Times they are a changin!

Today sees the launch of the new BF stand alone site. They have split from Crypto and going it alone. I had an advanced look at the new site last week for a freeroll tournie. I have to say I think BF have got it wrong here. The site looks ok but suffers from some fundamental flaws. For a start I will not play on a site where there are no hand histories stored, not only does this mean I can't use poker tracker but it also means I've got no easy means of auditing monthly progress.. hands played etc.

The screen format is also an issue. I do most of my 'work' laying on my arse on the sofa playing on the laptop and the screen resolution will only support two tables max on the new BF site as it does not allow you to overlap tables. 90% of the time I'm playing on 3 tables so I'm dropping 30% of my productivity by making the move. There are a few other niggles as well, the interface needs some work and it's a pain in the arse to try and raise by a specific amount. Software aside, I have had no doubts that BF now offer one of the best 'poker' packages to the serious UK player. Their promotions, support , RB deals and general sense of community are second to none. I also do genuinely believe that BF listen to their customers and will be updating the new site as soon as possible to correct these problems. I come from a business IT background and it's all too easy to say BF should have put these changes in before they launched the site. I think they would have liked to but I'm sure that things like severance notice with Crypto were also driving the deadlines and what they could achieve in the timeframe. It's also a concern that if they rush the changes in then the system stablility will be comprimised. They have some nice promos to keep people sweet as well but a few hundred quid is not going to swing the issue .... for the time being I can not play on this site.... at the end of the day it's business!

The problem I've got now is where do I play? The Mrs has hijacked my Hills account, it will be interesting to watch the player liquidity levels on Crytpo over the next few weeks to see how much the BF move hits them.. the big fear is that there will not be enough players to support a decent number of cash games on either site. This would be a disaster... it's my livelihood that's being messed around with here!! Add to the mix the turmoil caused by the Gambling bill in the US and it makes for interesting times ahead!

On a happy side note I played a £200 six pack on Friday... i never play sixpacks ! But I played like a looney in the latter stages and won, heads up i got it in with A8 (my lucky heads up hand) vs AJ and spiked two pair on the river! Whoohooo!