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!
