Rakeback
I am, generally speaking, a low limit grinder. While I may play $10/20 from time to time, I prefer the $3/6 and below full ring limit holdem game. It is my poker bread and butter. The rest of this post relates to playing the online game as a low limit grinder.
I don't think my commitment to poker bonus chasing (vs rakeback) can be questioned. It has been an easy stance to take, though. Mathematically, the amount of rake returned through bonus chasing is superior in almost all instances to the rake returned through rakeback.
But the times, they are a-changin'. In the current US online poker playing environement, I regard rakeback as essential. Not just a nicety, but essential.
Bonus chasing requires bankroll agility. By that I mean that you need to be able to deposit and withdraw your bankroll quickly at online poker rooms to be able to take advantage of bonus offers. Either that or you need an enormous bankroll wherein a deposit that maximizes a good bonus deal is only a few percent of your total bankroll. It is my personal feeling that maintaining such a large bankroll online is a risk not worth taking. Many players are currently experiencing the pain and anxiety of trying to retrieve their money from their online bankrolls. I think they are sensing the risk to which I am referring.
In the absence of bankroll agility, we need rakeback. It is the only way for American grinders to get the most for their money. With rakeback you can continue to get a discount on your poker play without having to move your money around.
I have long held that if one can get both bonus and rakeback that will clear at the same time, then one should. Absolute and UB being two places I don't think anyone should play with out having rakeback. If you are, then you are paying more to see your cards than I am paying to see mine. Why would you do that? If you do not have a rakeback deal at UB or AP, then you should stop playing there and set one up. It is not difficult to do (although the current depositing morass does complicate things a bit).
You may not have realized that this was my position by reading my ITH posts, because I rarely mention it there. I am employed by them, and they are a major online affiliate. I (and others) have encouraged them for a long time to offer rakeback. They are now offering Absolute Poker rakeback - which is a good start. I continue to encourage them to get more rakeback deals and to beef up their support to rakeback with online stats and such, but the running of a huge online poker presence like ITH requires a racking and stacking of priorities, and rakeback has not made it to the top of the list yet. I will keep pestering them to get more involved in the rakeback game.
Until then, though, I strongly encourage everyone to get set up with rakeback. At least at your favorite rooms. I have used several rakeback affiliates, and I am willing to recommend two:
- RakeTheRake (referral code RTR6596)
- ThisIsTheNuts (referral code 3171)
Using the referral codes will, in fact earn me a small commission. Much appreciated if you plug that in for me.
Every once in a while I get an e-mail or PM asking me why I don't make BullsBetting a rakeback affiliate. The truth is I would like to, but I would not like to be a bad rakeback affiliate. And I would be. I could not offer the top rakeback rates because my volume is too small. I do not have the technical expertise to offer up to the minute online player reports. I take frequent business trips that put me out of reach, so my customer service would be hit or miss. I simply can not compete with RakeTheRake or ThisIsTheNuts. So, if you can't beat them, join them! They are the best and most trusted names in rakeback, so I am happy to direct players to them and maybe once in a while getting a little pocket change for the effort.
I still encourage players to take advantage of all bonuses that they can.
Happy Chasing!