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PokerStars Rakeback (VIP Club) vs
Full Tilt Poker Rakeback |
PokerStars Rakeback (VIP Club) vs Full Tilt Poker Rakeback
One of the biggest deciding factors in picking a poker room should be the perks for being a member. The majority of poker sites have VIP clubs or frequent player programs providing bonuses, gifts, merchandise, etc. for their more active players. Some sites, however, also allow rakeback, which is a partial cash refund of the fees you pay to play poker. The two best examples of this are the PokerStars VIP Club and rakeback.
Full Tilt Poker’s maximum rakeback allowed is 27%. Typically there are many different forms of rake contribution. At Full Tilt Poker, this is determined by the Dealt Method. In the Dealt Method the amount of rake in a pot is divided by the total number of player being dealt a hand. For instance, a player is said to have contributed $.50 in rake at a 6-handed table where a pot was raked $3.
The one major caveat to Full Tilt rakeback is that bonuses and the use of player points count against rakeback. According to most rakeback providers any award bonus is first deducted from your rake before rakeback is calculated. This means that every bonus dollar a player clears is first deducted from the rake he/she has generated. After this amount is deducted the player will then receive 27% of the final amount monthly. Because of this, it really lowers the actual value you will be receiving. Frequent player points are supposed to be an incentive for playing a lot, but players who have rakeback deals on Full Tilt Poker fear spending those points because it will actually lower their rakeback amount for the month. Essentially, they would be paying for the gift purchased with frequent player points.
Another restriction with Full Tilt rakeback deals is that a 3rd-party must be used to provide the payments to players. Full Tilt Poker has nothing to do with the actual rakeback; they have rakeback affiliates which handle all rakeback matters. Because of this, rakeback is not guaranteed from the actual poker site. Usually this runs smoothly, but problems can arise and Full Tilt Poker can not be held responsible during payment disputes.
The easiest way to rate Full Tilt Poker rakeback vs. the PokerStars VIP Program is to compare the rakeback one earns at Full Tilt to the value of the bonuses at PokerStars. Each VIP Level has its own bonuses, which are bought using FPPs. The chart below illustrates the bonuses a player can earn at each VIP Level:
PokerStars VIP Bonuses
| VIP Level |
FPP's Required |
Bonus Amount |
| SilverStar |
5,000 |
$50 |
| GoldStar |
25,000 |
$285 |
| PlatinumStar |
50,000 |
$650 |
| SuperNova |
100,000 |
$1,500 |
| SuperNovaElite |
250,000 |
$4,000 |
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PokerStars Marketing Code
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PokerStars VIP Club for Rakeback
While Full Tilt's rakeback program is quite simple, the same cannot be said for PokerStars. In order to understand how the two compare we must first break down the PokerStars VIP Program. At PokerStars, players earn VIP Player Points or VPPs for playing in qualified raked pots or tournament games. One VPP is awarded for playing a hand in which the rake reaches 40 cents. For tournament/SNG games, 5 VPPs are awarded for every $1 in tournament fees (for instance, in a $10+$1 tournament a player would receive 5 VPPs). Players can earn 2 VPPs once the rake reaches $2 at a 6max table, $3 at a Full-Ring table. A third VPP can be earned for playing in a hand in which the rake reaches $5.
There are six levels of VIPs at PokerStars. Each player starts as a BronzeStar. Players move up and down the VIP ladder solely based off the number of VPPs they earn in a month/year. The chart below illustrates the number of VPPs one must earn to must up the VIP ladder at PokerStars:
PokerStars VIP Ladder
| PokerStars VIP Level |
VPP's Required |
FPP's Earned Per 1 VPP |
| BronzeStar |
0 |
1 |
| SilverStar |
1,200/Month |
1.5 |
| GoldStar |
3,000/Month |
2 |
| PlatinumStar |
7,500/Month |
2.5 |
| SuperNova |
100,000/Year |
3.5 |
| SuperNovaElite |
1,000,000/Year |
5 |
As you can see, at the GoldStar level, tournament players start to hit the 27% that Full Tilt offers. At this VIP level, the PokerStars VIP club becomes a superior chose over any Full Tilt Poker rakeback deal. Once a player becomes Supernova taking the $1,500 bonus and above, most players earn over 35% rakeback! There is also the added bonus of the weekly and monthly freerolls, which can put PokerStars way over the top for Supernova rakeback.
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Each level has its own perks. The main benefit of being in a higher VIP Level is to earn more Frequent Player Points, or FPP's, at a faster rate. This is possible because each VIP level has a different "FPP Multiplier Rate". VPP's are converted into FPP's by a certain multiplier, which depends on the VIP level of the player. Take a look at the table above to see the FPP multiplier rate at each VIP Level.
There are many ways to spend FPP's at PokerStars. Players can purchase cash bonuses (which are not immediate, but must be earned and cleared), purchase tickets to major live and online tournaments, enter special FPP satellite tournaments, or visit the PokerStars FPP Store where items such as flat-screen TVs, gift certificates, and even a Porsche Cayman are available. There are also weekly and monthly freerolls available to the higher VIP levels.
Tournament Rakeback Through VIP Bonuses
| VIP Level |
FPP's For Bonus |
Bonus Amount |
VPP's to Clear |
Rakeback |
| SilverStar |
5,000 |
$50 |
350 |
14.8% |
| GoldStar |
25,000 |
$285 |
1,995 |
27.2% |
| PlatinumStar |
50,000 |
$650 |
4,550 |
27.5% |
| Supernova |
100,000 |
$1,500 |
10,500 |
35.9% |
| Supernova |
250,000 |
$4,000 |
28,000 |
37.1% |
| Supernova Elite |
250,000 |
$10,000 |
50,000 |
41.3% |
The table above shows Tournament Rakeback through VIP Bonuses. Using PokerStars 5 VPP's for tournament fees one can calculate the rakeback percentage for tournament or SNG players at PokerStars.
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Determining rake back % for ring-games is not quite as simple. There are many factors which could effect how quickly a player generates enough FPPs to "purchase" one of the cash bonuses. However, to keep things simple we can assess FPP's a monetary value. At lower VIP levels (SilverStar through PlatinumStar) an FPP is typically worth $.015. At Supernova and Supernova Elite an FPP is typically worth $.016. These can vary slightly depending on which items are bought as some tournament packages give a better conversion rate. Let’s look at how different levels compare to each other rakeback % wise:
Limit Rakeback Rates
| Playing Level |
$1/$2 Limit FR |
$2/$4 Limit FR |
$5/$10 Limit FR |
| SilverStar |
26% |
18% |
15% |
| GoldStar |
43% |
30% |
24.5% |
| PlatinumStar |
46.5% |
32% |
26.5% |
| Supernova |
66% |
45.5% |
37.5% |
Supernova Milestone |
71% - 92.7% |
48.8% - 63.7% |
40.3% - 52.6% |
| Supernova Elite |
150% |
103% |
85.5% |
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NL Full-Ring (9-handed) Rakeback Rates
| VIP Level |
$1/$2 No-Limit FR |
$2/$4 No-Limit FR |
$5/$10 No-Limit FR |
| SilverStar |
15% |
12% |
13% |
| GoldStar |
24.5% |
19% |
21% |
| PlatinumStar |
26.5% |
21% |
23% |
| Supernova |
37.5% |
29.5% |
32.5% |
| Supernova Milestone |
38% - 53% |
29.5% - 41.4% |
32% - 45% |
| Supernova Elite |
85.5% |
67% |
73% |
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NL 6-max Rakeback Rates
| VIP Level |
$1/$2 No-Limit 6m |
$2/$4 No-Limit 6m |
$5/$10 No-Limit 6m |
| SilverStar |
12% |
10% |
11% |
| GoldStar |
19.5% |
16% |
17.5% |
| PlatinumStar |
21% |
17.5% |
19% |
| Supernova |
30% |
25% |
27% |
| Supernova Milestone |
29.7% - 42% |
25% - 35% |
27% - 38% |
| Supernova Elite |
67.5% |
56.5% |
61% |
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As you can see once a player reaches Supernova he/she typically earns at least 27% rakeback. In fact, you can earn up to 150% rakeback if you hit Supernova elite! Add into this not having to deal with a 3rd party and the fact that players can still clear other deposit bonuses it would seem that once a player reaches this level the benefits outweigh those of a typical rakeback program. It would appear for tournament players PokerStars is ahead of the pack once a player reaches the Supernova level. For cash games, it is a virtual toss-up at the 6-max No Limit (NL) tables while at Full Ring (FR) and Limit tables, Supernova and Supernova Elite are superior to Full Tilt’s 27% rakeback. The biggest problem is earning enough VPPs in a month or year to move through the ranks and to these levels. From some, reaching Supernova could take more than 6 months of hard work; however, once there the pay-off is certainly worth the wait.
In conclusion, it seems for the serious grinder, PokerStars rakeback through their VIP program seems superior to Full Tilt rakeback. It may take a while to reach the Supernova levels, but in the long run, PokerStars cash bonuses will earn you more money than a stagnant 27% Full Tilt offer which deducts bonuses and the usage of points.
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How To Use Our PokerStars Marketing Code:
PokerStars Marketing Code
flopturnriver
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100% Initial Deposit Up to $600, Plus $1,000 in monthly tournaments!
Using the PokerStars Marketing Code
The code should be typed in as shown below when you:
[X] Register a new account [ ] Make your first deposit
If you sign up to PokerStars, use our PokerStars Marketing Code of "flopturnriver" and you'll receive the maximum bonus available and automatically get access to our exclusive money-added tournaments and PokerStars events, including our online poker league, the FTR Gauntlet! We offer our members $1,000 in free money tournaments every single month! This, of course, is in addition to the rakeback percentage you are earning from the PokerStars VIP Club, giving you even more value, and reason to check out PokerStars.
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Using the PokerStars Bonus Code
The code should be typed in as shown below when you:
[ ] Register a new account [X] Make your first deposit
Read more details on using our PokerStars Bonus Code.
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