How to Lose $0 While Withdrawing from your Bankroll
Monday, June 26, 2006
I've read about certain bloggers having problems in the significant others department. This game happens to be a time vacuum, so I sympathize completely. I suggested that they share some of their winnings. It's easy for a loved one to hear about the $1000 in winnings (or $50 for that matter) and think, "Where is this so-called money?" It doesn't make their life any easier or more extravagant. All it does is sit in an account, encouraging the poker player to continue "wasting" his/her time with the game with no discernible benefits.
Another common problem. Players want to feel like they get some tangible benefit from their poker play. As a result, they face that ever-present issue. Do you withdraw some funds and buy yourself that gadget/vacation/etc. you always wanted? Or do you let the money build moreso, and wait for the big day when you can withdraw money online and not lose your bankroll momentum.
I have a solution for both problems. For the significant other in your life, share the wealth. Use your poker play to earn them whatever they want, be it a shopping spree, a new TV, or whatever knicknack they desire. For you, earn yourself a gift, just by playing online.
There is one way to do both of these things without removing a cent from your bankroll. The answer, my friends is Vegas Poker Pro.com and Poker Source Online.com.
I originally found PSO through GCox, who, I believe, learned about it through DuggleBogey. I heard about VPP (sponsor of DADI 7) months later, thanks to a comment from a reader at this site. PSO and VPP are sites that offer free prizes for signing up at various poker sites through their links. PSO and VPP make money with referral fees. They pass on their profits to you by providing gifts. The gifts are varied, and of course consist of poker-related items like chips, books, DVDs and tables. But the real joy are the gift certificates to such places as Amazon.com, BestBuy and iTunes. You can even get AmEx cards from PSO (last I checked), but for the most bang for your buck, go with Amazon or BestBuy. Note, though, that your best move at PSO is to go for the PSO points, since they generally allow you to then get the gift card and still have PSO points left over. VPP is a big different though, and I discovered that it makes more sense for me to just choose an iPod $50 gift certificate rather than the 750 points, which will entitle me to $45 in gift certificates at most.
Now, some people might think, "Stupid Jordan, if you sign up for rakeback, you can earn your own rake on each site, as opposed to getting some dinky prizes once and only once per site." Well, fine, be an asshole then. But if you think about, you'll realize that you can finish the PSO or VPP promo, get the prize, earn the deposit bonus from the site, and then never go back again. I'm sure PSO/VPP would rather you stay and play there forever. But you don't owe them nothing!
OK, I know I've mentioned this all before, but some of you have still not taken a shot at these sites. It's just easy money waiting for you. And since the prizes are given out as actual goods or gift cards, you don't have to feel the sting of withdrawing from your bankroll.
I should probably mention, right about now, that you can also use your points or promos to get gift certificates to poker rooms like Party and Absolute. So, in fact, you can still use VPP/PSO to build your bankroll. But I wanted to focus on the other aspect, winning free stuff without that bankroll-withdrawal feeling.
So, what have I won through these sites. Hmm...let's see. A poker table top, 2 decks of Copag playing cards, $450 in Best Buy gift certificates which went toward my big screen TV, $200 in Amazon gift certificates that went to my newly ordered iPod nano (I finally bit the bullet), $50 in iTunes gift certificates to load up my iPod, over $200 in Party Poker gift certificates, and over $150 in other Amazon gift certificates. Oh yeah, I also got Poker Tracker software. Add that all up, and I've made over a grand from using these sites. Luckily, VPP added new rooms recently (Poker.com is especially easy to clear the bonus), so I'm gladly going to continue earning too.
Let's go back to those two original scenarios. Wifey Kim was bummed out one night. It didn't have anything to do with poker, but I had been playing a lot recently. I went to PSO, clicked on a couple of things and got an Amazon gift certificate emailed to me in a couple of days. I showed her the confirmation email right away. "Hey honey, when this comes through, it's all yours." She bought a couple of flip flops and other assorted items. The prospect of shopping is always a pick-me-up. I've also been wanting an iPod for some time now. I think I started discussing it in November of last year. But in the end, I could not rationalize spending $250+ on a gadget that was not crucial to my existence. I could, however, rationalize spending $40. That's what I did. The rest was all in gift certificates. Wifey Kim doesn't begrudge me these things. I do it to myself, out of a sense that it is irresponsible to spend money on such items. But it doesn't count if it's a gift card.
Now, go and earn yourself and your loved ones some gifts. And if you are going to sign up for a promo, contact me via email and I'll give you some hints. There are definitely easier bonuses to clear than others, and I know of a couple of more tricks to make your life easier. Here's a few to start:
- At PSO, if you go for the PokerShare promo, only deposit $50 at first and then you can immediately deposit more. Why? Because this way, when you are done earning your PSO bonus, you'll also get the 100% first deposit bonus ($50) released at the same time. Otherwise, you can deposit $100 at first, finish the PSO promo, but still be stuck at the site until you finish your cash bonus (or abandon it, as I did after I initially deposited $300).
- At VPP, sign up for Poker.com. It's a very easy bonus to clear.
- At PSO, sing up for Bodog. It is also very easy, and Bodog starts you out automatically with 50 of the 200 points needed to clear the bonus.
- At most sites, you may be able to run through the raked hands requirement faster if you multi-table. At Absolute, for instance, I would open three tables. One was a shorthanded table, where I played as I normally would. The other two were full ring games, where I played uber tight. After all, each hand you are dealt (regardless of whether you post a blind or just fold out of the blinds) counts toward your bonus. Note, though, that some sites only count hands that you contributed to (Doyle's Room).
posted by Jordan @ 5:32 PM,
4 Comments:
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At 8:20 PM,
said...
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Thanks for the mention, but just wanted to correct one thing:
For the gift certificates, you generally are better off selecting VPP points if you plan to do more then one promotion. You receive 750 VPP points for each promotion you complete, and the gift cards in the VPP store are better deals at the higher dollar amounts (i.e., less VPP points per dollar value). For example, while you can get the $50 gift card as an alternative to choising to receive the 750 VPP points, you can get a $200 gift card for only 2300 points.
Jordan - sorry for taking up the space, but just wanted to make sure it was clear.
Thanks again! -
At 10:32 PM,
Jordan said...
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Dave, you can take up as much space as you want, especially when you are offering good info. Thanks.
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At 12:37 PM,
Rod said...
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I call it a wife tax and it has taken me to the Virgin Islands and not a 2 week road trip out west.
Yea - it cut out $10K from my bankroll but I think it's a +EV thing for my long term day in day out poker. -
At 1:16 PM,
smokkee said...
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Jordan,
i posted a combined team challenge for DADI. this is separate from yours. check my blog
www.smokkee.blogspot.com
