PokerStars is the World’s largest online poker site with 155,000 real money tournament and 50,000 real money ring game players playing simultaneously during peak hours. This gives them a 2-to-1 lead for ring games and a 2.5-to-1 lead for tournament over their closest competitor Full Tilt Poker. Perhaps the greatest reasons for PokerStars substantial lead is their outstanding customer support staff and their VIP rewards programs.
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The VIP Program is PokerStars rakeback equivalent. If you’re interested in how this program stacks up against the competitors, such as Cake Poker rakeback or Full Tilt Poker Rakeback continue reading and we’re sure you’ll soon be convinced PokerStars is the logical choice for most online players. As a reminder you’ll also receive a 100% up to $600 sign up bonus when you join PokerStars.
PokerStars Poker Points
The points program at PokerStars might be a little confusing to some. There are two different types of points offered called VPP (VIP Player Points) and FPP (Frequent Player Points). To state this simple, VPP do not actually exist, this is simply the base # of points a player has earned. The actual FPP credited to a players account depends on their VIP level and the VPP base.
Earning PokerStars VPP
Tournaments: Each dollar paid in tournament entry fees earns a player 5.5 VPP. So for example a $10+$1 tournament awards a player 5.5 VPP.
Ring Games: In ring games the number of VPP a player earns is determined by the number of players seated at the table and the amount the pot is raked. For each dollar the pot is rake 6 VPP are awarded and divided equally among all players dealt cards for the hand. Fractional points are awarded in the hundredths. For example if a game is being played 3 handed and the pot is raked 25 cents, each player would receive .08 VPP.
There are different rules for the short handed tables: Games with 7 or less seats at the table (no matter how many are seated) have a base rate of 5.5 VPP for each dollar the pot is raked.
Keep in mind the VPP are simply a base. The actual Frequent Player Points (FPP) a player earns is determined by their level on the PokerStars VIP Program, as illustrated below.
PokerStars Rewards
To examine how the PokerStars rakeback matches up with other online poker sites we need to look at the incentives offered to players.
FPP Points: At PokerStars FPP Points are redeemable for merchandise in the PokerStars VIP Store. The highest valued obtainable merchandise (Cars, etc excluded) in VIP store is the $500 concierge service for 31,000 point option. When using this service each FPP is worth 1.612 cents, the downside is you’ll need to be SuperNova to purchase this item. For non SuperNova’s the best value comes in $215 tournament tickets for 13,500 where the value is 0.1593 cents.
Stellar Rewards: PokerStars has a stellar rewards program where players earn cash automatically for obtaining various VPP milestones through out the year. The table below shows these milestones:
| Yearly VPP: | Stellar Reward: |
|---|---|
| 750 | $10 |
| 1,500 | $10 |
| 2,250 | $10 |
| 3,000 | $10 |
| 4,000 | $10 |
| 5,000 | $50 |
| 10,000 | $50 |
| 15,000 | $50 |
| 20,000 | $50 |
| 25,000 | $50 |
| 30,000 | $50 |
| 35,000 | $50 |
| 40,000 | $50 |
| 45,000 | $50 |
| 50,000 | $100 |
| 60,000 | $100 |
| 70,000 | $100 |
| 80,000 | $100 |
| 90,000 | $100 |
| Total | $1,000 |
As you can see 90,000 points earns a player $1,000. This translates to a value of 1.111 cents per VPP. While this stops at 90,000 VPP this is okay because at 100,000 VPP a more significant bonus called “milestone rewards” kicks in.
Milestone Rewards: As a SuperNova on the PokerStars VIP program you can purchase Milestone Rewards for 50,000 FPP points. For players capable of earning 200,000 VPP points in a year this is quite significant as the first milestone is $1,000 at 100,000 VPP where the second is $3,400 at 200,000. For the sake of keeping this simple we’ll assume SuperNovas earn the minimum requirement in a year and redeem only one bonus.
Value of each VPP earned
To calculate the PokerStars rakeback equivalent we need to come up with a value for each VPP earned.
For Platinum we know each VPP is worth 1.111 cents in stellar rewards and each FPP worth 1.593 cents. A Platinum player earns 2.5 FPP per VIP so 1.593 x 2.5 = 3.986 cents worth of FPP for each VPP earned. Add these together (1.111 + 3.986) and we’ll see for Platinum each VPP earned is worth $0.051 (5.1 cents)
For SuperNova we have a bit more calculating to do. First we’ll need to combine the Stellar Rewards and 100,000 milestone bonus to come up with a VPP value. For 100,000 VIP Points we’re earning getting $2000 in combined bonuses, but it costs us 50,000 FPP which at $0.0161 cents each are worth $805. We now base 100,000 VPP as being worth $1,195 more to us and we see each VPP is worth $0.012 to us. We earn 3.5 FPP per VPP so our total value of a VPP is ($0.0162 x 3.5) + $0.012. This is 6.87 cents per VPP.
PokerStars Rakeback Rates
Putting all the data contained into an excel spread sheet we calculated the PokerStars rakeback equivalent as follows:
SuperNova Rakeaback: 37.8% Short Handed Tables, 41.2% Full Ring and 37.8% tournaments. (Note: this is for players earning exactly 100K VPP per year, if you earn 200K or more your rakeback will calculate significantly higher).
Platinum Star: 28.2% Short handed, 31.1% Full Ring, 31.1% Tournaments.
As you can see the PokerStars rakeback equivalent is much better than 27% Full Tilt Rakeback for those reaching Platinum Star or above. The rake paid by a player reaching the minimum qualification (7500 FPP) per month is $1350 at short handed tables and tournaments and $1250 at Full Ring. If you know your stats at other site you’ll know whether you rake more than this or not. For those new to rakeback, this is not a significant amount of rake.
To put this into perspective a person playing 4 No Limit Hold’em six-max tables at a time would reach silver stay in approximately 40 hours per week at $25 max buy-in. At $50 max buy-in in 22 hours per week, a $100 max buy-in in 10 hours per week, and obviously we don’t need to go further as reaching this level would be very easy at tables with a higher buy-in.
In making your decision on which site play, it might be helpful to know there is additional value in the PokerStars rewards program in terms of freerolls. The following VIP player freerolls are available:
$30,000 Weekly Tournament – This tournament is available to Silver Star VIP and higher and is free to enter.
$100,000 Monthly Tournament – This tournament is available to Gold Star VIP and higher and is free to enter. Silver Stars can satellite into this tournament via 130 FPP satellites.
$1,000,000 Quarterly Tournament – This tournament is available to SuperNovas and higher and is free to enter. Gold and Platinum Stars will have an opportunity to satellite into this event using FPP.
PokerStars Rakeback Conclusion
Our conclusion is that for most poker player the PokerStars rakeback equivalent is far superior then what is offered at Full Tilt Poker. If you don’t already have an account, visit PokerStars.com to get started. To learn more read our PokerStars Review.
