We have previously talked about the new player strike on PokerStars organized by the ''We Are Poker Players'' group. These players believe that the recent VIP changes and the rooms general attitude towards regulars is unfair and harmful to the poker community.
Members of the group will withdraw their bankrolls (or at least a portion) and avoid playing in the room between January 1 - 7 and between February 2 - 11.
If the number of players participating in the strike reaches 5,000 they will organize an even longer, 1 month strike.
There are also plenty of players who want to leave PokerStars altogether because they disagree with the way the Amaya leadership has been running the business.
With the vast number of poker networks and rooms it can be very challenging to find the room that is the best suited for your needs, but we are here to help the players find their new home.
We encourage you to contact the Rakerace.com support team if you want to find your ideal room, our colleagues can give you useful information and advice based on the stakes/games you play.
Check out some great alternatives for January below!
TigerGaming
TigerGaming is our partner room in the Chico network, the room is running 2 x $2,000 exclusive cash races in January that are only open to players who registered through Rakerace.com.
TigerGaming offers one of the best first deposit bonuses on the market, the 100% max $2,500 bonus provides a whopping 55% return! (Please note that a player can only take advantage of one FD bonus in the network).
The Chico network currently it sits in 11th place on .COM/.EU market based on player traffic. Last week they averaged 550 cash game players which roughly equals Unibet's traffic. The network is rapidly increasing, six months ago they averaged 400 cash game players.
Sit n Go players can enjoy great central promotions such as the SNG Leaderboard which provides good returns to high-volume players. The MTT schedule mostly consists of low buy-in events with a low number of entrants and fast structures which could appeal to players who like shallower stacks. The freerolls of the network are often praised by players however.
The field is weak - the room also welcomes US players - and Skrill/Neteller cashouts typically arrive in less than 24 hours. They guarantee 24-hour withdrawals under some conditions aswell, you can read more about this on the website.
TigerGaming room review and registration
Unibet Poker
Unibet is well-known brand in the sportsbetting and poker market, they run their standalone (not in any network) poker room with big success. In January, players can win €4,000 in our exclusive cash races which are only available for Rakerace.com players.
Unibet players can take advantage of the fix €200 first deposit bonus (you don't have to deposit €200 to claim the bonus) which provides an average return of 25%. The bonus activates with the first deposit and players have 60 days to grind it out.
Players can achieve further returns with the Unibet Poker Loyalty Program. Cash game returns cannot be exactly calculated because the returns are not based on rake but on various Challenges. Players receive a smaller (minor) and a bigger (major) Challenges. As soon as a player completes a Challenge, they will receive points based on the size of the Challenge. Players can exchange their points for cash prizes, tickets, bonuses or Unibet Open live tournament packages aswell.
Players can gather points for 3 months after which the counter is set back to zero with players receiving new Challanges.
This calculation is only relevant to cash game players, MTT and SNG players will receive 100 points for every €1 in fees. The points can be gathered for 3 months, after this players will receive a return percentage of up to 41%.
Unibet Poker is 10th on the .COM/.EU market in terms of traffic, they averaged 600 cash game players at the tables last week.
The Challenge-based rewards system draws in a huge number of recreational players to the tables so experienced players should be able to achieve a very nice winrate, however the room is not very multi-tabling friendly.
Players are allowed to change their nicknames every day, hand histories are not available and HUDs are banned. This room is a great choice for players who generally play a lower number of tables.
Cashouts are quick and reliable in the room.
Unibet Poker room review and registration
PokerKing
PokerKing is our brand new partner room and we are kicking things off with a $2,000 exclusive cash race. PokerKing is a room in the Winning Poker Network (WPN) and in addition to the cash race Rakerace.com players can also take advantage of the $777 first deposit bonus and the VIP system.
Players can achieve cashback returns of up to 40% with the PokerKing Royal Club VIP system.
The first deposit bonus provides a 9.8% return if you play cash games and 8,9% if you play tournaments.
WPN is the 9th on the .COM/.EU market traffic lost, they average 650 cash game players at the tables. Much like the Chico network, WPN is also a rapidly increasing network, 6 months ago they averaged roughly 400 cash game players.
The network puts some of the collected rake in a Cash Race Jackpot and a Tournament Race Jackpot for players, while SNG players can take advantage of the great central promotions.
The players in the network are much weaker than in bigger rooms and like the Chico network, they also allow US players.
The network is headquartered in Costa Rica and is owned by Yatahay, who also provides the software for the room. According to reviews, the software runs quick and without glitches, some have stated that it is the best software open for US poker players on the market.
Cashouts usually take 2-4 days in this network.
