Ongame radically changes VIP system

Ongame Network, the bwin-owned poker network, has announced a radical shift in the way it values players, with recreational players and the operators that attract them getting a much larger share of rake.

Network partners loyalty schemes will be directly linked to a new algorithm called 'Essence', which will track results and style of play on the cash game tables and reward losing and winning players differently.

Essentially losing players, and players new to the network, will see a higher proportion of rake awardted to the operator whose site they play on.

And the players themselves will now see the amount of player points (or VIP points) they receive from each raked pot varying based on their player profile, with losing players getting a higher proportion.

It is a radical departure from the traditional model of contributed rake, which rewards players based on how much they contribute to each pot.

'Style of play gives a truer reflection of an online poker player’s worth,' Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network, said.

According to the firm Essence is based on 30 factors 'including game and level choice, frequency and timing of play, opponent and table selection, pot contribution and playing speed'.

The move to value players based on their playing style and win-rate is part of an industry-wide trend to create a more recreationally-focused player environment.

Rival networks such as the Playtech-owned iPoker Network have previously fined operators with too high a proportion of winning players, but Ongame's move is by far the most radical.

The Essence system from Ongame will look to reward losing and new players, and give operators who have a higher proportion of 'fish' a larger share of the total rake.

'We want to encourage operators to put more fish into the water,' an Ongame spokesman said.

He admitted some operators would lose out under the new system, but said the major players such as bwin, betsson, unibet and betfair would benefit.

'The potential losers will be those small affiliate operators who, for example, have chosen to recruit high-volume players from forums,' a spokesman added.

Under the new system new players will recieve a higher number of player points from each raked pot, and an even higher proportion if they play solely with experienced players.

Winning players will get a lower number of player points based on their last 90 days performance.

'Our aim is to grow the poker market, as the number of people playing poker online is a tiny fraction of the total number of poker players,' the Ongame spokseman said.

'With this new system we want the operators to be working towards a common goal of bringing more new players into the system, which will be a benefit to everyone,' he added.