Full Tilt has introduced a new VIP program based around a new game called The Deal, which offers a randomized prize distribution process to provide casual players with the chance to gain much larger VIP benefits.
Players on the new scheme earn “coins” instead of Full Tilt Points (FTP). One coin is awarded for every $1 in rake paid at all real money poker games. Players can use their coins to enter The Deal, a lottery style poker game which distributes rewards.
The Full Tilt Players Club became the default VIP rewards scheme on August 18. Players can instead switch to the recently revamped Edge rewards program which gives more traditional cash back for play at the tables.
The Deal
The Deal presents a game where the player is individually dealt seven cards face down. The player must pick two cards to be discarded, revealing a five card poker hand. Players can set an option to play games automatically, where the cards are discarded at random.
The strength of the revealed hand determines what prize the player wins. Prizes start for hands as low as Ace high, and include satellite tickets, ring game and tournament tickets, more coins, and tickets to $1,000 freerolls. Straight cash prizes are awarded for a Four of a Kind ($20) and a Straight Flush ($200).
When players hit the Royal Flush, they are taken to a new screen where they spin a wheel which has eight prize options. Half the prizes are for a cash payout of $500, with $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 and the Deal Jackpot occupying the other four possibilities.
Players who win the jackpot don’t take all the money. They receive 50%, with the remaining 50% distributed to all players who have played at least one game of the Deal in the previous 12 hours.
To promote the launch of the new scheme the jackpot has been set at $100,000 and increases by $0.03 every time a player plays The Deal. Once the first jackpot has been won, the jackpot will reset to $25,000.
The Weekly Windfall
In addition to coin system of The Deal, there’s also The Weekly Windfall that gives all players who have played at least one hand of real money poker a ticket to enter a $5,000 freeroll tournament.
Players who qualify for the freeroll two weeks in a row will receive a “mystery prize.” The prizes will consist of extra coins, tournament tickets or cash sums of up to $1,000.
Supporting the main elements of the scheme will be daily freeroll tournaments where players can win extra coins and freeroll Jackpot Sit & Go tournaments—Full Tilt’s version of lottery SNGs—where the top prize pool can go up to $100.
“Fundamentally Different”
When Full Tilt Managing Director Dominic Mansour announced that the poker room would be introducing the new scheme, he explained that 95% of players don’t receive any significant VIP benefits. The randomized distribution system Full Tilt has now implemented means that even extremely low volume players will have what is in effect a lottery ticket with a possible five or even six figure top prize.
The scheme continues to encourage extra play since more play means more chances to play the Deal and win the jackpot. Higher volume players are more likely to opt to stay on the new Edge Rewards program, which will suit Full Tilt, as these players are incentivised to increase liquidity at games which need a short term boost.
