One of the key improvements to the program, according to the poker room, is that it is much more transparent than before, much easier for players to understand their progress. There will no longer be any confusion as to what a player’s targets are and what rewards can be earned. Levels and their progress bars are clear as day, and the site shows players exactly how many chests they still need to earn to hit the next level.
PokerStars have recently revamped its rewards program after a three-month trial which included about a fifth of the total player base. All of the players were chosen at random and it showed positive results.
“Listening to community feedback, we know our players want more rewards, more ways to earn rewards, more transparency and simplicity. Our recent trial program was not only very positively received – overall we saw a 78% jump in satisfaction scores for the players participating, but it also gave us more ideas about how to make it even better.” said Severin Rasset, managing director of poker at PokerStars.
From October 1, 2021, the PokerStars Rewards is available on most of its sites around the world. The new rewards program will let players earn up to 65% rakeback. The PokerStars Rewards promises to deliver more value with more ways to earn rakeback, which is great news for players. In this article, we will analyze the new PokerStars Rewards Program and provide you with the most important information.
PokerStars Rewards Overview
PokerStars has had trouble with its rakeback system since 2017 when they abandoned their classic and popular rakeback system. Ever since that time, most poker players were unable to receive any significant cashback from these chests. It is probably due to this reason why PokerStars started to lose ground in terms of online traffic to its main competitor GGPoker. The rivalry was lost when GGNetwork managed to surpass PokerStars in terms of the number of cash players in June 2021. However, two weeks prior to this historic event, PokerStars began to test its new version of the rewards program with a focus on more rakeback, which we will discuss right now in more detail.
Even though the new PokerStars Rewards program will still have the infamous chests, it is clear that this version is a return to its original rakeback system. Just like the original cashback program, this new version will be based on two main principles. The first one is that players will get direct rakeback based on their profits. And the second one is that the maximum rakeback a player can receive is 65%.
The main rules of the new PokerStars Rewards are the following:
- 100 points are awarded for each $1 in rake
- Each chest has a fixed amount of points required to open it
- Each chest will reward a player with a fixed prize
- Each chest must be opened within 30 days after receiving
- There is a 28 days time limit to reach the next level of chests
- Players that are unable to reach the new level can exchange their points for a lower level chest
- The amount of prizes acquired within the specified period determines the progress to the next level
- When reaching Silver Chests, the player can participate in monthly tasks
- Monthly tasks are individual bonuses with a wagering period with a rakeback between 10% and 40%
- If the player fails to achieve the required amount of points during the monthly task, then the task is canceled
Here is a table for a better overview:
| Chest | Value | Rakeback | Monthly challenges rakeback (up to) | Total Rewards | Points Required | Rake Required | Number of chests in the level |
| Blue | $0.50 | 15% |
|
15% | 333 | $3,33 | 5 |
| Bronze | $1.50 | 16% |
|
16% | 935 | $9,35 | 5 |
| Silver | $5 | 17.5% | 40% | 57.5% | 2,850 | $28,50 | 7 |
| Gold | $20 | 18.5% | 40% | 58.5% | 10,800 | $108 | 7 |
| Diamond | $75 | 20% | 40% | 60% | 37,500 | $375 | 10 |
| Black | $250 | 25% | 40% | 65% | 100,000 | $1,000 | N/A |
In order to get to the Black Chests, you will have to accumulate at least $4,769.9 rake in 28 days. PokerStars guarantees that all players will receive rakeback anywhere from 15% to 35%. Values above 35% will be received by chance, which is the only element of randomness in this whole system.
As a nice bonus, all poker games will count towards the reward program including cash games and tournaments. Moreover, players can get rewards by playing anything on PokerStars including sports betting and other casino games.
Another key improvement of the new PokerStars Rewards program is much more transparency than before. It will be easier for players to understand their progress and how far away they are from the next rakeback milestone. Players will know what their targets are and what rewards they can expect from these chests. It also features clear progress bars with PokerStars client showing how many chests are left until the next level.
As mentioned earlier, GGPoker was able to catch up with PokerStars largely due to their troubled rakeback program. It can be argued that the original PokerStars Rewards program was the best on the online poker market. Back then many popular poker players went on strikes as a protest to the new reward program. Therefore, it was crucial for PokerStars to take action and change their cashback system if they want to stay on top of the online poker world. Now, it looks like GGPoker’s Fish Buffet program once again has a decent rival in the face of PokerStars Rewards. And these are great news for the poker community as a whole, no matter where you play. Competition is the best way for companies to grow and develop. It also forces companies to listen to their consumers and benefit them more.
However, it is too early to tell how the new PokerStars Rewards will play out in a long term. Many things depend on whether regular players will like it or not. Only time will tell.
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