Which poker room offers the best bonus system? Which room offers the most rakeback? We checked the VIP systems for cash games for four of the biggest sites – PokerStars, Full Tilt, PartyPoker and Titan Poker.
Update 1.7.2013: Included Full-Tilt-Black-Card program. This boosts Full Tilts rakeback considerably for players averaging more than $1.5k per month.
Update 16.6.2013: Included Weekly-Cash-Promotion on Titan-Poker and updated Party-Poker due to their recent changes in the VIP-System.
Update 29.1.2013: Included changes to PokerStars VIP and the removal of PartyPoker-Paladium-Elite-Status.
The whole following comparison is focussed on cash games – a separate comparison for tournaments will follow. We compared the effective payed rake, the VIP programs and will give a brief overview which yearly volume is necessary to reach certain rakeback rewards.
Rake comparison
The following table shows the rake each of the four sites charge (percentage and cap) with 5 or more players at the table:
| Site | NL2 | NL5 | NL10 | NL25 | NL50 | NL100 | NL200 | NL400 | NL1k |
| PokerStars | 3,5% $0,30 | 4,2% $1,00 | 4,5% $1,50 | 4,5% $2,00 | 4,5% $2,50 | 4,5% $2,80 | 4,5% $2,80 | 4,5% $2,80 | 4,5% $3,00 |
| Full Tilt | 6,7% $2,00 | 6,7% $2,00 | 6,7% $2,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 |
| Titan Poker | 6,7% $1,00 | 6,7% $1,00 | 6,7% $2,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 |
| PartyPoker | 5,0% $1,00 | 5,0% $1,00 | 5,0% $1,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 | 5,0% $3,00 |
All rooms use the full contributed model to calculate rakeback.
PokerStars bests its competitors on all levels. It’s 10% cheaper for NL100+, about 12% cheaper for NL50 and 15% for NL25 players. On stakes NL10 and below PokerStars is at least 33% cheaper than any of those three competitors.
For players playing lower than NL50 the following comparison is pointless. PokerStars offers by far the best rakeback, since it simply takes so much less rake.
For a more detailed analysis of the rake, take a look at our rake comparison for PokerStars, Full Tilt, PartyPoker and Titan Poker.
For the following comparison we included in our calculation that Full Tilt, PartyPoker and Titan Poker charge 10% more rake than PokerStars. We deducted those 10% from their rakeback values.
The VIP programs
Each side offers it’s own VIP program and each of those programs works basically the same. For payed rake the player receives some sort of points. The more points a player collects per month (or per 100 days or year) the higher his VIP level will be. The higher the players VIP level is, the more points he earns per payed rake or the better are the bonuses he can redeem.
Comparison of the VIP programs
On the basis of monthly (or yearly) payed rake we calculated how much effective rakeback a player can expect each room to pay. The basis of this calculation is the payed rake on PokerStars1.
We assumed the the player plays over 12 months time, plays roughly the same volume each month and has initially the lowest VIP level on all sites.
| Rake / Monat | Rake / Jahr | PokerStars | Full Tilt | PartyPoker | Titan Poker |
| <75 | <900 | 10% (B) | <0% (B) | <0% (B) | 7% (B) |
| 75 – 140 | 900 – 1.700 | 15% (S) | 5% (S) | <0% (B) | 7% (B) |
| 140 – 180 | 1.700 – 2.200 | 15% (S) | 9% (G) | <0% (B) | 11% (C) |
| 180 – 275 | 2.200 – 3.300 | 15% (S) | 10% (G) | 2% (S) | 11% (S) |
| 275 – 300 | 3.300 – 3.600 | 15% (S) | 15% (P) | 2% (S) | 11% (S) |
| 300 – 460 | 3.600 – 5.500 | 15% (S) | 15% (P) | 2% (S) | 13% (G) |
| 460 – 680 | 5.500 – 8.200 | 21% (G) | 16% (P) | 7% (G) | 16% (G) |
| 680 – 900 | 8.200 – 11k | 21% (G) | 22% (D) | 7% (G) | 16% (G) |
| 900 – 1.350 | 11k- 16k | 21% (G) | 22% (D) | 11% (P) | 28% (T) |
| 1.350 – 1.500 | 16k – 18k | 23% (P) | 27% (BC) | 12% (P) | 28% (T) |
| 1.500 – 2.400 | 18k – 29k | 29% (SN) | 28% (BC) | 17% (P) | 32% (T) |
| 2.400 – 3.000 | 29k – 36k | 29% (SN) | 28% (BC) | 17% (P) | 37% (T) |
| 3.000 – 4.500 | 36k – 55k | 36% (SN) | 29% (BC) | 19% (P) | 37% (T) |
| 4.500 – 7.600 | 55k – 91k | 39% (SN) | 29% (BC) | 23% (P) | 37% (T) |
| 7.600 – 11.500 | 91k – 138k | 42% (SN) | 29% (BC) | 23% (P) | 38% (T) |
| 11.500 – 15.200 | 138k – 182k | 45% (SN) | 30% (BC) | 23% (P) | 39% (T) |
| > 15.200 | >182k | >54% (SNE) | 30% (BC) | 23% (P) | 39% (T) |
The cells with green background show the best rakeback (+/- 3%) for each tier.
The effective VIP level for each tier and site is in brackets, bold if the level is reached for the first time in this tier.
PokerStars: (B) – Bronce and Chrome; (S) – Silver; (G) – Gold; (P) – Platinum; (SN) – Supernova; (SNE) – Supernova Elite
Full Tilt: (B) – Bronce; (S) – Silver; (G) – Gold; (P) – Platinum; (D) – Diamond; (BC) – Black Card
PartyPoker: (B) – Bronce; (S) – Silver; (G) – Gold; (P) – Palladium
Titan Poker (B) – Bronce; (C) – Copper; (S) – Silver; (G) – Gold; (T) – Titanium und Annual Diamond
Graphical comparison
For a volume of up to $20k rake per year:
For a volume of up to $200k rake per year:
Several remarks and constrictions
- Monthly commitment: Until one reaches supernova level on PokerStars one has to qualify for each VIP level each month. On Full Tilt one has to play a certain volume for 30 or 100 days to keep the VIP level. Titan Poker also requires the player to unlock each VIP level each month unless the player reaches the annual diamond level (by paying roughly $6.7k rake in 3 months) in which case he keeps his status until the end of the year. On PartyPoker the VIP level is irrelevant for the accumulation of points.
- Bonus requirements: On all sites the player has to have a certain VIP level to qualify for bonuses. On PokerStars and Party Poker each VIP level has it’s own bonuses. On Titan Poker the player has to be at least copper VIP to redeem cash bonuses and on Full Tilt the Edge Rakeback is based on the VIP level.
- Point expiration: On Titan Poker unused points expire after 12 months. Should a player have amassed a huge amount of points, he has to make sure to redeem them before they expire and might have to pick an unfavorable point to cash conversion rate. On the other sites, points do not expire, but every poker room states in their conditions that they can change the bonus program anytime.
- Other bonuses: All sites have additional bonus item in their stores. Some of them might provide a better point to cash conversion rate. PokerStars for example offers several gift certificates in Euro and British Pounds which have a better value than most cash bonuses. Also tournament tickets usually provide a slightly better conversion rate. Titan Poker also offers (most likely for the whole year 2013) a weekly cash bonus which allows players to redeem up to 2.000 points for a $20 bonus each week. This promotion was already considered in the comparison above.
Significant milestones
To reach certain VIP levels a player has to generate the following amount of rake on each site:
PokerStars – Silver: $130 rake / month, Gold: $550, Platinum: $1.350, Supernova: $18.200 rake / year, Supernova-Elite: $182.000
FullTilt (considering constant play over 100 days) – Silver: $70 rake2 / month, Gold: $140, Platinum: $270, Diamond: $680, Black Card: $1.370
PartyPoker – Silver: $200 rake / month, Gold: $500, Palladium: $4.500 rake / quarter
TitanPoker – Copper: $133 rake / month, Silver: $200, Gold: $333, Titanium: $1.000, Annual Diamond: $6.666 rake / 3 months
How many hands does one need to play to reach a certain amount of rake?
The amount of hands needed to accumulate a certain amount of rake depends on the limit the player plays and the play style. Since all sites use the full contributed model to calculate points, more active players generally receive more rakeback.
The following table roughly shows the amount of hands needed to accumulate a certain amount of rake:
| Limit Rake | $130 | $550 | $1.350 | $18.200 | $100 |
| NL50 | 3.200 | 13.000 | 33.000 | 443.000 | 2.400 |
| NL100 | 2.000 | 8.300 | 20.000 | 275.000 | 1.500 |
| NL200 | 1.400 | 5.800 | 14.000 | 191.000 | 1.000 |
| NL400 | 1.100 | 4.500 | 11.000 | 147.000 | 800 |
| NL600 | 900 | 3.800 | 9.200 | 125.000 | 700 |
| NL1000 | 800 | 3.500 | 8.600 | 116.000 | 600 |
Those numbers might not be very accurate, but they show one thing quite clearly: To reach worthwhile VIP levels a player has to put down a huge volume on all sites. For example – to reach 37% rakeback on Titan Poker one has to play about 450.000 hands of NL100. To reach 40% on PokerStars about a million hands of NL100 are needed and to reach supernova elite, 2,7 million hands per year (or 230.000 hands per month) are needed on PokerStars.
In 2010 and 2011 less than 400 players reached supernova elite on PokerStars, in 2012 less than 200 players accomplished this feat.
Where to play?
All compared sites offer a decent rakeback system. Only PartyPoker trails behind – their meaningful rewards don’t start before the player reaches palladium level. But even then it’s not better than the rakeback on Full Tilt which kicks in much earlier.
PokerStars and Full Tilt don’t differ much for players paying between $3.300 and $36.000 rake per year. Players that play a lower volume generally receive slightly more rakeback at PokerStars (albeit in absolute numbers it’s still very low).
Titan Poker offers the best value for players paying between $11k and $36k rake per year. There is one caveat though: On Titan Poker points expire after one year, thus one has to aim for the desired bonus accurately and reach it before the points go waste. Plus: the Titan Poker bonuses come in very high absolute values, meaning that a player will most like not receive any rakeback/bonus payments for a long time, but receive the whole bonus in one huge chunk.
PokerStars pays its bonuses in smaller amounts and Full Tilt basically pays constantly via Edge-Rakeback.
But after all rakeback and bonuses should not be the sole reason to choose a site. A decent amount of tables, not too difficult opponents and a decent software is at least as important as the question wether one receives 5% more rakeback. Particularly players getting less than $1k rakeback or bonuses per year should not be too obsessed with rakeback percentages since rakeback payments will not be substantial for the win rate of those players.
1 We factored in that Full Tilt, PartyPoker and Titan Poker charge 10% more rake. For example if a player pays $1.000 rake on PokerStars he would have payed $1.100 on Full Tilt for the same amount of played hands. For PokerStars we used $1.000 to calculate the rakeback, for the other rooms $1.100. Afterwards we deducted the full $100 more payed rake from the rakeback numbers for Full Tilt, PartyPoker and Titan to get comparable results.
2 In this section “rake” means the rake payed on respective site.
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Dieser Artikel erschien auf PokerOlymp am 06.11.2012.
