfect info' is not available- resulting in decision making being very results orientated and in a constant vacuum.
2) Opened up a Party Poker account- built up a workable database on this network.
3) Watched a ton of training vids.
4) kept uptodate with the latest regulatory changes/news.
5) Got these e-cig things- which are amazing as one of my goals is to stop smoking to lead a healthier lifestyle.
6) workout stuff to stay healthy.
7) Planned my capital accumulation strategy- with different path roots depending taking into account the differing results of current industry issues.
What this month has highlighted is the dependence poker professionals have on third party tracking software. If a problem occurs with this software you can't really play. In business backup systems are prevalent to prepare for such an eventuality (business continuity management). This has highlighted that I need a business continuity management plan to enable me to keep on playing when problems occur- one must borrow from business and look at how they mitigate risks and apply this to poker. I think that the fact that most poker players don't really give this much thought is a grave mistake and is one that I have made this month and must learn from it.
So what to do to ensure business continuity?
1) Play multiple poker networks: At the moment I have money on Ipoker+ Party Poker. However, I plan to put money in the coming month/months onto the 888network/ pokerstars.
- Also in news Relax gaming is launching a new poker network dedicated to 'fast-fold poker' (next month I believe)- basically the same as zoom on Stars and Rush on FT. I'm really excited about this development and feel my Rush Poker experience from back in the day will make me competitive at these games.
2) Holdem Manager 2 will be my main piece of tracking software- However, I'm getting Poker Tracker 3/4 as well, essentially as an insurance policy against Holdem Manager going wrong again.
3) Already got a spare computer- use HM cloud to sync databases with other computers and store data on HM servers.
Obviously I will have to reassess this at a later date, striving to make this as water tight as possible.
I am also going to read more on business management, systems and processes literature and try to apply these concepts and theories to poker. Treating poker like a business I believe is integral to success and if poker is your business you should to.
Take care.
What a frustrating month this has been. Holdem manager still hasn't released the ipoker update and keeps on promising to do it- this has resulted in the majority of my roll being locked up in Ipoker doing nothing. To be honest I'm breaking even on life this month- with council tax etc- which is pretty disgusting.
So what have I done with my time- whilst sitting like a lemming waiting for this update???
1) Bought notecaddy- this is a revolutionary piece of software and I recommend everyone invest the $60 and time in learning how to use it effectively- in essence it enables you to make perfect Gbucks decisions (for those who don't know what Gbucks are, consult Phil Galfond's article on the subject- plus he's the best).
In essence notecaddy enables one to play "perfect poker" in terms of the battle of ranges. Proponents of Sklansky would disagree- but his theories have the inherent flaw that your opponents hand is never flipped up and thus this 'perfect info' is not available- resulting in decision making being very results orientated and in a constant vacuum.
2) Opened up a Party Poker account- built up a workable database on this network.
3) Watched a ton of training vids.
4) kept uptodate with the latest regulatory changes/news.
5) Got these e-cig things- which are amazing as one of my goals is to stop smoking to lead a healthier lifestyle.
6) workout stuff to stay healthy.
7) Planned my capital accumulation strategy- with different path roots depending taking into account the differing results of current industry issues.
What this month has highlighted is the dependence poker professionals have on third party tracking software. If a problem occurs with this software you can't really play. In business backup systems are prevalent to prepare for such an eventuality (business continuity management). This has highlighted that I need a business continuity management plan to enable me to keep on playing when problems occur- one must borrow from business and look at how they mitigate risks and apply this to poker. I think that the fact that most poker players don't really give this much thought is a grave mistake and is one that I have made this month and must learn from it.
So what to do to ensure business continuity?
1) Play multiple poker networks: At the moment I have money on Ipoker+ Party Poker. However, I plan to put money in the coming month/months onto the 888network/ pokerstars.
- Also in news Relax gaming is launching a new poker network dedicated to 'fast-fold poker' (next month I believe)- basically the same as zoom on Stars and Rush on FT. I'm really excited about this development and feel my Rush Poker experience from back in the day will make me competitive at these games.
2) Holdem Manager 2 will be my main piece of tracking software- However, I'm getting Poker Tracker 3/4 as well, essentially as an insurance policy against Holdem Manager going wrong again.
3) Already got a spare computer- use HM cloud to sync databases with other computers and store data on HM servers.
Obviously I will have to reassess this at a later date, striving to make this as water tight as possible.
I am also going to read more on business management, systems and processes literature and try to apply these concepts and theories to poker. Treating poker like a business I believe is integral to success and if poker is your business you should to.
Take care.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
strategic considerations: how to build my money castle
Hey guys,
Well I've had alot of time to think the last week or so- HM2 still hasn't fixed the ipoker issue. Obviously I want to make as much money as possible as fast as possible and figure that next month i'll move my Titan money to another site on the ipoker network and scoop another 2k bonus, plus what the loyalty program pays. I've shortlisted a few sites for this, so have a pretty good idea now.
Recent developments in the industry have resulted in rumours that the ipoker network is going to split into two separate networks in a few months time. This is obviously awful news for player liquidity however, in terms of loyalty schemes this is better as this places a greater incentive to maintain players rather then do the standard jump around the 30+ skins on the ipoker network scooping bonuses.
By having other accounts on the Ipoker network I will firstly be able to change my screen name- this will make me harder to play against as regulars will see me as a random for a while and thus have not much info on how I play. Secondly I want to be in a position if/when ipoker splits to have accounts on both networks so I have access to both player pools. My choice of site for next month is going to be one that is rumoured to be part of ipoker2. Essentially I want to hedge my bets here in the short term whilst scooping some 2k bonuses and getting 1-2-3k from the points i accumulate along the way.
So how has Party Poker gone? Well as I was limited to a $1k deposit for regulatory reasons- which is obviously absurd as what if your playing 5/10??? leaving me with a skeleton 50nl roll- I mean 50nl is all well and good to supplement an income but is pretty thin on being able to "play for a living". Basically the goal for my party poker account is to keep everything in there and not withdraw until I have a 200nl roll there ($7k), essentially this account is just to play extra tables during the day and is secondary with ipoker being my main earner. Party poker since opening the account has gone ok with my account on £1k- so now I guess i have a pretty comfortable 50nl roll on there. Hopefully I will get more data on players and move up to 100nl in the next month or two and really secure myself on this network.
Not being able to play on ipoker sucks and this month i've been punished- hope its sorted soon.
Take care.
Well I've had alot of time to think the last week or so- HM2 still hasn't fixed the ipoker issue. Obviously I want to make as much money as possible as fast as possible and figure that next month i'll move my Titan money to another site on the ipoker network and scoop another 2k bonus, plus what the loyalty program pays. I've shortlisted a few sites for this, so have a pretty good idea now.
Recent developments in the industry have resulted in rumours that the ipoker network is going to split into two separate networks in a few months time. This is obviously awful news for player liquidity however, in terms of loyalty schemes this is better as this places a greater incentive to maintain players rather then do the standard jump around the 30+ skins on the ipoker network scooping bonuses.
By having other accounts on the Ipoker network I will firstly be able to change my screen name- this will make me harder to play against as regulars will see me as a random for a while and thus have not much info on how I play. Secondly I want to be in a position if/when ipoker splits to have accounts on both networks so I have access to both player pools. My choice of site for next month is going to be one that is rumoured to be part of ipoker2. Essentially I want to hedge my bets here in the short term whilst scooping some 2k bonuses and getting 1-2-3k from the points i accumulate along the way.
So how has Party Poker gone? Well as I was limited to a $1k deposit for regulatory reasons- which is obviously absurd as what if your playing 5/10??? leaving me with a skeleton 50nl roll- I mean 50nl is all well and good to supplement an income but is pretty thin on being able to "play for a living". Basically the goal for my party poker account is to keep everything in there and not withdraw until I have a 200nl roll there ($7k), essentially this account is just to play extra tables during the day and is secondary with ipoker being my main earner. Party poker since opening the account has gone ok with my account on £1k- so now I guess i have a pretty comfortable 50nl roll on there. Hopefully I will get more data on players and move up to 100nl in the next month or two and really secure myself on this network.
Not being able to play on ipoker sucks and this month i've been punished- hope its sorted soon.
Take care.
Thursday, 8 March 2012
ProfBoomtime dabbles at party poker
Hey guys,
I had enough with the holdem manager problems and the Ipoker network-not being able to play is really annoying. So I opened a Party Poker account yesterday, which I was due to do anyway sometime this month. So what does this secondary account do for me, apart from being able to play in the immediate term? Well it gives me more flexibility in terms of game selection, especially in the mornings, when most players are not awake yet. Also a secondary account affords me some degree of protection if something similar happens in the future. Also I get $500 signup bonus and can compete in the gladiator monthly promotion this month, which is worth a couple of hundred, $100 of holdem manager software credit and obviously a bigger player pool.
So what's happened so far? 3rd hand I got it allin with AA pre and ran into 88 which flopped a set obv. However, i'm still getting used to the software and overall i'm winning small.
Take care.
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Ipoker tilts me
Hey guys,
Ipoker's changes concerning full ring games is really annoying, basically HM2 HUD does not align and therefore I cannot play until a fix is done. Its really bad that this could have been avoided if Ipoker informed people before this change occurred, with no warning all the grinders are stuck with the decision of not to play or to play with effectively no software aid.
Basically I won't play until its fixed as firstly its tilting and secondly I don't really want to 3bet that guy light whose pfr is 1% by accident. I like money and intend to hold onto it so I guess its back to twiddling thumbs/ watching training vids until its fixed.
Take care.
Ipoker's changes concerning full ring games is really annoying, basically HM2 HUD does not align and therefore I cannot play until a fix is done. Its really bad that this could have been avoided if Ipoker informed people before this change occurred, with no warning all the grinders are stuck with the decision of not to play or to play with effectively no software aid.
Basically I won't play until its fixed as firstly its tilting and secondly I don't really want to 3bet that guy light whose pfr is 1% by accident. I like money and intend to hold onto it so I guess its back to twiddling thumbs/ watching training vids until its fixed.
Take care.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Monthly roundup
Hey guys,
Long time since my last post, been a bit busy.
This month has been the most disgusting month pokerwise I have ever had. Set over set has cost me over $7000 and when I have had the bigger set I have won $240. You don't have to be a genius to work out that hand coordination wise I have been unlucky in a scenario that is meant to occur once in 44k hands, I was on the wrong side of 3/4/5 times a day every day for 3 weeks.
Enough moaning, so what have I achieved this month:
1) Winnings from poker £560 (obviously really disappointing).
2) Played over 150k hands.
3) won $2735 in rakeback (£1715).
4) Achieved Diamond status (highest loyalty status).
5) Biggest winning player at my stakes in week one and 5th in week 3.
6) Improved my game from training videos.
7) Used leakbuster effectively to improve my game.
8) Balanced work and life pretty well this month, didn't play as much as I would usually seeing that my partner had over half this month off- in terms of hours spent playing this month has been an anomaly.
9) 10th highest rake generator on Titan poker.
Total: £2275
So all in all for a disappointing month in which results didn't go my way and I played about 60-70% of the volume I would usually expect myself to play, I think £2275 whilst not as much as I expect to earn on an average monthly basis is still acceptable given the time I have taken off this month. More importantly I am beating all employment opportunities (if granted) available to me in monetary terms and in terms of life flexibility I am way ahead of any other alternatives.
Anyway that's that for updates and hopefully I will run better this month and post bigger win on the old scoreboard.
Take care.
Long time since my last post, been a bit busy.
This month has been the most disgusting month pokerwise I have ever had. Set over set has cost me over $7000 and when I have had the bigger set I have won $240. You don't have to be a genius to work out that hand coordination wise I have been unlucky in a scenario that is meant to occur once in 44k hands, I was on the wrong side of 3/4/5 times a day every day for 3 weeks.
Enough moaning, so what have I achieved this month:
1) Winnings from poker £560 (obviously really disappointing).
2) Played over 150k hands.
3) won $2735 in rakeback (£1715).
4) Achieved Diamond status (highest loyalty status).
5) Biggest winning player at my stakes in week one and 5th in week 3.
6) Improved my game from training videos.
7) Used leakbuster effectively to improve my game.
8) Balanced work and life pretty well this month, didn't play as much as I would usually seeing that my partner had over half this month off- in terms of hours spent playing this month has been an anomaly.
9) 10th highest rake generator on Titan poker.
Total: £2275
So all in all for a disappointing month in which results didn't go my way and I played about 60-70% of the volume I would usually expect myself to play, I think £2275 whilst not as much as I expect to earn on an average monthly basis is still acceptable given the time I have taken off this month. More importantly I am beating all employment opportunities (if granted) available to me in monetary terms and in terms of life flexibility I am way ahead of any other alternatives.
Anyway that's that for updates and hopefully I will run better this month and post bigger win on the old scoreboard.
Take care.
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