Entraction was one of those funny little poker networks where ‘grinders’ sat for hours playing against each other while collecting rakeback. With no US traffic, no big brand names and not too much in the way of marketing (that I could see)… it is no big surprise to hear that the network is closing.

Network members included NoIQ Poker, 24h Poker and Devilfish Poker… along with literally 100’s of micro-skins, most of which I have never heard of!

While we await specific announcements on what the skins will do, I’ll outline some of the potential options below:

#1 – Move To OnGame?

With the imminent Bwin departure, I am sure that OnGame would be open to some of the bigger members of IGT / Entraction joining. The one sticking point could be the ‘essence’ rake system at OnGame. This gives more points / bonus money to those who deposit (ie lose), rather than rewarding higher volume winners the most… This is great for recreational / amateur players, but might not be attractive to the grinder crowd.

#2 – Move To iPoker?

iPoker recently split their player pool, with the big betting brands effectively segregating their players from the smaller ‘VIP Skins’. The size of the Entraction sites would almost certainly put them in the group with the VIP guys, which sees more grinders than the ‘fish heavy’ top tier. This would not be all that different to the old Entraction tables, and after the big players split – the lower tier could do with a few more tables.

#3 – MicroGaming?

Going to rule this one out for the time being, though the network size might seem to have some synergy – MicroGaming is a rakeback free zone!

#4 – Revolution or Merge?

Either of the two US friendly poker networks would be a good fit, they both offer rakeback and have established player pools. There is some risk with both of these networks from a further crackdown by the US authorities. The new Lock / Revolution team seem to be hungry to compete with Merge at the moment… could they grab a quick win with one or more of the sites leaving the entraction network?

Alright, that’s enough speculation for now – I expect to be bringing you some network news on this subject in the very near future!