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The Cake and Merge Networks continue to duke it out for your action in May. Lets break down the promotions, starting at Merge:
Merge Network
Merge's flagship site, Carbon Poker is running The Race, which we would categorize as a $500,000 VIP Point Chase. There are 15 tiers in The Race; the first of which is unlocked at a rate of 6.5% extra rakeback, the final at a whopping 97.5%. When reviewing the payout chart, remember that your VIP points effectively reset after you reach each tier, and that rakeback players earn points at 65% of the rate of non-rakeback players (the 6.5% - 97.5% rates noted assume you are a rakeback player). Theres a limited number of prizes at each tier as well, so it's adventageous to get started early. Remember to also login to your Carbon Poker account and opt-in to The Race.
Of course, this stacks on top of the other Carbon perks:
- A new rakeback rate of 35% - paid daily without any deductions for deposit fees, using points, clearing a bonus or anything else.
- VIP program that's worth 10% or more extra rakeback
- 75% Reload Bonus up to $300 in May
- $100,000 Freeroll on May 30th - must earn 45,000 VIP points (rake ~$7k) from April 15th through May 29th to qualify. Or qualify in one of many satellite tournaments.
Many RBNers will fall in the 50-60% rakeback range if they put in their time at Carbon this month. With their lobby three times as active as it was a month ago, with reportedly soft games to boot, the network is worth a look.
Our good friends at RPM Poker offer some great Merge value as well:
- 35% rakeback
- Flat 5% VIP bonus from day one
- An exclusive Rake Chase that adds up to 17.5% in extra value.
- Expect a May Reload bonus to be available later this month.
Cake Network
Before you commit yourself to playing exclusively on Merge this month, Cake has a pretty solid promotion as well. All Cake skins will be repeating the $150,000 Points Race that ran in April. While The Race at Carbon is technically a chase as we see it since not all $500k is necessarily awarded, the $150k Points Race at Cake is race - all $150,000 guaranteed to be awarded. The $150k is broken down into 5 separate races - 4 $25k weekly Races and one $50k month-long race. For the $50k Race, your Week 2 points count as 2x, week 3 points as 3x, and week 4 points as 4x, so there is significant incentive to heavy-up on your late month play.
The best way to assess the value of the $150k Race is to keep an eye on the results page. You earn 1 point for every dollar raked from your table, or 7 points for every tournament dollar paid. Assuming you average a 7 handed game, a 7 points per dollar raked ratio is a fair baseline assumption. With that in mind, from the early May results it looks like the 150k Race adds a solid 10% extra value for finishers, and potentially much more than that.
You may recall that rakeback players on the Cake Network earn FPPs at half the normal rate typically. For the $150k Race, they double rakeback players earn rate, so there is no advantage to being a non-rakeback player.
The $150k Race stacks on top of other standard Cake Network perks:
- 33% rakeback: calculated with the popular rakeshare method
- Gold Coins, Stacks, and Cards
- $50k Monthly Gold Card Race
- Deposit Bonuses
- Exclusive RBN Rake Races (Cake Poker) or Chases (Doyles Room, Poker World).
Just like Merge, for those taking advantage of all the May value you'll receive well over 50% in effective rakeback. When choosing your Cake Network room, remember that only one rakeback account is allowed on the network (with some exceptions), and aside from the differences in the Races and Chases we offer the promotions are very similar. Your best options:
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