Poker for Fun: A New Online Direction

PainMaker bets $5,765,887.98 …. everybody at the table anxiously waits as Carlos22 contemplates the bet. Suddenly, Carlos raises $43,983,996.63. It's exactly what PainMaker was waiting for and he immediately goes all-in with $374,980,021.55.

No, it's not the Saturday night game at the Billionaires Club but it is very, very exciting.

Carlos22 casually folds and posts the $250,000 blind for the next hand. New cards are quickly dealt to all 10 players at the table and the action starts again.

Welcome to Skillride.com, the first subscription service fun play poker site on the internet. Are you kidding, a subscription service fun play poker site? Don't be too quick to make a judgment. Online poker is a crazy industry and there have been huge changes in the past year alone.

Five years ago who would have imagined that there would be several online poker sites with tens of thousands of players each? The Red Sox would break the 86-year-old curse of the Bambino? Al Gore would be the main star in an Oscar winning movie? In five years from now you personally may have subscriptions at several play for fun poker sites.

Skillride.com is owned and operated by AceKicker.com Holdings Inc. We sat down with President Randy Blumer for a question and answer session to get more insight on where his company sees the industry heading.

Poker Pro: Can a fun play poker site be exciting for poker players?
Randy Blumer: Definitely! Not only is it exciting but there is a strong sense of community and competition amongst the players. I've been in the online poker industry since its inception and we are seeing a level of enthusiasm that matches the early days of online poker.

PP: You are credited with being the founding father of internet poker. Tell us a little more about that.
RB: I have been involved with online poker for over 9 years. When I first started there were no real money sites. Through the years I've had various leadership roles, originally with Planet Poker the worlds first real money poker site. I'm presently the founder and CEO of AceKicker.com Holdings Inc, which is a poker software provider and owner of Skillride.com.

PP: Do you play online poker?
RB: Doesn't everybody? I live on Vancouver Island where the weather and golf are great but finding a live poker game is a real challenge so most of my play is online.

PP: Any major online scores you'd like to report?
RB: Second place in the Pokerstars Millions a couple of months ago didn't hurt my bankroll.

PP: How about major live tournaments?
RB: Does not making the dinner break at the 2006 WSOP main event count as a major score? To my credit, I did finish that event with two bad beat stories.

PP: If there's no real money at Skillride, how does Skillride operate?
RB: Skillride caters to players that want fun play poker with a high degree of realism, a fierce level of competition and a sense of community. There is a large demand in this area and we are focusing on delivering a product that meets our customers' needs. It's not much different than other forms of internet entertainment where there is a large target audience willing to pay a nominal price for quality entertainment. We have been selling bulk quantities of tokens since our start-up in February 2007 and our subscription service started in May 2007. We've had several customers buying millions of tokens with our single largest sale being $600.

PP: Do you think real money players will play for fun?
RB: For hundreds of thousands of people, online poker is a form of entertainment more than an act of gambling. The U.S. enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in September of 2006 has had a profound effect on online poker and the industry. Many people still want the entertainment but for one reason or another cannot or do not want to play for real money. We do not pretend to offer a substitute for gambling, but we do offer an entertainment service where customers can enjoy realistic fun poker play in a friendly environment. We are seeing a growing interest daily and many of the customers are real money players at other sites. We don't discourage our customers from playing at other sites for real money.

PP: Will your service be able to compete with the existing mega sites?
RB: The existing mega sites have a focus on preparing players to play in real money games. We are providing an end-state service for the customer that is interested in fun play poker for entertainment value. Because of the realistic nature of our game, it will also be an ideal environment for sharpening your overall poker skills but we really put our focus into the overall experience. So in effect, we provide a completely different offering than existing sites and we don't view the other sites as competition.

PP: Why isn't your site impacted by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)?
RB: The UIGEA has placed definitive restrictions on U.S. banking transactions associated with online gambling. Because we do not facilitate gambling in any form we do not suffer from those restrictions. In fact, our customers can use popular online banking methods such as credit cards to pay for subscriptions and services. We offer an entertainment service and customers feel very comfortable knowing that their transactions are not subject to any conditions of the UIGEA.

PP: How do your subscriptions work?
RB: As with many subscription-based services, customers purchase a level of service for a specified period of time. In keeping with our focus on entertainment value, our service levels are fun named after sharks, with the Great White being our highest subscription level. Players who choose not to pay for a subscription automatically fall into the Fish level. Our subscriptions start at the $10 price point so everybody can afford to participate.

PP: In order to play, do I need to purchase a subscription?
RB: No. Our doors are open to anybody who wishes to enjoy our friendly site. When a new player registers, that player is automatically assigned a Trial membership that lasts for 7 days. This allows the player to experience many of the benefits of taking a subscription. If after 7 days the player has not taken a subscription, the player is automatically converted to a non-subscriber where he/she is welcome to continue playing at the site but will not enjoy the privileges of subscribers.

PP: What types of type of privileges do you provide for subscribers?
RB: Based upon our 9 years in the online poker industry we've found that when playing for fun, serious customers really have two main needs. First, they want a realistic experience. Second, they want a sense of community. We have structured our service and systems to place a larger focus in these areas.

PP: Okay, can you give us some examples?
RB: Sure. To achieve a realistic experience, players need to compete for something that has an intrinsic value. When you purchase a Great White subscription, you receive 3,000,000 tokens. The tokens have no cash value and cannot be exchanged for any goods, cash or items of material value but customers value the tokens because it is part of the service for which they have paid. You may find that it is easier to get a seasoned pro at the Bellagio to part with his money than it is to get a fun play subscriber to part with his tokens. And customers really take a lot of pride in extracting tokens from other players.

PP: Okay, what about the sense of community?
RB: One thing we know is that we have the best chat system on the internet and our customers tell us this over and over again. We provide fun chat sounds and we NEVER intermix dealer text or obnoxious announcements in with the chat. Many of our subscribers are there for the chat. Some like the idea of playing fun poker and chatting with friends or family at the same time. Others enjoy the friendly bantering over bad beats or large pots. We will continue to improve our chat system to make it even more appealing for subscribers. Of course there are many other items besides chat contributing to the sense of community.

PP: Can you give us another example?
RB: There are fun play hi-roller tournaments and ring games, which are exclusive to subscribers. The players participating in these games have common interests. One thing we can guarantee is that they all have a fierce level of competitiveness, which adds to the overall sense of community. If a customer excels, we let the entire customer base know. Knowing that you will be recognized for your skills is far more important to most people than receiving a nominal financial reward.

PP: Can players compete for prizes?
RB: No. For our subscription community we have Customer Recognition Awards, Customer of the Week Awards and the like, but no prizes.

PP: Do you see your company moving in the real money direction?
RB: Real Money Operators have successfully used our platform for real money operations for several years but have ceased real money operations due to the UIGEA. In fact, our platform is designed to the highest financial operating standards. We would consider supporting Operators with a focus in jurisdictions where online poker is fully regulated. For now we will remain focused on servicing the fun play market.