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The Men In Suits
Jul. 18th, 2010 01:00 pmAbout nine years ago I think I said that I trusted Paradise Poker to be honest more than I did my bank. And it was something I meant. I generated good income for them. There were probably only about 20,000 active players (I still remember the 50 millionth hand promotion, which at the time got a record 3,000 people logged in at the same time -- compared with the 180,000 you get these days at the weekend on Pokerstars) and Paradise treated you well. You dealt with real people who understood poker.
But, times changed. First there was the Ultimate Bet "superuser" scandal, and then the concept of "poker skins" developed. Not only did this change the economic dynamic of online poker sites (where there is one host of the technical stuff, and a number of "agents" who run the front ends for the punters) but it also brought in a few fly-by-nights. As is always the case when there's money around, some shady characters emerged.
But Pokerstars remained aloof from this, and it profited from it. First it overtook Party Poker as the biggest site, and then it moved on to dominate. From bing the place where people went for tournaments, it became the home of choice for the 2+2 multi-table grinder.
Then, when the UIGEA laws came in, Pokerstars did not bottle it, as did the by-now listed Party Poker (the men in suits got in there early and did their best to totally fuck it up). And Pokerstars did prosper goodly.
But, around the end of last year, things seemed to change. Basically, Pokerstars had become too big, and it wanted to become bigger. It was targeting the emerging nations, a fertile collection of fields as far as it was concerned. Many of the poker guys who had been there a long time began to feel that they were outnumbered by the new "numbers" guys who were coming in. The men in suits had taken over.
( a couple of frightening tales )
But, times changed. First there was the Ultimate Bet "superuser" scandal, and then the concept of "poker skins" developed. Not only did this change the economic dynamic of online poker sites (where there is one host of the technical stuff, and a number of "agents" who run the front ends for the punters) but it also brought in a few fly-by-nights. As is always the case when there's money around, some shady characters emerged.
But Pokerstars remained aloof from this, and it profited from it. First it overtook Party Poker as the biggest site, and then it moved on to dominate. From bing the place where people went for tournaments, it became the home of choice for the 2+2 multi-table grinder.
Then, when the UIGEA laws came in, Pokerstars did not bottle it, as did the by-now listed Party Poker (the men in suits got in there early and did their best to totally fuck it up). And Pokerstars did prosper goodly.
But, around the end of last year, things seemed to change. Basically, Pokerstars had become too big, and it wanted to become bigger. It was targeting the emerging nations, a fertile collection of fields as far as it was concerned. Many of the poker guys who had been there a long time began to feel that they were outnumbered by the new "numbers" guys who were coming in. The men in suits had taken over.
( a couple of frightening tales )
