Players new to the concept of poker rakeback have an eternal dilemma on their hands: should they sign up for rakeback or should they stick with their sign-up bonus? At the end of the day which one is better? The bonus or the rakeback deal?

The answer to that will probably surprise you. Sign up bonuses and the rakeback are basically the same, there are only a few minor differences between them. The sign-up bonus works on the same principle on which rakeback does, the only difference is that it either expires after a while or it gets redeemed.

Putting aside the fact some poker rooms do not subtract bonuses from rakeback and that they do indeed offer rake back and bonuses as well (in which case you do not need to choose), you need to take a look at your short and long term goals as an online poker player, before you make your move.

If you’re a bonus hunter, and you do not plan to hang around after you’ve redeemed your bonus, then signing up for rakeback isn’t exactly the optimal move. Rakeback is a long-term setup. On the other hand, if you’re serious about setting off on a real online poker adventure and sticking with your room at least for a good while, rakeback is definitely the better pick.

Sign-up bonuses reward you for the poker rake that you generate, the same way rakeback does. Think about it this way: you’re always required to unlock a bonus before you can cash it out or take it back to the tables. This redemption process is usually based on Frequent Player Points (FPPs) which are in generated in a directly proportional manner with the rake. The more rake you generate, the more FPPs you accumulate and the more bonus money you unlock. What is that if not the very definition of rakeback?

At the end of it all, you either redeem your entire bonus amount or it expires. Sign up bonuses have set validity terms, some more generous others less so. A rakeback deal on the other hand, never expires. You’ll enjoy its benefits for as long as you play. Take the a full tilt poker rakeback for instance. It gives you a 27% rake rebate on your cash game rake and on your tournament fees too. That means you’ll ALWAYS pay 27% less rake than the player next to you who had no idea Full Tilt poker had such an offer.