At the Top of Poker Instruction: CardRunners and StoxPoker Merge

CardRunners and StoxPoker have merged to form the most comprehensive poker training service featuring the largest library of training videos and deepest roster of top instructors available. Cardrunners.com and StoxPoker.com will be maintained as separate web properties with significant benefits for both existing and prospective members, including:

1. Zero-Cost Activation Fee: StoxPoker will drop the $99 sign-up fee for new members and offer a 33% discount for twelve month memberships.

2. Narrowly Focused Instruction: StoxPoker will continue to emphasize small- and mid-stakes games instruction through classroom-style learning, StoxPoker University, and personal coaching. Similarly, CardRunners will continue to deliver premier training services for advanced poker players, highlighted by its all-star roster of high-stakes instructors including Brian Townsend, Cole South, Brian Hastings and Taylor Caby.

3. Affordable Joint Memberships: CardRunners Gold members can add six months of StoxPoker for $118 and save 30%, or add a full year of StoxPoker for only $150 (a 55% discount). StoxPoker members can add 12 months of CardRunners for less than $22 per month on an annual basis.

To commemorate this historic partnership:

• Beginning on September 9, 2008, CardRunners will begin releasing thirteen instructional videos from the StoxPoker library to CardRunners Gold members. Ten instructional videos from CardRunners will be made available for StoxPoker subscribers over the coming weeks.

• A free 24-hour trial to CardRunners will be available starting on September 9, 2008 and ending on September 30, 2008. Simply text “cardrunners” to 32075 on your cell phone to receive your entry code and instructions.

"We're delighted to add breadth and depth to our poker training resources while delivering a decisive competitive advantage to more than 14,000 members," said Taylor Caby, co-founder of CardRunners. "Members now have two separate platforms to choose from as well as a no-sign up fee option which many customers have requested. Whether you are new to poker or playing nose-bleed stakes, we’ll make sure you’re ready with the top resources behind you."

“Stoxpoker Coaches and Customers now have more resources behind them than ever before,” said Nick “stoxtrader” Grudzien. “Our merger with CardRunners will deliver more value to our customers and allow our coaches to spend even more time on what they do best - produce well communicated training content for small and Mid-stakes players in almost all games.”

About Stoxpoker.com: Our world-class poker coaches, who won over $5,000,000 playing online in 2007, have a passion to teach the game of poker. We release an average of 10 instructional videos each week. Their formats range from classroom-style, with interactive quizzes, to traditional sessions, with critical narration of key hands, decisions, and concepts. Whatever the method, the goal is always to have the highest possible teaching value.

Visit http://www.stoxpoker.com for our announcement and answers to frequently asked questions

About CardRunners.com: CardRunners provides a wide variety of exclusive educational resources, all with the single-minded focus of developing winning poker players. CardRunners' original, dynamic and interactive content comes from some of the best poker minds—self-made poker millionaires who regularly beat the toughest games and excel at teaching. Now with more than 10,000 paying subscribers and hundreds of instructional videos, CardRunners continues to cement its role as the first choice in poker education.

Visit http://www.cardrunners.comfor our announcement and answers to frequently asked questions

Acquisition imo

Call it what you want, we are focusing on our content and customers. It doesn't matter whether it's an alliance/merger/acquisition, the ultimate test will be if we can continue to produce and deliver high quality poker instructional content at both websites. WE think we will be doing that and raising the bar as well.

I really hope nothing changes at Stox. Add coaches all you want, but I like it the way it is.

Deepdown-

The existing roster of Stox instructors will not be changing. The only changes are net positives: an impressive number of new hires to focus on small and mid-stakes instruction. This list can be found here:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/94...uctors-295397/

Also, the StoxPoker website will continue to be maintained by Nick and his team.

Ezra

I'm a stox member, and I am Italian. The free pass promotion is available in my country?

#2 kind of makes it sound like Stoxpoker DOESN'T have phenomenal players.

that certainly wasn't the intention, and i think most people know it's not the case. stox has some phenomenal coaches, it's just the focus of their instructional content going forward will be small and mid stakes (with some high stakes too), and the price of the subscription will reflect that.

taylor

i think so, but i'll make sure and get back to you.

taylor

+1 for being interested in the free pass promotion for European countries (Finland).

Jeesh, If you guys spent more time improving your (CR) site and less time on the marketing BS, maybe I wouldn't be canceling my membership. More does not = better! Surprised you guys (CR) can't quit figure that out. Maybe Stox is worth a look, CR certainly isn't.

I have read a lot of the threads concerning this merger and as always can't believe all of the negativity surrounding something that could be awesome. I guess I am lucky since I have been debating on signing up for Stox for the past few months and now its a no-brainer (without the signup fee). And for the record it will not be for their small stakes NL content. I guess what I am saying is thank you Taylor for "making" me ANOTHER $99.

P.S. Someone please rescue Ansky and some of the other ridiculously good talent on pokers... from another training site. Don't merge on that one, just absorb. Thanks.

nice move , i ll definitely be subscribing to stox now .whats Stox's HUNL content like ?

+2 I'm based in the UK and would be interested in more details of the free trail promo. Can it be activated from a UK moblie/cell phone

so I'm a CR member and a former Stox member. I want to renew my Stox, so I can do this at no fee and a discount, correct. Now when I let my CR membership expire, if I someday want to reactivate it, do I then get to do so with no fee and a discount?

(and yes I'm aware I can purchase a joint membership, but say I don't. Then is the above correct?)

It's currently a bit sparse.

So exactly how much does a dual membership for 12 months cost?

Thanks

Bingo.

One great video is better then 10 good videos. Ramp up the quality and release less filler garbage please.

The people saying this are way over the line imo. Sure, they released some mediocre videos and hired coaches who arent great, but you can find a lot of gems in their collection. You dont have to watch every video they produce, look for the ones from the coaches you trust are good. For the prize you can get their membership you would get what? 1/2 hour of personal coaching? I dont think it's right to berate people whose hour rate is way bigger than what they get from shooting a video or two.

have you visited the site lately? the content we have been pumping out lately is phenomenal....member feedback has been overwhelmingly positve to the changes we have made over the past 2.5 weeks. seriously...

Taylor

im super surprised by this, maybe because i fail to see the upside to it. a little bit of competition never hurt anyone. in fact, it seemed like not having a monopoly anylonger was the only way cardrunners was really willing to make the necessary improvements to their site.

DoGGz-

Please check out our videos since we went to a video schedule format with more multi-part series about three weeks ago.

The coaches we've added are incredibly good, and people really seem to be loving the changes we've made.

Both Verneer's small-stakes series and [vital]myth's MSNL series are two of the highest rates and most interesting formats we've ever put out on the website.

As for "filler," we will still continue to release PLO, MTT, SNG, and Limit hold'em content. But you will see a clear emphasis on advanced 6-Max NLHE content, and other games will be instructed by phenomenal players in their respective fields.

Ezra

There is no shortage of competition IMO. We are all working harder and smarter due to it.

So you're saying...If I concentrate, primarily, on PLO and mtt's/sng's I should move on if I desire regular content?
I guess it's OK to some. But prolly a waste of money just to get the fluff and filler.

JJB-

We will still be releasing PLO, MTT, and Limit vids every single week.

For example, this week has Lefty continuing his PLO series "Omaha Ain't Just for Euros Anymore," Stellarwind continuing his "I Bet You...The Minimum" Limit series, JSchnett starting a "It's All About the Final Table" series concentrating on lower buyin MTTs and 180-man SNGs, as well as Part 2 of Schneids' "Million Dollar Bankrolls" and a bonus Stox vid from The Bryce.

We should also be having some top notch new SNG and MTT series in the coming weeks as well.

Ezra