The Unshuffled Poker Club
I am super excited to announce that Unshuffled will be launching its first Club product in the first half of 2023!
But what is a Poker Club…?
Glad you asked. For us, a Poker Club is a series of events that players can play in to win tickets that can be redeemed as buy-ins for future events. Put simply, Players play in Step 1 events to qualify for Step 2 events, and then play in Step 2 events to qualify for final events. If you win a final event, you’ll win a real prize like cash, golf clubs, gift cards, and more!
Why the Poker Club?
At Unshuffled, we spend a lot of time talking to our users, and the resounding feedback is that players want to play for real prizes when it is convenient for them. This is hard to do, both legally and logistically, given real money gaming is illegal in most states (even with a license), and getting enough players to be online to create player liquidity takes a ton of time and money.
The club approach takes advantage of Unshuffled’s unique game types to simulate player liquidity. Step 1 events are played as Unshuffled Challenges - 20 hands against five AI bots. If you finish the 20 hands with the highest chip total at your table, you win a Step 2 ticket. These Step 1 events are always running, so players can always play to earn Step 2 tickets. Step 2 and Final events are played as Sit and Gos and Shootout Tournaments without the use of CPU players, so when it comes down to the real prize events, you’re going up against humans (because no one likes losing money to a bot).
How is this legal?
The Unshuffled Club approach falls under a “Sweepstakes” model and as a result, is a legal form of poker where you can win real prizes. The chips do not have any value, and players are not depositing funds to convert into chips to play. Additionally, there will be what is referred to as an Alternate Means of Entry (AMOE). This simply means that players can play for free over a predetermined time span if they go through the necessary steps outlined in the terms of service for AMOE. This is a legal requirement that all sweepstakes models have to abide by (and you can see them in other poker clubs like ClubWPT and ClubGG).
When can people play?
The official launch date has not been set; however, we anticipate early access to the Unshuffled Club Beta to start as soon as March 1 2023. If you’d like early access, you can sign up here.
