30 replies to this topic

[FCP Bob]

Beginning Wednesday, March 15th Full Contact Poker will be following new network guidelines and making changes to how its bonus system works. How your current bonus clears as well as any future bonuses will be affected.New Bonus PointsThe new bonus system uses Poker Bonus Points as the method for clearing the bonus. Players earn Poker Bonus Points by playing in both ring games and in tournaments. In a ring game every player who is dealt in the hand will receive bonus points based on the amount of rake from that hand. Players will be issued .07 bonus points for every $0.10 of rake per hand. For example, if the rake in a hand is $1.00 then all the players dealt in that hand will receive .7 bonus points. The maximum number of points in any given hand is 2.1 if the rake is $3.00.In tournaments, players receive 5 bonus points for every $1 in tournament entry fees that they pay. For example if a player enters a $20 + $2 entry fee tournament they will receive 10 bonus points for that tournament.The new bonus points are different than the FCP points that players earn and use in the FCP Store and in other upcoming promotions. The FCP points haven’t changed and the new Poker Bonus Points are only used in clearing a poker bonus.How It Will WorkWhen you visit your “My Account” page you can see the amount of money that you have in your bonus account. In order to earn that bonus through poker play you will have to transfer bonus money from your cashier bonus account to your poker bonus account. When you transfer bonus money to your poker bonus account you will then have a pending bonus. To have that pending bonus become real money you’ll have to earn enough bonus points before the expiry date of the bonus to clear the entire bonus. Poker bonuses will automatically be added to your FCP poker account when you have cleared the bonus.You don’t have to transfer the entire balance that is in your bonus account to the poker bonus account at the same time. You can choose to leave some in your cashier bonus account to use in the casino or to transfer to a poker bonus at a later time. The minimum amount you can transfer to your poker bonus account is $10 US.Our current bonus-clearing rate will be 9 bonus points per dollar of bonus and our current bonuses will have a 90-day expiry period. The 90 days starts when you transfer the bonus to your poker bonus account not from the time that you were awarded bonus money in the first place.For example if you transfer $50 to your poker bonus account you’ll have to earn 450 poker bonus points within 90 days to be awarded the bonus.As we migrate all existing FCP players to this new system, players will have their entire current bonus balance available for transferring into poker bonuses immediately. If you have less than $20 US but more than zero in your bonus account balances on Wed March 15th please contact the FCP support team and we’ll bump you up to $20 so that you can transfer the minimum amount over for a poker bonus.Straightforward bonus trackingYou will be able to simply visit the “Bonus Points” section of your My Account” page to track and monitor the current status of your bonus and points, be it pending or complete, you will be able to monitor your bonus first-hand.For those of you who have already made a first deposit, you should know that a Redeposit Bonus offer is coming soon. If you have not made a first deposit at Full Contact Poker, now is a great time as the First Deposit Bonus offer is currently at 100% of your first time deposit up to $200.

[WKTSWAY]

Will this affect/change the bonus from when we first deposited (is there now a time limit on it)?

[FCP Bob]

WKTSWAY, on Monday, March 13th, 2006, 10:02 PM, said:

Will this affect/change the bonus from when we first deposited (is there now a time limit on it)?

Yes, this will affect all the bonuses both what is currently in your account and any future bonuses.You'll have a pool of bonus money that doesn't have an expiry date on it. That pool will be made up of what is currently in your bonus account and any future bonus that you are awarded. It only takes on an expiry date when you transfer from that pool to receive a poker bonus.Lets's say you have $150 in your current bonus account. On Wednesday when the system has changed you'll be able to transfer a minimum of $20 to a poker bonus. You will have 90 days to complete that poker bonus. The bonus money you don't transfer over won't have an expiry date. When you clear your poker bonus you can then choose to transfer more over and start a new poker bonus and that new bonus will have a new expiry date.

[WKTSWAY]

FCP Info, on Monday, March 13th, 2006, 11:12 PM, said:

Yes, this will affect all the bonuses both what is currently in your account and any future bonuses.You'll have a pool of bonus money that doesn't have an expiry date on it. That pool will be made up of what is currently in your bonus account and any future bonus that you are awarded. It only takes on an expiry date when you transfer from that pool to receive a poker bonus.Lets's say you have $150 in your current bonus account. On Wednesday when the system has changed you'll be able to transfer a minimum of $20 to a poker bonus. You will have 90 days to complete that poker bonus. The bonus money you don't transfer over won't have an expiry date. When you clear your poker bonus you can then choose to transfer more over and start a new poker bonus and that new bonus will have a new expiry date.

Let's say I have $150 in my bonus account and $100 left to clear...if I wait and don't take any money out until all $250 is in the bonus account, will there be an expiration date?Just want to make sure I understand it correctly

[mrdannyg]

just thought i'd give my opinion here, purely as constructive criticism since i actually haven't even deposited into FCP.this is the same structure as the other sites on the network. it is probably necessary for FCP to have this because of whatever requirements, but if it is possible not to, then i suggest that. the bonus structure is a main reason to play on FCP as opposed to Pokerroom or others.also, i think people should have been given more notice. at least until the end of the month, or have old bonuses grandfathered. just seems very short notice to essentially change the terms of a persons deposit.just thought i'd give some constructive criticism for the FCP management to take into account next time.Daniel

[FCP Bob]

WKTSWAY, on Monday, March 13th, 2006, 10:18 PM, said:

Let's say I have $150 in my bonus account and $100 left to clear...if I wait and don't take any money out until all $250 is in the bonus account, will there be an expiration date?Just want to make sure I understand it correctly

I don't really understand what your last question is. I think you're a bit confused.If you don't mind I'll use approx amounts from your current bonus account as an example.On Wednesday you'll have approx $200 in your cashier bonus account. You now will have to choose how much of that to transfer over to a poker bonus with the minimum amount that you can transfer at any one time being $20.Let's say you transfer over $50 to a poker bonus. You now will have $150 sitting in your cashier bonus account, that money stays there unless you transfer it to the casino or use it for another poker bonus.You now will have a pending poker bonus of $50 that will be released to your real money poker account once you have earned 450 bonus points. You have 90 days to earn those points or the bonus expires. The bonus will only be paid in full so if you don't earn the entire 450 points in the 90 days you will lose the bonus. Let's assume that you earn the 450 points in 45 days. The $50 will be released to your FCP poker account. You still will have that $150 sitting in your cashier bonus account and you can now transfer over a portion of it for a new poker bonus that will have an expiry date 90 days from the time you transfer it.I hope I've cleared things up a bit.

[vonteego3]

for someone that plays small stakes and has a very variable poker schedule because of school and work, this pretty much blows."Yes, your new car comes with a 36K mile, 3 year warranty"2 months later"Uh, you can only get repairs done under your warranty now on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8AM and noon. Sorry for the inconvenience."

[WKTSWAY]

FCP Info, on Monday, March 13th, 2006, 11:41 PM, said:

I don't really understand what your last question is. I think you're a bit confused.If you don't mind I'll use approx amounts from your current bonus account as an example.On Wednesday you'll have approx $200 in your cashier bonus account. You now will have to choose how much of that to transfer over to a poker bonus with the minimum amount that you can transfer at any one time being $20.Let's say you transfer over $50 to a poker bonus. You now will have $150 sitting in your cashier bonus account, that money stays there unless you transfer it to the casino or use it for another poker bonus.You now will have a pending poker bonus of $50 that will be released to your real money poker account once you have earned 450 bonus points. You have 90 days to earn those points or the bonus expires. The bonus will only be paid in full so if you don't earn the entire 450 points in the 90 days you will lose the bonus. Let's assume that you earn the 450 points in 45 days. The $50 will be released to your FCP poker account. You still will have that $150 sitting in your cashier bonus account and you can now transfer over a portion of it for a new poker bonus that will have an expiry date 90 days from the time you transfer it.I hope I've cleared things up a bit.

I think I got it now.. still a little confused though. So if my bonus money is sitting in my cashier account, I don't clear any of it until I tranfer it to the Poker bonus account?

[FCP Bob]

mrdannyg, on Monday, March 13th, 2006, 10:39 PM, said:

just thought i'd give my opinion here, purely as constructive criticism since i actually haven't even deposited into FCP.this is the same structure as the other sites on the network. it is probably necessary for FCP to have this because of whatever requirements, but if it is possible not to, then i suggest that. the bonus structure is a main reason to play on FCP as opposed to Pokerroom or others.also, i think people should have been given more notice. at least until the end of the month, or have old bonuses grandfathered. just seems very short notice to essentially change the terms of a persons deposit.just thought i'd give some constructive criticism for the FCP management to take into account next time.Daniel

Hi Daniel, having the 2 bonus systems running side by side at the same time isn't an option for technical reasons. This change in bonus requires us to change the entire back end of our systems, it's a major technical change.There are some differences in our bonus from what other Network sites are doing but the basics are the similiar. We feel the differences make our bonus more appealing.Our clearance rate of 9 points per $ of bonus is a good one and competitive with other sites. If you want to compare our old bonus and new bonus a player who plays tournaments will clear their bonus 11% quicker under the new system than the old system.Our biggest advantages over most sites are twofold. The fact that we have a 90 day expiry date on the bonus is one. The other is the fact that you can choose the time to transfer the bonus from your cashier bonus account to a poker bonus. While the bonus is in the cashier account there is no expiry on it and you can transfer over a portion of the bonus, you don't have to try and earn the entire bonus at one time.We have done our best to meet the requirements of the Network and also provide the most flexible bonus that we can for our players. The reality is that we received many requests for a points based bonus and not one that is connected to contributed rake.Well, here it is.

WKTSWAY, on Monday, March 13th, 2006, 10:49 PM, said:

I think I got it now.. still a little confused though. So if my bonus money is sitting in my cashier account, I don't clear any of it until I tranfer it to the Poker bonus account?

Yes that is correct, and you choose how much of it to transfer over at a time with the minimum being $20.

vonteego3, on Monday, March 13th, 2006, 10:49 PM, said:

for someone that plays small stakes and has a very variable poker schedule because of school and work, this pretty much blows."Yes, your new car comes with a 36K mile, 3 year warranty"2 months later"Uh, you can only get repairs done under your warranty now on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8AM and noon. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Hi Vonteego, based on your play this bonus will actually be better for you. I did a quick look at your play and in the approx 3 months that you have played at FCP you could have cleared 4 separate $20 bonuses.Keep in mind that you have 90 days to clear the bonus and you only have to transfer over $20. 180 points in 90 days to clear a bonus does not require a lot of play.

[mrdannyg]

i didn't notice you have 90 days to clear (i get 60 on pokerroom) and it takes only 9 points (10 for most reloads).that is a pretty significant differences. if i was going to play on this network, that would probably be enough to make me play here.i do think you should've given people more time to clear outstanding boni before changing the structure, but i understand its a complicated issue.

[vonteego3]

FCP Info, on Monday, March 13th, 2006, 10:06 PM, said:

Hi Vonteego, based on your play this bonus will actually be better for you. I did a quick look at your play and in the approx 3 months that you have played at FCP you could have cleared 4 separate $20 bonuses.Keep in mind that you have 90 days to clear the bonus and you only have to transfer over $20. 180 points in 90 days to clear a bonus does not require a lot of play.

Here's the thing, though. Lets say I transfer $20 on Wednesday. I play Wednesday night, and clear $5 (about an average night for me). Then I get busy (or worse, get deployed) and bang, I lost $15 off my bonus for good.I know $15 isn't much, but... I deposited under the impression (no, not impression... it was in writing) that my bonus wouldn't expire.Obviously there's no regulation of the poker industry, but if (back to my analogy) I bought a car and then the dealer called me and said he was changing the warranty? That wouldn't fly.

[Randy Reed]

I understand where you're coming from but it is more than fair. The points system is better than the rake, and everyone likes it better. It's comparable to other sites, but 90 days is really better than any other site I've seen. They are not making us transfer and earn it all at once either which is cool. I think I have about $150 in bonus right now, but I haven't been playing much due to other things, so I can A. wait until I have the time, B. transfer $20 which will give me a little more incentive to play and earn it off, (not a bad thing) and C. It won't be a huge problem to earn over 90 days?! So all in all, it's ok with me, and I'm usually the skeptical one around here.Bottom line, they are making it easier to clear, but added a partial time restraint to it.

[SAM_Hard8]

So as a charter member I signed up for a $1 per $3 bonus structure and now you have changed that. How is this better.I am not real happy.

[EastofElvis]

The new bonus sounds fine to me. As a low limit player it should be better.One point I didn't see covered in the explanation is what happens to bonus dollars you have cleared, but not transferred to your real money account. Anyone that played last night could have some. I hope it is not left in the cashier account where you have to transfer it, and effectively clear it again. Will they automatically move it to real money for you, or is that option still available??

[FCP Bob]

SAM_Hard8, on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006, 9:24 AM, said:

So as a charter member I signed up for a $1 per $3 bonus structure and now you have changed that. How is this better.I am not real happy.

Hi Sam, I think you're a little confused with the difference between a points based system and one that is rake based. You're primarily a tournament player so it'll be easy to illustrate.The first thing is that under the old bonus system you cleared your bonus at a rate of $1 in bonus for every $2 in rake you contributed or tourney fees that you paid.If you play a $20 + $2 tournament under the old system you would clear $1 in bonus. Under the new system you receive 5 points for every $1 in tournament fees that you pay. In this example you receive 10 bonus points. At 9 points per $1 for new bonus clearing you would have cleared $1.11 worth of your bonus.For tournament players the new system is 11% better.

[2bthebest]

BEST EXAMPLE EVER:PREVIOUSLY: Playing $10+$1 SNG's, you would clear $20 by playing in 40 SNG's(from the $2 in fees generates $1 in bonus).IN THE FUTURE: Playing $10+1 SNG's you would clear $20 by playing in 36 SNG's($1 in fees gives 5pts, 9 pts needed for every bonus dollar implies 180 points needed to clear $20 is equal to 36 SNG's)Just a wee bit faster, but I don't like the fact that it does not release daily anymore.

[mulhs82]

First thanks for pinning this thread.I play low limit cash for the hell of it. I'm not really in it for the money. But I have been very slowly clearing out the initial bonus money that I received with the free wheel spins and initial deposit.Am I correct in understanding that there is a time limit now on that amount? Or do I not have to worry about the time limit until I move it to a different bonus account? I'm not that concerned with the time limit as long as I don't get hit with 90 days and 70 some dollars to clear. I don't think I play enough to clear that.Also I assume money cleared that has not been moved to my poker account will still be there.Thanks,John

[dna4ever]

mulhs82, on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006, 9:28 AM, said:

First thanks for pinning this thread.I play low limit cash for the hell of it. I'm not really in it for the money. But I have been very slowly clearing out the initial bonus money that I received with the free wheel spins and initial deposit.Am I correct in understanding that there is a time limit now on that amount? Or do I not have to worry about the time limit until I move it to a different bonus account? I'm not that concerned with the time limit as long as I don't get hit with 90 days and 70 some dollars to clear. I don't think I play enough to clear that.Also I assume money cleared that has not been moved to my poker account will still be there.Thanks,John

You can move your $70 to a new expiring bonus account $20 at a time so as long as you play enough to clear at least $20 bonus within 90 days you have nothing to worry about. Since you have $70 you will have to transfer $30 one time too, $20, $20, $30. Once you move the first $20 to the new expiring account the other $50 stays in the unexpiring account until you clear the $20 and move the next $20.I think I'm gonna go hang out at Brett Jungblut's site for awhile, I heard you can smoke pot over there. Peace.

[mulhs82]

dna4ever, on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006, 10:30 AM, said:

You can move your $70 to a new expiring bonus account $20 at a time so as long as you play enough to clear at least $20 bonus within 90 days you have nothing to worry about. Since you have $70 you will have to transfer $30 one time too, $20, $20, $30. Once you move the first $20 to the new expiring account the other $50 stays in the unexpiring account until you clear the $20 and move the next $20.I think I'm gonna go hang out at Brett Jungblut's site for awhile, I heard you can smoke pot over there. Peace.

So all bonus money will be in a unexpiring account once the maintanence is complete. Got it.

[dna4ever]

mulhs82, on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006, 9:34 AM, said:

So all bonus money will be in a unexpiring account once the maintanence is complete. Got it.

Correct, but unless you move any of it to the new poker bonus account (minimum $20) you will not be working any of the bonus off.