Heads-Up For Rakeback
New rakeback earners are constantly checking their online poker rakeback stats to see how much money they’ve earned just for playing real-money online poker; win or lose. At first, these players get all excited with each new dollar that racks up, but eventually, they will seek faster ways to earn that precious rakeback.
One of the fastest ways to rack up these profits is to play heads-up for rakeback. If you can earn on average $12 an hour playing short-handed cash games (6 players), you can easily multiply your rakeback earnings by at least 3x for each hour of heads-up poker play.
For one thing, there are only two players splitting the total rake – you and your heads-up opponent. Add to that the fact that the games will run three times faster, and you’re looking at an hourly increase to about $36 per hour playing heads-up for in rakeback.
Advantages of Heads-Up
Heads-up cash games are perfect for impatient poker players who get bored at a full table where the game pace can be painstakingly slow. When there are only two players involved, the game pace can become incredibly fast. Be sure you’re ready for such a transition if you’re not used to playing heads-up poker.
If you’re a loose poker player with an aggressive nature, you may have experienced a lot of ups and downs at bigger tables. This is because you are competing against so many different player types, with so many hands that have a potential to beat your own.
Playing heads-up is totally different. In fact, most heads-up poker strategies call for a loose/aggressive attitude. There’s a 50/50 chance your hand is better, and when faced with aggression, most heads-up players will back down if they don’t have at least a decent hand to work with.
On the other hand, if you don’t have as much success with a loose poker game, playing heads-up for rakeback may not be the solution to increase your rakeback earnings. Instead, try playing your usual, short-handed or full-table game in a multi-table setting.
(See Multi-Tabling For Rakeback)
Limitations of Heads-Up
When you look at the typical rake structure of an online poker room, you’ll probably notice that 2-player games have a lower cap on the rake. For instance, in $1/$2 cash games, the rake may be capped at $1 for 2-3 players, $2 for 4-5 players and $3 for 6+ players.
This could affect the rate of rakeback you are earning, depending on the average pot size you are involved in.
Look at your average heads-up pot size to determine whether you’re earning the highest possible rakeback. If the cap is $1, and your average pot size is $20 or less, you’re doing good. If it’s over $20, you may be losing out on some rakeback earnings. Then again, if you’re winning consistently, take what you’re getting from rakeback, combined with your poker profits, and keep up it up!
