Anonymous”
Oh, the irony. :laughing:
Yeah I usually only lurk here but that is pretty funny, I have thought the same thing.
Has anyone thought this huge boom in poker has been helped by rake back? The more money paid back to the players the more money players have the more action there is the more rake they take in……….. The rooms are only kicking back 25-35%, they are still raking the other 65-75% which is nothing to laugh at. This 25-35% comes back to the tables. Many players would have busted long ago without rake back. Party will learn this lesson very soon if they do not wake up. This recycled money creates more and more action. An affiliate offering rakeback is actually creating more action to the house then one that is not, thus creating more future rake thus creating more long term profits.
I would think most people here do not like me for my website. I am very pro player and I feel rake back is 100% pro player. Reading that poker rooms that offer automatic rake back from the poker room is unethical is mind boggling IMO. It is only unethical to a few because it is making those who are poker affiliates work harder to compete. A room like UB, AP, Prima, Crypto, and now more recently rooms like Full Tilt, action Network and Tribeca network skins now see the importance of this.
I will use Absolute as an example. Absolute has grown like a weed. Many high volume players have hit this place because not only can they bonus whore all they want, but the bonus does not come off of MGR on their rake back. How is it unethical for Absolute Poker to create such a positive deal for the player? It is one of the things that have brought players to this room in such big numbers.
Ultimate Bet fell out of favor with many players and they fell below Prima into #5th. They launched their rake rebate program and generated a buzz. Now they are 4th again and UB makes it impossible for a player to drop an account and sign up with another affiliate, the goal here is obviously only to accept new players.
Party obviously seems dead set on ending rake back. Possibly because of feedback from boards like this that seem to have little or no concern for what is best for the player. The thing so many do not realize is that that # of player figure on Pokerpulse is inflated. So many players are playing 4, 18, 12, even 16 tables spread acorss the skins at the same time. Most if not all of the skins with a rake back deal. These high volume players, many generating over $100,000+ in rake a MONTH (no I am not making this up) and getting $25,000+ in rake rebates. It is not uncommon for high volume players to generate this month and still generate $5000 in profit for the affiliate as well. Why is this bad?
Is it because it is better to keep every bit of the players income? Remember that this rake back keeps many players from busting. Since some break even to slightly losing players only survive by this rake back this extra deposit every month helps create more and more and more rake when a player would have busted and left long ago without this extra income stream. So Party has generated endless number of players who cannot win without rake back, but who can constantly create rake in the current setting, when it dries up these players will bust and leave, some going to new rooms, others giving up on poker altogether. Some might even go back to prop jobs they abandoned. If anyone should be pissed at rake back it is those who run prop programs. I am sure providing this extra income to the players to keep them from busting and watching them play and generating rake forever is just what rooms that support rake back have in mind. If they did not do this their action would dry up because all of the money would get sucked out of the games and stay with the house and affiliates.
Poker Stars and Paradise have never allowed this, the big difference between Para and Stars and the rake back rooms is that both have by far the best rake structure on the internet and both rooms offer very few bonuses. In fact a player with a rake back deal is likely still paying more then a player would have before Party raised the rake in late 2003. In other words a player at Party with a rake back deal STILL pays more in rake then playing at Paradise or Poker Stars without any deal. Do not expect high volume players to keep playing on Party if they end the kickbacks on all the skins unless there is a bonus. Paying high rake and getting nothing in better then average games will not be smart when this player could play on networks that generate close to the same (and in some instances better) games with lower rake and/or a rake back deal.
Flame this post all you want, it is obvious to me most of the people are upset here because rake back has create a competitive poker affiliate market. Either adjust to what the market has told you it wants (rake back), do not offer sites that support it, or do what you are doing now. I dont blame you honestly. We would all love to sit back and do nothing and watch the money tree grow. I know most if not all of you provide high quality sites that require a lot of work, to most I am sure becoming a rake back affiliate would be a hassle most do not want or have time to do, especially for those who manage so many sites.
Too many people have seen how important rake back is for the winning and break even player. Ending rake back is very anti player and many players will not forgive Party for this. Of course many said they would not play there again when they jacked the rake up and they did so who knows, maybe it will be a temporary hiccup.
I am sure every other poker room on the internet can not wait for Party to drop this hammer as they will all benefit greatly from it, whether they offer rake back or not. Players are addicted to rake back and Party obviously thinks it is time to end it, this is just the parody all of the other poker rooms have been waiting for.