- iPoker and Full Tilt are now neck-and-neck in terms of online cash game traffic.
- Full Tilt’s decline is likely due in part to large promotions at sister site PokerStars.
Following a two month period of Full Tilt Poker enjoying a clear lead over the pack, the poker room is now fighting neck-and-neck with the iPoker network for the silver crown.
According to the latest 7-day moving average of cash game traffic observed by independent monitor PokerScout, (produced above via pokerfuse PRO), the two poker rooms have had an average of approximately 2400 concurrent seats filled in cash games in the last week, and the two have traded places more than once.
The steep decline in Full Tilt in the last month can be partially explained by ongoing promotions at sister site PokerStars. Though all networks have suffered some traffic decline as players flocked to the $5 million giveaway, the ability to easily move money between the two Rational Group sites means that Full Tilt was particularly susceptible to temporary traffic loss.
As the Stars promotion dies down—the finale is this Sunday, with a $1 million freeroll—Full Tilt should return to stability. In fact, this week’s traffic numbers already indicate a return to growth, bolstered by its popular Rush Week promotion that kicked off Monday.
iPoker’s traffic has been inline with the international market, observing a 10% decline over the last three months in the natural seasonal downer.
FTP and iPoker are not the only ones jostling for position at the top. History was made yesterday when 888poker overtook PartyPoker to become the 4th largest online poker network.
With as little as 15% separating these four networks, a lot more jockeying for position can be expected over the summer months as the industry returns to autumnal growth.