Rakeback Partners Blog

When people think of big poker tournaments, PokerStars is usually the first place that comes to mind. After all, Stars is known for running multi-million dollar events quite frequently. And while much of the online poker world can’t compete with these numbers, RedKings are giving Stars a serious run for their money! So if you’re looking for another site with big poker tournaments to push through an affiliate program, RedKings is definitely something to consider. Here’s a look at some of their huge tourneys that you can promote:

• $300,000 ChampionChip – This is one of the biggest weekly tournaments in all of online poker. The direct buy-in is $190 + $10, and there are also satellites as low as $1.20 running weekly.
• $60,000 EU Grand Prix – Those looking for a precursor to the $300k ChampionChip can find it in the $60k Grand Prix, which runs every Saturday at 20:00 CET. The direct buy-in is $150 + $12, while players will also find satellites for this tourney.
• International Tournaments – Battle other grinders from your region for prize pools worth $4,000-$10,000. Some of the regions that have their own International Tournament include Europe, Canada, Brazil and Australia.
• X2 Double Tournament – This event really appeals to the multi-tablers because it sees two identical tournaments running parallel to each other at 20:00 CET. Both X2 tourneys offer $4,000 guaranteed prize pools while the direct buy-in for each is $20 + $2.
• $7,000 Russian Daily – 19:30 Moscow time may not be that significant to most poker players, but it will be if they want to compete in the $7k Russian Daily tournament. This event costs $50 + $4 to enter, and polish up on your Russian because this is what’s spoken in the chat box.

Aside from these big poker tournaments that RedKings offers, they also give players the chance to win prize packages for major land-based events. Some of the great destinations that prize package winners will visit include the WSOPE, Aussie Millions, GSOP Live Salzburg and GSOP Live Dominican Republic. Players simply need to check the RedKings lobby to find satellites and qualifiers ranging from $2.20 to $320.

Poker players with small bankrolls are always looking for a cheap way to experience their moment of glory. And Everest Poker is offering them the perfect chance to do so through $1 satellites that enable players to win $4,000 WSOP Event 54 prize packages. Here’s a quick look at what each prize package offers:

• $1,000 WSOP Event 54 buy-in
• 7 nights of hotel accommodations at the Venetian and Palazzo ($1,400 value)
• $1,600 for spending money
• Everest Poker VIP party invite on June 29th, 2012

As for the party, French poker legend Fabrice Soulier is going to be in attendance, which will give prize package winners the chance to hang out with the 2011 World Series $10k H.O.R.S.E. champion. This perk alone makes the prize packages worth promoting through an affiliate rakeback site!

In regards to winning a $4k Event 54 package, there are $1 Vacation Tournaments running every night at 20:00 GMT. These tourneys feature triple rebuys/add-ons, and players will compete for one $109 tournament coupon for every $109 in the prize pool. These coupons can then be used to enter the Vegas 2012 Event 54 qualifier that takes place every Monday at 19:00 GMT.

Another way to win a prize package involves playing in the daily satellites that are running from now until June 11th. The buy-ins range from $1.50-$12, and the top finishers move on to Event 54 qualifiers.

Yet another route for making it to World Series Event 54 includes participating in the Steps SNG’s. Players can enter these by visiting the “Steps” tab in the “Sit & Go” section of Everest’s lobby. Some of these SNG’s are just $2 to enter, which means anybody will have a shot at winning. Below you can see how the Steps SNG’s work:

• $2 Step 1 (6-max) – 1st place wins a Step 2 seat, 2nd place is paid $0.80
• $10 Step 2 (6-max) – 1st place earns a Step 3 ticket, 2nd and 3rd place get Step 2 tickets, 4th place receives $1
• $33 Step 3 (6-max) – 1st place receives a Step 4 ticket ($109 Vegas 2012 Event 54 qualifier), 2nd and 3rd place get Step 3 tickets, 4th place is paid $5

We should also mention that the 2011 World Series Event 54 tournament offered a $4,118,400 prize pool, and PokerStars pro Maxim Lykov cashed for $648,880 after winning the title. Assuming you do promote this deal through an affiliate rakeback site, it’s definitely worth letting players know about Lykov’s huge payday.

For years, Intertops has been one of the most trusted names in sports betting. But in recent times, they’ve been establishing themselves in the online poker world too with huge weekly tournaments. The biggest weekly tourneys at Intertops Poker include $25,000 and $15,000 Guaranteed events. Based on the size of these poker tournaments, you might consider promoting them through an affiliate rakeback site.

As for the $25k Guaranteed, this tournament takes place every Sunday at 22:00 GMT. You can enter this tourney with a $150 + $12 buy-in, or you can get a seat through Steps and Gold Chip satellites. Gold Chip satellites require 22 Gold Chips for the buy-in, and the top three players receive Step 2 satellite seats. In regards to the Steps, they involve the following qualifiers (all 10-seaters):

• $5.40 Step 1 – Top three finishers get Step 2 tickets while fourth place receives $5.
• $15 Step 2 – Top three finishers receive Step 3 seats and fourth place is paid $16.10.
• $41.30 Step 3 – The top two players receive $25k Guaranteed tickets, third place is paid $42.90, and fourth place gets $23.10.

One additional route for getting into the $25k poker tournament is through the R&A satellites. These take place several times a day, and the buy-in is $8.80. Players can make re-buys and add-ons during the first hour, and one $25k seat is guaranteed. In order for these qualifiers to start, at least five players must register, while more $25k Guaranteed seats could be awarded depending on the number of entrants.

Touching on the $15,000 Guaranteed, this tourney runs every Sunday at 20:00 GMT, and the direct buy-in ($109) is more affordable than the $25k. Not surprisingly, the satellites are also cheaper with $1.10 R&A, $4.20 Step 1, $10.75 Step 2, and $28.70 Step 3 qualifiers all running.

Those interested in entering either the $15k or $25k Guaranteed satellites should visit the Intertops Poker software and look under the “Tournaments” tab. There’s not much work involved in finding these qualifiers, and hopefully all your rakeback affiliate site’s players will be able to land a big tournament seat!

We’re getting ever closer to the world’s largest poker extravaganza, which means that we’re going to see a lot of WSOP Main Event prize packages being given away in the lead up to this massive poker event – and 888poker is yet another poker site to have entered the WSOP giveaway frenzy. Considering that the 2011 Main Event paid out $64.5 million, there’s going to be a lot of players interested in these prize packages, so this could mean some serious extra money for rakeback affiliates promoting this deal through 888’s affiliate program.

As for 888poker‘s prize packages, the most impressive thing is that – at $15,500 – they’re worth a good deal more than the average packages ($12k-$13k). You can immediately see why these prize packages are worth so much when you look at everything they offer:

• $10k Main Event seat
• $2,500 for travel and spending money
• 8-night hotel stay
• Special VIP event invitations
• 888 merchandise kit
• Access to the exclusive 888poker players’ lounge, where breakfast and all-day drinks are served, and a TV, Xbox and pool table are available

Poker players will definitely get a lot of extra benefits through these prize packages, and those wanting to take advantage of the perks can do so through satellites as cheap as $1.10! Here’s a full list of the Main Event satellites that are currently taking place at 888poker:

• $1.10 Step 1 – Runs daily every two hours, one person wins a Step 2 seat for every $25 in the prize pool.
• $5.50 Step 1 – Happens on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, 1 in 5 players win a Step 2 ticket.
• $25 Step 2 – Runs every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, 1 in 5 players move on to Step 3.
• $115 Step 3 –  Takes place every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, 1 in 5 players win a Qualifier ticket.
• $525 Qualifier – Happens on Tuesday and Friday (both every other week) at 20:05 GMT, one $15,500 prize package is given out in every Qualifier.

Players who want to find these satellites need to click on the “Tournaments” tab and “Live Events” button in the 888poker software. The satellites and qualifiers will be available here until June, which means there’s more than enough time to win a $15.5k prize package.

There’s nothing better than winning a WSOP prize package for free, which is what makes the $4,000 Experience prize package at Betfair Poker so intriguing. This prize package is being given out through Betfair’s Players Club Freerolls – along with lots of cash – which makes Betfair ripe for  some serious promoting from all you rakeback affiliates.

There will be four different freerolls running on May 17th, 2012 at 20:30 CET, and they’re divided up into VIP levels. The highest placed finishers in these freerolls move on to the WSOP Qualifier on June 3rd (at 20:30 CET) and that’s where the $4k Experience package will be awarded. Now let’s move on to the details of the Players Club Freerolls and World Series Qualifier:

• $1,000 GTD Bronze Freeroll – Bronze Players Club members can enter, they have to earn a minimum of 50 Player Points before May 17th, 2012, top 20 finishers win a Qualifier freeroll ticket.
• $2,000 GTD Silver Freeroll – Silver Players Club members can play, top 10 finishers earn a Qualifier freeroll ticket.
• $3,000 GTD Gold/Sapphire Freeroll – Open to Gold/Sapphire Players Club members, top 10 finishers get a Qualifier freeroll seat.
• $5,000 GTD VIP Freeroll – Special invitation only, top 10 finishers receive a Qualifier freeroll seat.

50 Qualifier seats were given out in April, and the above Players Club Freerolls will see an additional 50 players win a Qualifier seat. So there will be a total of 100 players competing for the $4k Experience package, which gives everybody a decent shot at winning the prize package. Speaking of this, here is a look at what the package offers:

- $1,000 World Series Event 59 tournament buy-in
- $1,500 for plane tickets and spending money
- 7-night hotel stay at the 5-star Palazzo in Las Vegas
- Exclusive Team Betfair party and event invitations
- Experience “Team Betfair does Vegas”

If you’re interested in making some money off of the Players Club Freerolls, you should advertise this deal through an affiliate rakeback site. And don’t forget to mention all of the other benefits that players will receive from the Players Club. Here’s a quick look at what people can expect as they move up the levels of the Players Club:

• Bronze (0 points) – $1k monthly freeroll seat
• Silver (400 points) – X2 score multiplier, $2k monthly freeroll seat
• Gold (1,300 points) – X3 score multiplier, $3k monthly freeroll seat
• Sapphire (3,500 points) – X4 score multiplier, $3k monthly freeroll seat
• Diamond (6,000 points) – X5 score multiplier, $5k monthly freeroll, free VIP merchandise
• Masters (14,000 points – over past 12 months) – X5 score multiplier, $5k monthly freeroll seat, free VIP merchandise, annual offline VIP event invitations
• Grand Master (60,000+ points – over past 12 months) – X7 score multiplier, $5k monthly freeroll seat, free VIP merchandise, annual offline VIP event invitations, exclusive tickets for sporting events

With Full Tilt still out of the picture, several online poker sites are trying to fill the void created by their “Rush Poker” software. Unibet Poker is the latest room to do, having just officially launched “Fast Poker.” There’s already been a considerable amount of interest generated in this speedy software, which means you could capitalize by joining Unibet’s affiliate program.

If you were ever familiar with Rush Poker, the Unibet Fast Poker operates in much the same way by cutting down on waiting time. The process starts when players join the Fast Poker pool; from here, they’re moved to a different table every time their action in a hand ends.

For example, if somebody is dealt 7-4(o) preflop and they fold this hand, they’ll immediately be moved to the next available table with new players. If a player folded before it was even their turn, they’d still be moved right away. One more thing worth mentioning here is that those who multi-table can still do the same with Fast Poker.

The great thing about Fast Poker is that it offers numerous benefits to both rakeback affiliates and players. Starting with the players, those who use this software will be able to play far more poker hands per hour, and cut out all of the boring waiting time associated with regular tables. Furthermore, they would receive a lot bigger and better bonuses because they’re playing more hands. This can especially be seen with the Unibet Poker Club since players will move up the program’s five levels much quicker, and get more free tournament seats, rakeback and merchandise from the Club Shop.

As for affiliate rakeback sites, the obvious benefit in promoting Fast Poker is that any player who signs up through them will be getting in more hands per hour. And if you’ve been around the affiliate game for a while, you know that this means more money for you!

One intriguing new online poker game that’s being offered right now is Cake Poker’s Russian Roulette. If you’ve never heard of Cake Poker‘s Russian Roulette game before, allow us to explain the gist of it…

Every round sees each player take a turn choosing whether to shoot, or not shoot the gun. Assuming one chooses to shoot the gun, it will either A) fire and eliminate a player from the game, or B) not fire, thus enabling the lucky player to collect the pot. If a person decides not to pull the trigger, one of their 3 starting tokens will be taken, and play moves on to the next person.

Cake Poker is currently running a Russian Roulette leaderboard that is going to pay out another $3,000 from now until May 12th. The prize money is broken down into three different $1,000 weekly leaderboard races, and players who generate the most rake in Russian Roulette ring games and tournaments will receive money. Here is a quick look at how the prize money will be distributed:

• April 22nd to April 28th – $1,000 to top 100 rake earners.
• April 29th to May 5th – $1,000 to top 100 rake earners.
• May 6th to May 12th – $1,000 to top 100 rake earners.

This exciting offering from Cake Poker provides the ideal opportunity for you to promote Cake through your affiliate rakeback site. If you don’t think that Russian Roulette would suit your players then don’t worry because Cake Poker has more than enough additional big poker action. For example – their daily tournament lineup includes a $2k Guaranteed ($22 buy-in), a $5k Guaranteed ($44 buy-in), a $15k Guaranteed ($109), and a $25k Guaranteed ($162 buy-in). If players can’t afford the buy-in for any of these tournaments, they can also play their way in through satellites, or use Gold Chips (earned on the tables) to purchase a seat.

888poker has created the perfect promotion for football fans who also play online poker. The promo is called “FA CUP Final 4U,” and it will award one lucky person with 10 seats for the Football Association Challenge Cup. Along with the FA Cup Final tickets, the winner will get the following perks:

• A private box with 10 seats at Wembley Stadium for the Cup Final on May 5th, 2012. The deal also includes free food and drinks for the 10-person party.
• $2,000 in cash.
• 888poker merchandise for the 10-person party.

If you’re looking for a unique promotion to advertise on your affiliate rakeback site, this would definitely be a good one. And if you do decide to promote this event, make sure to let players know that there’s a whole host of satellites currently running at 888poker. Here’s a look at some of the different satellites available (all times GMT):

• $0.55 Corp Box for FA Cup Final Step 1 – Daily at 8:00 and 16:00, one Step 2 ticket is awarded for every $11 in the prize pool.
• $11 Corp Box for FA Cup Final Step 2 – Takes place on Tuesday, Thursday (both 17:05), and Saturday (15:05), one in five players receive a Step 3 seat.
• $50 Corp Box for FA Cup Final Step 3 – Happens on Tuesday, Thursday (both 19:05) and Saturday (17:05), one in five players get a Step 4 ticket.
• $230 Corp Box for FA Cup Final Step 4 – Runs on Saturday at 19:00, one in five players win a Corp Box Final tournament seat.
• $1,050 Corp Box for FA Cup Final – Happens on April 29th, 2012 at 19:05, one player wins the Cup Final package, which includes 10 Cup Final seats and $2k in travel/spending money.

Don’t forget to let players know that they can find all of the FA Cup Final satellites by going to the 888poker software, and looking under the “Tournaments” tab and “Special” button.

While seeing MMA fighters play in a poker tournament here or there is nothing new, seeing somebody of Georges St-Pierre’s caliber sign a one-year contract is definitely interesting. The UFC Welterweight title holder made big news after inking a one-year deal with 888poker, and he’ll represent them at various live tournaments over the next year – including the WSOP Main Event. With such a high-profile athlete entering the poker world, you might consider mentioning this deal through an affiliate rakeback site.

It looks like St-Pierre is really excited to start playing poker for 888 as he said, “I am very excited to become a global brand ambassador for Team 888poker. I have wanted to play poker for a while now, as it is a great game of skill. It is not just your cards versus my cards….it is you versus your opponent.” He finished by saying, “However, the most important aspect of my partnership with 888poker is that we are going to generate a great deal of money for my foundation that dedicates its efforts towards anti-bullying causes.”

Now you might think it’s weird for a hulking MMA fighter to defend people from bullying. However, Georges St-Pierre knows about this problem all too well since he was bullied while growing up in St. Isadore, Quebec. This was a big motivation for the French-Canadian to get involved with martial arts in the first place, which set the foundation for one of the greatest UFC careers of all-time. He’s defended his UFC Welterweight title in nine straight matches, holds a 22-2 overall record, and is ranked as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world by many publications.

Taking all of this into account, it’s no wonder why 888 Senior Vice President Itai Pazner said, “The partnership agreement with Georges St-Pierre will strengthen our brand awareness around the globe and introduce 888 to the growing sport of MMA and its fans. It is exciting to have this international sports celebrity on board with us.”

Just a few months after the first (and very successful!) Pokerfest event, Party Poker has decided to bring back this popular tournament extravaganza. And they’ve announced that Pokerfest II will pay out $3.5 million over 47 tourneys.

Pokerfest II starts on April 22nd, 2012, and runs until May 6th – when a $1 million guaranteed Main Event is held. While the Pokerfest tournaments are running, players will also be battling for an extra $50,000 in cash, iPads, and a $14,000 WSOP prize package. Before we touch on the extra prizes, here are some of the highlights from the Pokerfest II schedule:

• April 22nd, Event #1 NL Hold’em – $215 buy-in, $350,000 prize pool.
• April 22nd, Event #4 NLHE – $530 buy-in, $250,000 prize pool.
• April 23rd, Event #7 NLHE – $55 buy-in, $75,000 prize pool.
• April 28th, Event #22 NLHE (6-max) – $99 buy-in, $75,000 prize pool.
• April 29th, Event #23 NLHE – $215 buy-in, $350,000 prize pool.
• April 29th, Event #26 NLHE – $1,060 buy-in, $450,000 prize pool.
• May 1st, Event #32 PL Omaha (Rebuys) – $55 buy-in, $40,000 prize pool.
• May 4th, Event #41 NLHE (Rebuys) – $99 buy-in, $100,000 prize pool.
• May 6th, Event #47 (Main Event) NLHE – $640 buy-in, $1 million prize pool.

As you can see, there are going to be some very big tournaments in this event, so you should consider signing up for the Party Poker affiliate program and promoting Pokerfest II through any affiliate rakeback sites. If you do decide to promote this tournament series, make sure to let players know that there will be satellites running for all 47 tourneys.

Satellite structures are based on specific tournament ticket buy-ins. For instance, all $55 buy-in tournaments offer $2 and $6 qualifiers, and these lead to tickets for the $55 entry tourneys. $99, $215, $530 and $1,060 buy-in Pokerfest II tournaments all have their own satellite structures too.

Moving past the tournaments/satellites, there are three different leaderboard competitions for the various buy-in levels. Tournament buy-ins and finishes determine how many points players earn towards the leaderboards, and the more tourneys you play, the better your chance of making extra cash. $50,000 will be paid out through the three leaderboards, and here’s how the money is distributed:

• Points buy-in leaderboard pays $2,500 total, and 250 places earn money.
• Low buy-in ($6-$33) leaderboard pays $15,000, and 500 places earn money.
• High buy-in leaderboard pays out $32,500, and 500 places receive money.

The final thing worth mentioning is the side prizes that are given to people who reach certain milestones with the Pokerfest II tournaments. Those who meet the following requirements will get some very nice prizes:

• Finish in the money in 10 Pokerfest II tournaments, and win $2.5k and an iPad.
• Finish in the money in 20 Pokerfest II tourneys, and win $5k and an iPad.
• Make five final tables in Pokerfest II, and win $7.5k and an iPad.
• Make 10 final tables in Pokerfest II, and win $15k and an iPad.
• Win three Pokerfest II tournaments, and win $20,000 and a $14,000 WSOP Main Event prize package.