*35% RAKEBACK FOR DONKDOWN MEMBERS UNTIL JUNE 1ST* CLICK THROUGH LINK AND KNOW THAT DONK DOWN DOES CARE ABOUT YOU AS MEMBER!
http://record.heropoker.com/_jvhLO13SFCGVAv0U_Fv2nWNd7ZgqdRLk/3

Additionally, we will be hosting the weekly DONK DOWN tournament on HeroPoker.com for DONK DOWN MEMBERS ONLY, which will be password protected and will feature a value added prize pool and or freeroll as per the instructions of the DONK DOWN Management.

************************************************************************

Hi Donk Down,
Seriously, apologies for starting this official thread so late, I did want to take a moment to focus before writing on Donk Down because it is a very special and important community for Hero Poker. The primary aspect of Donk Down's appeal may also be it's most hard to swallow, and that is its brutal honestly and integrity with its very raw approach to the poker industry and current events.

WE LOVE DONK DOWN
It would be very difficult for any major company to integrate this level of authenticity of Donk Down into their brand, because ultimately a gaming brand is for mass market consumption and professionalism and conservatism would be safer to err on the side of than the double edge sword that Donk Down could be for any associate brand/business. At the heart of it, any business must be responsible to their shareholders and by its nature always put their best face first, but for all the marketing and best face first, I personally don't think that is enough in the online gaming industry any longer because of the events of Black Friday.

POKER TSUNAMI
If you read some of my posts floating around, I don't consider Black Friday an accurate term for what happened. I use the term, 'Poker Tsunami' because in my option, it wasn't like some type of stock market crash were a lot of speculation may have created some type of financial bubble, but an entire segment of the population seemed to suddenly be wiped out. As if all the lights went out at once and that was it, darkness.

NO ANSWERS HERE
I'm not here to say, come play with us, we're gonna make everything good and happy, nothing is going happen to you. No one can convince anyone that things are the same, we didn't think about the party gaming founder being charged for events pre 2006 UIGEA in 2007, the charge of neteller 2007, the millions of dollars frozen in the last couple of years and the recent events from just 22 days go. Anyone who says they have a positive spin on things is either trying to scam you or just simply ignorant. No one has an answer or should convince you to play poker or not, it really is a decision for yourself.

MOVING FORWARD
People ask me, how will this company move forward, what are my thoughts on Black Friday, and I say, Black Friday doesn't consider into what my understanding is moving forward. On a personal level, extremely shocked by Black Friday, nearly all my close friends are poker pros and I even thought about my former staff at Stars and if they would even have a job. But on a professional industry level, it wasn't so shocking, of course the scope was (top 3), but not the actual act, because, in my opinion, the hand was forced. I won't get into that, but I basically didn't bother to consider what was going on an industry/professional level, until PS/FPT got their domain names back and then PS started to cash out US players and now have even sorted out the FPP's values as well. But again, this isn't what I'm thinking about when I am managing Hero Poker. To me the real question isn't about managing risk or exposure or trying to find a definite answer about the environment.

To me, I have a single consideration, a question that still bounces around in my mind: If I knew in 2006, of all the events that were to transpire from 2006-2011 and the still pending consequences, and could not change them with this fore knowledge, would I still have advised PS/FTP to stay in the market when Party,888, Ongame/Bwin and Playtech (ipoker) had all left? Even as there are still consequences that still haven't been enacted and PS/FTP have plead non-guilty to the charges. This is not a simple plus EV calculation, it takes a lot of experienced strategic sensibilities to void out the emotional and knee jerk reaction to the recent devastating shadow of events. So what did I do. Nothing. I waited, thought, listened. I see on an industry level what has happened, again, some of the younger poker players may not know about the hysteria created when the Neteller funds were frozen as well back in 2007.

No, in my thinking, the risks have never changed, just the timing of enforcement and the aspect that things were coming to head from the actions of PS/FTP/UB-AP. To me, the actions of acting like a fully legal domestic entity in a foreign market lead to such consequences and I would peg it at about 2009 where the market leaders did lose their perspective. And this is not hindsight 20/20, do you really think that the actions of the partnerships with land based casino was not a move not to preemptively get an edge on legalization because of the exponentially growing possibility of the enforcement. To a senior executive of the industry, it is stark apparent as well as to many others, which again, forced the hand.

BOUTIQUE SITE, REALLY...
Hero Poker's business objectives are not grand, we wanted to simply do branding and work in emerging markets for a couple of years and build trust and confidence with a core group of poker players who would be willing to grow with us through mirco-stakes into poker regs. A boutique site. But with how everything is worked out, Hero Poker had an option: be an option or not be an option. Because whatever that was out there wasn't pretty by any means. Compared to PS/FPT, Hero Poker is not even a consideration- the automatic and justified reaction would be, 'wtf is this, another fly-by-night skin with questionable management and random online pros who no one really knows giving as much rakeback as they can'... Of course, that wasn't us, I didn't even know how a rakerace even worked being from Stars, but that was then.

But 22 days later, here we are and I don't know if I can just bear to sit back and say Hero can't be an option compared to what is out there. Fortune favours the bold, not because they are reckless or greedy, but because they choose it, to do it. And I want to simply be, an option. An option for a player who from their own volition, to continue to enjoy the game and that's it. I don't need you to deposit, to sign up, to devote your life to a rake race or convince you that some how if you are playing with us that everything is as it was and I'm just the new top gun in town. Sure I would like to think of us as the uber mini boutique Stars wannabe of the online world, but seriously, does anyone care?

No, that's bullshit and I think that is where Donk Down comes into play, because we all don't need anymore bullshit right now and DonkDown and it's community will keep anyone honest, whether they want to or not. I just want Hero to be an option and for players to just enjoy the game and while I don't have all the answers,
but for now, let's just play poker and leave it at that, cause there is just too much thinking right now.

Cheers,
David Jung
Hero Poker CEO

THE 30,000 USD + 30,000 USD FREEROLL HEROPOKER 300: May 15, 4:30 US Eastern

NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED TO PLAY
The top 300 US players will get paid out each $100 instant cash with an additional $100 play through cash bonus.
No withdraw restrictions on the $100 or
Keep it and claim your additional $100 cash bonus and do what you were born to do,
Play poker as one of Hero Poker’s 300.

THE BATTLE GROUNDS
Date: Sunday 15th May 2011 @ 4:30pm US Eastern
Game: Texas Holdem No Limit 6 Handed
Tab Location: Tournaments/Scheduled / Special (priority listing)
Blinds: 15 minutes starting at 10 / 20 (10% antes after level 7)

Prize Payout: Top 300 places
Payout : $30,000 cash plus $30,000 bonus ($100 + $100 per player)

Starting Chips: 3,000 chips
Break for 5 minutes every 60 minutes

Late Registration: Ends after 60 minutes
Eligibility: US players + Password
Time Bank: 30 Seconds with 1 Second Earned Every 1 Hand

PASSWORD:
*after you sign up at HeroPoker.com, go to the ‘game lobby’, in the bottom menu select ‘player admin’; update your player details and PM HeroPokerCEO with your username.
THIS IS FOR US PLAYERS ONLY – YOUR DETAILS WILL BE CONFIRMED
DO NOT GIVE OUT THE PASSWORD TO NON-US PLAYERS

You want 35% Rackback? Then come and get it!
http://record.heropoker.com/_jvhLO13SFCGVAv0U_Fv2nWNd7ZgqdRLk/3

PRE-BLACK FRIDAY BULLSHIT MARKETING VIDEO TRAILER FOR HEROPOKER.COM
INCLUDING INTERNATIONALLY NON-US TARGETED DEPOSIT BANNERS AT THE TOP OF DONKDOWN.COM
US PLAYERS PLEASE DISREGARD


*DISCLAIMER: HEROPOKER DOES NOT ENDORSE THE DEPOSITING OF FUNDS TO FORMERLY US FRIENDLY SITES SUCH AS UB/AP AND ENCOURAGES FREEROLL AND PLAY MONEY PLAY ON HEROPOKER.COM FOR US RESIDENTS ONLY. THE INTERNATIONAL NON US COMMUNITY ARE STILL WELCOME AND ENCOURAGE TO DEPOSIT AS MUCH AS THEY CAN. THIS ENTIRE POST WAS NOT WRITTEN BY DAVID JUNG OR BY A REPRESENTATIVE OF HEROPOKER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING IN THIS MATTER. HerozPokeher.com

Why you don't let europeans play on the freeroll.

the biggest source of new players right now would be U.S. By not allowing euros and others it makes it a much better value for us, and thus more U.S. players will sign up to play. I could be wrong, but seems like the obvious reason.

I would once again like to welcome HeroPoker as a sponsor of DonkDown.

I especially appreciate that the CEO took the time to learn about this site and to research what it's all about, rather than just splashing ad money around and pretending to be part of the various forum communities.

Here are some questions that I know people are curious about:

1) If you have an existing Merge Network account with rakeback, can you still get rakeback at HeroPoker? If not, what other options are available in lieu of this?

2) Can we run our DonkDown tournament on HeroPoker ASAP?

3) Can you describe the deposit options available, and the current cashout situation?

Thanks.

After June 1st, will be doing promotions for the international market, but it ain't like the Europeans aren't getting a lot of love from all the other non-US sites. And this freeroll is something that is non-deposit, no whatever requirements to just play and enjoy. Considered what happened recently, I wouldn't say it is unfair to give them something...

1. Unfortunately not, only 1 rb account per player on the network, but if you haven't deposited and were just automatically given rakeback on another site you can email their support to take it off. but after June 1st there will be no new RB accounts provided by Merge or anyone and if you have a 35% rakeback account you can keep it.

2. Just PM the details and how you want to set it up and you can play in 10 mins if you wanted.

3. Merge was #24 before April 15, its now #9 in the world, so everything is backed up and everyone is a basically working 24/7 to catch up and scale up. For players Western Union through a physical location deposit is the most straightforward way to do it right now, the details are in the 'deposit/cashier' buttons in the game client. There is a $12 transaction fee, but if players deposit $100 or more, I'll credit the account the $12 and the deposit bonus will be automatically applied up to $600 at 100%, just PM me.

Cashing out: if you have 'usemywallet' (you need to get an invite for that but only after you've made a successful first time deposit) its relatively painless, if you want a check, its relatively painful with a 2-6 week random wait, there will be more options for players who play over a longer period of time, but for now that is basically it.

Credit cards in general are very random to go through or not, its completely up to your bank and the reason why it has a random failure rate is because the gaming code isn't changed, so there were processors still allowing for the gaming code to go through, but now less so and it really is what it is. A lot of players will say, hey this credit card went through Stars or FPT previous, why the F doesn't it goes through Merge...um...did you bother to read the indictment document? Gee, what I can say. But the payments are all done through Merge's cashier.

I'm sure in a few months things will be significantly smoother or at least clear in what volumes can be done, but it is what it is (hate to use that saying, but I think it's appropriate here).

Cheers,
Dave

Is next weeks DonkDown tournament on Hero Poker and are you going to add some coin on that.

I will add coin, and its up to the DonkDown management to decide, but likely make it free, but its up to them.
But, their wish is my command, i.e, it's their fault if it doesn't come up.

Will Druff and Micon be wearing HeroPoker logo this WSOP.

i heart HeroCEO

excited to start promoting your brand, love how you approach it!

50,000 Russians would sign up $100 is one month salary there

good timing HEROceo i was trying to deposit on Merge from my recliner with no success and when I read you would be posting I deleted Carbon Poker
Thanks for setting up the freeroll on Sunday you were trained well by jews at PS

can I do Western Union online or do I have to go to Walmart in a black neighborhood trying to do it in Spanish b/c they don't have any English forms ?
(true story bro)

DonkDown needs to be helpful if you want the fruits of our signing up thru you
Can we send you $50 or $100 Todd and you transfer, it would make it a whole lot easier to deposit or maybe Cmoney could easily do it from Prague if he wouldn't mind

1) HeroCEO - make the tourney free to play this Wed. We can do a small buy in after a week or two of free. 7pm PST plz, we can release the password live on radio and in the chat so no filthy bonus whores get it

2) Any easy deposits? Paypal FTW? other Merge skins?

3) THIS WEEK'S RADIO TOURNEY WILL BE ON HERO - GET SIGNED UP NOW OBV.

when will you have echeck as a deposit option? i promise not to roll you its just my debit card is being declined, and i don't want to western union because i feel it is unlucky...

Now from what I have heard and put together is there seems to be this 7% tax on gaming payments and it seems that PS/FT and that other site where trying to escape from paying this 7% tax by using dodgy payment processers or in PS case buying a bank.

I hear that Merge, Cake and Bodog use the same guy who "playes by the rules" and will pay this 7% tax and this appears to keep the DOJ at bay?

I would like to see/hear more about this rumour

you should become a payment processor Yebsite or scammer security expert fwiw

CEO

What makes your site different from Stars or Tilt as far as the DOJ is concerned?

Why will you not be next when it comes to accounts/site seized by the government?

Where are you based?

Will you be sneaking Terrance Chan into the states for the WSOP?(mods...this was an attempt at humour)

Is your disclaimer meant to be humourous and why did you just change it to mega-small font?

vn $300 DD freeroll already scheduled and 1 hour late reg, better than PS

I can remember standing by the wall, and the guns shot above our heads,
and we kissed as though nothing could fall, and the shame was on the other side.
Oh we can beat them, for ever and ever! Then we can be Heroes.
Just for one day.

So the rakeback is automatic when you sign up? No code needed or anything?