Well I've been playing on pokerstars for awhile and I see all these rake rebates at other sites that have some appeal. I play 5-7 dollar sng's typically around 100 a week, 2 at a time. Anyways, i just thought i'd see what anyone had to say about rake rebates vs points on pokerstars. I know not all sites give rake returns on tourney buy in's two, but i think a saw a few that do.
Thanks and good luck
Nit
Thanks for the response. I am in the US. I was considering making a push in one of the next couple of months to obtain the silver star rating with pokerstars. Thats actually why i started debating whether or not it was worth it or if i should just go with a rakeback deal.The way i interpret the pokerstars info is that once you obtain the silver star rating you earn 1.5 fpp's for every fpp so keeping the silver star wouldn't be a problem. And doing the math i'd be looking at about 13 or 14 bucks a week with normal rakeback at my current level, witch doesn't seem all that appealing.
Thanks
Nit
Each PokerStars FPP point has a value of around $0.0159 so you are getting the equivalent of around 12% rakeback at Silver Level. Therefore is probably best to go for a rakeback deal, but then you should consider other factors, for example if you need to play a high volume of games, or intend to start increasing the stakes significantly then PokerStars may still be the best place for you.
At the end of the day though the most important thing is how easy the games are.
Another option, if you have a winning record on SharkScope, would be look at partnership type programs. One example is Team Golden Arch Poker. They give you a 50% net rake share and even instantly match your deposits to double your bank roll. The downside is that will likely require you to play a certain amount each week, and they are on the Merge network, which has great software but doesn't have a huge amount of tournament traffic.
I too am on pokerstars and have been grinding micro stakes up to $800. Ive noticed the rake at 25NL can be fairly high, and despite the fact that i'll comfortably achieve the silver star status this month i too am wondering if it might be better to switch. The problem with the VIP system is that achieveing silver star doesnt actually reduce the amount of rake you experience - you still lose the same amount of money in pots and tournament fees, you just get more FPPs for it. Asides from a few books and accessories in the VIP store i cant see a great deal of use for these.
I did a bit of calculations on rakeback. I used to play on PS.
Using tournament buyins exchange rate I compared the benefits of playing on PS vs FT (Full Tilt) - both accepting US players and being the top 2 sites as player volume.
The rakeback table looks like this:
| Full Tilt | Bronze | Silver | Gold | Platinum | Snova | Snova Elite |
| 0.305 | 0.075 | 0.1125 | 0.15 | 0.1875 | 0.2625 | 0.375 |
The rakeback is computed based on actual rakeback plus the value of the points you are getting. Promotions such as "Happy Hour" (you get 3x the amount of points if you play during certain hours) or Iron Man on FT is not accounted for.
As you can see - even at Supernova - the rakeback on PS is lower than the rakeback on FT. If you manage to get (and keep) Silver star level you're getting 3x (three times!) less rakeback than if playing on FT. ONLY at Supernova Elite you are actually getting a better rakeback deal on PS that on FT.
What does it mean? Do those number actually make any difference for a low stake player?
It makes all the difference (esp for a low stakes player)!
Example:
I play 6.50$ SNGs with a paltry ROI of 6% over 1000 games (I play them in a month, 2 months - whatever - just for example purposes).
My net profit is 390$ (at 6% ROI). I pay 500$ rake.
Rakeback on FT is 30% of 500$ = 150$ - of which 27% = 135$ goes straight into my account as hard, cold cash from my rakeback provider - the rest of 15$ is found in my FTP (FT points)
Rakeback on PS is 11.25% (let's assume I'm a Silver star) of 500$ = 56.25$ (all in the form of VPP - no cash). I have to use the FPP to buy into a tournament or collect them all and buy a cash bonus at some point (which I have to clear) to actually get cash out of them
Final profits: 540$ on FT / 446.25$ on PS.
100$ difference for the same amount of work - and that's when playing 6.50$ SNGs. The higher you go the more of a difference.
That's why I switched to FT and I advise all my low stakes playing friends to do the same.
If at some point in the future I will end up being that good and playing such a large volume that I will be able to qualify for Supernova or Supernova Elite then I might reevaluate. But until then - not worth it. I'm losing money.
Thanks El Chupa Nibre. Maybe i change a ft. But what about the level.Its similar to pokerstars or is harder¿???Thanks
Probably the first question is, are you in the US or not? There's a lot more choice if you aren't.
The PokerStars VIP points can be pretty good if you're an extremely high volume player, but for everyone else you're more likely better off with a normal rakeback deal.