13 Areas for Improvement in 2013 @ SkyPoker

rosjim1

In Response to Re: 13 Areas for Improvement in 2013 @ SkyPoker:

In Response to Re: 13 Areas for Improvement in 2013 @ SkyPoker : but no ante's means he can fold for longer until he gets QQ+ duh
Posted by pryce6

  You must be one on the lucky ones who get dealt qq+ then ohhh to be a privileged Player like you.

GaryQQQ

Excellent thread.

Speaking as a low stakes tournament player the following appeal to me the most;

1. Antes would be great, long overdue.

2. The odd bet sizing issue needs to be fixed, it's easy to make a mistake on Sky when you're also playing on other sites

3. The notes box is inadequate, needs to be at least 3x bigger imo

Personally I'm happy with payout structures, particularly since the recent tweak that eliminated ridiculously small min-cashes. I have no interest in a deal facility or a timebank. The software has improved noticebly on Sky Poker over recent months with the introduction of things like syncho breaks, but I feel there's still some way to go before it'll stand up well when compared to the big industry leaders.

FlashFlush

Personally I think ante's are not needed at all on Sky. Ante's are only relevant in slow structured games. Sky is 6 handed where nearly all games are 10-12 minute blinds. You're in the blinds almost twice as often on a 6 handed table than you are on a 10 seated tourney. Antes in a 6 handed 10 minute blind tournament would be insane and just a crap-shoot.

What I think a lot of you are missing is Sky are a little different to the other big sites. They have not been around as long as these other sites so do not have all the "Bells and whistles" as Tikay would say. If this keeps a large chunk of grinders and pro's off the site then surely that's better for the players... The recreational player will go to a site that is advertised the most. OK maybe Sky doesn't advertise as much as other sites, but they have their own channel where you can interact with the studio and get your 5 minutes of fame on TV, the beginners love it! Where as the serious players will go to where the site makes it easy for them to play, has all the up-to-date softeware and game styles.

As a player, who wants to make money, I would choose a site full of recreational players anyday, but the quicker Sky "catch-up" with these bigger sites the quicker the grinders will jump aboard and bust recreational players and stop it being enjoyable for them.

As I see it, Sky should be the one's wanting the new updates ASAP to get the rakeback grinders on the site and the players should be trying to slow it down to keep the site as soft as possible.

Am I really the only 1 with that opinion?

unknown_username

over half this stuff i agree with defo

waller02

In Response to Re: 13 Areas for Improvement in 2013 @ SkyPoker:

Firstly, very good thread.  It's refreshing and very welcome to see someone post in a constructive manner about these sorts of issues.  While I agree with some and disagree with other points in the OP, it should always be respected when someone puts forward an argument in this manner.  Kudos. 1) MTT Payout Structure While the structure needs tweaking I really like the 10% paid and a top heavy table.  You mention the other popular site, I think they pay out far too wide personally.  You make a good point about recreational players getting pay outs and to keep circulating the poker economy.  However on this site they have addressed this by the vast amount of Bounty Hunter MTTs.  Love them or loathe them (there are plenty of people in both of those sections) they allow the recreational play to make a profit or get some sort of return on a regular basis.  If you stretch out the payout structure then you have to eliminate a good portion of these from the schedule IMO.  Half the prize pool is already taken away, you need the top heavy payout table to have the numbers up top to attract a good portion of people to play IMO. 2) Deals at Final Tables I can take or leave this.  If they were introduced then they would have to be automated (I think one of the smaller big sites either has or had this, haven't played there for a bit).  I really don't fancy handing this over to a non-poker CS rep so if it was by a poker moderator then I hope they were dedicated to this role. 3) Freerolls It seems to be pretty split if there are too many or too few freerolls here, seen arguments both ways.  I agree with you that freerolls for grinding is a good idea.  I'd like to see the leaderboard back for MTT and SnG players.  MTTs are hugely popular and if you have a run on a leaderboard then you are more likely to play more.  SnGs provide a big chunk of rake and to encourage the SnG grinder a monthly leaderboard (be it BoP or something else) with a decent freeroll or prize at the end of it would be great, might inject some life into the playerpool as well which seems, IMO, to be waning for the £55ers+ 4) Good Promos vs Bad Promos I really like EB and Happy Hours.  Then again I usually start tables and always continue 3/2 handed when tables are breaking so I would say that.  I like the Jackpot one as well, the only tweak it's do would be to make the consolation prize available for anyone who wins the mini and FTs the Main as well.  The JP is a grower of a promotion and the longer it goes unclaimed, the more attention it will get.  Sky promote it on TV, Social Media and emails massively (rightly so, it's a hook for potential new players/lapsed accounts). I think they have to be careful of over doing pure rake races.  Every promo lately seems to be a rake race.  The occasional one (such as the treasure chest one last Jan) are great for turning rake over.  The games do become Reg infested though, it's a tricky balance.  I'd like to see the new TSP set up and new leaderboard promos very soon (but not until they are ready). I've been called a Sky fanboy before and I obviously love the site and community.  However if I had one criticism it would be that osme ideas are not seen all the way through or forgotten about.  TSP was a great idea, but it wasn't pushed enough after the first quarter or so.  The UK Cash game is great, we were told about all the plans for new ones yet they haven't happened.  Showing games on a 5 min delay at times other than the live shows was trialled, bigged up and stopped.  SkyPoker are all about new ideas, it's one of the reasons I love playing here.  It just seems sometimes instead of seeing one idea all of the way through it's on to the next new thing. 5) New vs Old Tables Pretty much agree here.  Personally I don't like Cap tables.  As Beaneh said earlier they might need to be given a chance and if PLO was pushed then I can see their use.  I don't like ot play FR but there's obviously a market for it and it would be nice to see them available.  I'd go 9 handed rather than 10 though. 6) High Stakes Action Run before walk IMO.  If £10/£20 regularly ran, there'd be higher soon enough.  If regs at £10/£20 requested higher, I think we'd see it. 7) Bumhunting The oldest problem in online poker IMO.  There have been a ton of threads already on this subject so I don't really want to go into it here otherwise it derails everything else you've written.  My stand point - I don't do it, I can understand why people do it, I think it hurts the game and poker economy, if there was a solution I'd like to see it. 8) Faulty Chat + Faulty/Small Note Taking + Small bugs around the site Completely agree with what you have put under this one.  The note facility for me needs urgent attention. 9) AutoPostBB + SitOutNextBB + Preferred Seat + Default Buy-in/Auto Top-up I'd like to see preferences when you sit at a table (check APBB/Wait etc).  The little bug that cancels a hand when a new player is on the button isn't a big deal but it's a personal annoyance of mine.  Don't think preferred seat is a biggy but auto top up is something I can see people would like.  I wouldn't use it myself (I'm very root canal about recording every penny on my spreadsheet.  Yes I know I could check my account before standing but I like doing it my way, my own neurosis). 10) Resizable Tables + Solid Tiling/Stacking + Custom Avatars Resizable tables would be nice but I don't think they'd be the boon everyone thinks they'll be.  Tiling sorting out I agree with.  I don't think custom avatars will happen here but I'd certainly like to see more, including an avatar for each of the teams on SkyPoker 11) Run It Twice + Different Variants Run it twice isn't needed IMO, then again I never have it enabled on the other site.  As far as variants goes it's a site designed for recs more than regs, most recs like to play hold em.  If PLO and PLO8 got properly established then yes I would push for more games such as the studs of this world.  I'd like to play here long enough to play Badugi here (love that game). 12) Timebank I've addressed this one before.  I'd like to see it for cash only but that would be hugely unfair on the tournament players here and put fuel on the fire of those who believe SkyPoker gears all of their promos/changes around cash players.  I really dislike the timebank, I think people over use it and that other popular site has a real problem with.  Late on in a MTT some of the TBs are so huge I've lost levels waiting for people to get back from the toilet.  If one was brought it it needs a ceiling amount of time in it, with the +x secs not going higher than a certain point.  Plus you've got to click it to activate it, not just have it roll out when you're AFK.  If something workable is put together which doesn't hurt the enjoyment of the games here for the recs by slowing they down too much then I'd be all for it.13) STT Love Agree with everything you've put. 14) Odd Bet Sizing + Hand Histories Yes needs looking at.  The bet buttons in the blinds need to be sorted.  Would be nice to make them custom as well but there are more important things to put in first. Again Smity, great thread Sir.
Posted by TommyD

Agree with pretty much all of this....especially the timebanks. Timebanks are often used needlessly and slow down the game so much at times that the enjoyment factor is ruined....big pet hate for me!

bearlyther

I understand that there are a lot of people on other sites who take the hand out of a time bank on other sites eg going to the toilet and timing the clock down getting close to the bubble.  However i think it is neccassary to add extra time  that you currentely get for each decision.  I can comfertably play 6 tables on here but i am able to play more on other sites as you get more time for your decisions.

waller02

In Response to Re: 13 Areas for Improvement in 2013 @ SkyPoker:

I understand that there are a lot of people on other sites who take the hand out of a time bank on other sites eg going to the toilet and timing the clock down getting close to the bubble.  However i think it is neccassary to add extra time  that you currentely get for each decision.  I can comfertably play 6 tables on here but i am able to play more on other sites as you get more time for your decisions.
Posted by bearlyther

Like all the points mentioned, it's a difficult one to change or improve and keep everyone happy. I think a timebank would be abused, especially near the bubble.

Maybe add an extra 2-5secs to the exisiting timebar??? I dunno......

bearlyther

Think it would be a good idea to remove the capped tables imo as some players will play in the capped games but if the capped games wernt on the site they would play in the normal game instead therefore therefore the normal tables wont have as many games going and running as it could because there will be players playing the capped game.

bearlyther

At the moment there is only 4 50nl regular games going yet there is 2 capped games at this level.  If the capped games were removed these players would play the normal game most likely

Lambert180

In Response to Re: 13 Areas for Improvement in 2013 @ SkyPoker:

At the moment there is only 4 50nl regular games going yet there is 2 capped games at this level.  If the capped games were removed these players would play the normal game most likely
Posted by bearlyther

To be fair, that might be better for you but not necessarily them. Some people might be happy short stacking against other people forced to short stack with them, but don't wanna do it v 100xBB stacks so just don't play 50NL.

Obv you want the shortstacking fish on your table (hence you not liking capped tables) but themz da beatz