Poker News

John Carlisle

Most of us dread the first day at a new job. We can’t sleep well the night before as our minds are jumbled with nervousness and anticipation. We try to project what the morning may bring. We wonder what our coworkers will be like. Will they be kind and helpful? Our mind then wanders to questioning ourselves, if we will belong at this new place of employment. We seldom fret about the actual responsibilities of the job itself. It seems that the job duties are actually secondary to the psychological comfort we seek. The mind is most at ease with the known. We seek patterns, normalcy, and a basic sense of belonging.

This psychological principle holds very true in the poker rooms, too. It is the exact principle that online and traditional card rooms rely upon for your continuing business. Marketing professionals do their best to familiarize the masses with their poker room well before you actually enter the website or live card room. They make it appear as inviting and unthreatening as possible in their room. Their ads have us believe that inside there is nothing but fun and hassle-free play. The best marketing campaigns will make one feel as if they know all about the room (the atmosphere, flow of play, appearance, etc.) even though they’ve never been there before.

In the online world, website designers are paid big money to make the site soothing yet engrossing. Some of the more progressive websites are activity looking to increase player loyalty by making players feel like they are truly valued. Blake Mycoskie, a former contestant on the hit CBS show The Amazing Race, is now the spokesperson for online poker room Green Tie Poker.”We have created a concierge service with a network of six cities where we’ve aligned with the top club promoters and hotel maitre-d. We have connections in L.A., New York, Miami, San Francisco, San Diego, and Vegas (most importantly). If you have twenty five dollars in your account you have VIP status. So say you have friends and you don’t want to wait in line to get into the Hard Rock’s Body English club —- you’re never gonna get in there on a Friday night with three guys — but with our concierge service we’ll get you in.” This type of service mentality is sure to become a popular strategy as online poker rooms seek continued business. Blake explained, “That (concierge service) is the first step, and I know that a lot of online sites will follow us. As things get more competitive, you’re going to see more services online like you see from the land-based casinos.” Green Tie executives know that the future of poker involves landing the loyal customers. Blake revealed, “We need to create the right environment for online players. One, we want greater ’stickiness’ rather than players bouncing around to the next greatest bonus code. Two, they’ll form more of a relationship with the site. Let’s give them more than a place to play poker.”

Land-based casinos, online poker rooms, and marketing executives are looking for a way to get you to say, “That’s my card room.”They’d love to have you settle into their brand for continued loyalty. If you find one that feels right to you, by all means feel free to play. Don’t be lulled into a comfort zone that keeps you from exploring other options, though. In other words, never play on a website or land based casino simply because it is familiar to you in surroundings and comfort. Play at a casino or website that gives you the most benefit, has the most beatable players, and has the house rules that suit your tastes. Don’t allow the ad executives to influence your play.

Now go make it happen.

Filed under: Poker News