Rakeback Still Flourishing on Smaller Sites

Players who live and die by rakeback have found their options diminished over the last few months.  The titan of rakeback, Full Tilt Poker, is apparently out of business –  at least for the time being.  Party Poker and PokerStars both offer very solid rakeback rates at the top of their VIP programs, but getting to the top requires an almost superhuman amount of play, especially on PokerStars.

It does seem as if the days of rakeback deals above 50% are a thing of the past.  Long-time players will remember when rates of 60%+ were very common, especially on the Prima and OnGame networks.  However, those networks and others eventually realized that high rakeback rates were simply an unsustainable business model.  While some rogue skins continued to offer sky-high rates, they did so at the risk of losing their license, as many eventually did.

So where can players go in the current online poker climate to find good rakeback deals?  It seems that the only real answer is small sites, independent networks and underground poker networks.  While all provide good rates, all also carry some amount of risk that players should consider before they deposit. 

If you're comfortable with that risk, you'll find very solid deals at rooms such as Cake Poker and DBG Poker.  While rates vary by room, we've seen lots of offerings topping 50% in the recent weeks.  Now, you won't be seeing the same sort of game selection and banking options that you would have seen at a room like PokerStars or Full Tilt, but if you're a pure rakeback grinder, that might not matter so much to you.

The days of industry-wide hyper-generous rakeback deals do seem to be squarely in the rear-view mirror.  However, that doesn't mean a smart player who's willing to dig a bit can't find a room tht will still provide the rate they're looking for.