If you’re at least a tiny bit interested in online poker, you’ve probably already heard of . If you dismissed it as something too complicated to be involved with, you committed a grievous mistake. I know how that goes: been there and done that myself.
Online poker rakeback isn’t something that should intimidate you to any degree. Once you get to know details about it, you’ll realize how useful an edge it really is. I suppose the best way to explain rakeback to a newbie, is through an analogy with sign-up bonuses.
You all know what sign-up bonuses are, right? You sign up to a room, you receive a certain % match on your initial deposit and you get the dough shipped to your bonus account. The ‘catch’ is, you need to unlock it in order to have it transferred to your real money account and to be able to do with it as you please.
Unlocking your bonus is done by generating rake. Every poker room has a specific redemption requirement when it comes to the bonus, but the unlocked bonus is always a percentage of the generated rake. For instance, you’ll have to generate $10 in rake in order to unlock $1 of your bonus. This essentially means, that by unlocking your bonus, you’ll be getting a part of the rake you generate back. This is the very definition of rakeback. Now then, there is one serious difference between rakeback and first-deposit bonuses: while the latter only last for a set amount of time, rakeback will provide you the same (if not better) advantages indefinitely. That’s right, once signed up for a deal you’ll be earning rakeback for life, regardless of whether you generate thousands of dollars in rake, or just a few cents.
Different poker rooms offer different rakeback percentages, from 27% () right up to 135% on some prop deals.
Prop deals are special rakeback deals which come with special terms for players. After all, they do get paid to play.
