Rakeback or Bonuses
These days there are two major rewards schemes run by online poker rooms rakeback or bonuses. Players who opt for rakeback will receive a predetermined percentage of their rake back. So if they are on a 30% rakeback deal and rake a total of $100, $30 will be returned to them when the rakeback payments are made (usually at the end of the month).
- 33% Poker Rakeback
- 110% Bonus up To $600
- Gold Chip and Gold Cards
- New Player 5k Freeroll
- WPT and WSOP Satellites
- Daily Bounty Tournaments
- The Softest Cash games
- Huge Multi-Table Tournament Overlays
Players who opt for a bonus deal will first have to deposit a certain amount into the poker room in order to activate their bonus and then will be required to meet the clearing requirements for that bonus before it is released into their account. This article is intended to weigh up the pro's and con's of both rewards and try to determine which is best.
Lets start off with poker bonuses.
As previously mentioned with a poker bonus you will nearly always be required to deposit before you can activate your bonus. The amount you deposit will then determine the size of your bonus. So if you only deposit $100 then you will only receive a $100 bonus. With a poker bonus you are then required to rake a certain amount before the bonus is released into your account.
All bonuses have a limited clearance time, so if you don't clear the bonus within an allocated period then you will not receive your bonus reward at all. Once you have cleared your bonus and it has been released into your account if you don't get another bonus deal then you will be playing without any rewards.
Rakeback is slightly different to bonuses and actually much more profitable from the serious player. Firstly you will never need to deposit a certain amount of money to obtain rakeback. Rakeback is automatically applied to your account regardless of the amount of money you fund your account with. If you get a rakeback deal you will never be required to rake a certain amount before the rakeback becomes activated.
As long as you rake $1 then you will recieve a rakeback payment. What really sets rakeback apart from poker bonuses is the fact that you can earn forever with rakeback. Once you have cleared your poker bonus then you stop earning any reward for playing. Rakeback lasts forever so you are always rewarded for playing, no matter what game you play or how often you play.
When you compare the two it's actually pretty clear which one comes out on top. If anyone was to ask me rakeback or bonuses I would have to say rakeback every time. The beauty of rakeback is in the fact that you can earn forever, so if you find a poker room you like and sign up with a rakeback deal then there is no reason to play anywhere else.
There is also no time period on releasing your rakeback so you don't have to get stressed out about if your going to earn your reward or not. There is no doubt, if you're serious about poker then you should be choosing rakeback every time.