Online Poker » Party Poker » Party Poker Rakeback

Any time you play in an online cash poker game, you contribute money to the pot. Party Poker, along with most other poker sites, takes a certain percentage of that pot, which is called the rake. This is because Party Poker needs to collect money to pay for site upkeep, software development, paying Party Poker employees and other expenses. Because Party Poker is free to play, a rake is necessary in order for Party Poker to be financially viable. Thankfully, Party Poker offers a rakeback program for its most dedicated and loyal customers, allowing some of that rake money to be deposited back into that player's account.

Party Poker's Rake

The amount that Party Poker rakes for each hand is dependent on a number of factors. The most important determinant is the current limit of the table. For instance, a $250/$500 game will generally have a rake of $1 per $100, whereas a $0.10/$0.20 game will usually have a rake of $0.01 per $0.10. No limit games will generally have slightly lower rakes. For instance, a high stakes no limit game with blinds of $15/30 will have a relatively small rake of $0.05 per $1.00. These rake ratios encourage players to play in higher limit or no limit games to avoid higher rake percentages.

The other important factor in determining how much is raked is the number of players participating in a hand. This figure will not directly influence the rake ratio, but will determine the maximum amount that can be raked from a given hand. For instance, a hand in a $5/$10 game involving two players will have a rake of $0.50 per $10.00 with a maximum of $1.00. A hand in that same game in which five to ten players participate will have the same rake ratio, but to a maximum of $3. In fact, the only time the maximum rake will rise above $3 in a normal cash game is if four or more players participate in a hand in a $250/$500 game, in which case the maximum rake will be $5.

Party Poker Rakeback Percentage

The amount of money a player can earn through the Party Poker rakeback program depends on the number of PartyPoints that player has earned. PartyPoints are earned by participating in raked cash games and tournaments. In short, the more a player participates in cash games and tournaments, the more PartyPoints he or she will earn. After earning enough PartyPoints in a given time frame, a player will advance in Key Level, which is Party Poker's ranking system. For instance, if a player earns 1,000 PartyPoints in one month, they will advance to Gold Key Level. This will give them the rakeback percentage of the Gold Key level for the entire month. Likewise, a player who earns 50,000 PartyPoints in one calendar quarter will achieve Palladium Elite Key Level, which will fetch them the highest rakeback percentage.

A player's rakeback percentage is the percentage of that player's contribution to the rake that will be deposited back into the player's account. Following are the rakeback percentages of each Key Level:

Bronze: 5%

Silver: 6.67%

Gold: 10%

Palladium: 12-15%

Palladium Elite: 30%

Party Poker offers a competitive and attractive rakeback program to reward users who play frequently and thus contribute a larger amount of money to the rake. This encourages players to stay with Party Poker to enjoy the fullest benefits of the rakeback program by reaching a high Key Level and receiving more cash back.