27 Nov 09

A New VW Golf with Tell-a-Friend

The Tell-a-Friend programme offers lots of possibilities to earn money by referring friends and acquaintances. Learn more in our interview with moderator M4ST0R, who is also a successful referrer .

There are two good reasons to invite friends to PokerStrategy.com: first you can play poker with your friends and secondly, you can even earn money through the programme.

There's also the monthly freeroll for all successful referrers, with a prize pool of $5,000. The next freeroll will take place in a few days on the 10th of December at bet365.

And that's not all - the Tell-a-Friend programme has lots more to offer and we're going to tell  you all about it in the coming weeks and months with interviews and much more in our new TaF series.

We'll start with M4ST0R, a successful referrer, who'll tell us more about the Tell-a-Friend concept and shares with us how he's benefited from Tell-a-Friend.

"You've got nothing to lose, you can only win"

PokerStrategy.com: Hello M4ST0R, many already know you from the German Tell-a-Friend forum; for the benefit of the rest of us, please introduce yourself.

M4ST0R: My name's Alex and I'm 23 years old. I'm currently pursuing higher education in data processing technology. I come from the Schwarzwald area of Germany and in my free time I enjoy playing poker (online and live), inline skating, volleyball,  fitness training, as well as hanging out with my friends. One of my skills is reading people, I'm a good judge of character.

PokerStrategy.com: Sounds interesting...how did that come about?

M4ST0R: It just developed over time. It began with online poker. I transferred this over to real life and began observing everything more precisely.

PokerStrategy.com: You're responsible for the German Tell-a-Friend forum - how did you manage that?

M4ST0R: Originally, I wanted to refer a few friends, but at the time there was only this link which read "referer=M4ST0R", which I didn't like all that much. So I set up a forwarding process and passed this link on to my friends. They must have passed it on further and it ended up in forums and websites. Even google started displaying the link in searches. All of a sudden I had referred a lot of people and was pretty surprised myself. So I got the Tell-a-Friend forum going in order to help others out. It didn't actually have any fixed moderators. Only pure checked in from time to time in order ot moderate. So I offered my services and just a few minutes after a chat with an administrator I was given Moderator status.

PokerStrategy.com: And how did that go? How was the vibe in the forum?

M4ST0R: The 'regulars' respect me, since I've responded to practically every thread - even before I became moderator.

PokerStrategy.com: And what are your main duties in the forum?

M4ST0R: I moderate the TaF and the database forum. I help out as much as I can in the TaF forum and in  the Database forum I'm essentially there to put  any querieto rest ;)

PokerStrategy.com: What sorts of questions do you most often get in the forum?

M4ST0R: Often something like 'How long does the payout take on XY", and "When will Stars, FTP, or moneybookers become payout options?". Feedback also gets requested. There are many very good suggestions on how to improve the system, within the development and the graphical interfaces.

PokerStrategy.com: Has your T-a-F experience changed since you've become a moderator?

M4ST0R: Having this status didn't really give me any advantages for TaF. All the information is available for anyone in the forum. Regarding poker itself, I was given the opportunity to access all articles at all levels even though at the time my own status was only Gold.

PokerStrategy.com: What were your experiences with TaF? Many are sceptical when poker is mentioned, how was it for you?

M4ST0R: I don't know the members I refer. They click on the link and register. But I do understand your question. I have indeed tried to convert some skeptical friends and to be honest it's hard work. But the more conversations I had about it the better I could argue my point. The best argument is: You can't lose, you can only win. The only thing you shouldn't do though is try to persuade someone. When you've presented all your arguments, and nothing's changed, it's best to let it go.

A new Golf, sponsored by TaF

M4ST0R's Tell-a-friend Golf

PokerStrategy.com: How successful were you? I mean, if you want to share that with us?

M4ST0R: The money was enough for a new car e.g I bought myself a Golf 6 three months ago.

PokerStrategy.com: What in your opinion is the best way to use TaF?

M4ST0R: There are many successful methods. There's advertising, flyers, email shopping etc. But the best would be something new, something that no-one's ever done before. If I had starting capital, I'd put ads on Russian and Chinese television.Oh well, whoever does that has an automatic deal with me, my cut's 10% ;)

PokerStrategy.com: If a beginner were to come to you now and say "Help me, I'm clueless", what would to say to them? Do you have any tips?

M4ST0R: They should familiarise themselves with the business model and internalise it. Write/talk to a few friends. Try and come up with a good idea. To do something right, you have to invest time. The success comes later.

PokerStrategy.com: What was your most successful move?

M4ST0R: To set up the forwarding process :)

PokerStrategy.com: I recently interviewed Ganstarapper, and he mentioned that he only began with poker because Caber referred him in order to get the TaF bonus - and now he's a Black Member. Which 'celebrities' do you have under your belt?

M4ST0R: I did refer one really good SnG player, jamal47. I don't even think he knows. Anyway, he used to play all the SnGs on Party that started from $210. I could name more, but unfortunately the sort-function has been deactivated. I also referred a good friend, who of late has been playing less online, but is quite successful live.

PokerStrategy.com: Do you feel a special sense of "I referred him" pride?

M4ST0R: Not with Jamal, as his success was all his own. But I did help Thomsgen with his quiz back then and I was always by his side. Even when he just wanted to throw in the towel. Sure I feel a certain pride there. He was even at the WSOPE in London.

PokerStrategy.com: The TaF flyer is now a well-known phrase among PokerStrategists - what's your take on that?

M4ST0R: It should also appear on advertising material. Who came up with the idea of taking it off there? Otherwise, it's a good idea to distribute this flyer.

PokerStrategy.com: With another layout though, right?

M4ST0R: Yes, of course, and with a larger selection as well. At that time we only had the black flyer. If it requires many colours, it would cost a lot to print. Perhaps just provide a digital file that can be processed in Photoshop.

PokerStrategy.com: If someone's genuinely interested, but is not sure who to ask, what should he do?

M4ST0R: Well, he'd be best off posting in the forum. That way several members can join the discussion. If someone asked me from the community, I perhaps wouldn't share all my tricks with him. However, there is already a thread for beginners: http://de.pokerstrategy.com/forum/thread.php?threadid=346929

PokerStrategy.com: Well then, let's have your last word on all of this?

M4ST0R: Thank you for the interview. It was really nice meeting you. Say hello to all the moderators. I'd love your feedback and to read the new threads in the TaF forum.

PokerStrategy.com: Thank you for your time and patience on your day off!

If you want to learn more about the Tell-a-Friend programme in order to successfully refer and eventually drive your own TaF Golf , you can do so by clicking on this link:

Learn more about Tell-a-Friend in the forum

And if you prefer just plunge right in and invite your friends and acquaintances earning yourself extra money! Simply click on this link:

Invite a friend through your Tell-a-Friend account