Many in the online poker industry believe it’s not a matter of if, but when Full Tilt Poker will rise from the ashes and re-launch under the direction of Groupe Bernard Tapie or another investor. With a deal reportedly in the works, posters on PocketFives have been busy debating whether they would placate the new Full Tilt, or avoid it like the plague, in a Poker Sites thread. On this holiday weekend, we thought we’d take a look at arguments on both sides of the coin.

After several posters decreed that they’d only play on a new Full Tilt if the management were different from the current crop, one member of PocketFives shared his bankroll plans: “I would withdraw like two-thirds of the $13,000 or so I had on there ASAP. I will play with the rest depending on traffic and how secure my money feels. The software is still better than any apart from PokerStars.” You’ll recall that PokerStars launched Zoom Poker in recent weeks, which is reminiscent of Full Tilt’s Rush Poker.

Another poster echoed, “It will depend on how they address the issues that led to the downfall. If funds aren’t segregated, licenses aren’t held and valid, and they aren’t 100% transparent about how they operate, then no. If they show they want to fix the issues and put some money into customer service to compete with Stars on that front, then I’ll probably be back at whatever they call the re-launched site.”

Big prize pools and high player counts could be enough to lure a number of players back, including one PocketFives member who argued, “Whoever was playing and making money will continue to play there. They might not play for a month, but then they will realize that making money is more important than holding a grudge, and the big prize pools and site traffic will bring all the fish back who were holding a grudge.”

In the end, Full Tilt’s software could be its saving grace, as a wealth of PocketFivers fondly recalled the client. In that camp were comments like, “Hands down, there was no poker software like Full Tilt. The graphics, the MTT structure, and the tournament schedules are just a few reasons why I would return in a heartbeat. As long as they ban those degens who helped the world’s second largest poker site come crashing down, I am game!”

Speaking on the software, another online poker player joked, “Their software is better than sex. I’d snap-play.”

Groupe Bernard Tapie and Full Tilt have been negotiating a deal for months now. While the lack of finality has enraged much of the poker community, the fact that the two parties are still engaging in discussions caught the eye of several players, including one that posted, “I figure if the new owners go to all this effort to buy and fix this company, then they are probably very solid and trustworthy.”

As the rumored deal stands, Tapie would be responsible for paying back players outside of the United States, and the company has allegedly secured third-party financing in order to do so. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice would handle American refunds. This setup led one poster to maintain that playing on Full Tilt could be considered a “thank you” for getting his money back in the first place: “If FTP comes back, it’s because GBT came in with their own money and saved your ass. The absolute least you could do is play and generate some rake as a ‘thanks.’“

Finally, one poker player from Canada argued that he did not want to return to a shark-infested Full Tilt: “The games will be much harder to beat and there will be a lot fewer fish to win money from. Who are the players that pay the closest attention to what happens on the online poker scene? The sharks, not the fish. Who will go back right away when it is legalized, sharks or fish?”

Will you play at Full Tilt Poker if it comes back online? Let the community know in this PocketFives thread.