Bet365 Poker Review 2009

Bet365 Poker overview 2009.

Bet365 is the most reputable poker room on the iPoker network. It is a great all-round room with an abundance of traffic and clear software. You cannot get rakeback at Bet365, but there is a decent VIP program to compensate.

• #3 in terms of traffic (so more than enough players) with very clear and easy to use software.
• Top UK poker room.
• No rakeback, but there is a great VIP points program in its place (exchange points for cash).
• The iPoker network does not accept US players.

Even though you cannot get rakeback at Bet365, I have spent a lot of time happily playing at this room because of the amount of traffic and no-nonsense software. The competition is easy enough to beat across many of the stakes, which makes Bet365 Poker a great option for a wide variety of players.

Bet365 is only let down by the absence of a direct rakeback deal. However, the VIP points program is good enough for the regular players to get a healthy amount of their rake back. The percentages are not as high as standard rakeback deals, but the Bet365 VIP scheme is one of the most profitable.

Bet365 competition and traffic.

• Very high volume of traffic (#3 for traffic).
• Loads of soft players. I have found some of the weakest tables to be at Bet365.

Bet365 is on the iPoker network, which currently sits at #3 for traffic (behind PokerStars and Full Tilt). This makes Bet365 the largest non-US online poker room, and you can be sure that finding a wide variety of soft tables at your desired stakes is not going to be any problem at all.

The high volume of traffic means that there is undoubtedly always going to be a steady flow of soft competition for you to take advantage of. I have personally had very profitable sessions at Bet365, which probably explains why I'm such a big fan of the room.

The high volume of traffic, with lots of it being nice and soft is the biggest selling point for Bet365.

Visit the Bet365 Poker website

Bet365 software.

• I really enjoy the software. Easy to use and no problems.
• Some players are far from being a big fan of the poker client.
• Not Mac comptaible.

The Bet365 (iPoker) software is very much love/hate. I have always enjoyed playing at Bet365 because I find the software to be:

• Very clear. You can always clearly see the action taking place whilst you play.
• Easy to use. I never have problems finding a table and taking a seat.

However, I am fully aware that some players have a great dislike for the software and do not enjoy using it. I can't see why myself, so it might be worth downloading Bet365 and trying out the play money tables before you play for real.

One final thing I should mention is that the tables are not resizeable, but instead you are provided with a mini-view option instead. This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it serves its purpose well.

Bet365 VIP scheme.

Instead of fixed rakeback like you can get at Full Tilt or Cake, Bet365 Poker offers a VIP scheme that allows you to trade player points for cash rewards in the VIP section. This is pretty much a replacement for rakeback, with PokerStars and Party Poker doing the same thing. The reward scheme is available to every single player at Bet365.

With the Bet365 VIP scheme, you can earn between 15% and 35% of your rake back depending on how often you play and how many player points you collect. The percentages for this VIP scheme are outlined below.

Bet365 VIP scheme rakeback equivalent.

I used the fact that $1 in tournament fees is worth 15 points from the information on the Bet365 website, so the following calculations are based off of that.

These percentages should be pretty close for both cash game and tournament players though.

Bronze VIP - 10% rakeback equivalent.

• Collect 1+ points a month to reach this level.
• Trade 7,500 points for $50 reward.
• Roughly $500 will be paid in rake to get 7,500 points.
• Rakeback equivalent = 10%

Every player starts off at this level, so at minimum you will be getting the equivalent of 10% rakeback through the VIP scheme.

Silver VIP - 18% rakeback equivalent.

• Collect 1,000+ points a month to reach this level.
• Trade 50,000 points for $600 reward.
• Roughly $3,333 will be paid in rake to get 50,000 points.
• Rakeback equivalent = 18%

You need to collect 1,000+ points a month to reach the Silver VIP level and be able to trade 50,000 points for $600. This should be perfectly attainable for anyone that 4-tables at the 10c/20c for 12 hours a week or more. Almost definite for the semi-casual 25c/50c NL player.

Gold VIP - 22.5% rakeback equivalent.

• Collect 10,000+ points a month to reach this level.
• Trade 200,000 points for $3,000 reward.
• Roughly $13,333 will be paid in rake to get 200,000 points.
• Rakeback equivalent = 22.5%

You need to collect 10,000+ points a month to reach the Gold VIP level and be able to trade 200,000 points for $3,000. This is most likely to be attained by regular multi-tablers (4 tables+, 12+ hours a week) at the $1/$2 NL stakes.

Platinum VIP - 28% to 45% rakeback equivalent.

• Collect 25,000+ points a month to reach this level.
• Trade 375,000 points for $7,000, or up to 5,000,000 points for $150,000.
• Roughly $25,333 paid or $333,333 paid.
• Rakeback equivalent = 28% to 45%

You need to collect 25,000+ points a month to reach the Platinum VIP level and be able to trade 375,000 points for $7,000 (or more). The longer you wait to trade your points in for cash at this level, the higher your effective rakeback will be.

You can exchange varying amount of points for varying amounts of cash at this level, which means that the rakeback percentage will move up or down depending on how long you wait. This example highlights the two extremes of the cash rewards available at Platinum VIP.

To get to the Platinum VIP level, you ideally need to be a very regular grinder (4 tables+, 25+ hours a week) at the $2/$4 NL stakes.

Bet365 VIP scheme overview.

The Bet365 Poker VIP scheme is actually a very good substitute for rakeback. As a lower stakes player, you are not going to get as much of your rake back than you would from a standard rakeback deal though.

However, if you play $2/$4 NL Hold'em or higher on a very regular basis, you will effectively be earning more rake back than you would with a fixed rakeback deal as the percentage of rake you will get back with the Bet365 VIP scheme goes right up to 45%.

This VIP program is better than both the PokerStars VIP program and rewards system at Party Poker. It's also on par with the valueback deals at Tower Poker and Betsafe (if not a little better).

Bet365 Poker bonus.

• 100% up to $500.
• Standard clearing requirements.

The Bet365 bonus is a moderately high 100% up to $500 match bonus. This is one of the more friendly bonuses on the iPoker network.

This bonus is available to all new players to the room, so no bonus code or anything like that is needed to get it. Just sign up and play poker.

Bet365Poker bonus details.

• 100% up to $500.
• Bonus released in $10 chunks by collecting merit points.
• 1000 points needed for every $10 of bonus.
• Merit points earned as shown in the table below.

Rake	Points
$0.04 - $0.09	0.20
$0.10 - 0.24	0.40
$0.25 - $0.50	1.00
$0.51 - $0.75	1.50
$0.76 - $1.00	2.00
$1.01 - $1.25	3.00
$1.26 - $1.50	3.50
$1.51 - $1.75	4.25
$1.76 - $2.00	4.75
$2.01 - $2.25	6.00
$2.26 - $2.50	7.50
$2.51 - $2.75	9.00
$2.76 - $3.00	10.00
$3.01 - $5.00	11.00
$1 tournament fee	15.00

When you combine the Bet365 VIP program with the new player bonus you get a pretty profitable room to play at. Have a look at the poker bonuses section to see how Bet365 compares with other major rooms when it comes to earning the most money possible as a new player.

Visit the Bet365 Poker website

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