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Misconceptions about Rakeback
The
poker rakeback is one of
the most controversial concepts in online poker. Some love
it (mainly those players who make tons of money on it each
month), others hate it (poker rooms which see it as a
threat to their revenue), but apparently it’s here to stay
as it is still one if the most efficient methods for a
newly started poker room to secure critical player
liquidity.
The critical player liquidity is a key
concept for every online poker room. Critical liquidity is
fulfilled when there are players on pretty much every
limit offered, around the clock. This means new arrivals
see action regardless of when they register, which means
they’re likely to stick around. Obviously, without
securing the critical player liquidity, a poker room can
never hope to take off.
The reason why
rakeback deals
are forbidden by some poker networks can be tracked back
to poor organization and to poor network policies which
caused havoc within certain networks in the beginning. As
poker rooms started offering rakeback, it soon became
obvious that it was indeed a potent solution for covering
player shortages. Some poker rooms no longer used it to
cover their critical player liquidity
full tilt rakeback, rather they turned it into a
permanent player recruiting promotion.
Poker rooms
within the same network began competing against one
another, and stealing players from one another using the
out of control solution of rake back. As the practice
gained ground, newly registered player account numbers
began soaring within networks, pointing to a growth which
wasn’t real. Thus, the network found itself earning less
and less from its own players while real growth stalled.
That’s why some networks decided to ban rakeback
altogether, while others adopted a network policy which
would regulate the maximum percentage individual rooms
were allowed to offer.
New poker rooms still use
astonishingly generous rakeback deals to attract critical
player liquidity these days. These special rakeback deals,
which often end up paying players to play (they offer more
than 100% rake rebate) are called poker prop deals. These
prop deals come with certain restrictions which are meant
to keep their poker props under control. Having heads-up
tables where props play each other is obviously not in the
best interest of the room, and that’s one of the
situations the prop restrictions are aiming to avoid. Some
prop deals feature looser restrictions than others and
smaller rakeback percentages, others keep things tighter
but offer more rake rebate.
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