NJ Online Gaming Scoop: Cash Game and Tournament Traffic For The Week Of Feb. 5

February 13, 2018
NJ Online Gaming Scoop: Cash Game and Tournament Traffic For The Week Of Feb. 5

It was a solid week for NJ online poker with the average cash game traffic increasing by 3.3% and tournament entries nearly doubling compared to last week.

It’s good to see an increase in cash game traffic for the second week in a row and it’s a relief to see the tournament numbers rebound after a dismal week on the digital felt.

The big winner for the week was WSOP/888 with a 15.9% increase in cash game traffic and an incredible 105% increase in tournament entries.

That’s two weeks in a row of double-digit percentage increases in cash game traffic for the brand that is most likely gearing up to capitalize on players looking to earn their way into the World Series of Poker in Nevada this summer.

No doubt, the New Jersey Poker Classic (NJPC) provided a nice bump to the tournament numbers this past week week, along with the first round of satellites into the WSOP.

With a 78.23% increase in tournament entries across all operators, it appears every site benefitted from the running of the of the 57-event tournament series on WSOP/888.

Expect the tournament numbers to remain strong as both the NJPC and WSOP satellites remain on the schedule for this upcoming weekend.

Also, on tap this week is the release of New Jersey’s January online gaming numbers. With such a rocky January for online poker rooms, it will be interesting to take a look back and put the numbers in perspective.

With that, let’s take a detailed look back at the cash game and tournament trends in the New Jersey online poker market for the week ending Feb. 11, 2018.

New Jersey’s online poker operators

New Jersey has seven online poker sites operating on four separate networks.

During the week of Feb. 5-11, New Jersey online poker sites averaged 290 cash game players, an increase of just over three percent from the previous week.

Peak traffic numbers were around 702 players, an increase of six percent from the previous week.

Here’s how those players are distributed across the four online poker networks.

Borgata-MGM-partypoker

Seven-day rolling cash game traffic data:

  • Seven-day rolling peak traffic average: 176 cash game players – down 1.3 percent compared to the previous seven days

WSOP-888

Seven-day rolling cash game traffic data:

  • Seven-day rolling peak traffic average: 248 cash game players – up 15.9 percent compared to the previous seven days

PokerStars NJ

Seven-day rolling cash game traffic data:

  • Seven-day rolling peak traffic average: 266 cash game players – up 2.1 percent compared to the previous seven days

Pala Poker

  • Platform provider: Pala
  • Sites in network:PalaPoker.com

Seven-day rolling cash game traffic data:

  • Seven-day rolling peak traffic average for Wednesday through Friday of this week: 12.1 cash game players – up 26.9% percent compared to the previous seven days
  • Note: Data wasn’t reported for Pala Poker on Monday and Tuesday of the previous week which could account for the large increase
  • Comparing only Wednesday through Sunday, shows Pala Poker with a 10.4% decrease in cash game peak traffic

*Cash game traffic data provided by PokerScout.com. Collected February 11, 2018.

Evaluating cash game traffic trends

As mentioned above, it was WSOP/888 that came out on top for the week. They had both the biggest gains and the most traffic of all the New Jersey-based operators.

In fact, their gains this week earned them the most market share in cash game traffic, eclipsing PokerStars for the first time in over a month.

PokerStars and partypoker remained relatively flat for the week, posting an increase of 2.1 percent and a decrease of 1.3%, respectively.

Pala Poker is showing a huge 26.9% increase, but that number is deceiving because there was no data for two days in the week prior. Eliminate the numbers from those same days this week and Pala Poker ends up posting a decrease of 10.4 percent.

Looking ahead, you can expect WSOP/888 to continue to post strong numbers while the other operators strive to keep up. The enticing New Jersey Poker Classic and the first batch of satellites into the WSOP will keep players on the site, at least through the next few weeks.

­­Overall, the more New Jersey online poker can post positive numbers the better for online poker in general.

Online poker will be entering a busy time and WSOP satellites will continue to make their way to the platforms, so look for the uptick to continue.

Tournament Report: A look at the Sunday Majors

The four online poker networks host a signature Sunday tournament:

  • The Borgata/partypoker/MGM online poker network hosted a $40,000 guarantee tournament. The tournament has a $215 buy-in.
  • The WSOP.com and 888 network also hosted a $320 buy-in, $60,000 guaranteed tournament as part of the New Jersey Poker Classic II that is now running.
  • PokerStars NJ hosted the Sunday Special, a $200 buy-in with a guarantee of $45,000.
  • Pala Poker hosted the $2,000 Guaranteed Pala Mega with a buy-in of $30.

Major tournament results for Feb. 11, 2018

Last week, three of the four operators offered lower guarantees for their main Sunday tournaments then offered the week prior.

Guarantees were back at their normal levels this week, except for WSOP/888 which had a special $60,000 guarantee as part of the New Jersey Poker Classic.

  • Borgata raised last week’s guarantee of $30,000 back to its standard $40,000 guarantee
  • WSOP.com/888 is hosting the New Jersey Poker Classic II and offered a $60,000 guaranteed, a guaranteed $40,000 higher than last week’s and $20,000 higher than its regular $40,000 guarantee
  • PokerStars NJ raised its guarantee back to its normal $45,000 from the $40,000 guarantee it offered last week.

Also, last week three out of the four operators failed to meet their guarantees. This week three out of the four exceeded them.

As expected, WSOP/888 had the largest prize pool with $68,400 followed by partypoker ($47,400) and PokerStars ($47,058).

Pala Poker continues to struggle to meet the $2,000 guarantee of their Sunday signature tournament and posted an overlay of $1,271.00 with 27 entries. They are seeing an increase in entries each week, so the value found in the overlay of this tournament will not last forever.

Overall, tournament traffic increased by 78.23 percent, making up for the 35 percent decrease from the week prior.

With the aforementioned NJPC and WSOP satellites on the schedule, you can expect those numbers to hold steady, if not increase for this coming Sunday (Feb. 18).

Here’s a look at the total number of entries for the largest tournament held on each of the three main online poker networks in New Jersey:

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