Both WSOP.com and the All-American Poker Network (888) have passed the Party/Borgata network in the New Jersey online poker market. Previously, Party/Borgata maintained an average of 160 cash game players, giving them a healthy lead over WSOP.com (110) and 888 (100). But WSOP and 888 started sharing players in low-limit cash games and some of their MTTs.
Now, WSOP has become the new market leader with an average of 190 cash game players, 888 has moved into second with 170 players while Party/Borgata maintains their 160-player average. Obviously it’s interesting that WSOP and 888 have risen to the top of New Jersey online poker so quickly. But it’s worth looking at a couple of in-depth points on this change before anointing them the cream of the US iPoker crop.
January earnings will be the true determinant of success
It must be reiterated that these are low-stakes players being shared. 888 and WSOP made the decision to keep their mid and high-stakes player pools separate for whatever reason. So it’s going to be interesting to see how this influx of low-limit players between the two iPoker operations affects earnings.
My guess is that both 888 and WSOP.com will see an uptick in poker earnings thanks to more available cash tables and bigger MTTs. But it wouldn’t be a total shock to see Partypoker/Borgata Poker still making the most money here. After all, this network will probably maintain a larger number of mid and high-stakes players. And at the moment, they still run a $50k weekly MTT, which is the largest in the state.
Promotions impacting the increase
Aside from sharing players, another factor that’s slightly aiding both 888 and WSOP.com is promotions. Specifically, 888 is offering double VIP points throughout the month of January while WSOP has improved their rewards plan.
The boost in rewards/promos for the new partners certainly isn’t impacting the player-pool increase as much as sharing low-stakes grinders, however, the changes have likely drawn some extra players. WSOP’s rewards plan change seems pretty permanent for the time being. But in 888’s case, will they keep offering double VIP points to draw new players in? Because if they don’t, this could cause a slight drop in traffic.
Seasonal Trends taking Effect
It’s tough telling how sustainable 888 and WSOP.com’s traffic increases will be. But one thing is for sure and that’s winter having a positive effect on traffic at all New Jersey online poker sites. December saw a 10% revenue increase and this trend is expected to keep up throughout January, February and March – cold months where people stay inside and play more iPoker. That said, we can expect 888, WSOP and Party/Borgata to be happy with their winter earnings