It's Business

Whenever anyone deals with a poker site, it's business. Whether they play cash games, MTTs, set up a private tournament, or when the site offers them a spot to participate in a tournament. There's always a trade of goods of some kind. Most of the time, cash is traded for a chance to play, but other times, it's prizes for advertising or something similar.

I bring this up because I've recently heard people saying that they can't state their honest opinions about an event because they either "don't want to screw up what's been given" or they "have done well so they have to support it".

Hogwash.

If people don't complain about things, companies never discover that they aren't providing their customers with what they want. What that scenario ususally causes is the company's customers finding somewhere else to spend their money. Which is obviously not what the company wants.

Also, by reading this blog post, understand that you're the reason why bloggers get advertising money, are asked to do reviews, and get other perks. Blogs are a way to reach an audience, just like radio or television. But, the kicker with blogs is the audience is much more focused (e.g. players read poker blogs), so companies who want to reach that audience spend money or offer prizes in exchange for that ability.

Full Tilt is providing the BBT5 because it wants six weeks (or more) of constant "face time" in the blogosphere. Honestly, they don't care if the posts are positive or negative. We're still bringing them up. That's what matters.

I wrote a post a little while ago about why I didn't like the BBT5, but then I took it down. I didn't take it down because I changed my mind about the tournament. I took it down because I over-reacted emotionally in the post. I still don't like the BBT5 format and I still don't like the odds non-invitees are given (13 seats available versus 25). Honestly, the only people who are able to get a shot at all 25 available TOC seats are the people who played in the first Sunday Invitational. It's not a level playing field and I think that sucks.

Is it awesome that Full Tilt is running another edition of the BBT? Of course it is. It's very cool that our community is getting recognized in this manner. But, make no mistake about why Full Tilt is running the tournament. It's offering the BBT5 prizes in exchange for a large number of blogs writing about it for six weeks straight. We're branding their site and we're linking people directly to their blog. It's a business exchange, plain and simple.

So, if you write a blog, you're playing in the BBT5, and there's something you don't like about it, then write about it if it bothers you enough to do so. There won't be any repercussions from Full Tilt and if anyone has an issue with what you've wrote you they can leave a comment or contact you in another manner. If they don't do that, even if they say they will, that's not your problem. But, please don't keep quiet out of fear. Full Tilt might not get information that they want to know and you're staying silent for no valid reason.