THE WIKI COMMUNITY

Wednesday 29 September 2010

Why Rakeback In Online Poker?

By Thomas Kearns

With online poker, the take of the pot that goes to the house, either a fixed or scaled amount, will run up to be a significant number in time. Even if you are a winning player, you can earn a rebate on all of your pot contributions if you opt for a rakeback program. Rake rebates are offered frequently by poker rooms as they try, in today's competitive environment, to attract and retain players. Adding rakeback to your bankroll can significantly impact your earnings on each hand. Viewed over a period of months rakeback can make the difference between you being a profitable or a break-even player.

It doesn't matter if you are participating at a low limit table or testing your mettle at a no limits game, the percentage of the pot you contribute to the house can add up over time. With rakeback offers in place you can get up to 40% of this back in the form of rebates directly to your bankroll. Once you stand back and take a good look at the rakepack program, you question why you didn't get involved earlier.

Equivalent to an Unlimited Poker Bonus

For many players, their initial reaction is to opt for deposit with initial bonuses which pay rebates over a set amount. For example, a 100% deposit match up to $500 may release rebates in $10 increments until you have earned the total allowed amount on your deposit, or you have to re-deposit. These bonuses seem to work on a marketing level, but when you take a closer look the math doesn't hold up. The numbers reveal that rakeback may return you more over the long run. In many cases you can collect rakeback even while working on a deposit and other bonuses if you have signed for rakeback through an affiliate.

Some deposit bonuses preclude rakeback - if you take one you cannot receive the other. So, prior to taking any initial bonus consider the long term impact on your bottom line over the long term. While it is true that a high quality deposit bonus may deliver better returns than rakeback for the initial amount, rakeback is there for the life of your play. Rakeback continues to earn an unlimited bonus on your play, without consideration of deposits, and that can add up to thousands on the tables. Because of this you may want to decline initial sign up bonus offers in favor of rakeback.

Can Make the Difference between Profitable and Wasted Table Time

Once you have played and become familiar with a particular site you are likely to want to continue to play it. Under an initial deposit bonus you will have to wait around for reload bonuses, losing that fixed percentage bonus you would have received if you had opted for rakeback. This time interval between deposits may turn you from a profitable to a break-even player, probably limiting the amount of tiem you play. With Rakeback, serious and semi-pro poker players, especially, can see a world of difference to their bottom line.

Rakeback Tracking Keeps Track of Overall Play

As a side benefit, the statistics you get with rakeback can help you keep track of your overall table play, profit and statistics. Rakeback data allows you to dig deep into the factors which impact your profitability at the tables, and can help sharpen your game as you work toward becoming a +EV player.

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