There's a lot of action in the online poker industry these days, and I'm not quite sure what it means. First, we saw River Belle Poker shut down and all of their players get sent to The Gaming Club. Then the same thing happened last week to Lucky Nugget Poker. Of course, all three were managed by Belle Rock Gaming, which said in a statement that they were collapsing their poker rooms into one brand for competitive reasons. I suppose that makes sense, but it also seems like the type of action a troubled company might take to cut costs. Then the announcement came this week that Noble Poker, one of the more successful new sites, is getting swallowed up by Empire. And further behind the scenes, unless you happen to be an affiliate, Absolute Poker dumped the company managing their affiliate program, Income Access, in order to strike out on their own. With all of this movement taking place, I can't help but think that the online poker market must be reaching a saturation point. Yes, there are more players right now than ever before, but there are also many, many more poker rooms than ever before. The competition is ridiculous, with signup bonuses, reload bonuses, recurring bonuses and other promotions climbing ever skyward as the sites all try to cannibalize each other's players. The sheer competition for players these days makes me think that a lot of these sites are having difficulty maintaining a comfortable number of clients. That's all good for players, though, as we're presented with ever more lucrative perks for our business. But there's got to come a point when the bubble bursts, and I'm thinking that it may be near. Sure, we're still seeing the number of poker sites increase, with seemingly a couple new sites advertising in Card Player every issue. But, as in the case of Noble Poker or the Belle Rock sites, we're also seeing quite a few sites merge and combine, or as in the case with Absolute, cut costs. But say I'm correct. What does it mean? Well, I don't think it means online poker is in jeopardy. The top sites are still attracting top dollar business, and they'll continue to do so for as long as they continue to be responsive to their clients' needs. And the players aren't going anywhere. I think that once the general public grows tired of poker and it loses its current fad status, the player pool will shrink some, but there will still be plenty of opportunity for the successful sites to do good business. But there will be losers. First, the players will lose as the smaller sites either disappear or get swallowed and there are fewer lucrative signup offers available. Second, affiliates such as myself will probably see our business dry up considerably. With fewer sites and fewer and smaller bonuses available, we will have less to offer and I think a lot of players will stop hopping and pick a site and stick with it. Of course, there will still be money to be made from the long-term players we sign up today, but we will see fewer and fewer new signups as the player pool begins to contract. Those who are most successful in the future will be those who are most successful at recruiting players today and who are able to recruit from new markets (overseas) in the future. Finally, the opportunity provided today to smaller sites will disappear. I believe many of the newer sites are temporary by design. Their entire business model is based on getting open, creating a decent size player database and then cashing out by selling out to one of the giants like Party or Empire. So, what is the point of me saying all of this? I don't know. I'm just writing off the top of my head right now, and I'm probably wrong on a lot of points. But at the same time, I think now is the golden age of online poker. If you are not playing now, you are missing the boat. If you are not an affiliate now, you are missing the boat. If you are a half-assed affiliate who spends no time building your clientele, you are really missing the boat. Now is the time to get in and take advantage of all that is availalble. If you're not playing online, click on one of the sites advertised here and get started, or go to my site, www.FreePokerTrips.com, where you can get signed up and get a free two-night stay in Vegas, Atlantic City, or one of 17 other locations. If you're not currently an affiliate (meaning, someone who recruits players for the poker sites), then visit my site www.PokerSalary.com to find out how to get started. There you'll find out how to get into the poker affiliate business, which requires absolutely no investment other than your good ideas and a little bit of your time. And you won't have to pay for a penny of the information I give you. Even if you are an affiliate, but one of the half-assed ones I mentioned earlier, head over to www.PokerSalary.com anyway, where you just might pick up a few ideas for jump-starting your business or find a better program or two to promote. Enough said.

Source: Trials of a Poker Apprentice