Rakeback almost always comes through an intermediary — an affiliate or an agent. The two terms often get mixed up, even though they stand for different roles with different responsibilities. Let's look at who is who, how each one makes money and how to avoid picking the wrong one.
What is a poker affiliate
A poker affiliate (partner) is a person or company that refers newcomers to a poker room and gets paid for it. It all rests on a partnership agreement: you sign up through the partner's link or promo code, and the operator assigns your account to them.
Partners find their audience through review sites, training content, streams, forums and social media. An affiliate has no access to your money: deposits, play and withdrawals go directly between you and the room.
How an affiliate earns
- CPA (cost per acquisition) — a one-off fixed payment for a new customer who meets a condition: makes a deposit or generates a set amount of rake.
- Revenue share — a percentage of the fees paid by the people they refer, usually for life.
- Hybrid — a small CPA plus a revenue share.
A partner may share part of those earnings with you — that is where affiliate rakeback comes from. It isn't allowed everywhere: a number of major operators have prohibited partners from paying rakeback to keep their bonus policy under their own control.
What is a poker agent
A poker agent is the intermediary who gets you to the tables and whom you settle up with. The model historically took hold in Asia and Latin America, and today club apps are built on it — PPPoker, ClubGG, X-Poker, PokerBros.
The chain there looks like this:
- The app provides the software and tables but doesn't handle money.
- A union brings dozens of communities into a shared pool.
- A club takes in newcomers and is responsible for payouts.
- An agent represents the club: finds people, sells and buys back chips, and helps with any questions.
You join a club by its ID and are assigned to a specific agent. From your rake, the club passes a share to the agent, who returns part of it to you as rakeback. That explains the difference in numbers: in clubs the return is noticeably higher than in the loyalty programs of centralized rooms.
Agent vs affiliate: the difference
| Affiliate | Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Where they work | Centralized poker rooms | Club apps, agent-based rooms |
| How you start | Sign-up via an affiliate link or promo code | Joining a club by ID |
| Your money | Goes directly to the room | Chips are bought and sold within the club |
| Intermediary's income | CPA or a share of the operator's revenue | A share of the rake from the club or union |
| Typical rakeback | Lower, set by room rules | Higher, agreed individually |
| Support | The room's support team | The agent personally |
A bit of history
Affiliate programs appeared together with online poker in the early 2000s: rooms grew thanks to partner sites, and the competition between them gave rise to rakeback as a way to lure customers away. After "Black Friday" on April 15, 2011, when US authorities brought cases against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, the American market closed for the major operators and the industry restructured. Since the late 2010s, club apps have gained ground, where the games are organized by the communities themselves — and the agent model became the main one there.
How to choose an intermediary
- Reputation. Look for reviews and find out how long they've been in the market. Someone who has worked with well-known unions for years values their name more than a newcomer does.
- Clear terms. The percentage, payout schedule and minimum amount should be stated upfront and in writing.
- Transparent settlements. You should be able to see which amount the return was calculated on.
- Account security. An intermediary doesn't need your app password. A request to hand over access is a reason to stop dealing with them.
- Communication. A good agent replies quickly and settles disputes with the club on their own.
Read more about the risks in the guide how not to lose money in decentralized poker apps, and about how much the fee return can bring in, in the article rake and rakeback in poker.
PokerDealsHub — both agent and affiliate
PokerDealsHub (PDH) combines both roles. In centralized rooms we are a partner: you sign up on the operator's website and get the bonus and deal terms. In club apps we are an agent: a PDH manager gives you the club ID and terms and stays available 24/7.
All current offers are collected in the rakeback deals catalog.