Room description

Betfair is an online gaming company operating out of London, UK. The company is known best for its sportsbetting exchange and sportsbook, but they also have casino, poker, and bingo on offer. In February 2016 the Betfair Group joined forces with Paddy Power and the new entity became Paddy Power Betfair.

Betfair Poker launched as an independent poker room in 2004. Then in 2010 Betfair became a part of the OnGame network and remained there for 3 years. In 2013 Betfair Poker took the next step forward and joined one of the biggest poker networks in the world — the Playtech-owned iPoker network. This was great news for many regular players at Betfair poker, who suddenly started enjoying better traffic, the addition of new game types, and significantly more promotions and guarantees.

There are many perks of playing in the iPoker network, but the weak player pool has got to be the biggest one. Some of the largest bookmakers in the UK and the world are part of the iPoker network including bet365, William Hill, PaddyPower, Coral, Ladbrokes, and Betfred. Those websites attract registrations from people who mainly bet on sports or play casino. All those operators have a versatile offer and their poker rooms are easily accessible from the same platform, therefore many bettors hit the poker tables. Those players have very limited knowledge about poker, but you will find them on all sorts of tables, including mid and high stakes. The multi-table tournaments and regular guarantees are similarly populated by amateurs. The bigger the guarantee, the weaker the competition, so there’s definitely value in playing these.

Betfair Poker has the essential Texas Hold’em and Omaha tables, and also 6+ ones. 6+ is a Hold’em variant with alternative hand ranking rules where cards from the deuce to five are removed from the deck. This prompts more action and looser play, so with enough experience, you can easily make money from the amateur player base that is trying it for fun.

Betfair Poker has a download-software for Windows. Mac is not supported, but there is a way around it. You can use Apple’s multi-boot utility to install Windows on a Mac computer and play on Betfair Poker’s Windows software. You can also enjoy Betfair Poker on your mobile phone or tablet. There is a mobile app available for iOS and Android devices and you can download it from the respective app store.

Another reason to start playing at Betfair Poker is their lavish welcome bonus of 200% up to €1,000. You can also earn up to 35% of iPoker rakeback by redeeming your VIP poker points for cash. In addition to that, Betfair Poker has a monthly Bank Job promotion, which allows you to earn cash rewards simply by playing at the tables and collecting status points. 
Keep reading for more information on the traffic, software, and Betfair Poker rakeback.

Traffic review

By being part of the iPoker network, Betfair Poker has an abundance of traffic. It’s not on par with PokerStars, but the weaker opponents make it a preferable destination. Most of the players are European, so you can expect the traffic to hit its peak in the evenings CET.

Most of the traffic is concentrated on NL Hold’em with plenty of tables running on the micro and low levels. Most of them are 6-handed, as that’s the preferred format for most players. There are around 10 tables on NL50 – NL100, 7-8 on NL200 and 6-7 on NL400. The traffic remains solid up to NL1000, where you can find 6-7 tables in peak hours. The heads-up traffic is significantly worse, but there is some low stakes action.

The other player favorite PLO also has a decent amount of live tables compared to other smaller networks. You can find more than 10 tables on PLO20 up to PLO100, and at least 5-6 on PLO200–PLO600. The PLO heads-up tables spark only occasional interest and most of the action happens on PLO10–PLO50.

Another popular format in the iPoker network is their fast-fold game called Speed. Most of the traffic is on NL50–NL200, where you will find around 60 people playing in the evenings. 
The multi-table tournaments attract a lot of interest, especially on the weekends, with more than 250 active tournaments running then. The biggest guarantees happen on Sunday, so you will find a lot of amateurs playing there.

Software & trackers

Betfair Poker has a first-class poker client with excellent design and performance. The graphics load quickly and the software is fast and reliable even with multiple open tables. The good news is you can use HUDs when playing on Betfair Poker. The most mainstream ones such as Hold’em Manager and Poker Tracker will work with the client.

Rake structure

Внимание! Тут контент iPoker на странице Betfair. Контент в таком виде предоставил клиент.

Ipoker has a different approach to collecting rake. Their rake system is designed to favor the depositing (losing) players as opposed to those who reinvest their winnings. Betfair Poker’s rake structure is based on the classic weighted contributed (WC) system, but it also features a “Source Based Rake” (SBR) factor. SBR takes into account whose deposits are being wagered. Therefore, a losing player would have a higher SBR rating, while a winning player would have a lower one. This is done to balance the ecosystem and help recreational players lose less. The total rake (real player value) is calculated based on 50% SBR and 50% WC. Betfair Poker charges 2% to 4% on fixed limit tables and 5% to 6.66% on no limit and pot limit tables, up to a max of $4.00. The tournaments rake is up to 10% of the buy-in.

Rakeback & bonuses

Betfair Poker has a great welcome offer of 200% on your first deposit up to €1,000 (20% rakeback). In addition to that, the Loyalty Club gives you a chance to earn additional rakeback of up to 35%.

You receive 25 Status Points for every €1 raked. There are 3 VIP levels with different Status Points requirements. There is also a Status Points multiplier, based on which you collect VIP Poker Points at an increased rate. Bronze and Silver VIP levels have a multiplier of x3 and the Gold level has a multiplier of x5.25.

You can redeem your VIP Poker Points (VPPs) for cash. The minimum you can exchange is 3,750 VPPs, which are worth €10 (or other currency). You can see more details below: