Problems with Free Poker

I started to play 'free' poker a few years ago now in Tasmania, Australia with APL a free poker provider. I have since played with two other providers NPL poker and OzPokerTour overall the experience has been fun.

Individual providers

APL
I have played most of my live poker with APL (Australian Poker League) this provider claims to be the biggest poker league in the world and before each game the operator reminds everyone of this fact. APL operates in Australia and New Zealand.

My personal experience with APL has been that it provides an adequate service. I have made some great friends and met some interesting characters playing with APL. Equipment wise this company leaves a lot to be desired. The chairs are uncomfortable to say the least and for more heavily built people than myself they are downright dangerous I have seen at least 2 chairs collapse under the weight of average size people. Tables after a few years of use are starting to look worn and 'tired'. Depending on where you are seated at the tables it can be uncomfortable to be stuck next to a table leg.

Prizes offered by APL in my opinion need some revision. At the time of writing this article (23rd Nov 2009) the nightly prizes at venues I play is a small flat card holder trophy. While this is unique and fun to collect I hear from a lot of fellow players that they would like to see cash prizes in addition to the trophy on a nightly basis.

APL does hold regional finals monthly and state finals every 3 months and an annual tournament for winners and runners up from the state finals. Personally I did finish second in the Tasmanian State finals 2 years ago this entitled me to entry into the Tournament of Champions held in Sydney.

The problem with this system as I see it is a lot of funds are are available for the winners of the annual Tournament of Champions, hundreds of thousands possibly more depending on the sponsors for that year. (The event is currently sponsored by Full Tilt Poker ) I would like to see these sponsored funds directed more to nightly venue prizes rather than a few players who are fortunate enough to make the finals of the annual Tournament.

In my circumstances even though I won entry into the Sydney Tournament of Champions I still had to pay for my trip to Sydney and accommodation out of my own pocket which did not leave much change out of $2k.

Chip Ups

Free poker providers claim that their service is free and that you can play for free once you start playing you soon realize this is not really the case unless you like playing at a severe disadvantage to other players.

In order to obtain a chip up of 2,000 in chips most APL locations require that you pay $10 - $14 for drink food or Gambling in the venue. This amount of chips almost doubles the normal amount of chips that anyone receives for playing the tournament so you can see that it is a huge advantage for players that decide to chip up especially in the early stages of a tournament.

In venues that offer meals this is not really a problem. However my main concern is in venues that I play that do not offer meals like Latrobe RSL Tasmania. This venue has virtually no gambling or meals on nights that I play. This encourages players to spend $14 on alcohol just to get their chip ups. Now spending this much on alcohol over a short period of time would in my opinion put people close to being over the limit if they are going to drive. I think most players would need to drive in order to attend venues for poker, except maybe for a few lucky players that live close by in walking distance.

NPL & OzPokerTour

I have only played a couple of games with these providers so I am not going to comment extensively. However I would say that seating and table conditions were very impressive at OzPokerTour. NPL was also good at the game I attended in Melbourne.

Overall

Despite which free poker game you attend they all have basically the same setup. A pub or venue pays the poker provider an amount depending on the number of players they bring into the venue.

The poker provider then offers additional chip ups to players that spend up big in that venue.

My concern is that the overall concept of free poker is that it is encouraging people to drink possibly to the state that they are over the legal driving limit just to play poker. I am not against drinking as such. Personally I have an occasional drink of alcohol but usually stick to soft drink. I think it is up to individuals as to how much and what they drink. I realize that free poker providers need to make a profit for them to operate. However I consider it not desirable, that these poker operators are creating a situation where there is peer group pressure for people to drink in order for them to play 'Free Poker'.

This is how I would like to see the system operate. Do not provide chip ups for alcohol or gambling purchases. Leave it up to individuals as to what money they spend in a venue, I am sure most reasonable people will still make some purchases in that venue without being coerced into making payment for alcohol or gambling which they otherwise would not do.

I am sure there would still be adequate profit for the venue and the poker provider.

Philip Rickwood
info@afhit.com

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