Since April, when Pokerhost joined the network, Equity has seen steady traffic increases in both cash game and multi-table tournament traffic. The curious part of this trend has been the increase in foot traffic in MTT's through the typically slow summer months. Curious, that is, until you look at how it was accomplished.

5,083 players sat down in $1,000 guaranteed and higher tournaments held Monday through Friday on Equity in April. That number held through May (5,038 players) and increased slightly in June (5,400 estimated, adjusted due to non-tracked week of 6/2-6/6). However, July saw a bump to 7,241 players thanks to increases in their two nightly signature events and the addition of a $2,000 GTD "Beat The Heat" MTT at 3pm EST. The 8pm tournament was moved from $1.5k GTD to $3,000 GTD, while the 10pm turbo event went from $1k GTD to $1,500 GTD (and $2k GTD on Fridays).

Saturday and Sunday traffic in $1k GTD and higher events has nearly doubled from a total of 2,747 players in April to 4,560 players in July. Where once there were $5,000 and $10,000 GTD tournaments, there are now $10,000 and $15,000 GTD events, with a special $25k GTD Blitz tournament held sporadically every month or so. There's also plans for a $50,000 GTD event in September, with a buy-in of just $35+$3.50. At least 1,429 players would have to enter for this MTT to reach its guarantee, which would be the highest amount of players for an event on Equity since its inception.

All of this has happened over the past four months. During what many consider to be the worst time to increase promotions, as the summer usually is the time for players to take a break and enjoy some sun. And while Equity may not be near the levels of other US-facing poker sites in terms of player traffic, they are one of the few seeing increases in this area - and no one is doing it at a faster clip percentage wise.

Equity has proven that overlays can be used as an effective promotional tool and is one of the only online poker entities to consistently raise tournament guarantees despite losing money on their events. EPN featured just over $10,000 in overlays in April, around $26,000 in May, over $27,000 in June (again, where we missed 6 days of tracking), and nearly $46,000 worth of overlays in July. Equity would set a tournament guarantee, watch as player traffic increased to the point of reaching the guarantee, and then increase it again.

Rinse, wash, and repeat across the board.

The network broke even profit-wise on their tournament schedule in April, lost around $14,000 in May, $20,000 in June, and then lost about $42,000 in July. This isn't a large sum of money compared to the network's overall revenue stream, as their casino-side operations more than make up for the loss of funds on poker tournaments. But it speaks more to their desire to give players more of what they want, and with the fall season nearing, you can expect things to continue in this direction.

Equity also gives players unique bonuses for making initial and reload deposits. The newest initial deposit offer includes a ticket into a $5,000 freeroll tournament in September. But players can also earn 20% instant cash back on deposits of $50 or more, up to a total of $200 in cash back that is instantly credited to your account. Players depositing $1,000 or more earn an extra 10% cash back as well, up to $200. These aren't timed bonuses released after playthrough - these are instant credit bonuses just for making a deposit.

Full Flush and Pokerhost both still offer the standard playthrough bonus, however. Initial deposits earn 150% up to $600, while players can get 50% up to $750 for reload deposits.

A new promotion in August also adds leaderboard competitions to the arsenal of EPN's approach to winning over players. Players earn points by finishing high in core MTT's during the week and also by earning Player Option Points (POP) during the month. The player at the end of the year with the most points will earn a $10,000 cash prize, according to the Full Flush Poker website.

It all equals a bold approach for a network looking to enter into a stiff market. US-friendly online poker sites and networks have been manuevering all year long in the hopes of attracting a fresh wave of players. But no one has done it as uniquely as the Equity Poker Network, who hopes their original ideas lead them towards offering up real competition to the likes of Bovada, Carbon Poker | Merge Gaming, and America's Cardroom | Winning Poker Network.