As we have discussed numerous times on this site, online poker rooms and networks have been moving to recreational player-friendly models for a few years now. Poker pros and serious amateurs are finding their opportunities to grind for rewards more limited now than in the past, while casual players are being protected and seeing more chances to earn a little something for their play. Partypoker was one of the first to start leaning towards the “rec” players, but it has not gone away from the pros completely. Case in point: the latest Gladiator promo, which rewards players for playing as much as possible.
Gladiator – which has been recurring promo since 2010 – began April 17th and will run through May 6th. Unlike a lot of online poker promotions, this one is pretty straightforward. The more people play, the greater rewards they can earn.
It comes down to VIP points and for how many days certain points thresholds are attained. At the very lowest end of the spectrum, anyone who earns one VIP point on five separate days during the Gladiator promotion will win a ticket into a $250 freeroll. Bump that up to ten days and it is a $500 freeroll. The first three points levels – one, five, and ten points – all award freeroll tickets for the different day milestones (five, ten, fifteen, and twenty days). The lone exception there is ten points on each of twenty days. In that case, the reward is $8 cash.
Starting at the 20 points mark, all prizes are cash. The top prize is $2,500 for those who are able to earn 1,200 VIP points on each of twenty days (in other words, the entire Gladiator promo).
But who on Earth can generate that many points for three straight weeks? Professional grinders, that’s who. There is certainly something for casual players here (not much, though), but who this will really help are the players who put in the time and play for more than just micro stakes.
At PartyPoker, players earn two VIP points for every $1 in tournament fees and/or cash game rake. So, if we do the math, 1,200 points – the highest target number – would require $600 in rake. Across 20 days, that is $12,000 in total rake. Someone who does that will receive $2,500, approximately 21 percent rakeback for the promo period. That’s quite good, especially when added to the rewards that player would normally get.
Most people who earn cash rewards will still receive the equivalent of double-digit rakeback, so that’s not bad! For example, if someone pulls in 20 VIP points for just five days, that’s 10 percent rakeback. The dollar amount ($5) isn’t worth celebrating, but when you think about how relatively easy that goal is, it’s 10 percent effective rakeback is a nice little bonus. And it’s not like most people will have to alter their play style to get at least a little something, since all real-money games count.
As with most promos at PartyPoker, players must “opt-in” via the promotions area of the software.
