Quote:
Originally Posted by splayaa
I think you will find that we are actually very similar on our opinions and what we want to see achieved. Where we differ is on how we get there.
I have been married now for 18 years. I know, I am old...
There's a chance I'm older than you. Also married, and as I said... was working on the inside (to a degree) of the industry before the boom, during, after. So I got an upfront view of things - sometimes from very key players in what all went down. So, this is a hobby for me... have a career, make good money, just love the game and want to see it take hold again just like you.
To your comments, I do think I've raised specific questions and I get that broad generalities aren't always useful. We're on the same page there. I also realize that I'm newer to GP and may have missed some chatter around here over the months.
So specifically to your point - I'll focus on a couple issues...
Player funds: Must be segregated and this must be provable.
I get that beggars can't be choosers, right? We have no options in the U.S. outside of GP so the mindset is often... "don't ask too many questions."
But in reality, GP calls themselves a social gaming site, and that's fine. But there still has to be clarity that they are not dependent on deposits. Why? Because any time you're dependent on deposits... it leads to fraud. (Full Tilt.) If your business model depends on deposits, manipulation of cards (etc) is always going to be suspected. However if the model is provably dependent on rake or a true sweepstakes model like most fantasy sports betting sites, there's no need to manipulate how the cards are being dealt. Full Tilt blew through their money and we'll never know, but I suspect algorithms were in place to increase deposits by the end. (And that's not sour grapes, I was a mildly winning player at low stakes playing for fun and knew a lot of the folks there.)
So, this is an issue that must have 100% clarity. Does it? Not that I've seen yet.
Will we get an answer on that? Maybe not. I get that they don't "owe us" anything. But, as consumers... we have to at least seek out the best info.
Player Statistics: This has to improve
Again, they can claim social gaming status... but the ability to see who you're playing with is a big deal. In the cash games, there's nothing to say that I'm not sitting there playing with a table full of bots or shill accounts. If they're going to dip their toe in the water of cash poker, the players have to be able to have some information. Solution? Either provide all info on all players themselves... or make sure that their algorithm is Sharkscope-friendly for example. (And if that's a Sharkscope issue... GP should be reaching out to them to ensure they get all info on their players.)
As far as I can tell, I can't even realistically check my own stats there. I have no idea what my 3bet % is, or my equity when I flop 2 pair. HUD's won't run... and GP doesn't offer even personal stat options for players.
Again, not only does that make the game more fun... it creates full transparency.
That helps GP's model gain trust and new users as well.
Those are two of the bigger ones off the top of my head. There are minor things like... when a promotion is over on the 25th of December, take the banners down before the 4th of January. That makes me wonder what kind of staff is really over there?
But again - if I didn't think GP had a ton of potential, I wouldn't care to comment on all of this. So, we're on the same page.