Hey everyone,
I wanted to put out a proposal to level up the poker lobby here on Stake by introducing fixed hourly freerolls (similar to the system used on CoinPoker).
Right now, options are pretty limited for players who either can't/won't deposit right away, or just want to get some practice in without jumping through annoying casino promotion hoops just to scrape together a micro bankroll.
Here is how we could structure it:
Fast-Paced Turbo Structure To make it work seamlessly as an hourly event, the tournament should be Turbo. This keeps the pacing tight and ensures the whole event wraps up comfortably before the next hourly kicks off, avoiding overlapping congestion.
Micro-Stake Satellite Payouts Instead of distributing tiny cash fractions that vanish in two hands, the payouts should consist of tickets for micro buy-in tournaments. It acts as a natural bridge straight into the paid tournament schedule.
Dynamic Payouts Based on Traffic To keep things balanced around the clock, rewarded spots can scale dynamically with player counts:
Peak Hours: When fields hit around 500 runners, expand the payouts to reward a broader chunk (e.g., top 30 places).
Off-Peak / Late Night: During quieter hours with around 200 players, scale it down proportionally (e.g., top 10).
Why it benefits Stake:
Retention: Keeps users locked into the poker ecosystem longer, grinding the lobby instead of heading over to a competitor.
Organic Funnel: Feeds recreational and starting players directly into the daily traffic, supplying fresh entries to the paid micro events.
Zero Friction: Saves players from dealing with heavy wagering requirements just to get a basic practice roll going.
What do you think of adding an hourly turbo schedule with dynamic satellite payouts to the lobby? Let's discuss below!