avoiding signing up unintentionally - FAQ addition?

[pokerswami]

I'm an experienced B&M player just about to start online poker for the first time. I've read Homer's bonus whoring thread, plus many, many posts in this forum. But I have a question so basic that I can't find where it has ever been addressed.

In order to preserve all my rakeback/bonus opportunities, I want to make sure that I sign up under the best affiliate for my situation at each site that I eventually sign up with. (I know; I ended a sentence with a preposition - I'll do it again, too.) I also would like to preview various sites' software by downloading them and playing with play money to see which interfaces I prefer.

Can I go directly to sites, download their software, play live play money games, and not be recorded as having signed up with them? Will doing this make me permanently signed up directly with the site without having been signed up by an affiliate? If this is the incorrect process to accomplish what I want to do, what can I do to get the previews I want without committing?

Thanks for your advice. I'd like to avoid regretting unnecessary mistakes.

[Rednax]

Real good question, so bump. I believe in at least some cases, creating any kind of account prevents future new accounts. From being signed up for. (Had to get that dangler in there.)

[pokerswami]

Rednax: Thanks for the bump. Unfortunately, no one seems to know.

C'mon zoolanders. Reveal your hard-earned knowledge.

[fundmyhabit]

I know that for Party & Empire and probably the other skins that they don't ask for any vital information until you try to make a deposit to play real money games.

I would assume it would be safe to have a play money account and when/if you decide to play for real money just click the new account button and go from there.

This is all speculation of course.

[teddyFBI]

[ QUOTE ]
Can I go directly to sites, download their software, play live play money games, and not be recorded as having signed up with them? Will doing this make me permanently signed up directly with the site without having been signed up by an affiliate?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, you're correct: you can't really just 'try' software out for real money without being inextricably linked to whatever affiliate you start with.

Your Qs about preserving rakeback possibilities are good ones, but honestly, the whole rakeback thing is so informal and grey that I think you'll cost yourself in the long run by being 'too careful' about it and waiting till the time is right. My suggestion: this is one of those things that requires a bit of a blind leap of faith on your part; do some research and then just do it.

EDIT: oh, didn't see you just wanted to do play money games; careful about the above poster's advice, though, i just helped a player sign up who only had a PLAY money account, and still, the empire software recognized that he 'already had an account there' by virtue of his already having downloaded the software to his computer...so if you just want to try software out, i'd say your safest bet is to do it from a computer OTHER than the one you eventually want to play from just to be on the safe side.

[Kuanti]

This is a great question and I have also unsuccessfully looked around for the answers. I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I'll add a question to compliment yours:

If you have created an account at Party but have never deposited, can you still take advantage of the deal from InstantBankroll.com?

[pokerswami]

Teddy: Thanks for the reply.
[ QUOTE ]
i just helped a player sign up who only had a PLAY money account, and still, the empire software recognized that he 'already had an account there' by virtue of his already having downloaded the software to his computer...so if you just want to try software out, i'd say your safest bet is to do it from a computer OTHER than the one you eventually want to play from just to be on the safe side.

[/ QUOTE ]
Sounds like you've run into my question headfirst.

[fundmyhabit]

[ QUOTE ]
oh, didn't see you just wanted to do play money games; careful about the above poster's advice, though, i just helped a player sign up who only had a PLAY money account, and still, the empire software recognized that he 'already had an account there' by virtue of his already having downloaded the software to his computer...so if you just want to try software out, i'd say your safest bet is to do it from a computer OTHER than the one you eventually want to play from just to be on the safe side.

[/ QUOTE ]

Teddy..

Thanks for clearing that up... as i said i was speculating

[NateDog]

[ QUOTE ]
This is a great question and I have also unsuccessfully looked around for the answers. I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I'll add a question to compliment yours:

If you have created an account at Party but have never deposited, can you still take advantage of the deal from InstantBankroll.com?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes you can, but you'll need to set up a new account for real money.

[Kuanti]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This is a great question and I have also unsuccessfully looked around for the answers. I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I'll add a question to compliment yours:

If you have created an account at Party but have never deposited, can you still take advantage of the deal from InstantBankroll.com?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes you can, but you'll need to set up a new account for real money.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks Nate.

What's the catch with InstantBankroll anyways? They give me $75 for signing up to Party through them, and all I need to do is clear 500 raked hands? Obviously $75 is well below the 300BB you're supposed to have, but if there's no catch why doesn't everyone at least give it a shot?

[HRFats]

The catch is that they have you as a raked player for life and will make money every hand you play. Short term you make $75.00. Long term, you lose because they don't give rakeback.

I used a similair deal once and my wife used one once. That was before I had heard of rakeback.

[keikiwai]

2 things.

I had a play money account on Party, and I tried Instantbankroll.com.... no problem. I used the same computer that already had Party on it. I just had to make another account w/ a different user name. I even told Instantbankroll, and they were fine w/ it.

I don't think there is much of a catch w/ instantbankroll. I tried it earned my $75+$25. Deposited $ from another site, cleared another bonus, and then I promptly withdrew all my money (all this w/in 10 days of originally signing up). Now I'm signing up w/ a rakeback deal through a Party skin. The money from Party is already in my Neteller. They only care about 500 hands played, and believe me, you give them plenty of rake!

After 1,300 hands I have contributed $44.50 in rake on hands I've won at the .5/1 tables while going up $160. That's about 25% of my total winnings. I would have gone up about $200 w/o rake..... so yeah, a few more thousand hands and I more than pay them back in rake.