why would beginners play stars?

I would gladly pay this price. It isn't like this rake isn't beatable......

Why would beginner's play Stars?

.. idk, probably cuz of that new TV commercial > "We Are Poker"

Originally Posted by Poker Orifice

Why would beginner's play Stars?

.. idk, probably cuz of that new TV commercial > "We Are Poker"

This.

Now if you don't mean raw beginners, but people looking for really fishy games, then also this.

ok .......news just in from ipoker

PokerUpdate » iPoker Network Confirms Rake Change

or put simply , the essence like system that they were going to introduce has been shelved and from the 1st March they are going weighted contributed just like stars. For Micro players though , 50%+ rakeback deals can be found and that is cash in your pocket , not a bonus that has to be released. supernova + returns without the hard grind of hands. hopefully the software updates will make the site more playable as well. Alternatively you can grind out deposit bonuses around the network combined with affiliate boosted VIP deals for short term gains.

I would check the rake that you are initially paying on the site you play on, as at certain stakes it could make quite a difference.

For instance, both Titan and William Hill (iPoker) charge a maximum rake of $3 per pot if you are playing 20NL.
Titan Rake
WH Rake (I can't get the link to work, but here is the address)
http://poker.williamhill.com/help/rake-limits-ipoker/

I'm not sure if all iPoker skins charge this as I only checked these two.

At Stars, you can play up to 25NL and only pay a maximum of $2 rake per pot.
Stars Rake

If you got 40% rakeback from iPoker, then you would be getting $1.20 of the $3 back, so would only be paying a maximum of $1.80 rake per pot.
You would only need to be getting 10% rakeback from Stars to make your maximum rake per pot decrease from $2 to $1.80.

lets compare like with like though ? 55% deals are available for micro players rather than 40% that you are quoting if you know where to look, compared to the 10-15% that micro players get with stars bronze/silver.

So that 3$ rake gets reduced to $1.35 which is nearer to 33% rakeback on stars 2$ max rake. not sure what vip level that equates to but comes back to the original point , how likely are beginners going to be able to get the VIP level at stars to get the same rake/cash back that they can get from the start at ipoker without any play qualifications..

Yes, I agree that if you can get a 55% rakeback deal at another site, you would be much better off. I was just pointing out that just because two sites specify 5% rake (or whatever), this does not necessarily mean that you are paying the same amount of rake for each pot.

I just noticed that my point only really relates to 20NL and 25NL though, as if you play 2NL or 4NL, the maximum rake per pot is $1 on iPoker and $2 on Stars, although iPoker charges 6.5% rake for these stakes and Stars remains at 5%.

So I think it's time to move up to 50NL and have a look at other sites.