Poker players can always count on Full Tilt Poker for unique promotions. At the beginning of December, the popular online poker room launched its Short-Handed Happy Hour promotion, encouraging players to jump start empty or nearly empty tables.
Running through the end of January, Full Tilt players will earn double Full Tilt Points (FTPs) by playing in short-handed cash games. For the purposes of this promotion, Full Tilt defines “short-handed” as follows:
Six-Max tables – Three players or fewer
Eight-Max tables – Four players or fewer
Nine-Max tables – Five players or fewer
Heads-up tables are not included in the promotion, and for obvious reasons. The only possible way to have a short-handed heads-up table would be to have just one player seated, which would mean there would be no game. Rush Poker tables are also not included.
There are no specific times for Short-Handed Happy Hour; tables will be marked with the traditional Happy Hour smiley face whenever they are short-handed. If they are short-handed during what would normally be a Happy Hour time, players at the table will earn triple FTPs.
Remember that these extra Happy Hour points are considered bonus FTPs and therefore do not count towards points targets for promotions such as the Iron Man Challenge nor do they count towards clearing deposit bonuses. Only base FTPs earned at the tables count.
In cash games, FTPs are earned based on the amount of money raked from the pot. For each dollar raked, 10 points are awarded to the table. Those points are then split up equally among all players who were dealt cards in the hand. Players can earn points for playing in tournaments as well, but as already stated, only ring games count for the Short-Handed Happy Hour promotion.
According to the online poker traffic watchdog site PokerScout.com, Full Tilt Poker currently ranks as the second largest poker room or network on the internet. It is a steep climb to the number one spot, however, as PokerStars has averaged 30,000 cash game players over the last seven days, compared to 17,000 for Full Tilt. On the bright side, it does not appear that Full Tilt will drop below that second spot any time soon. PartyPoker sits in third place with a seven-day average of just 3,850 cash game players, with the iPoker Network close behind with 3,750.
Recently, Full Tilt made a bold attempt to get more people playing at its tables by introducing a Rush Poker Mobile app for Android-based phones. For the most part, the app was received positively by those who tried it, although its performance was affected by the quality of the user’s cell phone signal. Unfortunately, the app was pulled from the Android Market about a week ago. Full Tilt said it was “due to maintenance,” but the real reason was likely because it allowed customers to gamble for real money. While the Android Market allows apps with gambling themes, real money gambling apps are strictly forbidden.