If you haven’t already heard, HogWild Poker is launching an online league for PocketFives members, and they’re giving an iPad 2 to the winner of the February series. Four free league games are scheduled every Tuesday in February at 9 pm ET. And they’re all open to PocketFives members from the United States since the site isn’t rake-based:Tuesday, February 7th at 9:00pm ET
Tuesday, February 14th at 9:00pm ET
Tuesday, February 21st at 9:00pm ET
Tuesday, February 28th at 9:00pm ET
The contest rules are simple - players will earn points based on their order of finish and the total number of finishers in the game. For example, the winner of a game with 70 finishers will receive 70 points. Points are not awarded for no-shows. At the end of February, the player with the highest total number of points wins. In case of a tie, there will be a playoff. Sign up for HWP.
The PocketFives promotion is part of HogWild’s overall approach to encourage a higher competitive level. “We continue to reach out to more sophisticated players,” said Hogwild CEO Jeff Amrein. “We pride ourselves on hosting some of the highest quality play of any U.S.-legal site. We look for – and reward – skill. I’ve been on PocketFives for years, and it’ll be fun to see how the P5ers will do against our other players.”
A free league-based platform, HogWild is built around the “Series” concept, in which a player’s skill is proven over multiple games. In addition to frequent contests like the iPad giveaway, HogWild hosts a monthly $500 freeroll where leagues send their best five players to a team-style championship. After the game, cash is paid out to both team and individual winners.
The HogWild platform lets players customize and run their own poker leagues - whether they are small, private games or big, open leagues with international players. League owners set the blinds, schedule the games and decide on the house rules.
It's free to run leagues and play on HogWild, but there are some optional features in the system that take a proprietary currency called HogBucks. Every player receives 5,000 HogBucks when they join, and they get more when they do things such as win with certain hands, knock out house bounties, recruit other players, and participate in various contests. “HogBucks make playing here more fun,” said Amrein. “You can use them for Prop Bets or Open Tables, and soon they’ll get you into special events and competitions.”
U.S. players are welcome to participate, as the site does not currently allow deposits. And unlike other U.S.-friendly platforms, there are no subscription packages to buy nor display ads or banners.
According to Amrein, “HogWild was built to emphasize the player-engagement aspects of poker.” To that end, HogWild has developed some unusual communication tools such as voice chat, texted game reminders, and “social”-style league walls and chat rooms.One of the site’s many other innovations is hole cards that are dealt down, but “light up” when you look at them. “It definitely improves your hole card memory,” said Amrein, “Peeking at your cards at the wrong time can be a clear tell.”
HogWild Poker also holds regular freerolls and promotions that give players a chance to win live event buy-ins. In addition to the PocketFives’ iPad 2 contest, another program is starting in March that Amrein says “will be very exciting to aspiring pros.”
To sign up for the PocketFives league or get more information, go to HogWildPokerLeagues.com.
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