Rake back - An Introduction
All poker room whether they are online or traditional make their money by taking a small percentage of the bets made in each pot. Thus the players contributing to the pot are indirectly contributing to the revenue of the poker room. This percentage that the poker rooms take is called the Rake. Usually, the rake is around 5% in online casinos and in land based casinos it is about 10%. Online poker Games provides the serious poker player a far better deal. But in the event that each player was equally skilled, everyone would lose because of the rake to be given to the house. And for the perfectly skilled poker player, the rake is the only major problem in the game. For More Infomation on Rake
In the light of this, online gaming programs introduced rake back programs. The serious casino player is aware of the fact that he is paying the 5% rake to the online poker room and will spend several hours playing as well many dollars thereby accumulating his rake amounts. Thus the start of a new concept called rake back, especially for the serious poker player who requires a part of his rake back for being such a loyal customer.
The only problem of a rake back program is that it is managed by a third party. Typically, a player signs up on an online poker game through a third party. The latter monitors the rake the player plays and then pays a portion of the rake back to the player. The main problem arises if the third party goes under. The player will get no rake back from the online poker room. It is a well known fact that websites appear and disappear all the time. Another area of discord can be catered to the third party being involved in shady dealings which puts to risk not only his business but also the player's rake back agreement.
For example, there are several websites trying to advertise rake back programs for Party Poker and its skins. However, Party Poker clearly state that a rake back program is a violation of their agreements - both of the 3rd party and of the player. This is part of Party Poker's affiliate (3rd party) agreement: All such marketing activities must be professional, proper and lawful under applicable rules, regulations or laws (including any laws relation to the content and nature of any advertising or marketing) and otherwise comply with the terms of this Agreement. You shall not authorize, assist or encourage any third party to...Offer any so-called "rake-back" schemes or similar which offers or allows a proportion of the player's rake to be returned to the player in any form.
This is not an empty threat. Party Poker is actively pursuing the offenders. They have made the following announcement - As a result of feedback from many affiliates and commitment towards controlling rake back, we are taking strict actions to control rake back. You may not be able to see tracker wise revenue for some trackers while checking your stats. However, the total MGR will be visible as before. This is because some trackers might be under investigation, and the stats should be available once these trackers are cleared.
It is a well known fact that PokerNow, once a s kin of Party Poker, actually lost its license to use Party Poker's software and network, and Party Poker took control and ownership of the skin due to PokerNow's participation with rake back programs. With a better understanding of the rake back program, you now are in a better position to appreciate the offers here at FTR who have done a thorough investigation into rake back programs. Many sites offer it only to withdraw their offer soon after. Even if FTR comes crashing down next week, they still hope to give your rake back, every month. The rake back programs listed at FTR are unique in that they do not act as third party and do not pay a portion of the rake back. What FTR does is that instead of designing a program as a third party, they work directly with online poker rooms to set up an all inclusive rake back program for the players. This way the players get the rake back rebates directly form the online poker rooms every month without relying on FlopTurnRiver.com as a third party for calculations or payments.