How would YOU retain players?
 

at least it shows the rooms that they are trying to get the players to stay for a while, doesn't it?

Really, this whole issue boils down to a matter of Psychology....Any first year student should know that the slot machine is the ultimate role model for application of the principles of behavior modification.

The randomized schedule of reinforcement creates incredibly strong habit patterns which are resistant to extinction. Slot players will stay at their machine until they pee themselves, and beat somebody to near-death who tries to steal it from them!

Paying them off on every pull of the handle does not work. Never knowing for sure when you might win DOES.

However, further research into the matter shows that habit strength with real slot players (and any gambling game) is strongest when reinforcement is encountered *early* in the player's experience of the game.

(Hit a jackpot in the first 10 pulls and you are hooked for life, but true randomization would mean that some players would not receive a single reinforcement for days!).

Players need to be saliently reinforced early in their experience of a new room, and then they need some form of randomized reinforcement that will keep them plugging away.

Incorporate the principle of the slot machine into the player's experience of a specific poker playing environment and you will have less retention problems, and more players who continue to come to the room out of "habit."

This means that the standard ploy of releasing $10 in bonus after 100 hands becomes nothing but a chore, and drudgery. And invites whores to multitable to work it off faster.

Wouldn't a randomized system make it harder to scam?

What could the rooms do to give new player's a zap of excitement early in their career, and keep them in a state of curious anticipation as to when they might get another reward in the future?

Some of the rooms give out a reward any time you get pocket Kings.

Any other Ideas?

I'm surprised more sites don't have bad beat jackpots. It would be interesting if someone like full tilt added a bad beat jackpot, and didn't charge a massive amount for it (like the .50 per pot that party took). I bet if they took just .01 per pot the jackpot would get pretty big and really motivate some people to play.

I got to admit. I like the bad beat jackpots at Party. Winning $100k on a hand but yeah I thought the charge was a little high. More like a side bet

BBJ's are great. They always get players paying more just for the chance.

Live casino's live off this stuff. I once sat down at the Monte Carlo $2-$4 limit game. about 3 hands into it I was dealt pocket sevens. The flop came out with a 7 so I slowed played a little and the turn came out another 7 giviing me 4 of a kind. The pot went to the end and i showed down my quads and the every got all happy. i was like what? Then the dealer tells me that they have a 4 of a kind jackpot and looks up a this screen that show a progressive jackpot for all the quads 2's-A's 7"s paid $1,200 and that is a nice win for a $2-$4 game any day.

I was hooked. I play the Monte Carlo everytime i'm in Vegas now even though they have the smallest room in town.

Most casinos learned long ago that while popular large bad beat jackpots are bad business... take money from a lot of people,give it to one person who buys a boat instead of reinvesting it in the poker world.

The could just take like a penny from the normal rake so it wouldn't cost the players anything.

And that still would cost, although the smaller the better (which means zero is best).

Zero-Cost Promotions?
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCNastermind The could just take like a penny from the normal rake so it wouldn't cost the players anything.

I am having trouble envisioning what kind of Promotion aimed at player-retention could cost ZERO. Certainly, if you have any concrete examples they would make a great contribution to the discussion.

It would be nice to come up with ideas that would not cost anything *extra* perhaps....maybe just a way of redistributing promotion costs so that they have a superior outcome.

However, even if a promotional scheme would require an initial budgetary expenditure, it might be justifiable if player retention increased, and therefore Rake and market share were increased thanks to the added expense.

What about "insurance"?
 

I don't know how it works, but I have heard people offering to give a player "insurance" on his hand, in B & M rooms.

What about if rooms offered part of the bonus money as optional insurance from time to time?

So, right when they are about to call a bet, they get an offer to buy insurance?

Dumb idea?

In the management world, it's better off bringing out your employees to lunch and congratulating them on good work that giving them a pay raise. Sounds crazy, but when they know that management cares it increases their morale and they are retained much longer.