PartyPoker Introduces Further Innovations, Removes Bounty Rake

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Friday, April 20th, 2018 | Written by Lucy Brown

PartyPoker has long tried to differentiate itself from its competition by becoming known as the listening site in which the input from its customers are fully taken into account before implementing any major decisions. Over the years, its efforts to improve customer satisfaction have included banning heads-up displays (HUDs), abolishing various fees, and revamped software to significantly improve its players’ experience.

Recently, the site subsequently announced yet another player inspired innovation, this time with its MTT customers set to benefit from less rake and bigger bounties, with the new arrangement kicking off on May 6th, coinciding with the start of its POWERFEST online tournament series, which offers a guaranteed $40 million prize pool across 366 events.

Player Savings

The site’s latest change involves removing the additional rake charged on the bounty element of Progressive Knockout Tournaments (PKO) featured on PartyPoker, with the policy intended to be made permanent if enough support is received from the poker community. The innovation will apparently result in a 40-60% cost reduction to players, while also increasing the value of bounties by between 4% and 12%.

Feedback Key

Once again, customer feedback helped inspire the rake reduction move, with Patrick Leonard (photo) playing an integral part in liaising between his sponsor and their customers, and ultimately persuading PartyPoker to implement the changes. As he explained via a tweet:

“I lobbied very hard with the team at PartyPoker, explained all sides, the pros, the cons (it’s v expensive!!) and showed from a players point of view that this isn’t fair and I would certainly not feel comfortable representing a company that agreed with what I said but wouldn’t change it.”

The site also acknowledged the lobbying efforts made by Leonard in the process, who has been a PartyPoker ambassador since joining the site in 2016, and as he announced after the initiative was adopted:

“Today I am very proud to say I represent PartyPoker.”

Compelling Brand Story

PartyPoker boasts a sizeable team of ambassadors, all of whom play a significant role in building goodwill for the site by directly listening to their community of players, and promoting the brand through word of mouth. Over the years, however, Patrick Leonard has shown that he is as interested in developing the overall ecosystem of poker rather than just his sponsored site, distinguishing him as one of the most outstanding ambassadors currently involved in the game.

PokerStars, on the other hand, has experienced a great deal of negative publicity in recent times, with the site having been accused of not taking the concerns of its professional players seriously. While Team PokerStars pro Daniel Negreanu has tried his best to act as a liaison between the site and its players, things have not always gone smoothly with Negreanu having been accused of putting PokerStars’ views first over that of its customers.

The difference in approach has seen PartyPoker gain ground on PokerStars, but there also comes an appreciation that no operator can take on the world’s biggest poker room without first securing the support of the poker community. Commenting upon the latest decision to offer rake free bounties on their Progressive Knockout MTTs, gaming analyst Lee Davy stated that it clearly showed that PartyPoker is the brand most interested in representing the interests of players, but that in return it needed player support in order for its revenues to remain competitive. This also explains why PartyPoker will implement the change for six months before deciding to make it permanent, with Tom Waters, Managing Director of PartyPoker, commenting:

“PokerStars and the rest are not doing what we’re doing. They don’t care about you as we do. But if you don’t reciprocate with your loyalty. We will be locked in a race to the bottom on price, and we will lose against a giant like Stars. So have faith in us as we show faith in you, or we will go back to the way we were.”

Live Satellite $$$

This month, PartyPoker also announced the creation of PartyPoker LIVE $$$ (PPL$$$), which is a new currency designed to give players greater flexibility when entering PartyPoker LIVE event, as well as World Series of Poker (WSOP) and Grand Prix tournaments.

Players winning online satellites can then use the money for live tournament buy-ins, travel and expenses, with the only requirement being that the PPL$$$ must be spent within a year of receiving it. Once again, player input helped inspire the development, with PartyPoker LIVE President John Duthie saying that one of the most common gripes expressed by players about winning online satellites through to LIVE events was becoming “locked into specific events when circumstances may change. Enter PPL$$$.”