Poker Rakeback

When you play online poker you will often hear the term rakeback but not many players understand what it is. It is the money returned to you by the online poker room you play at where you get a percentage of the money back that you, or you and others at the table, have contributed to the pot. This is important to know, as you should pick the online poker room that will give you a solid rakeback percentage.

 

In this article, we will dive into what a rakeback is, how online poker rakeback works, rakeback deals, as well as providing information about VIP programs, bonuses and exclusive promotions that can be found in the poker industry. We will also touch the topic of rakeback offers and how does a good rakeback deal look like.

WPTGlobal

9.2

WPTGlobal

New poker room with impressive player pool

Great rewards & soft Asian traffic

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GGPoker

9.3

GGPoker

Very soft games!

$10M Giveaways each Month!

60%+ cashback

$600 bonus

bet365

8.5

bet365

One of the worlds biggest gambling companies!

VIP + €365 deposit bonus

Betsafe

8.9

Betsafe

Private rake chase!

30% cashback

2000€ 1st deposit bonus

Betfair

8.7

Betfair

Private rake race

Great monthly promotions

35% WC rakeback

200% up to 200€ bonus

Betsson

9.2

Betsson

Private rake chase

30% cashback

2000€ 1st deposit bonus

Coral Poker

8.6

Coral Poker

Up to 40% cashback

$30 Tickets

Guts

8.9

Guts

Up to 50%+ rakeback

100% up to 1000€

30% rakeback

KKPoker

6.8

KKPoker

100% legal poker app

Pokerking

9.1

Pokerking

Great action through WPN network

Best reward program on the network by far

50%+ rakeback

2000$ bonus

Pokerstars

8.8

Pokerstars

The biggest poker room in the world!

Star Rewards

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Unibet Poker

9

Unibet Poker

Soft games at Unibets own network!

Earn rewards through challenges

Up to 60%+ cashback

€200 First deposit bonus

What is Poker Rakeback?

Anytime you play at an online poker room they will take a cut of each pot that is played and that is referred to as a rake. The rake is usually around 5% of the pot, oftentimes it is capped, and there is no rake if there is not a flop for a hand. The poker rooms take a rake to make money, as since players are playing against each other they have no vested interest, in terms of making money, in the hands played.

 

 

Online Poker Rakeback explained

The rakeback is the money returned to you, as a percentage from total rake paid, that you get depending on the amount of money that you have given to the pot playing at an online poker room. The money is given back to your account in cash and the percentage you get back has nothing to do with how much you win or lose. The rakeback can not only be how much you put into the pot but how much other players at the table do as well and that is determined by the way a site calculates the online poker rakeback.

You will either be paid out weekly or monthly and the rakeback percentages will differ from site to site. You want to play at a poker room that has a high rakeback and you can, often, get much better rakeback percentages if you are a member of the site’s VIP program.

How is Rakeback calculated?

The online poker rakeback is calculated in three ways in the contributed rakeback, dealt rakeback, and shared (progressive) rakeback but it mostly depends on how much player contributes to the pot while playing at the poker table.

Weighted Contributed Rakeback

The contributed rakeback is calculated with only the money that you contribute to the pot by playing a poker game. For example, if you are at a table with a 5% rake and 30% rakeback and put $25 into the pot the rake is $1.25 and therefore the rakeback is $0.375. (5% of $25 = $1.25 x 30% = $0.375).

Dealt Rakeback

The dealt rakeback is calculated by sharing the rake between the other players at the table. You can get a rakeback even if you fold but you must be dealt a hand. For example, at a table with 6 players with a 5% rake and 30% rakeback. The pot reaches $60, so the rakeback would be $0.15. (5% x $60 = $3 divided by 6 players = $.50 x 30% = $0.15).

Progressive Rakeback

The shared or progressive rakeback is less common and calculated by sharing the rake between the players at the table but you have to put money in the pot at some time. Therefore, if you fold you will not get a rakeback for that hand. For example, if a table has a 5% rake and 30% rakeback and the pot reaches $60 between four players the rakeback is $0.225 (5% x $60 =$3 divided by 4 players = $.75 x 30% = $0.225).

Poker VIP Programs

Often online poker sites have a VIP program for loyal players. Usually, a VIP program will have various levels, and the higher level the more benefits you can receive. The more you rake the higher level of the VIP program you will be in. To get VIP points you have to play cash games at the online poker room you play at. The rate at which you accumulate VIP points will differ from site to site. However, as an example, some of the more popular online poker sites will offer players 5.5 VIP points for every dollar spent in both entry fees as well as contributing to a pot.

What can you expect?

Once you have accumulated VIP points you can then turn them in for various benefits and here are the most common ones:

  • Cashback – Often you will see you can turn in your VIP points for cold hard cash and the more points you have the more cashback you will get. Even if you lose money you can offset that by getting cashback through a VIP program.
  • VIP Store – Commonly, an online poker room will have a special VIP store. You can spend your points at the store on merchandise that the store carries. Often you will see things like Apple products and electronics at the stores.
  • Cash Tournaments – Rather than spending money to enter a poker tournament you may be able to exchange VIP points for tournament entry.
  • Cash Game Packages – Not only tournament tickets but you can also win cash games packages in various promotions run by card rooms.
  • Satellite Tournaments – Sometimes you can exchange your VIP points for a seat in exclusive freeroll tournaments.
  • Seats at Tournaments Online – You can use your VIP points to play at multi-table and Sit & Go tournaments and allow you to qualify for more profitable events.
  • Exclusive Freerolls – Some sites also are hosting their exclusive freeroll promotions with added cash each month, so by playing you can seat yourself into a game with a large prize pool without any paying and buy in or tournament fees.
  • Live Tournaments – There are unique VIP satellite tournaments you can enter where if Lady Luck is on your side you can win seats to exclusive live events such as the World Series of Poker.

GGPoker Rakeback

One example of a solid VIP program is through the reputable GG Poker in the Fish Buffet program. GG Poker also has a casino and live casino and when you play any poker or casino games you will accumulate Fish Buffet Points and the more you play the higher your ranking will be. You can choose between monthly and weekly cashback rewards, where you can earn up to 60% in GGPoker rakeback paid directly to customers accounts.

When you collect the required points in the time limit you will spin the wheel and collect your reward. There are 24 levels in the Fish Buffet program where you start with a Plankton ranking and can move up to the top ranking of Black Shark.

Poker Bonus

Online poker sites offer bonuses to new and existing players to attract them to their site and to keep them playing there. A poker bonus will allow you to pad your bankroll with bonus money and the more money you have to play the more of a chance you can win. Players can not only win money by winning poker games but also by clearing bonus money and getting paid based on how much you wager while playing your favourite games by generating rake.

1st Deposit or a Reload?

The two most common bonuses for online poker players at poker rooms are a welcome bonus and a reload bonus and they work the same way. A welcome bonus is one that is offered to a new customers when they make their initial deposit. A reload bonus is one for existing players that will receive bonus money from depositing more money into their account. Both of them are fixed percentage rakeback deals freed in chunks whenever player contributed enough rake.

How does it work?

If an online poker site offers a welcome bonus of 100% up to $100 it means you can receive $100 in bonus money when you make an initial deposit of $100. Often, you will see a welcome bonus up to 100% while for reload bonuses you can find that percentage as well, but it is more common to see bonuses of 50% and 75% up to a certain amount.

Meeting requirements

You have to know that with any bonus you will not be given money for free. There will be wagering requirements you have to fulfill before you get the money in your bankroll meaning you have to wager the bonus money amount a certain amount of times before you will receive that bonus money in your player account. Unlike online casinos, for poker rooms, the requirement for the bonus usually goes hand-in-hand with a VIP or loyalty program. The more you play the more points you will accumulate and the faster you will unlock the bonus money.

 

Before you opt for any poker bonus you must read the terms of conditions of the bonus. By doing so you can know exactly what you have to do to get the bonus money.

Rakeback Deals

Most online poker rooms offer rakeback for players but not all of them will. When you play you have to make sure there is a rakeback, so no matter how you do on the poker tables you will make some money. Doesn’t matter if you are a tournament or cash game player. Good rakeback deal can provide steady income so it shouldn’t be reserved to rakeback pros only. You want the best rakeback deals possible so that when you play online poker you get the most bang for your buck.

 

There are a few ways that you can look for online poker rakeback deal. You can go directly to the poker site and see what the rakeback percentage is. Players can also try to get individual deals with poker sites. If you plan on doing this it is a better idea to search out poker rooms that are not a part of a network. If a poker room is a part of a network it makes it more likely that you will not be able to get a good rakeback deal, as being in a network the site has to abide by the network rules.

How to get best poker rakeback deal?

One of the best ways to ensure that you get best rakeback deal is the use of affiliate sites. The poker room does not want to give the best rakeback to their poker players, as it cuts their profits. However, they want customers, which is why loyal players that are higher in a VIP level will get a higher rakeback percentage. If you look around the web at poker room affiliate sites you will tend to see higher rakeback percentages than the poker room itself. You can also get a higher rakeback percentage the higher level you are at in a VIP program so there are plenty of options to get a good rakeback deal.

Rakeback offers and promotions

Besides the typical deals for the best rakeback percentage, there are also exclusive promotions such as poker rake races and poker race chases. In a poker rake race, players are competing against each other to see who can rake the most by playing online poker. There is a leaderboard for the race and at the end of the week or month players are paid out depending on where they are on the leaderboard. In the rake chase players try to climb levels by themselves, not competing with other players, on the preset number of levels, all of which have different rake requirements. The player is then paid out depending on the level they are in.

By Grindago

Published: February 19th, 2021

Last Updated: May 17th, 2022

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