PokerStars Equivalent Rakeback
PokerStars Rakeback Equivalent
PokerStars offers all players PokerStars rakeback depending on the level of play. The Poker Stars rakeback reward system is unique and treats all its players with equal importance.
New players are rewarded in 3 ways for setting up a PokerStars rakeback account.
Bonus Rakeback Reward
The first reward is the $600 sign up bonus. The bonus is cleared at a rate of $10 per 170 VPPs (VIP Player Points). VPPs are earned at a rate of 5.5 VPPs per $1 paid in tournament fees and the effective PokerStars rakeback for tournament players clearing the sign up bonus is calculated in the following way:
Bonus/(VPPs required/VPPs earned)*100
10/(170/5.5)/10=32.35% indirect Poker Stars rakeback paid automatically to your account.
For cash game players the system is a more complex as PokerStars calculate the VPPs according to the number of players at the table. PokerStars differentiate between 8+ player tables and tables with 7 players or less.
How VPPs are Calculated
The principle for calculating the number of VPPs awarded is the same on both tables. An amount of VPPs are awarded to the table depending on the rake paid. The awarded number of VPPs is then divided between all the players dealt into the hand. Fractional VPPs are given.
Play at 7 handed tables ( or less) will earn the table 5.5 VPPs for every $1 paid in rake. 6 players dealt in to a hand with the maximum rake of $3 will earn a total of 16.5 VPPs. Each player will be given 16.5/6 = 2.75 VPPs for $3/6 = $0.5 paid in rake.
The effective PokerStars rakeback for cash game players can be calculated like this:
170 VPPs are earned by paying (170/2.75)*0,5 = $30.9
($10/$30.9)*100 = 32.4% effective rakeback for cash players.
In reality PokerStars have constructed the bonus clearing system in a way that rewards players with 32% + regardless of if they are tournament players, full ring cash players or short handed table players and the small differences between the different type of games are not worth pursuing in order to get the most rakeback out of the bonus.
Stellar Rakeback Rewards
Since 2010 PokerStars has introduced an extra bonus system giving players up to $1200 in Stellar Rewards.
| Yearly VPP: | Stellar Reward: | VPPs needed to get reward | Effective rakeback/% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 750 | $10 | 750 | 7.33 |
| 1,500 | $10 | 750 | 7.33 |
| 2,250 | $10 | 750 | 7.33 |
| 3,000 | $10 | 750 | 7.33 |
| 4,000 | $10 | 1000 | 5.50 |
| 5,000 | $50 | 1000 | 27.50 |
| 10,000 | $50 | 5000 | 5.50 |
| 15,000 | $50 | 5000 | 5.50 |
| 20,000 | $50 | 5000 | 5.50 |
| 25,000 | $50 | 5000 | 5.50 |
| 30,000 | $50 | 5000 | 5.50 |
| 35,000 | $50 | 5000 | 5.50 |
| 40,000 | $50 | 5000 | 5.50 |
| 45,000 | $50 | 5000 | 5.50 |
| 50,000 | $100 | 5000 | 11.00 |
| 60,000 | $100 | 10000 | 5.50 |
| 70,000 | $100 | 10000 | 5.50 |
| 80,000 | $100 | 10000 | 5.50 |
| 90,000 | $100 | 10000 | 5.50 |
| Total | $1,000 | 90000 | 6.11 |
Stellar rewards effectively give players an indirect PokerStars rakeback of at least 6.11%.
FPP Rakeback Rewards
The third way PokerStars reward players is through the FPP ( Frequent Player Points) program. Every time VPPs are earned, players also earn corresponding amounts of FPPs that can be used in the PokerStars VIP store to buy extra bonuses, tournament tickets and many other items. The example below demonstrates the value of buying a $200+15 Sunday Million tournament ticket for 13,500 FPPs earned.
| Level | VPPs required | FPPs per VPP |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze Star | 0 | 1 |
| Silver Star | 750 | 1.5 |
| Gold Star | 3000 | 2 |
| Platinum Star | 7500 | 2.5 |
PokerStars has a VIP Club with different status levels where more FPPs are earned depending on the specific level a player has attained. To earn 13,500 FPPs a player would need to earn 750 FPPs at the Bronze Star level, 3375 FPPs at the Silver Star level and 9375 FPPs on the Gold Star level. The number of VPPs required are 750 (Bronze) + 2250 (Silver)
In order to reach 13,500 FPPs a player needs, 750(Bronze )+2250(Silver) +4867(Gold) = 7687 VPPs.
The effective rakeback is $215/(7687/5.5)*100 = 15.4%
However it should be noted that players reaching and maintaining Platinum Star status benefit from a much higher effective rakeback as the 13,500 FPPs are earned with only 5400 VPPs at this higher level.
Platinum level indirect PokerStar rakeback $215(5400/5.5)*100 = 21.9%
Players who play a lot of poker get even higher rewards as PokerStars have even more status levels and greater Stellar Rewards.
New Player Calculation of Rakeback
For new players the effective rakeback is the sum of by the bonus rakeback + Stellar Reward rakeback + tournament ticket rakeback with this ranging between 21% and 50%. PokerStars Rakeback offers a solid deal for new players, however the value drops if a bonus is not cleared. Always remember to accept all reload bonus offers from PokerStars to maximize the rake rebate.
Many poker rooms use alternative reward systems to direct rakeback, however PokerStars which is the biggest online poker room in the world provides its players with a transparent and generous loyalty scheme that is effectively a rakeback scheme. At the same time PokerStars attracts the biggest volume of traffic in the industry to its action packed poker room where tables with all levels of stakes run 24 hours a day meaning that you will never have to wait to play.
Sign up for indirect PokerStars Rakeback