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iGaming Affiliate managers up for awards

The 2011 year is coming to a close and that means igaming awards for affiliate managers.  Affiliate managers in the online gambling industry are very different from the other industries, they tend to work harder and be more in tune towards affiliates.  Keep in mind that not all affiliate managers work hard so it is the affiliates that decide whom they want to work with. 

Even better affiliates can now give the recognition to the affiliate managers that do the best job. There are 2 sets of awards where affiliates can vote for affiliate managers that they love. 

One set of awards comes from Gaffg.com where they have a trusted affiliate manager award and voting is live and ends December 6th, 2011. Details can be found here:

http://gaffg.com/blog/gaffg-awards-2011/

The next set of awards is by far the biggest and run by iGB Affiliate Awards. Not only can affiliates vote for the best overall affiliate manager and all the various categories but they have an awards ceremony that runs in conjuction with the London Affiliate Conference. More details are here:

http://www.igbaffiliate.com/events/igbaffiliateawards/

The biggest awards ceremony is only done by igaming business as they have a special dinner and awards ceremony that is a big event and now 5 years old. The number of people voting is by far the largest and it is certainly one of the more important events for affiliate managers. The iGB Affiliate Awards features the following:

Best Casino Affiliate Manager
Best Poker Affiliate Manager
Best Bingo Affiliate Manager
Best Sports Betting Affiliate Manager
Best Non Traditional Affiliate Manager
Best Overall Manager 

The last days of voting are December 12th, 2011 and the awards takes place in January 2012.

Affiliate Manager or become an affiliate?

The job of an affiliate manager is a tough one as you must work with affiliates who will typically make far more than your job. Sometimes affiliate manager process payments for over 6 figures in a single payment and on the spot you just clicked 2 years of your salary in front of your eyes.

The affiliate manager job can be a great one but also a tough one to manage. So when considering in how you should get involved in the gaming industry you have 2 options. Start off as an affiliate and work from home and for yourself or look for a job as an affiliate manager. Affiliate marketing has a lot of potential regardless of the topic you focus on.

The decision is a difficult one as with an affiliate business you never know when you are getting your first commissions.

Overall the best thing to do is start your own affiliate site anyways. You will learn something in the process and this can be added on to your resume and actually make it easier to get an affiliate manager job.

So where do you start? You could look up listings for sportsbetting affiliate programs for example.

 

ICE London conference recap

The gambling conference called ICE or international casino exhibition in London, UK took place in Jan 2011. This conference was enormous and probably represented the best way for anybody to get a job in the gambling industry whether land based operations or online.

Everyone was here including over 10 agencies that offer betting jobs. Of course almost all of these agencies off the same thing but it just goes to show you how competitive things are getting plus the rate at which these industries are expanding.

If you really want a job perhaps you should consider attending one of the many online gambling conferences available.

To stay up to date with the online gambling conference schedules you can visit the Gaming affiliates information guide website which has relevant conferences listed.

Las Vegas trip report

Las Vegas in January is the worst. It is empty and boring as hell to visit. Sure a cheap hotel and flight is nice to have but it is not the same as spring time when the strip is a happening place to be. We went to all the main casinos and it was just too quiet and we felt out of place.

The upside is every casino we went to they were practically throwing themselves at us for their business. We had so much to drink it was ridiculous and we got whatever we asked for including top shelf liquor. This lasted for a good 2 days before we decided we drank too much and asked for the buffet vouchers instead.

Overall we have to give credit where it is due and the Luxor was the best place by far and one of the nicest and cleanest hotels we have ever been in. That place is just quality from the top of the pyramid down.

We didn't see any famous poker players but overall a fun trip in the middle of January.

Online gambling jobs 2011

Welcome to the new year and also be prepared for changes in the online gambling industry. More people will be searching for online gambling this year and this means more players in the market and more jobs. Lottery and gambling companies around the world all want a piece of the online gambling markets that they are missing out on. It cannot be ignored any longer.

If you want a gambling job look no further than ICE conference in London January 25th to 27th at Earls Court. There are simply too many things changing and more people are needed to fill the holes in the industry. If you have gaming experience in markets outside of North America and Europe then you are instantly in high demand. Let's not forget the mobile betting markets have been underlooked for too long and if you have experience in this area you are also worth hiring.

With Android phones, iphones and Windows 7 mobile phones we are going to see a change in how people gamble online. Of course there are also ipads and tablet computers that will see the online gambling landscape morph into something different and new. More opportunities exist.

Professional Gambler Online Casinos

Is it possible to be a professional gambler playing only online casinos? The answer to that question is yes you can! However any sort of professional gambling should come with some caution that most players end up chasing losses and turn into a real gambler which defeats the purpose of trying to profit.

You need to read up on slots strategies first. If you don't know some of the basics of online gambling you could be spilling unnecessary money and it is important to know a basic slots strategy along with blackjack and video poker strategies. As a short summary if you bet on slots you should ensure you are playing with the max number of coins so you get the maximum jackpot amount when you eventually hit.

More slots tips: progressive jackpots and progressive slots are fun but these will eat your money very fast and most of the time you can't really get bonuses on it either. Also if you play with bonus money, the larger your bet sizes are the higher your variance becomes which results in less wagering and accumulating bonus money faster. On top of this if you do win you are setup for larger jackpot wins.

Casino Bonus Hunting

Also known as bonus whoring, casino bonus hunting means to take advantage of online casino bonuses by any means all for the purpose of coming out on top with a profit. Surprisingly you can accomplish this with many games including blackjack, video poker and even online slots believe it or not. For poker bonus hunting you can see the card hunter. Overall it is highly recommended you only play with a casino bonus. This will allow you to get some form of player edge and this is where you can start to profit from the casino. Take advantage of no deposit bonuses and any deposit match bonus above 50% is money in the bank. Just be sure to always meet the minimum wagering and to wager your bonus 200% or more above the minimum wagering. This means casinos will let you play without any restrictions.

If you are looking for bonus money there are over $40,000 worth of deposit bonuses and over $500 worth of no deposit bonuses. Always play with casino bonuses when gambling online.

World Series of Beer Pong

This weeks Las Vegas News section talks about the little known tournament called the World Series of Beer Pong aka WSOBP. The prize pools in the past have been $50,000 which is phenominal for any college kid plus of course the bragging rights to play in this somewhat prestious tournament.

This tournament takes place in Las Vegas and starts more or less on the first day of the new year. These tournaments certainly do turn into a debaucherous party but if you're playing beer pong that is usually the point.

If you don't know the game of beer pong look it up on youtube and you'll see what you have been missing. Basically you shoot a ping pong ball into your opponent's cup that is across the table from you and filled with beer. If you sink it, they drink it. The true skill of the game comes in being consistently accurate while you become more drunk. Usually people's coordination changes over time but what happens when you play beer pong with a lot of practise becomes the opposite. Rather you get more confident, talk more trash and tend to get more accurate. This is certainly a strange concept but it makes perfect sense to all the true beer pong players around the world.

WSOP Canadian victory means more Canadian poker players

The World Series of Poker has just ended with Johnny Duhamel winning it all for about $9 million. He beat out a very tough field and also had his lucky moments in the tournament spiking a straight on the river at one point in the final table. His victory makes him the first Canadian to win the big title and this is going to mean more poker players in Canada over the next year.

The tournament probably lasts too long with the main event starting in the summer with the final table starting back up again in November in order to maximize exposure for the event. This strategy might backfire as other tournaments will use this opportunity to gain more spotlight on their events.

Overall gambling online in Canada is surely to spike as the Canadian has made front pages of most Canadian newspapers. In Montreal his news has the city buzzing about this former factory worker turned professional poker player.

At least the player is saying to kids not to follow his path but he is at least proof that if you focus on something you can achieve the results. His poker player has certainly worked for everything he has earned and it takes serious work and dedication to make money as a professional poker player.

Gambling jobs at conferences

Want a job in the gambling business? Why not find a conference where the gambling elite meet. Yes if you do attend one of these conferences it's an investment that should have a good pay off. Get to meet people who make decisions on who gets hired and who doesn't. If you're good with people and you can socialize then you will definitely capitalize on any gambling related conference whether the conference is aimed at land based casinos or the online gambling industry.

Where do these conferences take place? They happen all over the world. A good tip is to become friendly with any casino or gambling workers you run into. If you become their friend maybe they can help you get your resume to the top of management.

Two major conferences that typically take place once a year are the London Affiliate Conference and the Casino Affiliate Convention. Obviously the London conference occurs in London United Kingdom at the end of January and the Casino Affiliate Convention (CAC) typically takes place in Amsterdam, Netherlands in the spring. It is unknown if the Amsterdam conference will continue but at least attend London event and possibly the International Casino Exhibition (ICE) where you will definitely meet some high roller managers.

card sharks

what is a card shark? it is someone at the tables, usually playing poker who is going to eat up the table alive. You can't really find any dealers and call them a card shark although many blackjack players like to do this thinking the dealer is responsible for their losing streaks. This is just poor sportsman ship and the same can be said at the poker table where the dealer has no influence on the outcome. 

Of course players will tip the dealers and the dealers will gladly take credit for when the cards are hitting in their favor. This is one of the benefits of being a dealer but sometimes it isn't worth it when you get rotten people at the tables who swear, give you dirty looks and blame you for losing. It makes you wonder what is going through their heads as a blackjack dealer or a poker dealer thinking this person is a complete moron and losing all their money. Remind me not to become as rotten as this guy.

So in short if you don't like card sharks then don't swim with them. Enjoy playing the game of blackjack or poker recreationally but leave it at that. If you want to take it professional you're in for a rocky ride.