Poker site rewards/bonuses

[scrawnybob]

hi

it difficult to answer because IMHO players who know about rakeback also totally oversimplify the business

I can guarantee is players were on the other side of the business for 5 mins they would see it all differently

like Ive said before some posts in 2+2 that players have made dont even get the %'s right and they have absolutely no idea of costs and charges etc to run sites etc

saying the affiliate provides nothing but some logos etc ... yes that would be a fair comment were that true ... but for the most part its NOT

content doesnt write itself / websites dont build themselves / sites dont magically get to the top of google etc ... so generally those sites ARE offering something of value to their visitors

I agree I would much rather the sites do inhouse rakeback or VIP like pokerstars do - it would make things alot easier

the problem is IF you infact have earnt an affiliate $1000 then you are VERY MUCH the exception ... on avergae the majority of players earn an affiliate pennies or maybe a few dollars

and that is assuming that the affiliate doesnt provide RB

80% will play freerolls, 15% may deposit and play for a few $$'s and 5% may deposit and play for a decent amount of money

Rakeback is paid for heavily by the affiliate and much much less so by the site - so its the affiliate that suffers providing it ... and more importantly its the other things the affiliates site provides / offers that suffers

ie. I already run alot of games at certain sites at a loss - I also offer rakeback to ALL signups at some of those sites ... making it a total total loss

I also run games at popular sites where virtually NONE of the active member playing those games have signed up via 4kingpoker (the vast majority of those that have are not real money players or generating any rake)

logically IF as an affiliate I was to start "rewarding" the players who actually earnt 4kingpoker anything - we wouldnt have any game at all and the community would be poorer for it

again the fundamental point is that rake is what the poker room dictates ... and where and who they give it to is there decision ... the poker rooms do NOT pay rakeback ...

they choose to spend some of their money (the rake) to pay for TV ads and to pay affiliates who own content sites (just another source of marketing) ... the rake is NOT the players money anymore

somewhere along the line some affiliates thought hey I can get more market share by cutting my margins to the bone giving my ad rev money to players as an incentive and RB was born ... not really that different to paying for free bankrolls etc.

Really the bottom line is that once that 5% of the total of players who generate decent amount of rake for a room ... discovers rakeback then they have to look for another room to play where they can get rakeback ... some sites affiliates can move players some they cant

again the vast majority of content sites and forums DO NOT offer rakeback or even discuss it

I will be developing my rakeback site - rakebackrack.com to cater for members and players who feel they must have rakeback - therefore those that will do the due dilligence / signup correctly etc etc will be able to get rakeback at new sites to them

if you look at the top 5 biggest content sites - they dont offer rakeback ... if you then factor in that 60%+ of players dont even signup via another site

then you can see that its NOT a case of being selfish its a case of running business - I dont work all day long to build sites to not get paid by the poker rooms for mentioning them

also from a business POV I can also tell you that ALL the big "bonus" content sites also have rakeback sites ... do they cross advertise and let everyone know about rakeback ??

NO - they keep their biggest bonus sites totally free of any mention of rakeback

rakeback is a total hot cookie in forums - because players will moan about it - its probably not even wise or good PR for me to so openly discuss it

BUT people really have to think to themselves - would they go into their day jobs and work for nothing or take a 95% pay cut after alot of hard work ???????

NO

also I'm pretty sure all the members still want all the games etc that are open to all and not just reserved for those that signup via 4kingpoker etc

personally I hate rakeback because I hate having to justify my business to people and hate that players somehow feel like they have been cheated ...

players dont get anything special for finding out about a room via a TV ad and then signing up direct ... the sites arent giving anything away to people who just signup direct !!!!!

the TV gets paid for advertising - there is no reason why content sites shouldnt either

bottom line is everyone now knows about rakeback so will rush off somewhere else to signup - however I hope players from here will go to our other site rakebackrack.com

cheers scrawnybob

[Limey777]

So my goal was to get the fleece sweater, got the FPP's and they're still out of stock so I sent the e-mail asking if they would be restocked or if they are discontinued, here's the reply.

Greetings from PokerStars VIP Store!

Unfortunately, due to manufacturer discontinuations we may no longer have
some of the items you are interested available in the VIP Store, like the
fleece. We apologize for any inconvenience in this matter.

We would like to inform you that we are constantly looking into introducing
new products with different and more modern designs to the VIP Store. We
always want to keep all of our clients happy and satisfied with a variety of
products of good quality.

Your understanding and patience is greatly appreciated by the store. Please
feel free to contact us again if you require any further information or
assistance.

Regards,

Eva W.
PokerStars VIP Store Team

So it would appear that many, if not a majority of the items in the store are just eye candy. Once again I am disappointed. As far as new products that keep clients happy and satisfied with a variety of good products I'd say sombody need a good kick in the pants after seeing what they lined up this year.

I was checking the other sites and it looks like Full Tilt has a bunch of good looking gear but no idea if they have the same out of stock deal going on.

[PLAYFUL1]

PLAYFUL IS LQQKIN FOR THE THONGS SUPPLIED BY ALL THE SITES... PLAYFUL HAS THE POKERSTARS THONG WITCH IS HER FAVORITE.

[Peteyweestro]

So hey Bob i guess then that players like me that deposit only like $20 into a room at a time and basically only play the tournies or an occasional sit n go don't make the affiliates any thing at all? When i sign up for a new poker room i usually do it by directly going to the room because even the 100% match bonus i never even get close to claiming it, but when i played the casinos online my deposits did make the affiliates money, so then it must be rougher to be a poker affiliate then for online casinos right?

[Limey777]

Small update on Pokerstars FPP store, just recieved black beanie and 2 new 3d ltd Tee's
Beanie, 1st one ever, kinda like it to be honest, will wear, well worth $3.66 (500FPP)
Now the T-Shirts. I got one grey T, looks green to me but I'm old and cannot see too well, logo is pretty nice, I got one red T, logo is silver not so good looking, ok for $6 I guess. (900FPP)
My biggest problem is the necks on the shirts, really, really loose and I hate that. The 600FPP Black shirts have a much better neck in my opinion.
Will do for working in though so no complaints.

[Peteyweestro]

those are cool little perks for playing at a room you would probably be playing at anyways, so i think it's real cool.Now if only i played more ring games and actually earned some serious points for my accounts.