Sorry for spam replying to you, I just wanted to clarify and finish my last though. Please take this as a newly dedicated torn player who also loves poker and not some asshole just being snarky.
I really hope that a game based on economics and creating fake demand, ie trading sets into to points which in turn makes people fly, understands that if a component of their game that they want isn't working as is then maybe add incentives to drive demand.
Sure there are going to be hardware constraints, but that shouldn't stop us from adding incentives that can draw players or consistent play that are also within the system already.
Make it easier to play a sng. Tourneys can take a commitment and not everyone is ready to play at the same time. So why not have some scheduled sngs? Remember this is a game that also has poker within it. So it's a very niched group that plays and very unlike sites that are just dedicated to poker who's population is only there to play poker.
Add other incentives. Add different prize pools instead of just money. Maybe unique items that equal to the prize pools. Hell add caches to the prizes and most of my gambling faction would play just in order to gamble on opening them.
Add a merit or two. Do you think people chase the 5 star merit in graffiti because they love that crime? Lol no we do it to get those precious merits and sweet ass perks.
Now I understand that this stuff takes time and won't expect anything right away. But we (torn players that like to play poker as well) should expect that these have been discussed or already in the planning phase.