Once the closest rival to PokerStars in terms of traffic, Full Tilt, as you used to know it, is no more after the site completed its planned migration to PokerStars on May 17, 2016.
Mike Matusow has spilled the beans on what he says really happened at Full Tilt Poker in the run up to Black Friday. Infamously, on April 15th 2011, players logged into their accounts only to find that the domain had been seized by the FBI, along with all the money in the accounts. Once one of the largest and most popular online poker sites, Full Tilt was a place to play real money poker games, owned by professional poker players. The brand was an inescapable presence in the poker industry during it’s heyday from 2004-2011.
Anyone attempting to open the Full Tilt software on their computer is prompted to download the new Full Tilt software, which when opened, is strikingly similar to the PokerStars client, except with Full Tilt branding.
None of the old Full Tilt poker games are present in the new software, instead players are greeted with the same cash games and tournaments you would find if you opened PokerStars. There is a tab labelled 'Rush,' but this is simply a reskinned version of PokerStars' Zoom Poker.
Another reskinned product is Full Tilt's Jackpot Sit & Go, which are now PokerStars Spin & Go tournaments with Full Tilt branding, but the popular The Deal side game remains with players able to choose between normal stakes and high stakes using StarsCoins to fund the game.
Regulars at PokerStars may notice a small increase in traffic in their games, while those who are used to playing solely at Full Tilt will notice a huge surge in liquidity as they are now joined with the PokerStars player pool. More good news for Full Tilt players is that with the exception of slightly different fonts and playing cards, the look and feel of the old Full Tilt software has been retained, complete with avatars and several different backgrounds to choose from.
PokerStars Account or Full Tilt Account
Those of you who only have a Full Tilt account can log into the new software as usual. However, if you have a Full Tilt account that is paired with a PokerStars account, and you attempt to log in with your Full Tilt details, you will be prompted to migrate your Full Tilt account with your existing PokerStars account, which you will then use to log into the software in future as your old Full Tilt account is closed.
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Full Tilt
10 Mar
Almost a month ago, our sister site PokerTube was the first poker news site to reveal Amaya’s next big move: a merger between Full Tilt and PokerStars. FT confirmed the move days later sending an e-mail to all of their customers in which support explained the future plans. Basically they said, starting in April, the ‘Full Tilt brand will run on the PokerStars platform.’ But what does that really mean? What will happen to all those Full Tilt accounts? And what about FT promotions, rewards, and its unique design and avatars? Will they just disappear? Well, not really. Most of it will still be available, only bigger and hopefully better in terms of liquidity, cash tables, tourneys, and oh yes, prize pools. Still not sure what to believe? Don’t worry, like always, we’ve got you covered and we’re pretty sure that if you read the next lines, all will be clearly explained.
A Single Cross-Platform User Account
First thing first: what will happen to your Full Tilt username? Well, after April 1, 2016, like the liquidity and traffic, the FT account will ‘merge’ with your PS account and based on those details, a new, universal, cross-platform account will be created. Universal? Yes, you will be able to access it across all Amaya platforms - Full Tilt, PokerStars, BetStars and StarsDuel.
If you have a linked PS username in your FT cashier, the details from your PS account will be taken into consideration at the time of the merger. And yes, that means your FT user will become obsolete. If you haven’t played on PS before, then the FT details will be center-stage so you will be able to play on Stars using your FT user. Don’t worry though, at least your FT fancy avatar will remain the same no matter the situation.
Ok, but what if I have cash on the FT account? Well, all assets - cash, coins, tournament dollars, tournament tickets, cash game ticket,s and even your edge rewards - will be transferred to your new account. So if you have on PS $100 and on FT $50, your new account will be credited with $150.
As for the other assets:
- Real money ring game tickets will be converted to real dollars and transferred to your new account.
- Tournament dollars will be transferred to your T-Money balance while your tournament tickets will be converted to T$.
- FT Coins will be converted into StarsCoins at a rate of 7 StarsCoins per 1 Coin.
- FT Points will be converted into StarCoins at a rate of 1 StarCoin per 2.5 FTPs.
- Bonuses and pending Edge Rewards will also be converted into real dollars based on progress.
PokerStars VIP Club Across All Platforms
At the time of the upgrade, the Edge Rewards Program will become extinct and replaced by PokerStars’ own VIP Club. Don’t sweat though: this doesn’t mean your efforts so far have been in vain. The FT Rewards Program will also be converted into the equivalent VIP Club Status based on your 30-day rolling FTP average. If you earned 181,818 FTP or more in 2015, your new account will be automatically set to the Supernova Status.
What about PS VIP Club? What if you played on both PS and FT, would the reward programs also merge? In a way, yes. If you have a VIP Club Status on PS and plenty of activity on FT, your new account will have whichever status is higher after FT conversion. So if you’re Chrome on PS and after the FTP conversion, you’re Gold, that means you will start the new merger era with the Gold Status.
Shared Player Pool… Same Experience?
Now, the one million dollar question for those who love the Full Tilt design: will the FT platform be still available after the merger? Actually yes, but we do not know to what extent just yet. There are definitely some different opinions out there regarding what a poker skin actually means and how the FT software will change after the merger.
What we do know is this: starting from April 1, 2016, there will be a shared player pool just like on the European networks. iPoker,for example, is a very familiar network that has many skins and all share the same player pool. All the skins however have a very similar design; the only real differences are in colour and brand. Will Amaya have the same approach? That would mean taking the current PS software, making some small cosmetic changes and basically applying it to FT.
This is unlikely to happen, however, or at least that’s what PokerStars’ Director of Poker Communications, Lee Jones said during a Twitch stream last month. Jones was asked if the merger would turn FT into a PS skin and he actually said no. He explained that it will be much more than that. And the FAQ Full Tilt released last month confirms his position:
The software upgrade means that our players will get the best experience possible. You’ll still have The Deal, the Full Tilt avatars you love, and on top of that, you’ll get to enjoy the many benefits of more players, bigger promotions, and increased prize pools.'
The Deal Jackpot would also mean FT could have exclusive games, only available on its software. This isn’t entirely unusual since some iPoker skins have exclusive tournaments, Sit & Go’s, and even cash tables. Some FT games won’t be available immediately but that could be subject to change after the merger.
Last but definitely not least, the MTT schedule on FT will change dramatically starting from April 1, 2016. Most will probably be eliminated and replaced by the PS tournaments so expect a major shift in the MTT section. Some value tournaments could continue to run though as part of their exclusive offer for the new Full Tilt.
Full Tilt Poker Net
For more information about the merger, you can always check the Full Tilt’s FAQ section here or you can always use the comments section below and ask us. We will do our best to answer you in a timely manner. Good luck at the tables!