What is Rakeback in Poker?

What is Rakeback in Poker?

Many poker players often miss out on the fact that poker rakeback deals are available on most rooms. Rakeback is simply a term which was invented back in 2003 allowing poker players to receive a part of the rake back when playing poker tournaments or cash games. Actually most players pay a substantial amount of rake lifetime and getting a Rakeback deal could amount to several thousands of dollars on a yearly basis for players which play a lot. The Rakeback deals offered from the poker rooms are currently between 27% and up to effectively 50% on some rooms when including the signup bonuses. There is no reason at all to avoid Rakeback deals since it is 100% free of charge and is more or less automated from the very beginning. However, it has to be noted that players can only receive Rakeback when opening a new account on a poker room and that it is impossible to activate old accounts as Rakeback poker accounts.

Another important thing today is that the term Rakeback has evolved and are no longer the only term used to describe the level of retention or rake paid back to players. Cashback, loyalty program, poker bonus are all terms that is exactly the same as the term Rakeback since each and every one of these terms is all about the same subject namely how much a player gets when playing at a specific poker room. A lot of parameters have to be looked at when deciding where to play poker and the highest Rakeback percentage should not be the overall deciding factor at all. Below are the maximum deals outlined together with some comments that can help players choosing what the correct way to proceed is. If in doubt then feel free to contact us for advice. The more information we know about what you like to play the better we can guide in terms of choosing the best Rakeback deal.

US players can apply for rake back at the following poker rooms and it is recommended to create an account on all the rooms since US players at this point in time have fewer options than players from Europe and Asia.

The world’s biggest poker room does not offer any deals to players but indirectly PokerStars Rakeback is given to everyone creating a PokerStars account. Indirect means that players are rewarded through bonuses, stellar rewards and FPP loyalty points which can be redeemed for cash. The benefit of playing at PokerStars is obvious since they have 40% market share the poker room has enormous with activity round the clock together with some huge guaranteed tournaments.

Full Tilt Rakeback is offered to players and since day 1 the amount given back to players is 27% and Full Tilt will not at any point in time change this percentage upwards. 27% is a net offer which means that the poker room deducts bonuses, freerolls, points spent and transaction fees from the Rakeback paid. This is common praxis for all USA player-friendly poker rooms. Rakeback is paid directly to the player account on a weekly basis (Fridays). Read a comprehensive review about Full Tilt Poker Rakeback.

Ultimate Bet Rakeback pay players 30% and the poker room endorsed by Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke will on top of the deal give players automatic access to the loyalty program RAISE where players redeem points for cash or are eligible to play in point tournaments where tickets to some of the bigger guaranteed tournaments can be won. This deal is one of the best deals in online poker and is a must for all serious poker players.

Poker Rakeback is also 30% but on top of these players get a deposit bonus plus access to the Gold Card and Gold Chip promotions worth an additional 15-20% making this effectively 45% -50% Rakeback.

This compensates a bit for the fact that Cake Poker is the poker room with least action of the ones accepting US poker players. European players have plenty of places where they can get a Rakeback deal.

Classic Poker is the sixth biggest poker room in the world offering players 30% Rakeback and a 1000 bonus on top making the deal effectively 50%.

Betfair Poker gives their players 30% – 40% depending on the level of play but with tons of inexperience players coming from the world's biggest sports exchange, this is a deal that all EU players should sign up for.

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