Rakeback or a sign-up bonus?

What should you choose? That question is not as simple as it may seem at first sight. Even though they function on the exact same mechanism, rakeback deals and sign-up bonuses are difficult to asses and to measure up against one another.

Why did I just say that sign-up bonuses and rakeback were essentially the same? When you make your first deposit at a poker room, you get your bonus money transferred into your bonus account. In order to have it moved into your real money account from where you can wager it or cash it out, you need to unlock it by generating Frequent Player points (A.k.a. FPPs). These FPPs are directly proportional with the rake that you generate, so basically, you need to generate an X number of FPPs to have $1 of your bonus unlocked.

That means that you need to generate X amount of rake in order to have $1 transferred to your real money account. What is that if it’s not rake back? The difference between a rakeback deal like the full tilt rakeback and a sign up bonus is that while the sign up bonus expires (either when you unlock it all or when it’s validity runs out) a rakeback deal lasts for as long as you play at the given room. Even if you stop playing and then return, the deal will be there to help you make money.

Percentage-wise, the bonus may give you a better payout for a limited time than most regular rakeback deals. Most rake rebate deals, like the NoiQ rakeback and the RedStar rakeback, offer you around 30%. Of course, there are other, much heftier rakeback deals available too. These can offer you percentages of over 100% and they’re called prop deals. Such rake rebate deals come with restrictions though which makes them a category apart from square rake back deals.

The bottom line is, if you’re looking for a short term edge, you’re probably better off going for a generous sign up bonus (one that offers you reasonable redemption requirements as well). If you’re planning on hanging around for more than 1-2 months, a rakeback deal will definitely offer you a better edge than a sign-up bonus.

Some poker rooms do not subtract bonuses from rakeback, which means that you can sign up for rakeback and that you get the bonus on top of it, so for a while there, you’ll be earning double rakeback.

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