Full Flush Poker Debuts as First Equity Poker Network Room
Full Flush Poker, the first site on the new Equity Poker Network, opened its doors on Friday to online poker players worldwide, including the US. Full Flush Poker is the flagship offering at EPN, which announced itself as a new network back in March and hoped to be live in June with at least five skins.
The reality of the new network turned out to be a little slower, but Full Flush and Equity debuted modestly over the weekend with a “soft launch” promotion that included a $500 freeroll for early registrants in addition to the play-chip games being offered. Live real-money action is expected to commence shortly.
The Equity Poker Network is the brainchild of Clive Archer, an industry veteran who served previously with BetOnSPORTS (BoS) and the Action Poker Network. Both of those operations have long since ceased operations, the former due to one of the earliest US legal crackdowns against online gambling, back in 2006, ending the site’s run as one of the largest US-facing sportsbooks of the late ’90s and early ’00s. The short-lived Action Poker Network failed under mysterious no-pay circumstances amid much fingerpointing by the network’s various corporate owners.
Archer returned this spring with his plans for the Equity Poker Network, which was envisioned with a flat-rate fee for skins ($10,000 per month) and anti-poaching rules, including a so-called “shark tax” designed to both promote the recruiting of recreational players and the exploitation of those players by shark-loaded other sites.
Archer is also serving as the founder and CEO of Full Flush, which is a good hint that Equity remains in an embryonic stage. Here’s the latest release about FF’s debut:
San Jose, Costa Rica, (September 05, 2013) – With the soft launch of the all-new online poker room FullFlushPoker.com (“FFP”), the first virtual cards have hit the felt and full play-for-fun options are now up and running. A $500 Sunday freeroll will fuel the festive spirit, welcoming players, and offering them the opportunity to build their bankrolls for free, ahead of the debut of real-money ring games – coming soon to the Equity Poker Network’s flagship online poker room.
When Full Flush Poker shuffled up and dealt their first hand of Texas Hold ’em, the fledgling poker room turned a fresh new focus to the first time and recreational player, and its free-to-play tables along with the Sunday freeroll, will set the tone with plenty of fun and free cash.
Whether you’re a rookie or a frequent player looking for a user-friendly and entertaining game, this first phase will allow you the chance to get acclimated to the FullFlushPoker.com interface, and brush up on your skills.
Taking your first steps into the virtual world of poker can be intimidating, and if you’ve never played Hold ‘em before, you might not want to risk your own money. At FFP’s play-for-fun tables, all that’s at stake is play money, and you can always refresh your chipstack when you run out.
Clive Archer, FullFlushPoker’s Founder and CEO, said: “We are proud to offer all US players an alternative to their limited online options, and excited to deal out a new generation of poker to recreational players in all parts of the globe. Our emphasis at Full Flush Poker is on reigniting the enjoyment factor in playing a game that we think has become far too much about the professional grinder and mathematical edge at competitor card rooms.”
Archer’s innovative business model promotes the recruitment of recreational players across the Equity Poker Network, which he also happens to be a Founder of.
“Shark bait may be king elsewhere, but at Full Flush Poker, we won’t be courting the sharp players; we believe our marketing and promotions will speak more to the player who finishes a hard day at the office, and wants to unwind by indulging in a game or two of Hold ’em or Omaha, or logs on to test their tournament skills against like-minded leisure-seekers in their spare time.”
FullFlushPoker.com, the culmination of more than two years of planning and development, delivers a safe, responsive and flexible online poker experience. The new poker platform is backed by industry tried and trusted software, with an unwavering commitment to security and fair play, and a guarantee that player funds are always available.
Players must create an account at the site before they can get in on the Sunday freeroll action, and start reaping the rewards, all without spending a cent. Those with a favorite screen name are urged to sign up early to reserve their moniker before another player grabs it.
So go ahead – get comfortable with the basics of the game with no strings attached, plus build your bankroll for nix every Sunday at 15:00 ET in the $500 freeroll. You’ll be cashed up and ready for the launch of ring games, to be introduced at FullFlushPoker.com in the coming weeks.
Free games are available to anyone in the world, and players will find a free-to-play table to join at all times of the day or night. Further details of the FullFlushPoker.com ring games and tournaments will be released closer to the hard launch date.
If there’s one thing that’s not addressed — and you wouldn’t expect it to be in such a press release as the above — is the several months delay from the announced June launch, or why Equity has started up with just a single site, Full Flush Poker.
Back in April, when this author interviewed him about Equity’s future plans, Archer claimed that five sites were ready to roll and several other possible skins were involved in negotiations. None of those seem to be onboard… yet. And therein lies a hidden rub with Equity’s poker model: The flat rate $10,000-a-month rate for skins to be part of the network is chicken feed for a network that’s up and running with an established player base, but early on, when all the missionary work in recruiting players has to be done, it’s something of a sunk cost.
It’s not like the various skins won’t recoup that investment if the network succeeds, but it’s definitely an investment curve that potential skins have to consider, and it may be why Equity is off to a slower than expected launch.
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