US Online Poker MTT Profit | Loss Report (January 2014)
US online poker room multi-table tournament profits and losses, indicating a room's strength or relative weakness in maintaining player traffic and MTT offerings.
In this report, ProfRB.com compiles monthly data on all US-facing online poker rooms in terms of whether or not their multi-table tournament schedule produces a profit, or a loss of money. This report includes US-facing online poker rooms Bovada (Bodog Network), Carbon Poker (Merge Network), ACR Poker (Winning Poker Network), Intertops and Juicy Stakes (Revolution Network), Pokerhost and Full Flush Poker (Equity Poker Network), and BetOnline Poker (Chico Network). Note: BetOnline debuted in our July 2014 report, while the Equity Poker Network debuted in our May/June 2014 report.
Every US-facing network offers its players a daily MTT schedule - we track tournaments from guarantees of $1,000 to $5,000 and higher - and we take player totals from these tournaments to determine if the room or network makes or loses money on each event. While common thought in the online gaming world is that tournaments are mostly 'loss leaders' and a miniscule portion of a gaming company's overall bottom line, you can tell by the data presented below just how strong (or not as strong) these rooms and networks are at attracting players to their sites.
A couple of notes before we dig into the numbers. The figures we report do not include freeroll or tournament ticket entries into these MTT's, so the numbers you see below are what we call "precise estimates". To see each individual US-facing online poker room's tournament schedule, full results, the amount of overlays they produce, prize pools, and more, check out our MTT Overlay and Player Traffic reports here.
JANUARY 2014 PROFIT | LOSS REPORT
Monday through Friday schedule (22 days)
Dec 2-6th: $49,296
Dec 9-13th: $40,758
Dec 16-20th: $46,604
Dec 23-27nd: $45,238
Dec 30-31st: $15,762
Gain | Loss (vs Nov): +$15,040 (one more work week day in December)
Saturday and Sunday schedule (9 days)
Saturdays (Dec 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th): $45,238 (one less Saturday in December)
Sundays (Dec 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th): $171,202 (one more Sunday in December)
Gain | Loss (vs Nov): +$19,234
Special Tournaments
Power Play Sunday Results (Dec 1st, Dec 8th, and Dec 15th): +$14,826
Boxing Day Results (Dec 26th): +$12,405
GRAND TOTAL (December): +$441,329 in profit (up $20,216 from Nov)
Bovada continues to show why they are a strong option for US players with a meaty MTT schedule ripe with soft players and big fields. Overlays across the board are light and infrequent, meaning Bovada is reaping the benefits of an approach that is working in spades. Consistency is their key - other than some minor tweaking, their MTT schedule both during the week and on the weekend has stayed the same over the past few months. Players grow to depend on consistent offerings, and Bovada leads the way in this regard in terms of US-facing operators. With a small inclusion in the profits from their Power Play and Boxing Day MTT promotions, Bovada cleared north of $440,000 in profit during the month of December on their $5k GTD or higher MTT schedule. It may not seem like much in terms of how much money is made overall by the company - but it is clearly a sign of strength and continued durability. If it ain't broke, why fix it?
If you're interested in taking advantage of Bovada's soft fields and large MTT offerings, consider signing up with Professional Rakeback!
Monday through Friday schedule (22 days)
Dec 2-6th: $24,177
Dec 9-13th: $13,074
Dec 16-20th: $18,467
Dec 23-27th: $6,772
Dec 30-31st: $1,958
Gain | Loss (vs Nov): $17,787 (one more work week day in December)
Saturday and Sunday schedule (9 days)
Saturdays (Dec 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th): $7,639 (one less Saturday in December)
Sundays (Dec 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th): $48,223 (one more Sunday in December)
Gain | Loss (vs Nov): $34,007
Special Tournaments
none
GRAND TOTAL (December): +$120,310 in profit (up $37,541 from Nov)
The Carbon OPS series was mostly considered a flop in November, which was a month that saw more changes to the MTT schedule in OPS' wake. Overlays have been large since, with over $120,000 worth documented in our tracked Merge tournaments in December - most of them occuring in the same tournaments. Still, Merge managed to earn a small increase in profits last month, anchored by a decently consistent Sunday schedule. The bottom line, though, is that Merge seems to be in a continual process of retooling their MTT offerings and during this transition, they seem willing to burden some temporary profit fluctuations compared to other networks and poker rooms.
If you're interested in playing on Merge Network skins Carbon Poker, Aced Poker, and/or Pokerhost (independent cashier system), be sure to contact us!
Monday through Friday schedule (22 days)
Dec 2-6th: $6,631
Dec 9-13th: $6,982
Dec 16-20th: $758
Dec 23-27th: -$9,289
Dec 30-31st: -$5,351
Gain | Loss (vs Nov): -$92 (one more work week day in December)
Saturday and Sunday schedule (9 days)
Saturdays (Dec 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th): $4,812 (one less Saturday in December)
Sundays (Dec 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th): $39,362 (one more Sunday in December)
Gain | Loss (vs Nov): +22,319
Special Tournaments
none
GRAND TOTAL (December): +$43,896 in profit (up $21,675 from Nov)
November saw solid improvement across the tournament board for the Winning Poker Network, including a solid turnout for their 5-day High Five MTT series. But December saw marked improvement in weekend events, as that's where WPN was able to generate the best profits during the final month of 2013. Overlays continue to be heavy during the work-week schedule, which eats into their profit potential overall. However, being able to maintain green numbers for the month despite high weekly overlays points to WPN's growing strength. With a new tournament series in the planning stages for the spring, look for WPN to continue to grow in terms of profits on their budding MTT schedule.
If you're interested in playing on ProfRB.com recommended Winning Poker Network skins ACR Poker, Black Chip Poker, and/or True Poker, be sure to contact your friends at Professional Rakeback!
Monday through Friday schedule (22 days)
Dec 2-6th: $1,687
Dec 9-13th: $1,170
Dec 16-20th: $1,137
Dec 23-27th: $1,320
Dec 30-31st: $278
Gain | Loss (vs Nov): N/A
Saturday and Sunday schedule (9 days)
Saturdays (Dec 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th): $598
Sundays (Dec 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th): -$280
Gain | Loss (vs Nov): N/A
Special Tournaments
none
GRAND TOTAL (December): +$5,910 in profit
As stated last month, the Revolution Network is still picking up the pieces in terms of their MTT schedule after Lock basically destroyed it with their well-documented shenanigans. We have begun to track small GTD tournaments in an effort to track their progress as they slowly, but surely, begin to rebuild - and offer a small glimpse of their profits from said MTT's. Overall, the work week schedule manages to bring in a small amount of revenue, while the weekend schedule, primarily centered around the $15,000 GTD Sunday major, struggles to find a balance.