I'm a bit like you. Most poker rooms that allow you to sue crypto normally have a very small player base, and that is keeping me out from "crypto poker" right now. I also have a few concerns about collusion in "crypto poker". Usually crypto users value their privacy, which is good, but I think that makes it harder to track collusion on poker rooms. Player can have multiple account, and use that to cheat on tournaments and cash tables, and I don't know how to solve that.

Are you enjoying playing on those tables? Don't they look suspicious from time to time?

Since you talked about software, I normally like using "hand trackers" that will display player stats on table, so I can use them to make my decisions in play. Do you know any poker room where you can use that type of software?

I agree, and I wasn't saying that they are the same. I was saying that trust and rank already provide a certain status in this forum which is perfectly normal, so there would be no reason to create a new system just to provide additional status, or to try to "lock it" like WaffleMaster apparently thinks.

We had "trade status" related to trust, we had "experience status" related to rank, and we now have "content status" related to merit. I can be exploited of course, but I think those cases will probably be minimal.




Thanks guys, I'm glad you also think that way. Like I said before I already created the thread in the service board of this forum (link in the OP), but users still haven't posted any Topics for discussion. Feel free to stop by, and make your contribution. The boards are still a little messy right now, which is normal, because the system just started, so that could be a good short cut, to start gathering some good threads we can use.

Well I recently saw an article showing that data, with charts from the last 3 years or so, and there was a dip every January, then followed by a very bullish trend. They think it could be related with people exchanging crypto for fiat, in order to buy presents and other expensive things, since it normally happens very close to Christmas and other holidays.

Not saying that this can't be true, but as the article stated, there is simply not enough that, so we can't really rush any conclusions.
Right now, there are plenty of bad news regarding crypto, and that is probably dictating this negative trend (tether possible scam, south korea regulations, exchanges hacks, etc).

As usual, crypto market reacts to fud since it's mainly composed by retail investors, and still have low liquidity. I think all of this will change in the future, and crypto, and specially bitcoin, manages to solve their problems and achieve real adoption.

What you are describing could already be achieved with the "trust" system, so why create a hole new system just to "lock status"?
I think that ranks, the trust system, and now the merit system are valuable and can in fact help build status for an account, and there's nothing wrong with that if that status is legit. I think most accounts probably have legit status, and there are of course those that only farmed it. Every system can be exploited and used for personal gains, but that doesn't mean that they were created just for that.

It's of course naive to trust anyone just based on a number or a rank, but that is true for everything in life, specially in the "online world".

I've created the thread I've mentioned, link is in the OP, but I will also leave it here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2850321.msg29237739#msg29237739

Links posted here that are not from my areas of interest but could be on interest to other users

- Good thread for individual post review that don't need to be related to specific areas of interest.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2819141.msg28866078#msg28866078 - submitted by EthanB (Here)

- Nice threads about the merit system with charts (by athanz88)
A thread about QuestionAuthority merit activity, because he is the top 1 now (Here)
A thread about how people feels about merit system in the first weeks (Here)

- List of privacy coins with a summary of features - submitted by mrelich (Here)

- Good discussion about internet security with some tips - submitted by Dread Pirate Roberts (Here)

- Interesting information regarding the Distribution Model of coins (ICOs and Airdrops) - submitted by berrymenalo (Here)

Links posts here that are related to my areas of Interest

Bitcoin (adoption, social impact)
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2807763.0 - submitted by EthanB (Here)

Trading threads
submitted by snowblack, and focused on price analysis (Here)
submitted by Schultz88 and focused on trading indicators (Here)

Sports Betting
Pros/cons in betting lines earlier vs. later (closer to scheduled start time) (Here)
Adjusting your betting unit size based on your current bankroll - Sports Betting (bankroll management) (Here)
Really great competition sponsored by BetKing.io with amazing prizes - (Here)
Interesting betting strategy that I will put to the test - (Here)


Poker hand analysis and resources
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3110207.0 - Amazing poker thread with valuable resources. A must see for all poker players.

I would like to start by saying that although I first hated the new system I ended up seeing a lot of potencial in it.
You can read my thoughts on the new system Here. It will also help you understand why I decided to create this thread.

I'm not sure this is the right place to put this thread, but I will be giving out my sMerit, based on the Topics and Posts linked here, so this seems like the right section for it.

How will this work?
- As I explained in the link above (this one), I expect users to post here new topics or posts, based on my areas of interest. I expect to be able to engage in real discussion with the users that created that content. If I like what I read I will of course participate in the discussion, and award my sMerit points.

- Users can also post their own personal areas of interest.
I cant guarantee I will participate in those but maybe other users will, so if I don't consider them as spam, I will leave them in the thread.

- I will also "pin" top Topics, on the second post of this thread (also organized by areas of interest).

- This will be a self moderated thread, so I will delete posts that I consider to be spam.

- I will only keep this thread active as long as I have sMerit points to give, so if I ever run out of sMerit I will lock the thread until I can gather some more.

Why am I doing this?
- I'm running this service out of convenience.
- It will be a lot easier for me to keep track of good quality Topics based on my personal areas of interest.
- This thread will probably create a small group of users, connected by similar taste for certain topics.

My areas of Interest
Bitcoin (adoption, regulation, Lightning Network development, social impact)
Trading (focused on real market analysis)
Sports Betting (mainly football, tennis and basketball)
Poker (hand analysis, good house bonus and tournaments)

Thanks, didn't know it worked like this at all. I usually thought that it was actually based on time, and it was always adjusting difficulty every two weeks. From your example, we could see that it would take some time for everything to get back to normal, but nothing really special. Of course that if we were to consider that BTC had already global adoption, or at least it was largely used by people all over the world, then even 8 weeks would be a lot of time.

I don't think this will ever happen though, but couldn't this mean that mining farms could be potencial targets for terrorists attacks to cause global caos?
If BTC were to get global adoption, farms would need to be kept really secure.

Also, what about the 51% attack? I keep hearing about it, although I still don't understand it quite well. But with a low hash rate it would be easier for that to happen, so if we actually had a huge drop like that, wouldn't it be the end of the bitcoin network?

I won't say it can't happen because I can't really predict the future, but I really doubt it will ever happen. I can't really explain why BTC dominance drop so significantly. Maybe because more coins got listed in exchanges, and maybe because they got paired with tether for example, so it got easier to pump them. I won't deny bitcoin has it's problems, but do you see any use for the other coins right now?

Ripple got heavily pumped and it hurt BTC dominance a bit. A lot of cheap coins got pumped as well, maybe it was the Mcafee effect, since he kept saying that it was easier for a cheap coin to go from 50cent to $1, than for an expensive coin to go from $15k to $30k (don't remember the exact values). The truth is that you start seeing lots of cheap coins to show huge gains.

I still don't think any of those coins will surpass BTC, because of it's usability. BTC will have real use if the LN works, and as soon as that happens, a lot of coins will probably die and BTC will regain it's dominance.

I thought about that as well, but the truth is that we need to give the system some time. It only has a few days, so it's still hard to find good threads since the spam didn't just vanished. We can of course use the stats and see what are the Top-merited topics, users, etc., and chances are, that we will find good discussions there as well.

I do think this system I'm trying will make it even easier since I will post my areas of interest, so it will be easier to find things that I like to talk about, and that's why I'm doing it.

About the banners I don't know if they work or not, but a lot of money is spend there, so maybe they do. I think that if they are in a good number, people will eventually notice the brand, and if they see it to often, and in many different places they will probably try to get some information about it.

I will start by apologizing for the misleading title, since I'm not angry anymore.
I'm just learning about this new system myself, and I've decided to leave my thoughts about it.

At first I didn't like it at all, and I even got a bit angry about it. I would rank to Hero tomorrow, and now I need to earn 250 Merit points, and I have no idea on how long it will take me to get there because it's no longer under my control. Users need to like my posts, and since this forum is so big, chances are that most people will not even read them, because they will get "lost" or "buried" in some thread. It was this thought, that people might not even be reading my posts that made me calm down and understand that maybe this system it what we need after all.

I first joined this forum to participate in a betting competition. I then started learning about bitcoin and I decided to give campaigns a try. I mean, if there was a chance to win some coins while participating in this forum why not do it, right? This is probably where most of us get lost.

I wont lie, campaigns are important to me since they are the only way I have to hoard bitcoin with no risk, but it's easy to start adjusting our posts so that they meet a certain criteria: a certain number of posts a week, with a certain number of chars, in certain topics, etc. We don't even realize we are doing that.

Lets face it, so many people start doing that, that this becomes the norm, and it gets hard to do anything else. I read a topic, I see if I know something about it, I read a few posts from other users and then I make a post... job done. This is not entirely wrong since I was on topic, I read a few posts, I did some research so I learned something, and maybe I even helped the OP if he even read my reply, but there was no connection and no real conversation or discussion. Chances are, I will never visit that thread again or keep following that topic, and this is wrong.

I guess that this is why the new system will probably work. Users actually need to carefully read posts and try to engage in forum discussions right now, otherwise they will not be able to receive or give merit. You now need to try to be part of this community and really talk to other users, and this is a good thing.

Maybe I will rank to hero, or maybe I wont. It doesn't really matter anymore, and this is why I'm confidant that the system will work: If I'm not thinking about the ranks, then I can really focus on content.

This is my advice to other users that are in the same position as me:

- Don't try to exchange merit with others. This is not a coin.
- Don't give merit to others, hoping that they will give some to you as well.
- Basically stop thinking about getting merit, and start thinking about giving merit.

I think this last one is very important, because you can only give merit if you carefully read other users posts, and this is the only way to start a good discussion with other users. By doing this you will be using this forum as forum, and not as a way to get paid.

I will be giving my sMerit away, and I will create a thread in the service area and you can then leave links to topics or posts where you are trying to have real discussions.
I repeat: where you are trying to have real discussions. I will leave my topics of interest there, but you can of course try to suggest other things that you think I might like. If I like it, I will engage in the discussion.

I will edit this topic and put the link here as soon as I create the thread.
In the meanwhile feel free to share your thoughts about the new system, and how it changed the way you use this forum.

EDIT: Here is the thread for the service https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2850321.msg29237739#msg29237739

I think there are a few misconceptions on your post.


I agree with that part that people who want to improve will stay on this forum, but I don't agree with the "make money part". I'm sure this was one of the reasons why the spam started in the first place. People start making post to reach a certain number criteria, and didn't really cared about having discussions with other users.


You are seeing merit as a form of exchange, and you should actually see it as a form of connecting with others. You give merit if you like what you've read. You should not be expecting to get merit back, because you gave merit to someone else. Don't look to merit as a coin.


Well just try to have a real discussion with users from this forum. Read their posts, and try to see what they are talking about, and participate in their conversation. Use this forum as a forum, and not as a way to get paid.

Basically stop thinking about getting merit, and you will probably start getting some without even knowing it.

It's bad news for the exchange, but I think the way things are being handled will boost more confidence within the crypto markets. The exchanges, unlike MtGox is trying to solve the problem. They will not close doors, and they will refund it's customers with their own funds. The NEM team was quite fast as well, and did the exchange a big favor, by "placing" a track system on the coins, so that the hackers can't do anything with them. Right now, from what I've read, they can't really trade the coins for any other alt, or fiat, so they are stuck with tainted coins.
I hope that everything ends up well for the exchange and it's customers, and what started as a bad event, will bring trust to crypto.

I just saw this thread now, but I see that the post of the OP is at the start of December last year, so I'm assuming everything is ok now.
Right now I mainly trade on Gdax, but I would like to try another exchange to be able to trade some alts. I tried bittrex, and it's ok, but I've heard good things on binance, and they definitely look bigger than bittrex (more alts, lower fees, more volume). So is everything ok there? Have anyone experienced any problems?

Well right now I'm trying BTC/USD at Gdax. I'm just starting so I have a very small amount of money there (started with $500, and I'm very close to $1000 now). The reason I choose Gdax was because of the ability to trade with no fees there, which is great for small bankrolls, and for really fast and small trades.

Most of the times I use my entire bankroll on every trade, so it's very important for me to be able to get in and out of trades with no fees. I'm using technical analysis to set my entry points, and define the range of my scalps. Almost all my orders are set in advance, so I can be a market maker and trade with no fees. The only exception to this is when I really need to exit the market because the price is on a clear down trend, and I know I will never hit my orders.

As for secret strategies there are none really. You need to slowly learn technical analysis and act on that. Trading is all about reading the charts and acting on the signals you are given (RSI, volume indicators, inside bar breaks, exponential moving averages crosses, setting up support and resistance lines, etc). You need to be able to know how to use all those indicators on different time frames, and act on them. Have a stop loss ready if things don't go your way, and slowly take some partial profits as things happen the way you want.

I keep monitoring the charts, and I set up some email alerts of things that I'm expecting to happen (like an inside bar break on a certain time frame, or the break of supports/resistances). Once I get those alerts I try to make a trade.

I must say I like bittrex, but I probably going to "switch" to binnance now. Their fees are lower compared to bittrex (0.1% on binnance and 0.25% on bittrex). If you use their coin to pay for the fees, you will get a 50% discount, so this makes it even cheaper. They also seem to have more altcoins listed that I'm interested in, like ICX, and they are going to list raiblocks as well. Their liquidity looks bigger, but I'm not sure, and both are fine for me, since I'm not a high volume trader. Their interface is much better, and you an choose from a basic to an advance interface, and both of them are better than bittrex interface.

Again, I like both, and I have an account on both of them, but if you just want one, I would go for binnance.

At first glance I think using a bank to hold crypto is not aligned to the crypto purpose. One of the points of crypto being decentralized, is to empower it's users and make them independent from centralized institutions like banks. You can be your own bank and control your money. But then I imagine a world in the futures, where all we have is bitcoin. I don't know if I would feel comfortable in keeping access to all my economies by holding a private key. Not saying this is not secure, but this could incentive criminals to try to get that key from me, and then transfer all my savings to their accounts.

Since crypto is suppose to be private as well, I would probably never see my money again. If my coins were on a safe place, this would not be possible. Even with online bank transfers, it would not be possible for someone to come to my house and force me to transfer all my funds to another account since the bank would not authorize this without me confirming the transaction.

Then we have loans services that banks offer. We don't really need banks for this though, since we have lending platforms emerging like Salt for example. But even though banks are not needed for this, we will need some sort of lending platform.

So maybe banks are not needed, but increased security (to store our private keys, not for the network itself), and lending platforms will probably be required.

I think these are good news, because it shows that more reliable companies are turning to ICOs as a way to raise funds. This could help bring some more trust to the markets. As for the coin offering itself, I think it's definitely restricted to high investors only, since the minimum buy in seems to be $25k, and that is a lot. I also don't like the discount structure that most of these ICOs use, since it gives an unfair advantage for those that join first, and with the $25k minimum, it only helps those big investors. I still think these are good news overall, and this ICO should be big.

I completely agree with you, and I also have a few questions, now that I was about to upgrade to a segwit address myself. It seems that electrum, that is the wallet I use, uses native segwit address (the bech32). From what I've read this is the best solution, since it's more efficient in memory use, but by using these addresses you will not be able to receive bitcoin from a normal address, and right now, they seem to be the only wallet actually using the native format (ledger and trezor for example, are using the P2SH-P2WPKH addresses).

I'm not sure if this is true or not, since I haven't tested yet, but this makes the decision to upgrade to segwit "harder". We normally keep going from one campaign to the other, and a lot of users on this one, will upgrade to segwit, so we should be aware that if we choose to use the bech32 format, we might not be able to use those address if we join another campaign that doesn't pay using segwit.

Anyone has any information on this?

Edit: aTriz I will delete this post if you want to, since it's not directed related to the campaign. But since most of the users here will upgrade to segwit, I though this would be a good place to "collect some information" about this matter.