Shuffle up and deal! PokerGO Play is soon rebranding to Sweep It Poker! This rebrand will come with some fun aesthetic updates and continues to offer the same engaging features you love about the casual sweepstakes based poker game.
Daily Challenges and Sweepstakes
Under the new banner, Sweep It Poker continues to offer daily challenges that test your skills and keep the excitement alive as you build your chip stack and climb the leaderboards. Additionally, you can compete in regular free-to-play sweepstakes for a chance to win $GALA.
The Sweepstakes add an extra layer of thrill, giving you more reasons to play every day. The more chips you win throughout each Sweepstakes, the more entries and chances to win!
As the game’s core reward opportunity, we really want the Sweepstakes to shine. That’s why we’ve retitled the game to Sweep It Poker.
NFT Avatar Frames and Bonuses
Players can still obtain various gameplay bonuses for collecting and playing with NFT Avatar Frames, but all Avatar Frames will soon be removed from the store forever, meaning you’ll only be able to find them on the secondary market (if you’re feeling lucky)!
These frames not only enhance your avatar’s appearance but also offer daily chip boost advantages. By sunsetting the primary sale of these items with the game’s rebrand, we can ensure that their benefits will be exclusively valued as early adopter rewards!
Keep collecting and using these limited supply Avatar Frames to boost your performance and stand out in the poker arena, while you still can!
Why the Rebrand?
The rebranding to Sweep It Poker reflects our commitment to evolving and enhancing the player experience. We believe this new identity better captures the dynamic and rewarding nature of the game.
Our goal is to create a platform where players can enjoy not just poker, but a comprehensive and engaging gaming experience that rewards their efforts and time.
Join the Revolution
As part of the Gala Games platform, Sweep It Poker is powered by GalaChain, our purpose-built blockchain designed to support high transaction volumes with low fees and rapid settlement times. This ensures that your gaming experience is seamless and secure.
Tell your friends, take a seat and get ready to clean ‘em out with Sweep It Poker, new from Gala Games!
PokerGO Play is the first game within a new family of upcoming casino themed games known collectively as Gala Casino. By applying web3 principles of ownership and rewards to well known wagering games, Gala will empower and reward users for their time and attention without compromising the enjoyment of this beloved genre of games.
Through the formation of a new token (described in greater detail below) and a new network of nodes to power the games, Gala Casino will become a core piece of the Gala Games ecosystem as we continue to grow and innovate in the web3 entertainment world.
Gala Casino is where web3 finally intersects with casino gaming, reducing the risk and enhancing the fun, so more of us can make time to play.
Poker Gala Style
Launching very soon, the new-and-improved Gala poker experience will pave the way for a plethora of new Gala Casino games. These games will allow players to earn $GALACHIPS rewards with real utility and value, simply for playing competitively. Since competition is still an integral part of the game of poker, we believe that playing and competing is what should generate the rewards, rather than winning.
As one of the most popular betting games in history, poker is the perfect place to kick off the Gala Casino adventure. To ensure maximum player enjoyment in a game that has always been intrinsically connected to money, we’re placing a strong emphasis on chips but setting each player’s $GALACHIPS rewards apart from any requirement or expectation of winning at the tables.
Making $GALACHIPS
The new GalaChain minted token for the Gala Casino reward economy is called $GALACHIPS. $GALACHIPS tokens can be used for purchases, traded like any token on GalaChain, or bridged to other blockchains as needed.
Trading $GALACHIPS
Players will have the ability to swap $GALACHIPS for $GALA (and eventually other tokens) within the GalaChain ecosystem. Depending on the possibility of private exchange listings and/or utility on those chains, bridging of tokens to other blockchains will also be added as needed.*
*We cannot guarantee or comment on any future private exchange listings for $GALACHIPS.
Purchasing with $GALACHIPS
With the initial launch of the new PokerGO Play economy, $GALACHIPS’s primary use is in purchasing items within the Gala Casino ecosystem.
Buying Chips:
Chips for poker gameplay may be purchased at any time using $GALACHIPS. Having a larger chip stack means that players can make larger bets in “Cash style” games and enter higher stakes SNG tourneys, potentially increasing their Score for that day and subsequently enhancing their daily $GALACHIPS rewards.
Because chips are not valued in cash, purchased quantities of chips can increase depending on the amount of $GALACHIPS spent in a single transaction (bonus chips). Bonus chips for different chip purchase levels are outlined below:
Shortly following launch, the ability to use $GALACHIPS to buy a variety of other items will be added, including (but not limited to) Card Frames and exclusive Avatars. Generally, items purchased from the store with $GALACHIPS will come with some form of regular chip bonus or perk in the game.
Raking in $GALACHIPS
In the world of casino gaming, the term “rake” has become synonymous with the “house take.” Both are feared and avoided whenever possible by the astute casino player. In order to fund their extravagant business operations, casinos must rake the table, taking house portions of player bets and/or pots at various times, depending on the policies of the house. In classic casinos where chips have direct money value, this is a necessary evil.
Gala Casino is redefining the rake. A 2% rake of chips will still be taken from “Cash style” table games and a house share of chips will still be taken from Sit-n-Go prize pools (10% for 5-person SNGs and 16% for 9-person SNGs). But instead of being simply raked into the casino’s pocket, this chip total will now be directly used to determine the amount of $GALACHIPS rewards allocated for player distribution.
Emission
Each day’s $GALACHIPS emission = 50% of the House Share from all games.
For example, if 54,000,000 chips are burned by the house as the House Share in a 24 hour period, then the reward distribution pool will consist of 28,000,000 $GALACHIPS for that 24 hour period.
Scoring
The daily distribution of $GALACHIPS is determined by each player’s Score, which quantifies each player’s competitive participation. While the total amount of $GALACHIPS available in the day’s pool consists of 50% the combined House Share of chips burned, the distribution of those rewards to players depends entirely on the players’ Score.
Raising Your Score
When playing games on Gala Casino, each player’s Score will increase based on their active participation in the game. The way that Score points are awarded varies depending on the style of table.
“Cash style” Game Scoring:
In regular games that allow players to buy in with a set range of chips, their Score increases based on their called chip bets. For every 2600 chips bet (and called), the betting player Scores 1.
SNG Tourney Scoring:
With Sit-n-Go tourneys, chips are spent up front to gain entry to the tournament. Since winning is not required to earn rewards, players Score just for joining a SNG tournament. Greater Scores obtained for joining more expensive buy-in SNG tourneys, using the following formula:
Score = 1/1000th of Chip Entry Fee
Distribution to Nodes
From the total reward pool each day, 90% goes to players, divided up among eligible players based on accumulated Score for that day.
2.5% of the daily reward pool is distributed to active Founder’s Node operators as a reward for continued operation of the greater Gala ecosystem.
7.5% of the daily reward pool will be distributed to active Table Nodes as a reward for powering the game-specific Gala Casino ecosystem.
Revolutionizing Casino Gaming
Gala is on a mission to revolutionize gaming and entertainment, putting the power and ownership that players deserve back into their hands. Gala Casino fits perfectly into this mission. The Gala Casino reward economy can and will be adjusted as needed to ensure that we arrive at a web3 enabled system that’s rewarding to players for their time and attention without any form of gambling.
Our approach to Gala Casino is that we can reward players for simply playing games of chance, keeping the integrity of those time-tested games intact without asking the player to risk anything in the process. The bottom line: More play for more players, leading to more joy in our lives.
Subject to Change
This Litepaper is subject to change. As details change, this Litepaper will be updated and the changed details logged below, along with the date of the update.
When we had the opportunity to team up with poker video legends at PokerGO last summer for a web3 card game, we raised the bet with the first of many interactive and immersive casino game experiences within the Gala ecosystem.
Our partners at PokerGO gave early supporters six months of free access to PokerGO’s exclusive poker content, which included live events from the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) that were not shown anywhere on television. Later on, when various final tournament events were shown in replay, our game was featured on the chair backs of some of the greatest players of our time, along with ads and mentions from the event announcers.
$GALA Sweepstakes
It was time for a new form of player empowerment that did not sacrifice the thrill of the game’s crucial betting components.
This is how our web3 econ and reward team came up with the concept of Weekly Sweepstakes. Players are rewarded with a number of no-purchase-necessary Weekly Sweepstakes entries corresponding to the amount of chips they won during each 24 hour period. You can get in on the Weekly Sweepstakes now, with the prize chances listed below. All you have to do is start playing for free!
After digesting tons of community feedback and deeply analyzing the player experience, PokerGO Play decided to move in a new direction.
First, we removed the daily chip reset that leveled the playing field every 24 hours. This update went live on February 8th as announced in this blog post. Instead of taking players’ hard-won chips, we started taking a house share from Sit-n-Go entries and a rake from every ‘cash” style game pot won. Now, players are free to strategize on a longer term, thinking past the 24-hour sprint and stacking as many chips as possible.
New Revolution Incoming
Before the end of Q1 2024, we’ll drop some big news about the future of PokerGO Play. This will include a mission and vision for the future of casual casino gaming with Gala, as well as a completely new model for ownership and rewards in PokerGO Play. A new Litepaper and a new token will soon be introduced, so get ready.
For now, this is what we’ll say:
You deserve rewards for playing, and that’s what we intend to deliver.
Ownership
There are several ways to own items in the PokerGO Play ecosystem, and more will show up throughout the rest of this year.
Avatar Frames
Now that we’ve removed the daily Chip reset, owners of Avatar Frames get a daily login bonus of chips straight to their account. That bonus is upgradeable as your Frame is upgraded, and it varies based on the rarity of your Frame.*
*Ancient Avatar Frames have the largest daily chip bonus and upgrade potential.
Avatar Frames are also GalaChain minted NFTs that owners are free to trade or sell p2p within the Gala ecosystem or even bridge to another blockchain.
Chips
Players can always stack up by buying chips directly from the Gala store, or within the app. While these chips were previously displayed as a pack of Chip Markers, now they’re simply rewarded to your chip balance automatically with your one-time purchase.
Play the Game
We can hardly wait to show you what PokerGO Play has in store for the coming months. For now, it’s time to get good, learn the rules and prep that poker face. You’re gonna need it, or the sharks will sense your excitement like blood in the water. 🃏
We’ll share some tips and tricks in upcoming blogs, as well as some general poker advice from some of our in-house experts. Time to hit the tables!
Last year, we made a splash in the online poker world with the release of PokerGO Play, in partnership with the popular worldwide poker video content producer, PokerGO. The game’s title was even featured on live broadcasts and recorded replays of some of the most prestigious World Series of Poker events from 2023, where poker’s greatest stars battled it out at the tables for bracelets and massive cash prizes.
Teaming up with PokerGO and WSOP was a great way to enter the scene, showing our community just how serious we are about pioneering poker into its new web3 home through the player empowering abilities of our native blockchain. GalaChain makes it possible for the Gala entertainment ecosystem to continue growing in new directions and into fresh industries that have yet to experience the real power of web3 tech. One of these is casino style gaming, and we intend to change that.
First, it’s time to up the ante with some big upgrades to PokerGO Play. Don’t worry–we’re not doing anything that will upset the balance or strategy for poker. We wouldn’t dream of trying to reinvent a game that is so beloved throughout the world. So let’s get into the updates!
Update 1–Ending the Chip Reset
The first phase of PokerGO Play, since its release in app stores and on your browser through the Gala Games platform, has centered around a daily Chip reset mechanic that leveled the playing field every 24 hours by reducing every player’s Chips down to their base daily starting amount.
PokerGO Play uses a unique Sweepstakes style play, converting the Chips each player is able to gain in each 24-hour period into Sweepstakes drawing entries. Therefore, the number of Sweepstakes entries earned by each player was determined entirely by how high they could climb from their starting level in each distinct 24-hour period.
With this update, daily Chip Balance no longer reset for players.*
*24-hour Chip Take is still tallied
After listening closely to community feedback and leaning in on the expertise of our gaming economy team, we devised this update as a solution to several problems:
The Problems with Daily Chip Resets
Players want to play when they want to play.
Players should play when they feel like playing without worrying that their rewards will be less effective if play sessions are short, or if they fall further apart than a 24-hour period. If I sit down at a table and have a great run playing for 15 minutes before working a 12-hour shift, then come home tired and crash, I’ve pretty much forfeited my ability to come back and capitalize on the success of that good table run.
The daily reset cycle encourages players to sprint when they’re winning, and that doesn’t fit everyone’s lifestyle, especially with a game that should be casual and fun every time you sit down to play. We don’t want you to play out of obligation, and we want you enjoying every hand and every pot you play. On the other hand, if I’m loving the game for hours but getting cold cards, I’m liable to see the reset cycle as a reason to throw in the towel and try again tomorrow. We don’t like that scenario either. We want players to feel empowered to enjoy the game on their terms.
It sucks when your Chips disappear.
Okay, we understand that the Chips have no real money value and what really matters is how much you can grind out in each 24-hour period. Still, none of us like the feeling of waking up the next day and seeing that our formidable stack has legitimately disappeared. Without even realizing it, you might feel like you’re being punished on a daily basis. In fact, the more Chips you won the previous day, the more Chips you must wave goodbye to in the cold morning light. Y’all finally convinced us with your consistent feedback (thanks for that btw) what we should have recognized from day 1: That sucks.
Level Playing Field?
Poker was never supposed to be about a level playing field. It’s a game of skill, and one that rewards players for their determination, analytical prowess, boldness and growth as a player. The reasons that the same pros end up at the final tables of the WSOP year after year and event after event can be boiled down to a single word: Skills.
Poker is a game of skill that is made endlessly more complex by careful injections of luck. It’s a game of incomplete information, and your pocket aces aren’t guaranteed to hold up against other players who call your preflop raise. The randomness of the cards that fall create a constant dance of probability in every player’s mind. If you’re able to lead that dance with dexterity, you probably have what it takes.
Building a bankroll (for real cash players) or a Chip stack (for PokerGO Play players) ought to give you a competitive edge in the sense that you have more room to experiment with looser odds. How can you explore that deeper strategic level of the game if you’re getting leveled out every day and thrown into a pond with all the lucky break fish regardless of any of your performance the previous day?
Build Your Bankroll
With this update, you can now build your Chip Stack as big as you can manage. With great stack comes great responsibility, so don’t get careless or you’ll lose it all on your own.
We’ll even let you buy more Chips in the Gala Games store. They’ll be awarded directly to your in-game account, moving away from the Chip Marker system that was previously used.
By playing on your own terms and building a stack that fits your strategy, you’re better equipped to enjoy the subtleties of poker strategy, enhancing your skill and preparing you for higher stakes and greater rewards. Who knows? Maybe you’ll have a seat at one of those illustrious WSOP final tables one day, in front of a reporter on a break, thanking Gala Games for helping you learn everything you know about the game.
Your Chip stack will no longer disappear on a daily basis–that’s the good news. The bad news is that if you lose everything, you’re left without excuses😉
Update 2–Raking Chips
You poker players may get a clenched up feeling when you hear the word “rake,” but since these Chips have no value, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Basically, this rake has been added to balance out the fact that you’ll all be swimming in Chips from us doing away with the daily reset.
NOTE: Chip rake and house share numbers are entirely subject to change as needed, but these are the starting figures.
In “Cash style” games, 2% of every pot will be taken by the house.
In SNG Tourneys, a portion of the table’s prize pool will be consumed by the house upon payout to the winner.
In 6-person SNGs, a 10% house share is deducted from the total prize pool.
In 9-person SNGs, a 16% house share is deducted.
This is merely a measure to prevent inflation over time. Our economists have spoken, and you can trust them on this.
This rake will also make a lot more sense with a massively updated reward structure that we’re not quite ready to release to the public. We’re still working out the final details, but you can expect that update to come within the next month or so. We think you’ll love it!
Update 3–Daily Bonus Chips for Owners
If you bust out of Chips, you don’t have to buy more. You can always wait for the next day’s login bonus, and if you own an Avatar Frame, you’ll get an enhanced login bonus.
Daily Login Bonus
If you’re risking it all and busting out on a regular basis, you’ll want to get familiar with the daily login bonus. This is when your Chip stack will get a crucial infusion, allowing you to keep on grinding to build that bankroll!
The more consecutive days you login, the greater daily login bonus you’ll get:
Day 1 = 5000 Chips
Day 2 = 7500 Chips
Day 3 = 12,500 Chips
Day 4 = 12,500 Chips
Day 5 = 17,500 Chips
Day 6 = 25,000 Chips
As you can see, it pays (literally) to play every day. You can do a lot with 25,000 extra Chips, so be sure to keep that play streak going!
Avatar Frame Bonus
Previously, owners of Avatar Frames could enjoy a larger stack of starting Chips than free players, along with the ability to level up their Frame for even more Starting Chips.
Owners of unique PokerGO Play Frame NFTs will still get an additional daily bonus, but instead, it will simply be added to their Chip balance directly as a daily login bonus.
Hit the Tables
The new update is live, and it’s time to start building the biggest bankroll you can with PokerGO Play. Don’t forget to share your high hands and bad beats on social media and brag about your conquests in Discord!
