Sunday, January 4, 2009

Rakeback review - RakebackStat

RakeBackStat is a smallish and relatively new affiliate run by an Australian poker/gambling professional who has a solid reputation among the Austrlalian poker community through regular contributions to the aussie poker network forum and in facilitating cash transfers between poker sites.

I've been a member for about six months so far, and signed up originally for a nice Bodog offer and then also signed up to Pacific.

Rakeback rates: [9/10] Generally RakeBackStat pay the highest available rakeback percentage allowed by each poker room

Additonal bonuses: [5/10] RakeBackStat have a few addional benefits, a rake race or two and the odd freeroll or added tournament

Poker room selection: [7/10] RakeBackStat has a good selection of rooms with some fairly unique deals. I have found them great to deal with for both Bodog and Pacific.

Ease of sign up: [8/10] Signing up to various sites is relatively well explained, and a simple process.

Customer service: [10/10] The online chat allows you to ask questions in real time and is often available with an extremely prompt response. I found an error once which on investigation was an error from the Poker room. RakeBackStat were kind enought to pay me a small compensation for detecting the error.

Payout methods: [9/10] Many rooms pay direct to your poker account, but for those that don't RakeBackStat has the option of Moneybookers, Epassporte, wire transfer to bank accounts, direct deposit to Australian bank accounts or direct to a poker room (Full Tilt, Absolute/Ultimate bet, Cake, Eurolinx)

Payout frequency: [10/10] For rooms where payouts are not direct, payouts are made upon request.

Update frequency: [9/10] Generally your rakeback statistics are updated daily, apart from weekends

Referral program: [9/10] RakeBackStat has an easy to use affiliate program where you just put your link up on any website to automatically refer other players. Includes a solid payout of 2-6% of their rake each month.

Verdict: [8.5/10] Another quality rakeback provider that has always provided me with fantastic service. Payouts have been prompt upon request and i've used the live chat several times to get a super fast response to my queries. I would recommend RakeBackStat in particular to those looking for some very nice deals on more unusual poker rooms (which are also potentially quite soft).

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Rakeback review - RaketheRake

RakeTheRake is a very large and longstanding affiliate in the online poker world and has paid out millions to players over the years. I've been a member for almost two years so far, and have signed up to a number of pokerrooms through their deals including Full Tilt, Interpoker, William Hill and Littlewoods.

Rakeback rates: [9/10] Generally RakeTheRake pay the highest available rakeback percentage allowed by each poker room

Additonal bonuses: [10/10] RakeTheRake have a LOT of addional benefits, including monthly freerolls and rake races. Some smaller room races can be very profitable

Poker room selection: [10/10] RakeTheRake has a huge selection of rooms on almost every major network and many independents

Ease of sign up: [9/10] Signing up to various sites is relatively well explained, and a simple process. Screen shots included for where to input rakeback codes

Customer service: [8/10] Thankfully since their software tends to run well, i've rarely had to contact them, but they have always been very quick to respond and follow up any queries.

Payout methods: [8/10] Many rooms pay direct to your poker account, but for those that don't RakeTheRake has the option of Neteller, Paypal, cheque or direct to a poker room (Full Tilt, Party, Absolute/Ultimate bet)

Payout frequency: [8/10] For rooms where payouts are not direct, payouts are made each calendar month

Update frequency: [9/10] Generally your rakeback statistics are updated daily, apart from weekends

Referral program: [9/10] RakeTheRake has an easy to use affiliate program where you just put your link up on any website to automatically refer other players. Includes a solid payout of 2-3% of their rake each month. They also provide the code for graphical referral advertisements.

Verdict: [9/10] A quality rakeback provider that has always provided me with great service. They have always been courteous and responsive, and payouts have been prompt. I would recommend RakeTheRake to both the novice and veteran poker player, and in particular to those who like to "set and forget" as RakeTheRake do all the work for you.

What are poker deals?

This will be my blog of my experiences with several rakeback and bonus providers, and will hopefully provide some insight to anyone interested in getting the most for their money from online poker.

Basically if you don't have a good rakeback or bonus deal, you are shortchanging yourself by a portion of the poker rooms' charges that they take out of every hand (ie rake). A rakeback deal then returns part of these charges to your own pocket. This can easily add up to hundreds of dollars every month so take the most of these deals to increase your return from online poker.

The challenge is therefore to find the best deals available from reputable poker room affiliates who are not going to disappear with YOUR money.