Joined: Feb '11
Location: Canada
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 3
Hey 'sup everyone. I'm allready aware for some time of some sites that just give you cash in your account just by signing up and no deposit. I also know it's a common practice amongst online casinos, where they give you like 2000$ to start for example, and you got like couple of hours to play with this cash and the only money you they really give you once the deadline is reached is the cash you made in extra of the starting amount.
Now with 888poker for example, they give you 8$ and though I've look in the details I don't see anywhere something like I describe before. I guess it's the same principle as the casinos though, like you can only keep the money you made ''up'' that 8$ and you probably can't withdraw under a certain amount to be sure you're stuck with 'em a lil or some time! lol.
And now I see another add telling about 11$ no deposit...
My question is...what's their trick? Like it's just totally illogical to just send virtual money into their system if it was to f**k up their ''internal economy'' you know. So what makes them able to compete with other major online poker sites by these means?
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Australia
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 6483
They're gambling on people taking those freebies raking, on average, more than the initial free amount. In theory - it's not virtual money they're pumping in - it's real money - because other people who win it can really withdraw it. So it's not like printing money IRL and inflating an economy.
Regarding people taking the freebies withdrawing - you're never allowed to withdraw any free money until you've earned the site (through rake) at LEAST an equal amount of money, by more usually - 2X-4X that amount of money/
Joined: Feb '11
Location: Canada
Age: 38 (M)
Posts: 3
Yeah yeah I get you, I know it still ''real money'' at the end. But yeah I didn't figure out it was just strictly the cie also gambling with their stats if it's telling them that those who take that offer generally reloose it in minutes! Lol
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Australia
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 6483
Think of it more like a stimulus package - pumping money into an economy - hoping to spur on even more spending. Rather than printing money and injecting into an economy and deflating the currency value - this can't happen in poker, because they don't really have "internal economies" they use real economies - most sites for example trade in US$ poker sites can't undermine the value of the US$ by putting their own money into the poker site. All they're doing is investing into their site - by boosting the amount of money circulating and by creating a lager player base.
As I say - it's a gamble - they need to balance the amount of their own money going in VS the rewards for them from doing so.
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Posted by Rewts: with their stats if it's telling them that those who take that offer generally reloose it in minutes! Lol
Thx for the info
Peace
Well - this is why these free bonuses are only available to certain countries - they DO use stats to determine which people (from which country) are most likely to make real money deposits in the future.
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Australia
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 6483
Posted by Rewts: Don't worry I was just using their ''internal economy'' as term. I understand all this bullcrap economic system we live in most of the world lol.
I understand it so far as I understand it's bullcrap
Posted by Rewts: My question is...what's their trick?
There is no real catch, as far as I've been able to tell. You get real money to play with, and if you make a profit, that profit is yours. The bonus itself becomes yours when you've generated enough rake to pay for it (several times over).
The "trick" is that on average you'll become addicted, and will deposit regularly to keep playing, or, if you become a winning player, you'll take the money from the "losers" (no judgement intended) that deposit regularly, thereby generating rake for the site.
You can also become a leech (like me), and never deposit, and just play freerolls. You'll make very little money, but still, one of the few ways to get money for free (for me about $100 per year)... Then again, I'm guessing its a fair approximation to say that no one gets rich playing poker (meaning a percentage close to 0).
You'll still need to play a raked hand every once in a while, or you'll get slapped with an "inactive account fee" (about $7 a month after 6 months of inactivity on Party).
Joined: May '09
Location: Spain
Age: 49 (M)
Posts: 1331
Hi Rewts.
No trick in the offers (except if the offer means that you don´t have the first deposit bonus). Little money for a possible player is a good bussiness for a site. You will pay it many times with rake the money they give to you.
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Portugal
Age: 44 (M)
Posts: 4827
If they don’t give you the chance to withdraw it before you play it, or before you reach a certain amount of points, that will mean you will be working for them, making money for them at their company, and after that they don’t mind you withdraw that money, which, at the beginning, seemed yours but, in fact, it wasn’t. If you spend it all at once, someone will win it, but that someone has exactly the same conditions you had in order to withdraw it. The generated rake is much more than some of us can imagine, and that gives them space to do campaigns like this. Think about this: there’s a bank in Portugal with what seems to be a great campaign. They have a product, a 4 months deposit, in which they give you the profit in advance, right after you go for that product. So you put there $1,000 and they instantly give you $47.50. Looks nice, but the truth is they will have total control from your $1,000 during 4 months and, when the time passes, all you get is the $1,000. Was it worth it? Of course yes, they only give that in advance because they know they will win even more with that, just like in poker.
