In online poker, a rake is a small percentage of cash game pots taken out to pay the poker site for hosting the table. A rakeback is an ongoing promotion many sites offer whereby they give you back a percentage of the rakes you pay for playing cash games at their site. Literally you’re getting part of your rake back.

The thing is, many top poker sites do not offer rakeback programs. So you have to do your research first before joining a poker site if you’re hoping to be a part of a rakeback program while you play there. There is, for example, no such thing as a Titan Poker or PokerStars rakeback.

That said, however, many sites that don’t have rakeback programs, including Poker Stars and Titan Poker, have other ways players can get something back for the rakes they pay. It’s through their VIP programs, in which players earn points for, among other things, the rakes they pay. These points can then be converted into prizes, tournament tickets and, in some cases, even cash.

Poker in the US is still going strong. Maybe not for players and organizers at Absolute Poker, Full Tilt Poker or Poker Stars. But on at least nine other websites players can still enjoy live Hold’em, Omaha and other online poker cash games and tournaments.

At a new informational site called Holdem Poker Chat, you can find out the names of these US poker sites along with details on any special offers they’re currently running for new members. Even players in the US who play on a Mac can find sites there that still will serve them.

As a social site, HoldemPokerChat also lets you discuss online poker with other players and keep abreast of all the latest online poker news updates, both in the US and the rest of the poker world.

Black Friday didn’t mark the end of online poker in the US. It just caused a bit of upheaval. But at Holdem Poker Chat you can find out just how to settle back in and play your heart out.

Arguably the one poker site that gives you the most number of pro players to compete against is Full Tilt Poker. And while some might balk at pitting their skills against those of the best in the business, other people know that to improve their game, there’s no better way than to sit beside (or across from) the best. And many of those best can be found at Full Tilt Poker. Many more, in fact, than you may think.

We all know about Team Full Tilt, featuring players like Phil Ivey and Gus Hansen. But did you know that no less than 4 other professional teams that play poker online at FullTilt? There are the CardRunners, The Hendon Mob, Team Limpers and Friends of Full Tilt.

For those in the know, the sheer breadth of skill to learn from at the site is reason enough to redeem the Full Tilt referral code and get started playing poker online there yourself.

Taking advantage of the free cash made available to you through the Poker Stars and Titan Poker bonus offerings is one way to maximize your online poker dollars. In order to get that free money into your hands, you need only follow a few simple steps.

First, of course, you have to install the Titan Poker and PokerStars download software. Once you’ve done that, you need to make your first deposit into the respective real money poker account. At this point the sites will credit you for the bonus dollars you’ve earned, according to the current bonus offering. For Titan Poker, that’s 100% on your first deposit up to $500. For Poker Stars it’s 100% on your first 3 deposits within 90 days up to a total of $600.

After you get credited these bonus dollars you can only use them to play online poker at the awarding site. You cannot withdraw that money into your bank account, for example, until you’ve played enough online poker to earn the required number of points to clear that bonus. For Poker Stars that’s 17 times the bonus; for Titan Poker that’s 600 points for every $5.

Despite the heavy emphasis on poker bonus codes in the names of many poker portal sites – like New Poker Bonus Code and Poker-Bonuscode.de – the site content at these review sites is far richer than just giving you the latest Party Poker bonus code, et al. You can also search these sites to find out which sites are best based on certain specific criteria, like the ones with the most “fish”, the ones with the best tournaments or cash games, or the ones with the highest or lowest stakes limits.

Each site has its own selection of the best overall sites to play at, so it helps to find a site that speaks most to you, so you know they’re recommendations are most likely to suit you. You also know that when more than one review site recommends the same poker site – such as Poker-Bonuscode.de and New Poker Bonus Code both recommending Party Poker as one of their top 5 sites – that you’re getting a recommendation you can trust.

You’d think all a site named UB Referral Code offered was information on how to take advantage of the latest, biggest referral code at UB (UltimateBet Poker). But it’s actually so much more.

Beyond giving detailed information on the top poker bonus currently available online, including the poker bonus code for claiming it and the specific steps for redeeming it, UB Referral Code also gives information on nearly every other value-adding benefit of membership at UB.com.

When you click here to visit UB Referral Code you’ll find that it also gives you thorough explanations on the UB reload bonus, the UB RAI$E Club loyalty and player reward program, the UB Bad Beat Jackpot, the UltimatePoints for Cash program, and all other ways to get more for your money at UB.com. In addition you’ll learn about the special types of promotions (like its WSOP promo), tournaments (like its $200K tourney), games (like its 7 Deuce Tables), and ways to play (like Instant Play, Mobile Poker, and on your Mac).

Find yourself an online poker blog you like and can trust, and subscribe to it. Now there’s a poker tip for you that keeps on tipping. You see, there are things an online poker blog can do for you that an online poker portal site alone cannot.

A general online poker site portal will provide reviews of poker sites and maybe some tips on poker strategy. But even if they periodically update their reviews to keep up with current changes to the site, that’s still not enough to keep you up to speed with the ever-changing online poker field.

An online poker blog is a service that tells you of the latest news and updates in the online poker scene when they happen. So while a poker review may tell you which sites have the best promotions, for example, they won’t tell you which sites are having the best promotion today. For that you need a regularly updated poker news source, and that’s where an online poker blog comes in. Just make sure you choose one that’s updated frequently and recently.

Online poker sites permeate the web. So how to know which ones to play at? Sure, most reviews of online poker sites will tell you which has the best bonuses and promotions, the most number of players online at once, and the widest variety of games. But no longer are these the only factors that today’s savvier online poker players are looking for.

Players are now looking for online poker sites that are US friendly, or that cater to players specifically living in their home country. Others are looking not just for any bonuses and promotions, but specific ones, like rakeback programs, VIP programs or Bad Beat Jackpots. Still others are seeking online poker sites that accept certain poker currencies, or support specific online payment processing methods of deposits and withdrawals.

What matters to you most in online poker sites? Do you like variety in the sites you play at, for example, but don’t want to spread yourself so thin that you can’t compete in the big promotions? Then find a favorite online poker network with crossover bonuses and promotions that span all sites within that network.

With social media dominating the online landscape it was only a matter of time before Facebook numbered among the best online poker rooms. Now while that may sound impossible, since Facebook isn’t a gambling site, it still hosts Facebook poker games that receive scads of traffic.

Are these real money poker games? No. Do they have value to players anyway? Well, of course! Why else do you think players would start ranking it among the best online poker rooms out there?

Zynga, maker of Farmville, is the kingpin of Facebook poker games. It’s the Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker, and Party Poker of Facebook poker games all rolled into one. Why? Primarily because of something it offers that the best online poker rooms for real money poker don’t – Facebook poker chips. On Zynga Poker, players earn Facebook poker chips just for playing.

What are Facebook poker chips? They are the new virtual currency for online social gaming media. What is their value? Awe. One of the elements of every poker tournament’s guaranteed prize pool – bragging rights. Top recognition in Facebook poker games lands you on a leaderboard that has social value in the Facebook landscape.

Headed up by superstar poker pros Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth, Team UB is one of the most formiddable poker pro teams in online poker, with some of the most cutthroat players of the game, new and old, offline and online. The other members of Team UB are Adam Levy (Roothlus), Brandon Cantu, Bryan Devonshire, Gary Debernardi (DEBO34), Eric Baldwin, Hollywood Dave, Joe Sebok, Michael Binger, Mark Kroon (P0ker H0), Scott Ian, and Tiffany Michelle.

We all know who Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke are. But who are all these other people?

Adam “Roothlus” Levy: Slow and steady earner of $3.5 million in poker over 5 years, including 6 cashes at the World Series of Poker.

Brandon Cantu: Winner of 2 World Series of Poker gold bracelets.

Bryan Devonshire: Former whitewater rafting guide now claiming nearly $2 million in poker winnings.

Gary “Debo34″ Debernardi: Went in a couple of years from a $5 poker game novice to a full-fledged poker pro.

Eric Baldwin: Holds a bracelet for winning event #34 of the 2009 WSOP.

Dave “Hollywood Dave” Stann: Has shot more than 50 poker TV episodes.

Joe Sebok: Son of Barry Greenstein (the poker philanthropist) and winner of the ’06 WPT Mirage Poker Showdown, the ’06 Heavenly Hold’em Championship, an event at the ’06 WPT Festa Al Lago Classic, and an event at the ’07 LA Poker Classic.

Michael Binger: Third place finisher at the ’06 WSOP Main Event and winner of ’08 Five-Star World Classic.  You to can qualify for this years World Series by playing WSOP qualifiers at UB.

Mark “P0ker H0″ Kroon: A 20-year poker veteran.

Scott Ian: founding member of Anthrax back in 1981, currently engaged to marry Meatloaf’s daughter.

Tiffany Michelle: The last woman standing at the last World Series of Poker, outlasting 6,827 players to take 17th, the biggest field taken by a woman.

Play against all these pro players of Team UB by using this UB referral code.