Innovative promotions have been missing from poker for quite a while now but America’s Cardroom just changed all that. They’ve created a fun new promotion that puts cash in their customers’ pockets. This month, they’ve released the world’s first-ever progressive rake race. They’ve given this awesome promotion the title of The Beast.

The Beast mixes elements of a poker jackpot and a rake race. Like any poker jackpot, a fee is taken from jackpot tables and contributed to a growing pot that players can win. Like a rake race, players play as many hands as possible to earn as many points as possible. At the end of the month, the players with the most points win the most money. Unlike a standard poker jackpot, the jackpot is “hit” every month. Also, unlike a standard rake race, the amount awarded by the jackpot is different every month and changes with the number of players contributing to it.

Players earn points at America’s Cardroom simply by playing at real money tables. Anyone that contributes to a pot will receive an equal piece of the points pie (America’s Cardroom uses a contributed system to distribute points). Of course, the higher stakes tables distribute more poker points. A fee (in addition to the rake) is taken out of the pot to “feed the beast” or contribute to the jackpot. The fee taken out of the pot will also be contributed to the bad beat jackpot.

As The Beast grows in size, more players are eligible to win more money. For example, a $50,000 pool pays out 200 players while a $90,000 pool pays out 360 players. The first place winner is paid 13% of the total prize pool or $30,000, whichever is lower (basically, a player can win a maximum of $30,000 through this promotion). In addition to the cash, players may also win satellite seats to major live tournaments such as the Punta Cana Poker classic and the Latin Series of Poker.

This is truly a one-of-a-kind promotion that will most likely catch on at other poker rooms.