Tuesday was a big day. In the United States, it was Election Day. The importance of that goes without saying. But for poker players in the rest of the world, it was Full Tilt Poker Day, the day that the former online poker giant rose from the ashes.
Full Tilt got its real money games up and running in the early afternoon Tuesday after about a week of play money testing. The re-launch was not without its hiccups, though, as the Cashier was not working for about two hours. Additionally, while players could link their Full Tilt account with their PokerStars account, the ability to actually complete a transfer from Full Tilt to PokerStars was a bit sketchy for a while. Despite the problems, players still seemed to be excited to have Full Tilt back as an option for internet poker.
Most aspects of Full Tilt are basically the same from before it disappeared after Black Friday. There are some minor changes to various tournaments and other features, but on the whole, most everything should be very familiar to former Full Tilt Players.
The biggest change appears to be Full Tilt’s loyalty program. Gone are Black Card and Iron Man. The new program, Full Tilt Edge, supposedly “streamlines the way players are rewarded.” In the Edge program, players can climb up through five different status levels – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond – depending on how many Full Tilt Points (FTPs) are earned over time. Levels can be achieved in using one of three calculations: 7-day rolling average FTPs, 30-day rolling average FTPs, or 100-day rolling average FTPs.
The idea behind the three formulas is that less frequent players have a shot at moving up just like those who play daily do. Those who play every day might be able to hit the 7-day marks fairly easily, but those who play more sporadically could still do it over a longer period, especially because those longer periods require a lower average of FTPs.
Anyone who achieves Bronze Edge status will be able to register for daily freerolls which will cost 25 FTPs to enter. Those who hit levels above Bronze will receive cash rewards based on how many FTPs were earned each week. Players who reach Diamond status will have access to a special Diamond Edge Store where items and cash bonuses can be purchased for FTPs.
Players who were Black Card members on the old Full Tilt at any point during 2011 will automatically start at the Diamond Edge level with a 50-day grace period. Players who reached any sort of Iron Man status during 2011 will be pre-qualified for Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond based on where they stood in Iron Man. All Iron Man medals held in accounts as of June 29, 2011 will be converted to FTPs at a rate of 50 points per medal.
While “rest of world” players now have access to their long-lost Full Tilt funds, Americans with money stuck on Full Tilt will still have to wait for the U.S. government to begin its reimbursement process. There is no new information as to when that will start.
