poker room opening in 1998.

The advantages were many, poker players could now

play up to ten times the number of hands per hour

and pay lower rake than live games.

Poker players enjoyed faster action and higher

hourly profit rates.

By 2005 there was an estimated 1.8 million

players playing at more than 250 online poker

rooms.

Players became concerned with the amount they

were spending on rake and most poker rooms seemed

reluctant to drop their rake prices. Some players

were spending more than $20,000 per month on rake

alone.

In 2005 was the appearance of the first rake back

program, where players could signup under an

affiliate and get paid a share of the affiliate's

earnings.

Affiliates are people who get a percentage of the

rake as compensation for advertising and

recruiting new players to the poker room.

Poker rooms share stories of turning dust into

gold with their poker affiliate programs.

For most poker affiliates the story is often much

tougher, because rake back affiliates are paying

players to play at the poker rooms, many of their

customers are in fact existing poker players,

signing up with a second account to get rake back.

Essentially stealing poker clients from existing

poker affiliates.

Some poker rooms decided to ban the practice of

offering cash incentives to sign up new players,

sighting that it gave those affiliates an unfair

advantage. Less money was spent on advertising

and gaining new players with a new focus on

converting existing players into rake back

programs.

This did little to stop the avalanche of rake

back programs appearing as they converted more

and more players, for every poker room that

disallowed the practice of rake back three others

would open that allow it.

Even though there were these set backs, online

poker continued to gain exposure through media

and poker events like World Poker Tour and the

World Series of Poker.

In 2006 there was an estimated 3 million online

players, almost double that of the previous year.

A new concept in poker marketing launched, paying

affiliates high commissions up to 35 rake back. This new program insured

affiliates of good profit margins and that

players will not be lost to other rake back

programs.

More than 60 online poker rooms are already using

this new concept of high rake back and affiliate

commissions.

For further information on this new concept

please refer to our website http://www.poker8.com