Poker propping

Savvy poker players all know about rakeback. They know about the negative edge the rake represents and they also know that no poker player should ever play a single online poker hand without receiving some kind of rakeback or cashback.

The industry standard for rakeback is around 30% (give or take a few percents) and that is a pretty hefty edge considering that many online poker players get exactly 0%, since they don't even know rakeback exists. What would you say though, if I told you that under certain circumstances, certain online poker rooms are willing to give you up to 135% rakeback? That'd be like getting paid to play, right?

Well, that's what poker propping is all about.

You see, a lot of poker rooms are continuously trying to improve on the level of entertainment they provide their players, as part of their strategy to achieve sustained growth. People in charge of these operations have long realized that providing a stable and reliable platform with a visually attractive user-interface is by far not enough to stay competitive in today's dog-eat-dog online poker world. The main attraction of every online poker room - far beyond the eye-candy and functionality issues - is the action it provides. That's what players basically want: good action. This is why poker rooms have devised a clever scheme to generate action for their sites, while only having to pay the bare minimum for it.

They will give you an outstanding rakeback offer (i.e. 100%-135%) if you generate action for them. Obviously, I don't have to stress the importance being able to play rake free, or of actually getting paid to play poker. Remember, all the playing you'll do as a prop, will be on your own money, and thus, everything you win will be yours too.

If you thought all this sounded a tad to good to be true, and if you were wondering where the catch was: there isn't really one, however, I've only analyzed things looking at the bright side in the above paragraphs.

The truth is, this whole setup only looks as bright as I've painted it, if you're a very good poker player.

Here's what might make it difficult for you to become successful at propping: there are a whole bunch of limits and limitations you have to obey as well as several requirements you need to satisfy. It's not like you just sign up to a prop deal and start playing at any limit and any table you like. Most poker rooms do not let their prop players participate in their promotions and bonus systems. On top of that, you'll only earn the hefty rakeback, advertised for prop players, if you play certain limits/stakes and certain games. The "employer" needs you to generate action where there is none; he doesn't want you to add to the bustle at tables where business is booming anyway. Prop players will be forbidden to enter waiting queues for full tables and whenever all tables are full, they'll be required to create a new one at which they can play. Also there is a set limit as to how many prop players can play at a given table (from the point of view of the poker room, there's not much sense in filling a table up with players earning 135% rakeback each) Mostly you will play at short-handed, tight and altogether nasty tables. Sure, you can beat these tables too, provided you're up to the challenge. The mistake many poker players make is that they assume they're good players based on how well they usually play. Remember, as a prop, you'll be denied one of the most important off-table edges in poker: table selection. You're not a good enough poker player until you've proved to yourself you can handle truly adverse conditions.

For those who are up to it though, propping is nothing short of a goldmine. Go on, read our prop deals carefully, and choose the one which best suits you.