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Poker Networks – a Great Place To ShopYou only have to enter a couple of related poker words into Google to find a whole plethora of poker sites, with over 250 or so, offering various promotions, products and marketing strategies to tempt you into joining their games and becoming part of their poker community. But if you are just about to set out, new to the game of online poker, what will you look for when you shop around for one of the many poker product sites available? Well, of course the first thing you are attracted to is the label or brand name offering the product. Just like you may shop at your local store for common household goods, you may employ the same methods when shopping for an online gaming product, like poker. The brand name is what identifies the product. You may have seen the brand name being advertised somewhere, so if you are familiar with it, you are more likely to trust it. Some of the more popular brand names like William Hill and Ladbrooks are familiar to us primarily for sports betting. But with sites like these now having a casino and poker gaming channel, they are beginning to establish themselves as trustworthy players in the online gaming world. With big sites like Party Poker and 888 also throwing a lot of money behind marketing campaigns and tournaments, it is easy to see how fast they have established themselves as forerunners in online casino and poker. But just as we all like to purchase the more popular brand names, it is those great bargains that we like to shop around for. Spotting a great offer and walking away with a great product at a lower price fills us all with delight. And so just by digging a little deeper into Google or Yahoo, you will be able to find more variety of poker products, with more bonus offers and various tournaments available. Shopping for online poker will begin just like normal, with a spot of window shopping. Enter a few words such as poker games, poker online or UK poker into Google and boom... lots of "shops" and products to choose from. However, just browsing a few pages deeper than the usual 2, 3 or 4, will result in far more sites than the usual big brand names. Sites like VIP Poker Club and Virgin Poker are also becoming more household names and beginning to establish themselves as places to play in a safe and secure environment. You may see sites like these popping up amongst results as they become ever more popular. Once you have opened up a poker site to take a further look into the product, you are first attracted to the graphic/colour scheme and layout of the site. If these are not simple to understand, or pleasing to the eye (just like the labels on a product in the store), you are likely to be turned away. But don't stop there. Why not try the product out before you buy it? Sites like VIP Poker offer an interactive poker school and also allow you to preview games before you start playing. This is a good way to search for a product and test it out. One good way to shop is by going to a chain store. There you will find many brands under one roof. From the more popular established brands to newly available brands and niche products. Just like shopping at a chain store for electrical goods, you can shop at an online poker network for a variety of poker brands. Sites like http://www.IPNPoker.com provide a multitude of brands to suit your taste and needs. Whether you want to feel like a VIP club member or want to be part of a more fun-based brand, there is always a site and tournament available to suite your taste and level of play. Playing as part of a network has its benefits over the single site products such as Party Poker or 888. While the numbers of players online are likely to be similar, the range of player (and language of player) is likely to be broader and more varied, and with a network, there will always be a tournament available for beginners and professionals alike. No more waiting around for a tournament to begin ("like waiting in queues to pay for your chosen product"). St Minver, who operate the IPN Poker network, said its networks are now hosting 30,000 cash players a day, with up to 7,500 concurrent players on its sites at peak times. This is likely to be fuelled by the introduction of a number of high-profile household brands and launches into Sweden, Spain and Russia. The International Poker Network site shows revenue growth of 20% in 2006. The number of poker players on IPNPoker increased by 27% in 2006. This shows that playing as part of a network is proving ever popular. Being able to meet players of different languages from all over Europe, test the product out before your buy and shop around for the great bargains all under one roof is a good reason to become part of an online poker network. Other articles by this author »
About Morgan Collins
Written by Morgan Collins for the http://www.ipnpoker.com. Operated by St Minver Ltd. This article may be reproduced in full with author's name and links retained. Related
And here is another random article you might be interested in... Finance Your Small Business: So Much Money – So Little Time$37.4 million funded from venture capital today. $86.4 million funded yesterday. $51.4 million funded the day before. These numbers are not made up. They are actual numbers from actual reported venture capital funding. I get these notices emailed to me day after day, rain or shine. I'm not personally looking for business financing â€" but the entrepreneurs who read my website are. These numbers are a constant reminder to me that companies â€" lots of companies â€" are getting funded every day. And these numbers just reflect the reported venture capital funding. There is probably double that amount from angel investment and unreported fundings, and millions more from the $16 billion pool that SBA has this year. All in all, it's a lot of money. That's a lot of companies and banks and groups and individuals actively investing in small business. So how come you're still looking for financing? Perhaps you aren't presenting your company effectively. Or perhaps you haven't located the right lender. It's also possible that your concept just isn't very good, but I doubt that. The fact that you are reading this article means you are a serious entrepreneur, with a serious business. So where do you go to find all these investors? Here are some starting points: For standard business financing, talk with the local office of the Small Business Administration. It's a new agency, with new programs and services, and lots of money to lend. Although much of the focus of the SBA is on minority business enterprises, the SBA still has a lot to offer non-minority companies. Also talk with your local banks. (That was plural "banks", not "bank".) Talking with a number of local bankers will rapidly bring into focus the wide ranging priorities of the various banks, and where your company fit in. As for venture capital and angel investors, there are several options. One option is to go to online sources. There are a number of online services, such as VFinance, that sell the names and addresses of possible investors. It's not expensive, perhaps $2-5 per name. The idea is that once you get the list of 200 or 2,000 names in hand that you will contact each with a written executive summary or business plan, and then wait to hear from one of them. This is a very passive approach, roughly akin to throwing paint on the wall and hoping that something will stick. If you are like most entrepreneurs, patience is not your strong suit, so sitting and waiting for a response is not quite your cup of tea. Another option is to go to one of the many directories of venture capital firms. These directories typically include addresses, phone numbers and emails, along with the geographical areas of interest and the types of investment that each is seeking. Most businesses can narrow down their list of prospective investors to several hundred venture capital firms this way. And again you are faced with the prospect of sending out written material for each one, and waiting for a response. A third option is to take a more proactive approach. Identify your best prospects yourself from a number of reliable sources. Get introductions where possible. Learn everything you can about your target investors, and then go after it. Typically a phone call is the first contact, not an anonymous executive summary. Knowing that you are calling your best prospects, you know too that they are open to hearing from you. You have names, you have investment histories, you have everything in hand to make a real connection with the target investors. Then go do it. Getting your company financed is one of the hardest things you will ever do as an entrepreneur. It can be hugely frustrating, disappointing and genuinely discouraging. But lots of entrepreneurs do it. And so can you. No one knows when this incredible window of opportunity will close Spruce up that business plan and go for it -- now. MaryAnn Shank Other articles by this author »
About MaryAnn Shank
Ms. Shank is a seasoned business plan specialist, having devoted over 20 years of her career to venture capital firms and emerging companies. (c)2005 MaryAnn Shank This article may be reproduced only a entire entity without edits, and only if the above 2 links to Business Plan Master are included. Related
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