Actually, I just can’t decide on what course of action I want to take.
There were a lot of the poker rooms sitting very quietly in the back of the room. There was also a camera outside and some of the owners were watching at a safe distance that way.
What is happening is that rake back is heading for exactly the self destruction I always predicted.
About 18 months ago it first reared it’s ugly head. As Party Poker so aptly pointed out (by the way, they were the only group to speak up and eloquently so.
All other rooms were as quiet as church mice while affilates got rather heated.) rake back affiliates never bring in new players. Only us non rakebackers provide growth for the industry. This is a very important point. Rakeback affiliates only syphon off the players we brought online and trained until they played well enough to be profitable to a rakebacker.(who makes a very small %)
Without us non rakebackers, the poker industry would literally shrivel up like a prune. This is one of the reasons rakeback is getting more and more hush hush. Rooms don’t advertise it. Microgaming even issued a gag order. They all still offer it quietly to those who ask, because they want to steal the whales from one another. In the process, they are all guilty of stealing them from us. 
That is why no one will talk about it. Well, I will, even if it involves some people I much respect and trust on other levels.
These rooms fear that if they don’t do it, they will not have any of the bigger players. But they also fear that it may become popular. Right now abut 15% of poker players get rake back. I have been told that once this number climbs to 50%, the only people making any money are the players.
Now comes the part that is almost funny.
Rakeback affiliates would like for us to help them. They said so during the presentation.
18 months ago these folks came and saw a market opportunity. Nothing wrong with that. They started their rake back programs, which are very heavy in player support. You need to be in constant contact with these larger players. So, while they were making a very small percentage, they needed staff. Some of them have like 20 or more people working for them. This gets expensive. I was shocked when I realized how little money they were making, despite working very hard and moving lots of very large players about.
Now – enter the NEW RAKEBACK affiliates. They don’t have so many players to take care of. They go to the poker rooms and say: Give me 50% and I’ll give the player 45% and I’ll bring you 100 huge players very fast. Give me 52% and I will give the players 48% and I will bring you the big players in a jiffy. The greedy and hungry poker rooms will do it. This is where the rakebackers are coddled and given perferential treatment. They get a much higher percentage than we do, so they can pay out the rakeback. And, mind me, this is where the poker rooms are biting themselves in the axx. No profit margin for anyone after a while. Anyway, now guess who is crying bloody murder?
The 18 month old rakebackers. They cannot keep up. The new guys are stealing their players. Isn’t that a crying shame. Stealing the players. Who ever heard of such a rotten , lousy thing to happen to a person!! 
So, they would like for us to get together with them and the room and set a ceiling for rakeback. So that no one can steal the players from them that they stole from us.
I am really a very nice person and as CAPPERS well know, I always help people out. So what will I do for these folks? You got it! I will let them do this to me: :kissass:
So what did I mean with us having the power to put an end to it?
Simple. We all start offering rakeback. I will bet you what that the software companies will put down their foot, and fast.
Poker, bursting on the scene with such promise and possiblities, is a mess and every day it’s getting messier. Greed rules and ethics have left the house.
Yuck! :Pisser: