Newbie post, a few questions.

[spector]

Damn, I typed out a big post.. and now it seems to be gone. Anyway, this is my first post.. again.

I've made my way through the majority of Small Stakes Hold'em and now I want to make my way into the online scene starting at the .5/1 for now just to see how I do.

Anyway I've still got a few questions before I start that i couldnt seem to find answers for through searching.

1)Rakeback, this seems like a pretty controversial thing right now with sites like PartyPoker talking about killing it, should I still go for it? I originally planed to use partypoker with PokerSourceOnline to use their 27.5% point system.

2)The best skin. Although there doesnt seem to be any cash rakeback for PartyPoker they do have a nice 30% up to 150$ bonus going on right now. Anything im missing here? I dont have a problem with sticking 500$ in to start my bankroll.

3)Neteller, what is the point of using neteller over a bank account?

4)Accounts getting shut down. If this happens, what happens to all the money in your account while your account is locked? This worries me when I see people getting their account.

5)Cashing out - how complicated is it to get money out of your accounts? Is it immediate transfers or do they like to make it take a lot longer to take the money out then to put it in?

Thats all for now i think, thanks.

[Greg J]

Other people are more qualified to answer the rakeback Q. It is a touch subject, but not verbotten from discussion totally (sometimes we like to joke like it is). Still, just do some comparative shopping around in the 2+2 classified and you will find someone trustworthy. I would not trust any unsolicited offer over PM. If anyone PMs you want to be yr affiliate you should probably not trust them.

[ QUOTE ]
2)The best skin. Although there doesnt seem to be any cash rakeback for PartyPoker they do have a nice 30% up to 150$ bonus going on right now. Anything im missing here? I dont have a problem with sticking 500$ in to start my bankroll.

[/ QUOTE ]
I would make yr main account one with a reliable affiliate. Empire seems like a good place, since Party and PN have been tripping. Then again Empire has been closing accounts...

[ QUOTE ]
3)Neteller, what is the point of using neteller over a bank account?

[/ QUOTE ]
Neteller is great. I highly recommend it. It just makes things smoother. It's an easy way to keep track of poker only money for me. It's easy to use. It's safe, reliable, and fast.

[ QUOTE ]

4)Accounts getting shut down. If this happens, what happens to all the money in your account while your account is locked? This worries me when I see people getting their account.

[/ QUOTE ]
IGM (Party et al) is not going to TAKE your money unless you cheat or something. Yr money is safe.

[ QUOTE ]
5)Cashing out - how complicated is it to get money out of your accounts? Is it immediate transfers or do they like to make it take a lot longer to take the money out then to put it in?

[/ QUOTE ]
This varies from site to site. IGM sites take a few hours (2-3) usually, which is good. Pokerstars in instantaneous, but they are the exception. Some take a couple of days, but no reliable site will steal yr money.

Hope this helps.

Welcome to the boards.
Greg

[spector]

Thanks for the feedback. Now I am just a little more confused about rake back.

I just dont understand how it works at all, I dont know if its a taboo subject here or what. But how it possible that someone could be my affiliate and what not?

Why is rakeback even available, why would you get money back that just got taken from you? As I take it its not actually the poker sites giving you the money back but in fact someone that advertises and gets new uses for the poker sites.. I guess. Haha.

I guess the whole thing just seems sketchy to me since it seems difficult to figure out where the money is actually coming back from and why.

[Nomad84]

Basically, when an affiliate advertises for a poker room and gets new customers, the poker room rewards them for it. They can either get a specific amount for each player that they bring in, or they can get a percentage of each person's Monthly Gross Revenue (MGR). The MGR is usally equal to your share of the rake minus any bonuses that you were given. For affiliates (who are working with a partner) with many referals and therefore lots of combined MGR, percentages can go as high as 30%. In order to get you to sign up with them and not a different affiliate, they offer to give most of that back to you. For example, PSO's FFP gives you 27.5% and they keep the other 2.5%. They are getting less per player this way, but they get many many more players. As mentioned before, check the classifieds for other rakeback affiliates to compare deals. That's how I found my Empire affiliate.

[mcozzy1]

There is a beginner's forum...and a "search" feature.