Poker props

While browsing around the offers of various online rakeback sites you may have run into unrealistically good rakeback deals. Some of these deals offer close to 100% rake rebate, others go well over 100%. Why, if you were to sign up for one of these deals, you’d get paid to play…
These deals are poker prop deals and the rakeback percentages they offer are indeed real, no matter how unrealistic they may seem. There’s a good reason why the poker rooms offer such great rakeback percentages, and the deals usually come with certain restrictions which the poker prop needs to obey under all circumstances. None of the regular rake back players have any such restrictions to contend with, so a prop deal is basically a trade-off between the awesome percentage and the restrictions.

Poker prop players are basically hired by the poker room to provide action at the tables. Newly created poker rooms need prop players badly. Just picture the following scenario: an online poker room opens, with great sign-up bonuses, attractive promotions and superb software. There are no players at the tables though. If the room simply launches an ad campaign, players will come, they’ll see that there’s no action and they’ll be on their way fast. Props are needed to secure the room’s critical player liquidity. They represent the best and most straightforward way to jump-start a newly launched poker room.
Does that mean though that if you sign up to prop you will only play in newly launched rooms? Interestingly enough: no. Some well established online poker rooms keep accepting prop players as traffic is one of those things one can never get enough of.

Now that you know all these things about poker props, let’s see some of the restrictions they have to “endure”. First of all, a prop player plays with his own money, despite the fact that he is a hired hand of the poker room. One of the most important restrictions is that poker props cannot participate in any of the promotions offered by the room, which means they’re generally not entitled to a sign-up bonuses either. On top of that, they cannot play for live event seats, they can’t participate in rake races etc.
They’ll have to sign in with the shift manager every time they want to prop. They may be required to play only on certain limits (where the room needs the action the most) and they won’t be allowed to wait in line at a full table.