NoiQ, Carlos Poker forced out of iPoker Network
(December 28, 2008)
iPoker Network will remove NoiQ Poker and Carlos Poker from the network by January 24, 2009. The move was announced on Friday in a tersely worded press statement.
In response, NoiQ has
reportedly notified its players that it will be joining a new network.
The identity of the new network will be revealed tomorrow, December 29, according to the report.
The move is the result of friction between the network and certain member sites which were perceived as not pulling their weight. Since the Tain network merged with iPoker in February of 2007, rumors of disharmony between Tain and iPoker have persisted. A year ago,
NoiQ received a one-week suspension from iPoker
for allegedly violating the network's rakeback policy.
More recently, message boards buzzed with the rumor that all Tain poker sites would be kicked off the iPoker Network in 2009. The CEO of ChiliPoker
quickly moved to dispel the rumor,
revealing that iPoker had merely implemented a new policy for its member sites.
Under the new policy, any site which did not contribute positive net cash flow (player deposits minus withdrawals) would be fined by the network. The policy took effect last month, and the expulsion of NoiQ and Carlos appears to be a result. In its message to players regarding the move to a new network, NoiQ said, "NoiQ and iPoker don’t look at things the same way and it has been hard to understand each other. However, we are extremely excited about the change and can’t wait to get started."
In an
informative thread on 2+2,
unidentified representatives of various iPoker sites can been seen debating the merits of the iPoker policy. The crux of the dispute seems to be that, by offering extroadinary player incentives and marketing to established, successful players, NoiQ has acquired a player base which is top-heavy with winning, high-stakes players, some of which may have been "poached" from other iPoker sites. The net result is that NoiQ is seen as feeding on the fish supplied, at great marketing expense, by the other iPoker sites.
Whether NoiQ and Carlos Poker can establish a more harmonious relationship with their new network remains to be seen. The identity of the new network is the subject of intense speculation. A NoiQ representative
provided vague hints in an interview, suggesting that the new network has "much faster game play, looser cash games and looks really nice."
PokerScout will have more information on the new network as soon as it is announced.
Update: NoiQPoker is moving to the Entraction Network. Read the announcement
here.
