Poker News

The Microgaming Poker Network announced Friday that it is preparing to implement a brand new system for calculating player rake. Dubbed “True Value,” the new method aims to more fairly allocate the rake from each player to their respective operator.

In a press release, the Isle of Man based network described True Value as a “dual layer system.” The first layer forgoes the traditional system of simply distributing rake to operators based on the volume a customer plays in exchange for a more complex system which takes into account not just volume, but also a customer’s win/loss ratio and activity.

The latter two factors are not explained in further detail, but it might be assumed that “activity” refers to how often a customer plays, as opposed to “volume” which may have to do purely with revenue generated by the player. If these assumptions are correct, it appears that even if two players generate the same amount of rake during a given counting period, there will be some sort of differentiation made between a player who generates his rake in just a couple days versus someone who generates his across more sessions. Win/loss ratio has become more of a focus of networks in recent years, as they aim to actually recruit more losing players. This is not because the players are competing against the house, but rather because losing players (though not all, of course) are the ones who re-deposit, injecting more money into the system. While the highest skilled professional grinders generate a lot of rake all by themselves, they also win money from losing players and therefore never bring new waves of money into the system. They are looked at more like money recyclers than money producers.

The second layer in the True Value system is the value of new players. One of the biggest problems since the rise of online poker in the middle of the previous decade is intra-network cannibalism caused by rakeback. Oftentimes poker rooms on the same network will try to top each other’s rakeback offers, stealing away each other’s customers. Switching poker rooms is no problem for the player, as they are already used to the network, its players, and its software, so switching rooms is just a matter of moving money. By valuing new customers, the True Value method looks like it is trying to cut down on this sort of cannibalism.

The Microgaming Poker Network says that the True Value method will not have an impact on players, only the operators. Said Lydia Melton, Head of Network Games at Microgaming, “What sets True Value apart from other networks’ solutions to the valuation problem is that it uses a dual layer system, which does not impact the players themselves. Any players earning rake-based promotions, like bonuses, will clear those promotions at the same rate on True Value as on the current method”

Currently, Microgaming rooms use the “contributed” method of rake calculation for their players. This means that the rake generated in each pot is credited only to the players who put money into the pot. This differs from the fading “dealt” method, which allocates rake to every player who was dealt cards in the hand.

The Microgaming Poker Network plans to launch True Value on July 1st.

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