Will we be able to make cross-site transfers? Both play chip and real money?

any screen shots of the new ftp software?

Shyam said it was exactly the same as June 2011 so no changes.

+1

Will they add a ''hide from search feature'' thing like on Stars?

Hopefully not. It thought it was always nice to be able to check how many tables someone is playing.

Yes, details are on the front page!

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback so far on the new rewards program. I realize we haven't given enough information yet about the program for most of you to accurately assess how much better or worse this program is for your specific situation compared to the old system, but we just aren't ready to share all of the details yet. They will all be available at least a few days before re-launch, so there will be plenty of time to get a much more accurate picture of where things stand.

In case you missed it, we announced this week the addition of Tom Dwan and Viktor Blom to our team. That's it in terms of new Professionals that will be joining us before re-launch. Thanks for the very positive feedback on the team so far, we're all excited to start seeing them in action again.

To the questions:

1. Will you have a reload or new deposit bonus when FTP comes back?

- The first time deposit bonus will still be there. As far as other bonuses go, our re-launch promotion hasn't been announced yet, but news is coming in the next couple of weeks.

2. You will have to add new programs on top of this to stay competitive and you're already alluding to Black Card returning.

- The current plan has a promotion called "Black Card" returning, but it will be entirely different. Nobody should be counting on that promotion as something that will increase their total giveback.

3. Is there anything above Black Card in the works and/or will there be tiers?

- No, there is nothing currently in the works at or above Black Card level of play. That doesn't mean that such a thing will never exist, it just means nothing is currently in the works. And yes, there will be tiers in the new program.

4. What kind of compensation can we expect for 40+ Continuing Months and our Medals?

- Iron Man Medals will be converted to FTPs at a rate of 50 FTPs per Medal. As far as Continuing Months goes, that's part of the "leg up" I mentioned in the last post. All of those details will be announced in the next couple of weeks.

5. Will FTP offer a SNG Leaderboard again?

- Yes, the SNG Leaderboard will continue.

6. Are all of our points worth $2.50/100 FTP?

- No, your old points are worth the same as they were last year, with the caveat that if you had rakeback you will no longer be charged anything for using those points. Newly earned (base) FTPs will increase your weekly cash reward by up to $2.50 per 100 FTPs (and actually it's earned per point, so it's really up to 2.5c per FTP).

7. Is the first tier going to be Bronze?

- It is, but not because of PokerStars. Iron Man also started at Bronze (and so do about a million other rewards programs out there). Olympic medals are just an instantly recognized tiered system.

8. Will Full Tilt Poker have a service such as "Home Games" in PokerStars?

- There are currently no plans for a full on integrated "Home Games" feature like PokerStars has, although we do plan on having most (if not all) of the functionality of Home Games available to our players at some stage.

9. Will there be any Cash-out tournaments as this was unique to Full Tilt Poker?

- Unless there is significant demand, this is one of the few game types we don't plan on having when we come back that we had when we went down. Players in general didn't seem to care much for the format.

10. What percentage of people actually had 27% rakeback on the old Full Tilt Poker?

- Under a third. The fact that this new rewards program will be available to 100% of our players is a large reason we ultimately went in this direction.

11. Is it 7 points per $1 or 10? I thought it was 7.

- It's 10 FTPs per $1 in rake. This was changed in September of 2010.

12. So about the Mid Year Bonus payout, is this something we will have to release by increments and have to put in the volume to release it? Or just a straight deposit in our account off the bat?

- It works just like all the other Iron Man Mid-Year and End-Of-Year bonuses. It's tracked on a web site, and is released in full when you clear the whole thing. If you don't clear the whole thing by the end of the clearance period, you will get whatever you did clear.

13. If I'm an Estonian who has relocated, can I somehow send the proof of my address before the site opens, so the real money games would be available?

- Yes. Contact support and they will be able to help get you set up.

14. Will our accounts on PS and FTP be linked in the VIP Progam? So if we earn FTPs on Full Tilt Poker, will they give me VPPs simultaneously?

- No, the two programs are separate.

15. I think it's going to be bad for low volume grinders. All sites including stars pay like 10% rakeback while FTP used to give everyone 27%.

- By "everyone" you mean "everyone who had affiliate-paid rakeback," which is a significant difference. If we take the lowest tier in the new program that gives weekly cash rewards and pretend that group existed in June of last year, just 30% of the players in that group had rakeback.

16. What are the criteria for determining which ROW players will have to verify via paperwork? Or do all of us have to?

- We want to ensure that only the true owner of each account is able to access, withdraw and make real money transfers. The higher your balance, the more likely it is you'll end up having to send in documents. For players with lower balances, logging in with the same computer or IP address you used to log in with will lower the chances you'd have to send anything in.

17. Will the play money balances also be the same?

- Yep.

18. Will we be able to make cross-site transfers? Both play chip and real money?

- You will be able to make inter-site transfers, yes. However, it will be for real money only.

There has been some confusion over the email that went out to affiliates earlier this week. To clear up a couple of questions from players: If you had affiliate-paid rakeback, you will still be paid the rakeback you were due at the end of June, 2011. In addition, previous rakeback payments, refer-a-friend, cash bonuses, or any other promotional payments are not impacted in any way.

As far as affiliate specific questions, I'm not in a position to answer those. You'll have to write to the email address provided in the email that went out for any clarification.

Say you want to meet a minimum quota on each site for VIP/rakeback/FTP reasons. Could you have a roll on Tilt, play it until you meet the quota you want for that day then transfer your roll to stars and play there until you meet your quota there? And do this day after day so you only need one roll online and take advantage of both reward systems?

One assumes that there will be transfer limits just like player transfers have. Surely it makes more sense to split your roll in half and top up with transfers when needed. Unless you're a raving degen who puts his whole roll on the table

Shyam...can you answer my question please

I get the idea that it's unfair if only 30% of people are getting weekly flat rakeback. But why penalize the 30% of people by cutting their share.. just make it 25% flat out to everyone. If there is no higher tier it won't cost that much more. Seriously this is just huge money grab. I was so happy for FTP to return. I play randomly LHE and they have some games (or atleast had). In LHE RB plays a HUGE part.

I'd rather play on crappy software with huge RB. It's sad

Why don't you just give everyone the 27% then?

Tiered systems suck for everyone who doesn't grind for hours per day and kill games IMO.

Best idea, kill any VIP/rakeback system and drop the rake by 30-40%.

the new system will probably be the reason i will transfer the role to stars and spend my time there. this up to 25% is total BS

and i know, that alot of regs will do the same

That'll show 'em, lol. The same people will still be getting your money.

lol

It all seems like there is no long term plan for Full Tilt. Just get it running and let it go to ****. They (Stars) got DoJ out of their backs with this deal and now they can just run Full Tilt to the ground. This is just BS. Boycotting FTP will do no good since they really don't care anyway.

What's the lol part? Cake used to give out 30% (or was it 35%) to everyone.

E: yes I know the Cake had higher rake but still.

Seems like the opposite to me. Get it running as fast as possible, get people paid back, then see what the traffic is like and tailor future offerings to what works best for the site.

+1.

Shyam, you say approx. 30% were receiving rakeback. Is alienating 30% of your pre-installed player pool right off the bat a good idea?

old FTP: 30% of players got 27% rakeback; 70% of players got 0% rakeback

new FTP: 100% of players get 27% rakeback

Can you see how this may be an unattractive option to the new owners?

it's not that black and white.. most people got something due to ironman and the store. Also those with rakeback also got more than 27% due to same reasons.

Ok those who got something from ironman deffo gonna hit the 25% mark I'm sure. But I personally would be happy with 25% and no hit on the store purchases as long as electronics and stuff like that comes back to the store.

But I just know the lowest tier will be 0% and that sucks. Even 5% sucks. And it will probably go like $0/100, $0,5/100, $1/100, etc..

+1 i loved the old rakeback system on ftp.

i will be cashing out purely because of the new system

wtf are you talking

the fact that your rake will be going to the same company and stars vip is just as bad for a casual player.

What do people do to get re-verified who have moved out of the US since ROW? Should we email support or wait for them to email us?