When you start playing online poker, you don't that much money to get started, as the poker sites offer great bonuses for the new players which give you a great way to grow your bankroll as you learn the game.
How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses
First Time Deposit Bonuses
All poker sites offer you a bonus when you sign up, based on how big of a deposit you make when you open real money account and make your first deposit.
The maximum amount of this bonus varies on the different poker sites, some offer $50 bonus, other go as high as $2000.
So it makes sense to start at the sites that offer the smaller bonuses, like PokerStars.com, and open accounts on the big-bonus-sites when your bankroll has grown enough. This is a great way to boost your bankroll when starting, so you should definately take the most of it.
To release your bonus, and actually get the money in it, you have to play at the site and your bonus is released in small amounts or as a whole, depending on the system the poker site uses.
You get the bonus in addition to whatever you win, or lose, if things don't go as you planned.
Look at this way, when you do your initial $50 deposit at PokerStars.com, and play a bit, you might not win that much, or you might even lose a bit, especially if you're a new player. But you will still make profit because you get the bonus money!
Let's assume you play with your $50 until you have played enough to release the bonus. You did ok, but ended up only with $1 profit for $51 in your account. but while at it, the bonus was released and you end up with $101 in your account and more than doubled your initial deposit, even that you didn't actually win so much at the table.
Taking this to the sites that offer higher bonus, when you have a bankroll of $600: You open your account at Full Tilt Poker through raketherake.com as suggested here on Poker Wits and make the initial $600 deposit. You play with your $600, your wins and losses come and go over time and after several weeks, you end up with $100 losses (for $500 in your account). But as you were playing, the 100% bonus for the initial deposit was released which makes your account balance a whopping $1100!
AND remember, because your were smart and created your account through raketherake.com, as suggested in the previous post 'Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More' you get rakeback on top of this (percentage of the rake you generated while you were playing).
So think of the bonuses as sort of a "insurance" for the new poker player to give time to learn the tricks of the trade :)
Further Reading:
Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More
How-To Maximize Your Poker Earnings Potential?
Resources:
Sign-Up at PokerStars.com
Create rakeback account at raketherake.com
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Showing posts with label Online Poker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Online Poker. Show all posts
2009/04/17
[GUIDE] Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More
Rake. Something no Poker Player can avoid, at least when playing for real money and playing at non-home game. So it is in order you know all about it, if you don't already.
Rakeback is the opportunity so many decide not to tell new players. Instead these people and sites go for personal gain and leave the innocent new player unaware he/she has just lost thousands of dollars of potential gain over time.
Unfortunately, the same goes for the "refer-a-friend" services which don't do you or your friend any good.
Interested to know how most of the poker blogs, news, strategy and "fan sites" fool you?
Want to know how you can help yourself and your friends to gain a lot of $$ over time playing poker?
Read on, no bul%#(it here on Poker Wits.
Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More
What is Rake?
Rake is the scaled commission fee taken by a cardroom operating a poker game. It is generally 5 to 10 percent of the pot in each poker hand, up to a predetermined maximum amount, but not only can this percentage be anything, there are other non-percentage ways for a casino to take the rake. Some cardrooms will not take a percentage rake in any community card poker game like Texas hold 'em when a hand does not have a flop. This is called "no flop, no drop".
Poker is a player versus player game and the house does not wager against its players (unlike blackjack or roulette) so this fee is the principal mechanism to generate revenues.
It is primarily levied by an establishment which supplies the necessary services for the game to take place. In online poker it covers the various costs of operation such as support, software and personnel. In traditional brick and mortar casinos it is also used to cover the costs involved with providing a dealer (though in many places tips provide the bulk of a dealer's income) for the game, support staff (from servers to supervisors), use of gaming equipment, and the physical building in which the game takes place.
To win when playing in poker games where the house takes a cut, a player must not only beat opponents, but also the financial drain of the rake.
[From Wikipedia]
How much rake is collected?
The amount varies based on the limit your playing, number of players and the size of the pot. Usually there is maximum rake that will be collected at certain limit. For example, check the rake table and explanation from PokerStars.
What is Rakeback?
So, while playing poker for real money, you are nearly always paying rake. For example, when playing in tournaments, rake is the +$0.5 +$1 +$2 you see after the actual tournament fee. And in cash games, part of the pot is taken as rake.
That money collected as the rake goes to the site, for profit and to keep it running. Now we get to the good part: It is possible to get a lot of the rake back to you. This is called Rakeback.
As generalization, one can say that there are two types of possibilities to get part of the rake back:
1) Indirectly, via Cash Bonusess from the Loyalty Program run by the poker site
2) Directly, from rakeback service run by external service, based on the affiliate bonuses and the rake you've paid.
Loyalty Programs
Online, it is common that the pokersites have some sort of loyalty program, like PokerStars VIP Program, where players collect "Frequent Player Points" or similar and can receive or purchase different kind of rewards in return: books, electronics, etc. Or by exchanging the player points to cash bonuses (which are usually "cleared" and released to your account by collecting certain amount of points). Depending on the poker sites cash bonus system and how much you play, it's possible to get 30-60% of the rake back.
Rakeback Web Sites
Not all poker sites offer worthwhile poker bonus or loyalty program, or the program doesn't offer cash bonuses, like PokerStars VIP Program does.
But all is not lost. You can use those "player points" (if the site has such system) to buy books, TVs, or whatever, and get the cash back elsewhere.
This is where the Rakeback services come in.
Player signs to the poker site through the links provided by the Rakeback service, creates account on the poker site and then joins the rakeback service. or player joins rakeback service first, and then signs on to the sites, as one can and in some cases should, play on more than one site.
When Rakeback service has the information about the players ID or username on the pokersite, the amount of rakeback can be tracked at the rakeback site and payments are made each month. The amount of rakeback can be up to 60% (like the best Loyalty Programs have), so it adds up quickly. When the poker site has collected $100 from you, you'll get $60 back without doing anything extra!
So a new player should never-ever join a pokersite by googling the poker site directly and joining in, over time, you're losing thousands of dollars (depending on how much you play over time of course).
Important Note! It possible that poker site stops paying the rakeback affiliate bonuses, which would mean no rakeback, but it is very likely that this would happen. And even if it would happen, you still would've gained a lot of "extra cash" from now to the possible day it stops.
Recommended Services and Poker Sites
1) If you want to start and play at PokerStars, signup to PokerStars.com and reap the rewards from the VIP program.
2) If you want to play at Full Tilt Poker, UltimateBet, CakePoker, Betfair, or some other poker sites not mentioned, sign through Rakeback service. In this case, I recommend RakeTheRake.
RakeTheRake offers up to 60% rakeback at all the top poker rooms, they make prompt reliable payments every month and you can check your rakeback account daily on the secure online rakeback tracker.
I recommend them as they are the biggest and the most trustworthy rakeback affiliate (with over 50000 players) and they were chosen as the 2009 Best Poker Affiliate.
To get started, visit raketherake.com.
Why are you telling me this?
Look at the top of this post. Remember what I told about poker fan sites and blogs going for personal gain, and fooling you at the same time?
1) I want to be sure you don't do the same mistakes I did and end up avoiding the best and the biggest sites because you signed without rakeback.
2) I help you, because rakeback/bonus is good for you
3) Signing through links on this site, you help me
Like said, with PokerStars.com, you can and should sign through the links in Poker Wits (to support the site and help me to help you).
But as mentioned, with other poker sites: DO NOT click links on non-rakeback sites or google "Full Tilt Poker" and sign up. You will lose a lot of money if you do this!
Don't fall into the "Click here, join this-and-this-poker-site, we'll give you $50 when you deposit". Just don't. The same goes for the "Get 2 Poker Books and a Poker Chip Set if you join here". Bulls%&t.
Don't take the immediate (small) rewards, as you can have bigger (HUGE, if you will) gain later - if you are smart and listen to what I tell you.
You can buy 1000 books and a barrel of chips with the thousands of dollars you get from rakeback over the years, even if you are casual poker player, let alone if you are planning to go pro at some point.
Why?
Because there are many, many poker news and strategy sites out there who link you to the poker sites, but don't offer Rakeback. DO NOT SIGN to a Poker Site, unless you have been directed to that site through respected and trustworthy source, like this Poker Wits site or proven rakeback service, like RakeTheRake.
After you are signed to the poker site you are set. If you signed through rakeback service, you will get rakeback. If sign through direct search or link from non-rakeback site, you don't get rakeback, it's that simple. It is possible to get you rakeback afterwards in some cases, but in most cases, no chance.
This happened to me when I was starting (luckily there are plenty of poker sites out there, but for some, I don't play because I don't have rakeback), so don't do the same mistake.
However, if the unfortunate has happened to you and have already signed to a poker site yourself or through "I win, you lose" links at most of the other "strategy" sites. As a result you don't receive rakeback, here's what you can try: Create account at raketherake.com, and contact them via "re-tag" contact form, which you can find in the FAQ there. They *might* be able to help you and set you rakeback, but it is also possible there's nothing they can do, but it doesn't hurt to to try.
Just ask yourself, do you want to have $0 or $10000? Your milage may wary of course, but you get the idea, anything over $0 is way better than $0 and $1000 later is way better than $10 now.
Smart Players, Smart Choices
1) Start Small, but Think Big.
Even if you have no plans to play a lot of poker, just a bit for fun, start as you would start a new job. If you decide take more serious approach to poker later and think of it as career, you are all set for it, because you started small, but planned big.
For starters, and for the great VIP Loyalty Program (equivalent to Rakeback), sign-up and play at the worlds biggest poker site: PokerStars.com
2) Get Rakeback and Take the Full Benefits of the Bonus Offers
Making the most out of the bonus offers the poker sites offer is a great way to boost your bankroll when early in your poker "career". Rakeback, as explained above, will benefit you for the rest of your life, whenever you play poker.
When looking for a new site to play on, first check this site if there is a link to it, then check raketherake if they offer rakeback for the site. Signing through these will secure your future plays on that site, even if you start small.
When and if your bankroll has grown and you can take the full benefit of the bigger bonus offers of the other major poker sites, like Full Tilt Poker, you can get the first deposit bonuses and rakeback to boot at raketherake.com
Further Reading:
How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses
One Last Note
Share the love if you will.
The "refer-a-friend" services at the poker sites are not very good. Your friends will be better of without the immediate "$50 for you, $50 for me" deal and get rakeback just like you did.
So - never use "refer-a-friend" on the poker site itself, as that won't help you friend, if there is a rakeback available for that site. So make your friend a huge favor and refer her here on this article instead. I'm sure she will thank you later.
Rakeback is the opportunity so many decide not to tell new players. Instead these people and sites go for personal gain and leave the innocent new player unaware he/she has just lost thousands of dollars of potential gain over time.
Unfortunately, the same goes for the "refer-a-friend" services which don't do you or your friend any good.
Interested to know how most of the poker blogs, news, strategy and "fan sites" fool you?
Want to know how you can help yourself and your friends to gain a lot of $$ over time playing poker?
Read on, no bul%#(it here on Poker Wits.
Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More
What is Rake?
Rake is the scaled commission fee taken by a cardroom operating a poker game. It is generally 5 to 10 percent of the pot in each poker hand, up to a predetermined maximum amount, but not only can this percentage be anything, there are other non-percentage ways for a casino to take the rake. Some cardrooms will not take a percentage rake in any community card poker game like Texas hold 'em when a hand does not have a flop. This is called "no flop, no drop".
Poker is a player versus player game and the house does not wager against its players (unlike blackjack or roulette) so this fee is the principal mechanism to generate revenues.
It is primarily levied by an establishment which supplies the necessary services for the game to take place. In online poker it covers the various costs of operation such as support, software and personnel. In traditional brick and mortar casinos it is also used to cover the costs involved with providing a dealer (though in many places tips provide the bulk of a dealer's income) for the game, support staff (from servers to supervisors), use of gaming equipment, and the physical building in which the game takes place.
To win when playing in poker games where the house takes a cut, a player must not only beat opponents, but also the financial drain of the rake.
[From Wikipedia]
How much rake is collected?
The amount varies based on the limit your playing, number of players and the size of the pot. Usually there is maximum rake that will be collected at certain limit. For example, check the rake table and explanation from PokerStars.
What is Rakeback?
So, while playing poker for real money, you are nearly always paying rake. For example, when playing in tournaments, rake is the +$0.5 +$1 +$2 you see after the actual tournament fee. And in cash games, part of the pot is taken as rake.
That money collected as the rake goes to the site, for profit and to keep it running. Now we get to the good part: It is possible to get a lot of the rake back to you. This is called Rakeback.
As generalization, one can say that there are two types of possibilities to get part of the rake back:
1) Indirectly, via Cash Bonusess from the Loyalty Program run by the poker site
2) Directly, from rakeback service run by external service, based on the affiliate bonuses and the rake you've paid.
Loyalty Programs
Online, it is common that the pokersites have some sort of loyalty program, like PokerStars VIP Program, where players collect "Frequent Player Points" or similar and can receive or purchase different kind of rewards in return: books, electronics, etc. Or by exchanging the player points to cash bonuses (which are usually "cleared" and released to your account by collecting certain amount of points). Depending on the poker sites cash bonus system and how much you play, it's possible to get 30-60% of the rake back.
Rakeback Web Sites
Not all poker sites offer worthwhile poker bonus or loyalty program, or the program doesn't offer cash bonuses, like PokerStars VIP Program does.
But all is not lost. You can use those "player points" (if the site has such system) to buy books, TVs, or whatever, and get the cash back elsewhere.
This is where the Rakeback services come in.
Player signs to the poker site through the links provided by the Rakeback service, creates account on the poker site and then joins the rakeback service. or player joins rakeback service first, and then signs on to the sites, as one can and in some cases should, play on more than one site.
When Rakeback service has the information about the players ID or username on the pokersite, the amount of rakeback can be tracked at the rakeback site and payments are made each month. The amount of rakeback can be up to 60% (like the best Loyalty Programs have), so it adds up quickly. When the poker site has collected $100 from you, you'll get $60 back without doing anything extra!
So a new player should never-ever join a pokersite by googling the poker site directly and joining in, over time, you're losing thousands of dollars (depending on how much you play over time of course).
Important Note! It possible that poker site stops paying the rakeback affiliate bonuses, which would mean no rakeback, but it is very likely that this would happen. And even if it would happen, you still would've gained a lot of "extra cash" from now to the possible day it stops.
Recommended Services and Poker Sites
1) If you want to start and play at PokerStars, signup to PokerStars.com and reap the rewards from the VIP program.
2) If you want to play at Full Tilt Poker, UltimateBet, CakePoker, Betfair, or some other poker sites not mentioned, sign through Rakeback service. In this case, I recommend RakeTheRake.
RakeTheRake offers up to 60% rakeback at all the top poker rooms, they make prompt reliable payments every month and you can check your rakeback account daily on the secure online rakeback tracker.
I recommend them as they are the biggest and the most trustworthy rakeback affiliate (with over 50000 players) and they were chosen as the 2009 Best Poker Affiliate.
To get started, visit raketherake.com.
Why are you telling me this?
Look at the top of this post. Remember what I told about poker fan sites and blogs going for personal gain, and fooling you at the same time?
1) I want to be sure you don't do the same mistakes I did and end up avoiding the best and the biggest sites because you signed without rakeback.
2) I help you, because rakeback/bonus is good for you
3) Signing through links on this site, you help me
Like said, with PokerStars.com, you can and should sign through the links in Poker Wits (to support the site and help me to help you).
But as mentioned, with other poker sites: DO NOT click links on non-rakeback sites or google "Full Tilt Poker" and sign up. You will lose a lot of money if you do this!
Don't fall into the "Click here, join this-and-this-poker-site, we'll give you $50 when you deposit". Just don't. The same goes for the "Get 2 Poker Books and a Poker Chip Set if you join here". Bulls%&t.
Don't take the immediate (small) rewards, as you can have bigger (HUGE, if you will) gain later - if you are smart and listen to what I tell you.
You can buy 1000 books and a barrel of chips with the thousands of dollars you get from rakeback over the years, even if you are casual poker player, let alone if you are planning to go pro at some point.
Why?
Because there are many, many poker news and strategy sites out there who link you to the poker sites, but don't offer Rakeback. DO NOT SIGN to a Poker Site, unless you have been directed to that site through respected and trustworthy source, like this Poker Wits site or proven rakeback service, like RakeTheRake.
After you are signed to the poker site you are set. If you signed through rakeback service, you will get rakeback. If sign through direct search or link from non-rakeback site, you don't get rakeback, it's that simple. It is possible to get you rakeback afterwards in some cases, but in most cases, no chance.
This happened to me when I was starting (luckily there are plenty of poker sites out there, but for some, I don't play because I don't have rakeback), so don't do the same mistake.
However, if the unfortunate has happened to you and have already signed to a poker site yourself or through "I win, you lose" links at most of the other "strategy" sites. As a result you don't receive rakeback, here's what you can try: Create account at raketherake.com, and contact them via "re-tag" contact form, which you can find in the FAQ there. They *might* be able to help you and set you rakeback, but it is also possible there's nothing they can do, but it doesn't hurt to to try.
Just ask yourself, do you want to have $0 or $10000? Your milage may wary of course, but you get the idea, anything over $0 is way better than $0 and $1000 later is way better than $10 now.
Smart Players, Smart Choices
1) Start Small, but Think Big.
Even if you have no plans to play a lot of poker, just a bit for fun, start as you would start a new job. If you decide take more serious approach to poker later and think of it as career, you are all set for it, because you started small, but planned big.
For starters, and for the great VIP Loyalty Program (equivalent to Rakeback), sign-up and play at the worlds biggest poker site: PokerStars.com
2) Get Rakeback and Take the Full Benefits of the Bonus Offers
Making the most out of the bonus offers the poker sites offer is a great way to boost your bankroll when early in your poker "career". Rakeback, as explained above, will benefit you for the rest of your life, whenever you play poker.
When looking for a new site to play on, first check this site if there is a link to it, then check raketherake if they offer rakeback for the site. Signing through these will secure your future plays on that site, even if you start small.
When and if your bankroll has grown and you can take the full benefit of the bigger bonus offers of the other major poker sites, like Full Tilt Poker, you can get the first deposit bonuses and rakeback to boot at raketherake.com
Further Reading:
How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses
One Last Note
Share the love if you will.
The "refer-a-friend" services at the poker sites are not very good. Your friends will be better of without the immediate "$50 for you, $50 for me" deal and get rakeback just like you did.
So - never use "refer-a-friend" on the poker site itself, as that won't help you friend, if there is a rakeback available for that site. So make your friend a huge favor and refer her here on this article instead. I'm sure she will thank you later.
[GUIDE] How-To Kick-Start Your Poker Career in 7 Simple Steps
Continuing the Beginner's Guide series, this wraps up what you need to do if you want to start playing online poker. It's simplified yes, and it does promote spesific poker site and rakeback service, but there's a reason for that, as explained in the previous installments of the Beginner's Guide series.
As promised, this blog will only promote services that are good for you in the long run (for example, rakeback service if it's available instead of direct link to the poker site). And here is our next guide, summarizing the beginning of your online poker playing actions:
How-To Kick-Start Your Poker Career in 7 Simple Steps
1) Signup to PokerStars.com
2) Play with play money and practise, or make a $50 deposit.
3) Play at the limit your bankroll is good for.
4) Play poker, free rolls, etc. to increase your bankroll
5) Cash out from PokerStars, choose a site from RakeTheRake which offers a bigger bonus.
6) Deposit what you have, use the code provided by RakeTheRake
7) Play Poker, Enjoy Life, Repeat :)
It really is that simple. Although some might complain that you would need poker skills to start growing your bankroll, but don't sweat it, it might take time, but if you have the determination, you can do it!
To get you started, here is the detailed explanation of the Simple Steps, that will Kick-Start Your Poker Career:
1) Signup to PokerStars.com
Download and install is simple enough, but if needed, check the instructions and support at PokerStars.com
Note: Before creating the account and possible real-money deposit, check the next step
2) Play with play money and practise, or make a $50 deposit.
You can deposit more than $50 if you like, but that is enough. If you make the $50 deposit, use the code Stars50. This code is in use for 2009, so check the code from "100% Deposit Bonus" page at PokerStars if you are reading this later.
3) Play at the limit your bankroll is good for.
Bankroll management is the most essential skill for any poker player, so make sure you know what your doing. In short, here's what you need to know: Bankroll = your poker cash (e.g. what you have deposited in the poker site), and you must choose the games you play based on your bankroll to avoid going broke. Here are some example guidelines, but you can develop your own over time.
* 20-60 Buy-Ins for NL Hold'em.
* 200-300 Big Blinds for Limit Hold'em.
* 50-100 Buy-Ins for SnG Tournaments.
So for your $50 deposit, you will be looking for games like
* $0.01/$0.02 no-limit
* $0.02/$0.04 or $0.05/$0.10 limit
* $1 or less SnG tournaments
..another reason why PokerStars.com is so great place to start playing, it offers the smallest limits for your to start in.
4) Play poker, free rolls, etc. until your bankroll is big enough to take full advantage of the bigger bonuses, like $600 for Full Tilt Poker.
As said, this might take some time, but don't give up!
5) Cash out from PokerStars, sign-up to the poker site you like, which offers a bigger bonus, though RakeTheRake.
When you get this far, remember to give a shout at comments here on Poker Wit or throw me a Tweet about it.
6) Deposit what you have, use the code provided by RakeTheRake to get the bonus at the new site.
7) Play Poker, Enjoy Life, Repeat :)
Further Reading:
How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses
Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More
How-To Maximize Your Poker Earnings Potential?
Subscribe to Poker Wits RSS Feed
As promised, this blog will only promote services that are good for you in the long run (for example, rakeback service if it's available instead of direct link to the poker site). And here is our next guide, summarizing the beginning of your online poker playing actions:
How-To Kick-Start Your Poker Career in 7 Simple Steps
1) Signup to PokerStars.com
2) Play with play money and practise, or make a $50 deposit.
3) Play at the limit your bankroll is good for.
4) Play poker, free rolls, etc. to increase your bankroll
5) Cash out from PokerStars, choose a site from RakeTheRake which offers a bigger bonus.
6) Deposit what you have, use the code provided by RakeTheRake
7) Play Poker, Enjoy Life, Repeat :)
It really is that simple. Although some might complain that you would need poker skills to start growing your bankroll, but don't sweat it, it might take time, but if you have the determination, you can do it!
To get you started, here is the detailed explanation of the Simple Steps, that will Kick-Start Your Poker Career:
1) Signup to PokerStars.com
Download and install is simple enough, but if needed, check the instructions and support at PokerStars.com
Note: Before creating the account and possible real-money deposit, check the next step
2) Play with play money and practise, or make a $50 deposit.
You can deposit more than $50 if you like, but that is enough. If you make the $50 deposit, use the code Stars50. This code is in use for 2009, so check the code from "100% Deposit Bonus" page at PokerStars if you are reading this later.
3) Play at the limit your bankroll is good for.
Bankroll management is the most essential skill for any poker player, so make sure you know what your doing. In short, here's what you need to know: Bankroll = your poker cash (e.g. what you have deposited in the poker site), and you must choose the games you play based on your bankroll to avoid going broke. Here are some example guidelines, but you can develop your own over time.
* 20-60 Buy-Ins for NL Hold'em.
* 200-300 Big Blinds for Limit Hold'em.
* 50-100 Buy-Ins for SnG Tournaments.
So for your $50 deposit, you will be looking for games like
* $0.01/$0.02 no-limit
* $0.02/$0.04 or $0.05/$0.10 limit
* $1 or less SnG tournaments
..another reason why PokerStars.com is so great place to start playing, it offers the smallest limits for your to start in.
4) Play poker, free rolls, etc. until your bankroll is big enough to take full advantage of the bigger bonuses, like $600 for Full Tilt Poker.
As said, this might take some time, but don't give up!
5) Cash out from PokerStars, sign-up to the poker site you like, which offers a bigger bonus, though RakeTheRake.
When you get this far, remember to give a shout at comments here on Poker Wit or throw me a Tweet about it.
6) Deposit what you have, use the code provided by RakeTheRake to get the bonus at the new site.
7) Play Poker, Enjoy Life, Repeat :)
Further Reading:
How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses
Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More
How-To Maximize Your Poker Earnings Potential?
Subscribe to Poker Wits RSS Feed
[GUIDE] How-To Maximize Your Poker Earnings Potential
Poker is a game of decisions. And the most important decisions are made before you even play a hand online. In the long-run, the information on this article will gain you a lot of money.
Even if you don't plan to play poker for a living or look at poker as a career, it's worth your time to make the early choices like you would be a pro at some point.
No-one says no to a free $100 right? Well I say "it depends" and show you when to say no to a $50 now to secure $5000 and more later. This one is true for both the new and old poker players alike.
But this is meant for new players, you who haven't played a hand yet online, at least not for real money. When I started out, I signed to the wrong sites (not all trustworthy) and I didn't know anything about the poker bonuses or rakeback.
So again I'll share something I wish I knew when I started playing online poker and continue the Beginner's Guide series while at it:
How-To Maximize Your Poker Earnings Potential?
1) Choose a good poker site to play in.
2) Sign to a poker site through trustworthy web site or rakeback Service/Affiliate, if applicable.
3) Maximize the initial deposit based on the offered bonus.
Even before you learn how to play, it is possible to miss these important steps.
Learning how to play comes later. First you must master these steps.
1) Choosing a good poker site to play in
It is in your best interest to choose a poker site which offers
a) enough traffic to keep the games going
b) low- (or high-) enough limits for you to play in
c) good loyalty program and/or rakeback through rakeback affiliate.
This way, you have options to make proper table selection and have secured the years to come with the rakeback or good bonus system.
2) Signing to the poker site through trustworthy web site
Have you ever wanted to know why each and every poker strategy, news or training site and blog has banners and links to all possible poker sites? Because the poker sites give a bonus to these websites for bringing the players, like you, in.
But there is a catch.
If you click through those links, they get the rewards and you don't. Even if they promise you to send you $50, books or such, don't take it. You can have hundreds and thousands more later.
Because for most of the poker sites, there are services, which offer some of the money poker sites pay to them, back to you. The amount the web site gets back varies, but it's usually connected to the rake you generate while playing poker.
So in short, the rakeback service gives some of the rake you pay to the poker site back to you. To understand Rake and Rakeback in depth, you can find the details from the earlier post: Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More.
For now, it is important to know and understand, that rakeback is good for you. Signing through direct link from non-rakeback site, typing/searching the address yourself or similar, means no rakeback.
With many major poker sites, like Full Tilt Poker and Betfair for example, you should ALWAYS sign through rakeback service, like http://www.raketherake.com.
There are exceptions as some poker sites, like PokerStars, offer bonuses themselves and no service offers rakeback to them, so it "safe" for you to signup to PokerStars.com through non-rakeback site, like us. By signing through here, you keep the site running and enable us to bring honest and money-saving guides online in the future too.
Unfortunately, the "refer-a-friend" services on the poker sites have the same problem. If there is a rakeback available for that site, your friend is better off signing to a rakeback service like you did, instead of the "$50 for you, $50 for me" deal. Do your friend a favor and refer her to this web site and article instead, she'll thank you later!
Further reading: Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More
3) Maximizing the initial deposit based on the offered bonus.
Some of the poker sites offer a bonus based on the initial deposit, and these range anything from $25 to $1500, even $2000 nowadays.
So in a sense, it is good for you to sign to a site which doesn't offer too big of a bonus for your bankroll at that time, so you don't "waste" a bonus by just depositing $50, when you could get the maximum bonus with $600 for example.
Maximizing the initial deposit based on the offered bonus, is not necessary for your 1st poker site, but if you decide to join and play on more than one site, it can be important later, at least as a great way to boost your early poker bankroll - so start small, but think big.
Further Reading: How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses
Don't forget to help your friends too, and share this article with them.
Even if you don't plan to play poker for a living or look at poker as a career, it's worth your time to make the early choices like you would be a pro at some point.
No-one says no to a free $100 right? Well I say "it depends" and show you when to say no to a $50 now to secure $5000 and more later. This one is true for both the new and old poker players alike.
But this is meant for new players, you who haven't played a hand yet online, at least not for real money. When I started out, I signed to the wrong sites (not all trustworthy) and I didn't know anything about the poker bonuses or rakeback.
So again I'll share something I wish I knew when I started playing online poker and continue the Beginner's Guide series while at it:
How-To Maximize Your Poker Earnings Potential?
1) Choose a good poker site to play in.
2) Sign to a poker site through trustworthy web site or rakeback Service/Affiliate, if applicable.
3) Maximize the initial deposit based on the offered bonus.
Even before you learn how to play, it is possible to miss these important steps.
Learning how to play comes later. First you must master these steps.
1) Choosing a good poker site to play in
It is in your best interest to choose a poker site which offers
a) enough traffic to keep the games going
b) low- (or high-) enough limits for you to play in
c) good loyalty program and/or rakeback through rakeback affiliate.
This way, you have options to make proper table selection and have secured the years to come with the rakeback or good bonus system.
2) Signing to the poker site through trustworthy web site
Here on Poker Wits, we only show links that help you. You can feel safe that we have done the research and don't link you directly to a poker site, which you could have rakeback instead.
Have you ever wanted to know why each and every poker strategy, news or training site and blog has banners and links to all possible poker sites? Because the poker sites give a bonus to these websites for bringing the players, like you, in.
But there is a catch.
If you click through those links, they get the rewards and you don't. Even if they promise you to send you $50, books or such, don't take it. You can have hundreds and thousands more later.
Because for most of the poker sites, there are services, which offer some of the money poker sites pay to them, back to you. The amount the web site gets back varies, but it's usually connected to the rake you generate while playing poker.
So in short, the rakeback service gives some of the rake you pay to the poker site back to you. To understand Rake and Rakeback in depth, you can find the details from the earlier post: Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More.
For now, it is important to know and understand, that rakeback is good for you. Signing through direct link from non-rakeback site, typing/searching the address yourself or similar, means no rakeback.
The difference between no rakeback and rakeback can be anything from $1 to thousands, based on how much you play over the years.
With many major poker sites, like Full Tilt Poker and Betfair for example, you should ALWAYS sign through rakeback service, like http://www.raketherake.com.
This is the reason why we at Poker Wits does not link to these poker sites directly, but instead show you the right way, which is to get rakeback.
There are exceptions as some poker sites, like PokerStars, offer bonuses themselves and no service offers rakeback to them, so it "safe" for you to signup to PokerStars.com through non-rakeback site, like us. By signing through here, you keep the site running and enable us to bring honest and money-saving guides online in the future too.
Unfortunately, the "refer-a-friend" services on the poker sites have the same problem. If there is a rakeback available for that site, your friend is better off signing to a rakeback service like you did, instead of the "$50 for you, $50 for me" deal. Do your friend a favor and refer her to this web site and article instead, she'll thank you later!
Further reading: Everything You Ever Need to Know About Rake, Rakeback and More
3) Maximizing the initial deposit based on the offered bonus.
Some of the poker sites offer a bonus based on the initial deposit, and these range anything from $25 to $1500, even $2000 nowadays.
So in a sense, it is good for you to sign to a site which doesn't offer too big of a bonus for your bankroll at that time, so you don't "waste" a bonus by just depositing $50, when you could get the maximum bonus with $600 for example.
Maximizing the initial deposit based on the offered bonus, is not necessary for your 1st poker site, but if you decide to join and play on more than one site, it can be important later, at least as a great way to boost your early poker bankroll - so start small, but think big.
Further Reading: How To Boost Your Early Poker Bankroll with Bonuses
Don't forget to help your friends too, and share this article with them.
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