"Fruit machine fanatic" - a critique
Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 12:16 pm
Just thought I would give you my twopennothworth on this new site which you've probably seen advertised on this board. Despite our little spat last night - http://fruitchat.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=3837 - I'm not critical of the fact that you're trying to sell your site here, even though you're very new. My only complaint was the slightly misleading advertising which you used, on which I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Obviously, not having joined your site, I'm unwilling to offer my opinion on the hidden goods, only what is available to the general public.
First off - the positives. It looks reasonably professional, certainly more so than the other crop of similar sites that have popped over the years. It's also good to see that you're given a nod to the fact that many people accessing your site will have serious gambling addictions. It's somewhat unlikely that the "Gambling Addiction" page will have any effect on them, but there isn't a great deal else you can do. It's also good to see that you've got a landline phone number in there, although I assume this is in lieu of an address.
It's also quite interesting that you say "FMF emphasizes on ‘the psychology’ of fruit machines. It's a novel approach, and not without merit. Most people could make an awful lot more money on fruit machines if they only used proper discipline - i.e. avoided the crap machines, the crap locations, and above all, resisted the urge for "one more board" when the machine is obviously on its arse. Furthermore, highlighting the tricks that fruit machine companies use to try and suck in gamblers - particularly addicted gamblers - could go some way to helping people avoid playing machines which they shouldn't be playing (e.g. on the last credit, 2 feature symbols left on the winline, or a Red machine showing all red features but not letting you gamble to them). It's no surprise that JPM hired a psychology graduate whose specialist area of expertise was gambling and fruit machine addiction. Perhaps I'm just getting too cynical, but I don't reckon he was hired solely to help remove the features and traits which attract problem gamblers.
However, let's be honest here. Nobody is going to want to hand over 25 bucks just to be told the psychology of machines and gambling. And this the first point at which your site falls down. Where are the free tidbits? It's all very well alluding to emptiers for S16 machines, but unless I've missed it, I don't see even one machine-specific tip on the site which would demonstrate how much you know about machines. I'm not suggesting you give away one of your prized emptiers, but there are plenty of other modern tricks which you could reveal to entice people. Of course, it's entirely up to you what you post here, but it does rather give the impression that what methods you do have are so few and far between that you can't afford to put up any free ones.
As for your other non-member content, the questionnaire and history section seem, at best, a bit pointless. And that is definitely a picture of a till, not a puggie. And Glasgow has not yet been awarded the sole UK license for a super casino. Presumably you will reveal all the wonderful things can be done with a refill key, and if so, why have you put it in the illegal scams section?
Also, you've mentioned that by joining up, you will be offering emptiers for 2 different S16 machines. Whilst I'm somewhat sceptical that this is possible, especially without plugging, without actually seeing it, I'm not qualified to say. However, presumably since about the only input the user can have into these machines is changing stakes or inserting different coinage, then a sizeable amount of money must be invested in order to empty the machine (i.e. I can't just go up to one armed with a few tenners and walk away loaded). If I invested £25 in your site only to find out I needed to spend hundreds of pounds to get this emptier working, I might be slightly miffed.
Finally, a question. If it is true that "our experts are making profits of £10,000 plus", then why on earth would you bother spending a large amount of time and money creating an internet site which only yields £25 from members? Surely you'd be better off going out making money and keeping these secrets to yourself?
Therefore, to sum up the longest post I've ever made on this site, I honestly don't think you're trying to con folk. Your site gives an air of philanthropy which might even be genuine. However, at the moment it is impossible to ascertain whether you know even as much as "Vic Green" (ex fruitie engineer, and author of the much derided E-book on fruit machines).
I'd certainly welcome your comments, and the comments of anyone who has actually joined up to this site.
First off - the positives. It looks reasonably professional, certainly more so than the other crop of similar sites that have popped over the years. It's also good to see that you're given a nod to the fact that many people accessing your site will have serious gambling addictions. It's somewhat unlikely that the "Gambling Addiction" page will have any effect on them, but there isn't a great deal else you can do. It's also good to see that you've got a landline phone number in there, although I assume this is in lieu of an address.
It's also quite interesting that you say "FMF emphasizes on ‘the psychology’ of fruit machines. It's a novel approach, and not without merit. Most people could make an awful lot more money on fruit machines if they only used proper discipline - i.e. avoided the crap machines, the crap locations, and above all, resisted the urge for "one more board" when the machine is obviously on its arse. Furthermore, highlighting the tricks that fruit machine companies use to try and suck in gamblers - particularly addicted gamblers - could go some way to helping people avoid playing machines which they shouldn't be playing (e.g. on the last credit, 2 feature symbols left on the winline, or a Red machine showing all red features but not letting you gamble to them). It's no surprise that JPM hired a psychology graduate whose specialist area of expertise was gambling and fruit machine addiction. Perhaps I'm just getting too cynical, but I don't reckon he was hired solely to help remove the features and traits which attract problem gamblers.
However, let's be honest here. Nobody is going to want to hand over 25 bucks just to be told the psychology of machines and gambling. And this the first point at which your site falls down. Where are the free tidbits? It's all very well alluding to emptiers for S16 machines, but unless I've missed it, I don't see even one machine-specific tip on the site which would demonstrate how much you know about machines. I'm not suggesting you give away one of your prized emptiers, but there are plenty of other modern tricks which you could reveal to entice people. Of course, it's entirely up to you what you post here, but it does rather give the impression that what methods you do have are so few and far between that you can't afford to put up any free ones.
As for your other non-member content, the questionnaire and history section seem, at best, a bit pointless. And that is definitely a picture of a till, not a puggie. And Glasgow has not yet been awarded the sole UK license for a super casino. Presumably you will reveal all the wonderful things can be done with a refill key, and if so, why have you put it in the illegal scams section?
Also, you've mentioned that by joining up, you will be offering emptiers for 2 different S16 machines. Whilst I'm somewhat sceptical that this is possible, especially without plugging, without actually seeing it, I'm not qualified to say. However, presumably since about the only input the user can have into these machines is changing stakes or inserting different coinage, then a sizeable amount of money must be invested in order to empty the machine (i.e. I can't just go up to one armed with a few tenners and walk away loaded). If I invested £25 in your site only to find out I needed to spend hundreds of pounds to get this emptier working, I might be slightly miffed.
Finally, a question. If it is true that "our experts are making profits of £10,000 plus", then why on earth would you bother spending a large amount of time and money creating an internet site which only yields £25 from members? Surely you'd be better off going out making money and keeping these secrets to yourself?
Therefore, to sum up the longest post I've ever made on this site, I honestly don't think you're trying to con folk. Your site gives an air of philanthropy which might even be genuine. However, at the moment it is impossible to ascertain whether you know even as much as "Vic Green" (ex fruitie engineer, and author of the much derided E-book on fruit machines).
I'd certainly welcome your comments, and the comments of anyone who has actually joined up to this site.
