Rakeback is the worst thing that ever happened to my poker game!

[gildwulf]

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We play poker after my Gamblers anonomous meeting. There are 6 of us that go play at one of the guys house. Once a month we have 2 strippers come over for an hour. I started going to the meetings to get in this game. Nothing like sitting with a bunch of gamblers playin poker. EV+ [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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You are so going to hell:P

[morgant]

so how did your 100k hand challenge or whatever that was do for your game? seems you are making these decisions on a consistent basis.

[JRussell]

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explain

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A more accurate statement would have been to say the more I tried to maximize the amount of my rakeback as opposed to playing fewer tables and attempting to make the best possible decision on each hand by considering all the information at my disposal has hurt my game.

I have little doubt that for me to play my very best poker, I should only play one table. Now does this mean I will earn more money if I took that path? Probably not, but maybe. If I had not taken the path of multi-tabling $5/$10 & $3/$6 to max out rake, I might now be playing one table of $30/$60 or $50/$100 and beat it for 1.5 BB/100 because I would be making much better poker decisions on average.

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...and this differs from your army concept how?

I don't understand the reason for you even starting this thead in the first place. Almost seems like self promotion of your site more than anything.

[dogmeat]

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[ QUOTE ]
explain

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A more accurate statement would have been to say the more I tried to maximize the amount of my rakeback as opposed to playing fewer tables and attempting to make the best possible decision on each hand by considering all the information at my disposal has hurt my game.

I have little doubt that for me to play my very best poker, I should only play one table. Now does this mean I will earn more money if I took that path? Probably not, but maybe. If I had not taken the path of multi-tabling $5/$10 & $3/$6 to max out rake, I might now be playing one table of $30/$60 or $50/$100 and beat it for 1.5 BB/100 because I would be making much better poker decisions on average.

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...and this differs from your army concept how?

I don't understand the reason for you even starting this thead in the first place. Almost seems like self promotion of your site more than anything.

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I understand O'Doyle's situation. I've done the same type of "maximizing rake" thing at times. I play much better on a single table. However, I have played at certain sites to get the rakeback and often play up to five tables. I know I don't play as well.

I've done this at times because I know my ROR is tiny, due to the bonus/rakeback, but my expectation in actual games is low. In many ways (from a poker palyer's perspective) this makes no sense, but from a business person's standpoint, the successful lowering of risk for good results compared to excellent results is often the best option.

When Games Grid was offering their best VFP and Bonus, I knew I could grind out about $30 an hour plus my table win by playing four tables. However, even with my table win, I didn't make my hourly average in earnings. This would appear to be a mistake in judgement. I was enticed by the FREE money, but just hurt my monthly earnings. Any one disagree?

Dogmeat [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

[morgant]

i agree. when i first started i chased bonuses for a few weeks. my play suffered horribly as i didnt discover the nuances of the individual games i was playing and the 'free money' hardly made up for it. needless to say, i didnt chase bonuses for all that long.

for me, i ascended the limit ranks quicker then if i had been bogged down by the trudgery of bonus hunting.

[otter]

I too agree. the first few days I started I earned a ton of rakeback, but I lost. I was so interested in the "free money" that I lost sight of the objetive of making money! Instead of jumping right to 4-6 tables I'm going to start over and slowly increase the number of tables. If I'm at 4 and I do OK then I'll go to 5. If I make too many mistakes at 5 I'll stay at 4. Of course I was playing every game under the sun too so I'll experiment w/ what works best.

[mosquito]

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I understand O'Doyle's situation. I've done the same type of "maximizing rake" thing at times. I play much better on a single table. However, I have played at certain sites to get the rakeback and often play up to five tables. I know I don't play as well.

I've done this at times because I know my ROR is tiny, due to the bonus/rakeback, but my expectation in actual games is low. In many ways (from a poker palyer's perspective) this makes no sense, but from a business person's standpoint, the successful lowering of risk for good results compared to excellent results is often the best option.

Dogmeat [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

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A problem for me too, but more with Bonus Whoring. The
risk of ruin pretty much dissappears, but I wind up playing
"safe games" just to clear the bonus. My BB/100 drops, and I
get worn out and frustrated playing more tbls at once than
I should. Should be moving up to where I don't NEED bonus.

[Uglyowl]

The solution is not to give up on rakeback and bonus, the solution is to use it as a weapon to make additional money.

You game should not change one bit! If you try to come up with reasons too, you are thinking too much for your own good.

[playersare]

1) play the level that you're most comfortable with, and play well

2) find the best supplemental income opportunity that level provides, whether it be bonuses and/or rakeback. there is no one solution that will fit every kind of player.

3) move up when you can accurately calculate that you can make more money overall (actual play + bonus + rakeback) by doing so over whatever you're doing now.

simple, in that order.

[mosquito]

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The solution is not to give up on rakeback and bonus, the solution is to use it as a weapon to make additional money.

You game should not change one bit! If you try to come up with reasons too, you are thinking too much for your own good.

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You are right, but I never suggested giving up the perks.
What I said was I was not expanding my game. Playing lower
limits than I would be forced to play without the perks.
And I need to be moving up.