Online Poker Tips of the Trade
It seems we are in the threshold of a breakthrough. We are now sailing uncharted waters and taking a bold step where few Filipinos have gone before.... I am of course talking about Online Poker.
I am happy to have been given the opportunity to be sent to the US for 3 months and in order to stay sane I have taken up playing Online Poker. I have always wanted to try it back home but connectivity, time (there were too may gimicks back home) and a reliable payment system hindered me to do so. There were no such barriers here and I have learned a lot in the past 25 days. I have also been very fortunate to have made a killing lately on the online tables and I once again want to share to my friends how and what to do to maximize your earnings online.
I of course want 10% royalty on all earnings, or Saturday night drinkfests whichever costs more...
Payments and Withdrawals from Manila
Hmmmmm no idea. Hehehe as I said I set up here in the US however Nickg has created a great system for all Filipinos and I invite you to check his blog for this huge step in progress for the Manila poker community. http://pokerfilipinas.blogspot.com/
Bonuses and Sites
This is the first key step in making money online. Our Philippine Peso is miniscule compared to the all powerful dollar which makes it more challenging to play this game. A bankroll of P10,000 is less then a measly $200 and people online throw that away in a few hours. We have to find ways to be competitive and bonuses allow us to do so. Some key points in bonuses:
- Most 100% bonus sites will NOT give you the bonus upfront. You need to log in thousands of hands before they release the bonus in small increments.
- Only Pacific releases bonuses upfront from what I know but they will prevent you to withdraw the bonus until you have met their requirements.
Here is the breakdown of the best bonus sites and how much play it will take to release your bonus:
Note: Raked hands means just being in the hand even if you folded preflop.
Full Tilt Poker - 100% Bonus up to $600
$1 rake = 1 point.
$1 in entry fees = 7 points
Bonus releases - 100 points for $6. You will need to play 350 hands (that is raked at least $1) to earn $20. For SnGs at the $11+1 it will take 50 games to release $20
Absolute Poker - 100% up to $750
$1 rake = 1 point.
$1 in entry fees = 4 points
Bonus releases - 100 points for $10. You will need to play 200 hands (that is raked at least $1) to earn $20. For SnGs at the $11+1 it will take 50 games to release $20
Absolute is the BEST site in releasing dollars playing RING games.
Ultimate Bet - 100% up to $650
$1 rake = .5 point.
1 point per hour playing at the tables
25% more points if you are the first person on the table
Bonus releases - 100 points for $10. You will need to play 400 hands (that is raked at least $1) to earn $20. Ultimate is harder to calculate but is one of the worst with regards to bonus release. They do have good software that allows you to minimize tables and make multi tabling easier.
Pacific Poker - 50% up to $100
This is the best for starting players. Your $200 INSTANTLY become $300 and you just need to wager at least $2,000 to withdraw the bonus amount. Since we are all playing with a long-term mentality they this shouldn't be too hard. However, its money WAGERED and not the same with the rake terms as the other sites.
I chose Full Tilt because the software was very cool, they have other promotions that make playing daily a lot more fun and the bonus release was competitive. Additionally, I get to play with Ledered, Juanda etc on the big tournaments.
OK so that was part one. Everyone still with me so far? I want to focus more on the "extras' that are out there so let's continue.
Referral Bonuses and Rakeback
I will not point out the individual promotions each site has as they change constantly. There are some things that are the same across though. Referral bonuses are given to new players if they have been referred by an existing player. Both players will receive a bonus for their efforts as long as they log in the minimum required hands.
Rakeback is signing up through a separate site and where that site will pay you back a % of the rake that you have been charged. They are given royalties by the sites they sponsor and they give back some of those roylaties to you!
I have placed Rakeback and Referrals under the same category because they DO NOT OVERLAP. You can only choose one. So here are my suggestions:
1. Decide what you will specialize in. If you are going to play cash games then Rakeback is definitely for you. The rakeback is around 25%-30% which translates to hundreds of dollars in the long run.
2. If you choose MTTs or SnGs then referrals may be your best bet. Usually the referrer will get more then the referred friend and I find sharing the bonuses to be the best thing to do. FTP for example will give $25 to the referred friend as long as they make 500 points. The referring friend will receive $100 once they hit 1,000 points. I make it a point to split $50-$75 (since I need 1,000 pts and hence more risks). If any of you want to try Full Tilt please do not pass up on this opportunity as inter-player fund transfers are possible in FTP. So leave your email if interested.
Referral bonuses STACK with the initial deposit bonuses.
But remember guys, the bonuses are NOT easy to get. Don't think you can just hit a site and clear the bonuses in one month. I have been playing FTP a lot and after a month I have only cleared 50% of the total bonus.
Well that's scratching the surface I guess. The rest is really all up to you. How to play, what games to play... those things you will pick up slowly. Read through the other blogs like Manila Grind and the soon to come blog of Erick.
I hope that was helpful as it took me awhile to consolidate, research and make the correct decision based on what sites gave the best opportunities to succeed.
Hey 10% royalties ok!!!
I am happy to have been given the opportunity to be sent to the US for 3 months and in order to stay sane I have taken up playing Online Poker. I have always wanted to try it back home but connectivity, time (there were too may gimicks back home) and a reliable payment system hindered me to do so. There were no such barriers here and I have learned a lot in the past 25 days. I have also been very fortunate to have made a killing lately on the online tables and I once again want to share to my friends how and what to do to maximize your earnings online.
I of course want 10% royalty on all earnings, or Saturday night drinkfests whichever costs more...
Payments and Withdrawals from Manila
Hmmmmm no idea. Hehehe as I said I set up here in the US however Nickg has created a great system for all Filipinos and I invite you to check his blog for this huge step in progress for the Manila poker community. http://pokerfilipinas.blogspot.com/
Bonuses and Sites
This is the first key step in making money online. Our Philippine Peso is miniscule compared to the all powerful dollar which makes it more challenging to play this game. A bankroll of P10,000 is less then a measly $200 and people online throw that away in a few hours. We have to find ways to be competitive and bonuses allow us to do so. Some key points in bonuses:
- Most 100% bonus sites will NOT give you the bonus upfront. You need to log in thousands of hands before they release the bonus in small increments.
- Only Pacific releases bonuses upfront from what I know but they will prevent you to withdraw the bonus until you have met their requirements.
Here is the breakdown of the best bonus sites and how much play it will take to release your bonus:
Note: Raked hands means just being in the hand even if you folded preflop.
Full Tilt Poker - 100% Bonus up to $600
$1 rake = 1 point.
$1 in entry fees = 7 points
Bonus releases - 100 points for $6. You will need to play 350 hands (that is raked at least $1) to earn $20. For SnGs at the $11+1 it will take 50 games to release $20
Absolute Poker - 100% up to $750
$1 rake = 1 point.
$1 in entry fees = 4 points
Bonus releases - 100 points for $10. You will need to play 200 hands (that is raked at least $1) to earn $20. For SnGs at the $11+1 it will take 50 games to release $20
Absolute is the BEST site in releasing dollars playing RING games.
Ultimate Bet - 100% up to $650
$1 rake = .5 point.
1 point per hour playing at the tables
25% more points if you are the first person on the table
Bonus releases - 100 points for $10. You will need to play 400 hands (that is raked at least $1) to earn $20. Ultimate is harder to calculate but is one of the worst with regards to bonus release. They do have good software that allows you to minimize tables and make multi tabling easier.
Pacific Poker - 50% up to $100
This is the best for starting players. Your $200 INSTANTLY become $300 and you just need to wager at least $2,000 to withdraw the bonus amount. Since we are all playing with a long-term mentality they this shouldn't be too hard. However, its money WAGERED and not the same with the rake terms as the other sites.
I chose Full Tilt because the software was very cool, they have other promotions that make playing daily a lot more fun and the bonus release was competitive. Additionally, I get to play with Ledered, Juanda etc on the big tournaments.
OK so that was part one. Everyone still with me so far? I want to focus more on the "extras' that are out there so let's continue.
Referral Bonuses and Rakeback
I will not point out the individual promotions each site has as they change constantly. There are some things that are the same across though. Referral bonuses are given to new players if they have been referred by an existing player. Both players will receive a bonus for their efforts as long as they log in the minimum required hands.
Rakeback is signing up through a separate site and where that site will pay you back a % of the rake that you have been charged. They are given royalties by the sites they sponsor and they give back some of those roylaties to you!
I have placed Rakeback and Referrals under the same category because they DO NOT OVERLAP. You can only choose one. So here are my suggestions:
1. Decide what you will specialize in. If you are going to play cash games then Rakeback is definitely for you. The rakeback is around 25%-30% which translates to hundreds of dollars in the long run.
2. If you choose MTTs or SnGs then referrals may be your best bet. Usually the referrer will get more then the referred friend and I find sharing the bonuses to be the best thing to do. FTP for example will give $25 to the referred friend as long as they make 500 points. The referring friend will receive $100 once they hit 1,000 points. I make it a point to split $50-$75 (since I need 1,000 pts and hence more risks). If any of you want to try Full Tilt please do not pass up on this opportunity as inter-player fund transfers are possible in FTP. So leave your email if interested.
Referral bonuses STACK with the initial deposit bonuses.
But remember guys, the bonuses are NOT easy to get. Don't think you can just hit a site and clear the bonuses in one month. I have been playing FTP a lot and after a month I have only cleared 50% of the total bonus.
Well that's scratching the surface I guess. The rest is really all up to you. How to play, what games to play... those things you will pick up slowly. Read through the other blogs like Manila Grind and the soon to come blog of Erick.
I hope that was helpful as it took me awhile to consolidate, research and make the correct decision based on what sites gave the best opportunities to succeed.
Hey 10% royalties ok!!!
posted by GameFrog at 6:46 AM
15 Comments:
Frog, you're doing everyone a service by posting bonus info...for geezers like me, a bonus system is a secondary consideration (i came up playing cardrooms where you were lucky to get a free sprite!). grind and nutsboy should talk about rakeback too.
Be careful of bonus-clearing efforts though, i was talking to a guy online the other night...he lost half his roll trying to clear a bonus...
all in all, it is what it is, bonuses are great, and they lighten the impact of rake.
thanks bro, gl on the next games
I'd like to clear up some little things when I checked the sites a while ago...
In FTP, the conversion is $0.06 per point. I play SnG's, so I calculated that at the $5 + .5 games, it takes two games to earn 7 points. So, doing the math, it's .42 every two games, or .21 per game. It takes around 95 games to clear 20 dollars at the $5 + .5s.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
In Pacific, I only saw 25%, not 50%.
In UB, it's 6 points for every 1 dollar entry fee. You need 30 points in sng to redeem 1 dollar entry fee.
These are some of the data I gathered, I hope they're accurate.
tipsy what's ur problem??? :)
NickG,
I had the same experience before, I tried to do semi-bonus whoring moving from site to site and in the end I lost more money than I got from the bonus. I came to the conclusion that it's better to stick to two or three sites (and pick your game - SNG, rings) with good structure, level of competition and treat bonuses as just that - a bonus not an end in itself...
Yeap that's a bit more accurate Tipsy. Basically I took the numbers and rounded them off in my head as I was eager to start playing hehe. FTP is ABOUT 50 games at the $1 so almost there.
In UB you are correct bro, 30 points to redeem $1 but only 10 pts in Ring to redeem $1 so it was too time consuming to breakdown.
Good point on Pacific. The data I posted is about 3 weeks old and I do suggest that people check back on the promotions if they have changed as they change monthly.
Tipsy,
Bonus clearing at FTP via SNG or Tourney's is 42% of rake, e.g. you get $.42 for a $10+1 SNG or $.21 for $5+.5... your computation is correct I think... If your goal is to play 30 SNG's in one week it will take you a month to clear the $20...
Very good points Nick and 11finger. My key basic strategy is simply this: Play winning poker. But if you can already do this then its always good to have things working for you ALL at the same time.
Imagine winning $100 on a ring game..... AND
- clearing a portion of your bonuses.
- Increasing your rakeback payout
- slowly clearing your referral requirements (if you didnt choose rakeback)
A pro guy posted his winnings online for the month of July. It showed:
SnGs +4,875
Ring 10/20 -2,070
Ring 20/40 +9,780
Rakeback 3,280
Wow that's some rakeback!!
Gamefrog,
Yup it's always nice to have another revenue stream no matter how small it is... There are actually some people who bonus whore full time, they basically either break even on games or lose just a little but more than make it up from the bonuses they clear. However most of these guys play six or more tables at a time to speed up clearance. I even saw a video of this guy playing 12 tables, not really sure how they can manage my max is 4 tables and the pace is already frenetic for me at that level...
Erick - It's pretty good. The bonus just gets released before you know it. You should have taken the referral by 11finger too as that stacks.
Also, if you want turbo then pacific has a MTT that increases blinds EVERY HAND LOL!!
How did you do at the $1M guaranteed? Do we start calling you ninong??
And whats your userid at FTP?
Finally, you came in at a good time. If you can afford $216 then there is a main event of Omaha at FTP I think on Wed or Thurs. Give them hell bro
Erick they have several daily guarantee's at FTP ($6K to %$20K), buy in range from 24+2 to 69+6...
been hearing alot from manilagrind about your blog. nice info and congrats on your success. I'm currently rebuilding my bankroll right now. Hope to share some tips you. ym:very_angry_michael
IMHO, i prefer rakeback, and if you'll be reffering, reffer them to your rakeback site. this way, you'll be having a percentage of his rake too for the rest of your playing careers
Hmmm very good point Nutsboy. Havent heard from you for awhile! used to read your blog and hope you get active again.
Thanks I'll add you on YM. Damn I want a picture with Doyle too! (or Jennifer Harman is ok too hehe)
@11finger:
I don't think I'm gna settle for 30 games a week, LOL. :p
Correct me again if I'm wrong, but FTP is the best site to clear bonuses.
Tipsy, nope FTP is probably just below average when it comes to clearing bonuses. But if you're going to play SNG's play there or at Stars they have good blind structure so a little less variance...
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