If you are new to the world of online poker then you may not be familiar with the terms ‘rake’ and ‘rakeback’. Rakeback poker rewards players for their loyalty to a specific poker room. This means it is essentially a bonus, or perk of playing with certain poker providers. Although it rakeback poker was more popular during the online poker boom, there are still many casinos and poker rooms that offer it. This article will tell you everything you need to know about rakeback poker and how it works.
What Is Poker Rakeback?
To understand what rakeback is all all about you first need to understand what the term ‘rake’ means. A rake is essentially how a poker room makes money, so if you have ever wondered how money is made by online poker providers, this is how. The rake is a small percentage taken from each pot that is played in cash games. In tournaments, the rake is added to the buy-in fee and will usually be displayed when you register for one. In a tournament, the buy-in will usually be displayed with the buy-in fee and the rake e.g. £5+£1. In a cash game, the rake is automatically taken from each pot and is usually around 2.5 percent of each pot.
As you have probably guessed, the term ‘rakeback’ means to get back some of the money that has been from rakes on the tables that you play. Casinos and poker rooms that offer rakeback to players that play poker online in specific poker rooms. Usually, rakeback payments are made monthly to qualifying players and will be a portion of the amount they have spent on rakes. This means that if a particular poker site is offering players a 25 percent rakeback, they would receive a payment of £250 for every £1000 generated in rakes.
What To Look For In Rakeback Poker Sites
Rakeback poker promotions can vary greatly between sites. This means that while some sites may offer a 25 percent rakeback, others may only offer 5 percent. Knowing what to look for is important when choosing a casino based on a rakeback offer. Many confuse the term ‘cashback’ with rakeback and can actually end up worse off because of it. The two terms are very different, with cashback there is generally a catch. Cashback may only be paid to poker players that generate a certain amount of play points for example. Poker rooms that operate cashback offers this way usually allow players to exchange their play points for cashback, sometimes with wagering requirements.
Good rakeback offers are based solely on the rakes that have been collected as a result of your play and are paid in cash. Therefore, choosing rakeback over cashback is usually a better option.
When looking for rakeback offers it is recommended that you do your research. Look around for the best deals offered by different providers, but be careful with affiliate sites. Affiliate sites can cause issues with rakebacks and sometimes over-offer rakeback without the consent of the casino or poker room that they are promoting. This can lead to players not being paid based on what they signed up for. Therefore, when looking around, try to only accept rakeback offers from the official casino site or poker room itself. If a poker site doesn’t mention anything about a rakeback deal, then feel free to contact their customer service to enquire. Let them know how much rake you would generate on average and find out what they are prepared to offer.
Is Rakeback Still A Thing?
Contrary to popular belief, rakeback is still very much a thing. The only difference is that now it isn’t advertised as much as it once was during the online poker boom. By keeping the rake deals a secret, poker rooms are able to cash-in on players that are not aware of rakeback. It’s not a secret as it sounds, just not widely advertised by poker rooms, a quick search online is all it takes to find information on rakeback deals. As mentioned, you may need to negotiate a rakeback deal with a poker room by contacting them about it.
Can Profit Be Made From Rakeback?
Some players rely solely on rakeback as a form of income. By playing carefully and selectively in order to break even at tables, they can still generate rake from their play. The term for people that engage in this sort of activity is ‘rakeback grinders’. So the next time you’re playing online poker, and wonder why a certain player doesn’t seem to be that interested in winning big, that could be why.