How to get a lot of mileage out of your poker room? (2021 update)

Jan 15, 2021 Artyom Ustinov
Table of Contents
Online poker rooms are thriving these days. They offer impressive live tournaments, a good lineup of poker variants and amazing bonus programs for new punters and regulars. Operating a poker site that features reliable, stable and highly functional software can be a good source of revenue for the site owner. As a potential poker room operator, you would wonder how on earth you can earn money from that. But there is nothing fancy here, in fact. Let’s review briefly the basic ways of how a poker room can be beneficial for you.
How to get a lot of mileage out of your poker room?

How does a poker site make you money?

The principal condition which is absolutely out of the question is that your poker site must be promoted enough to have a regular influx of new players. Without a constant flow of players who surge back and forth, all the following business models will make little sense.

Rake

A rake is a percentage amount charged by the poker room on the player’s hand after a flop has been dealt out. Unlike blackjack that has a certain house edge of about 1-5%, a poker site has no profit from the outcome of a card deal. A rake per hand is an average of $2 to $5 and having hundreds of players making bets across your site simultaneously leads to thousands of dollars earned per hour. A smart rake collection policy, for example, a rakeback model, can generate even more revenues and attract waves of players to your site.

Tournament entry fees

A poker portal also benefits from tournament entry fees that are usually 5 to 10 percent of the maximum stake. The more players join in, the higher admission fees go directly to the casino. In the best case scenario, it is more beneficial for a poker room owner to hold microstake (lowstake) tourneys because they tend to produce higher rakes (sure, seasoned poker experts know this trick and therefore stick to high-stake events). Freerolls, i.e. tourneys with no entry fee, are also beneficial in the long haul because they hook in more players to your poker room.

Indirect profits

A slight share of overall earnings will potentially accrue to advertising and in-app purchases. To leverage this source of income, a poker room operator needs to compel users to install a mobile app featuring a built-in option of buying virtual chips for continued gameplay. Besides, a poker site owner also benefits from real-time ads that get displayed during the game. Other indirect sources of income belong under merchandising or ads published by interested companies which want to promote their services.

Which poker software providers are leading the industry?

Flagship poker sites of today are powered by globally recognized, solid software makers that regularly update their platforms, offer excellent graphics and have a diversity of poker variations. You may want to look out for robust software from PokerNetwork, EvenBet Gaming, GG Network or Microgaming Poker. They all have certain benefits and pitfalls but really they are there to make your investment grow much quicker.If you pick one of those platforms, you get the most comprehensive poker package with lots of features that enhance players’ engagement, and therefore your profits. Software delivered by those providers is updated frequently, giving players a wide spectrum of poker variants such as 7 Card Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo, Hold’em, Omaha, 32 Card Draw and Stud Poker.Picking from the top online poker providers is somewhat daunting, especially for those who are new to iGaming industry. Whatever your expertise or poker background, we recommend that you base your choice on your own likes and dislikes. The poker providers develop value-added solutions and load them with many customizable features coupled with great scalability and high performance. Software from the best providers normally include, but not limited to, these features:

  • Different types of poker tourneys (sit & go, satellite, freerolls, etc.)
  • Various deployment methods (browser-based, desktop app and mobile app). Furthermore, whichever method a player uses to access the poker room, he enjoys gaming for real money and for fun credits, in-app depositing and cashing out, and multi-table experience
  • A plethora of leaderboards with cash pots reaching into thousands of dollars.
  • Integration with an existing casino platform. If a poker room is slated to run as part of an online casino, you will have no compatibility issues
  • Fraud and collision detection instruments and versatile payment gateways from leading financial operators
  • Every product released by top-rated poker vendors has obtained certification from a relevant auditing body.

Closing thoughts

Running a poker room gives a competitive edge to your online casino and boost your iGaming profits. Choosing a proper provider is not as challenging a task as you might think. Get in touch with our experts at Softgamings.com and we will guide you on how to best take advantage of the poker rooms available on the global market.
Artyom Ustinov

Artyom is Head of White Label & Turnkey Solutions and has been working in complex B2B/B2C sales, as well as business development and management consulting in iGaming for more than 10 years.

Together with the Key Account Management Team, he has helped over 100 start-ups and experienced gaming companies to launch their projects with SoftGamings.

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