The fastest growing network since Black Friday, the Merge Network has leaked today that they will be ending their rakeback program starting the 1st of June. The Merge Network includes popular rooms like RPM Poker and Carbon Poker.

UPDATE: Merge has announced that existing Rakeback players and new players who sign up for rakeback before June 1st will be grandfathered in.

Merge has confirmed the changes with us but also stresses that more detailed information at this point is simply speculation. This seemingly simple change touches many aspects of their business and leaves many open questions:

How will existing rakeback players be handled? Will they lose rakeback on their existing Merge rakeback account or will they retain their 35% rakeback rate? Will they be grandfathered in to a higher tier of the VIP program if their rakeback is no longer being offered?

To what extent will the rapid growth Merge is experiencing slow down and allow an opening for Cake, Yatahay and Everleaf to gain traction?

How will affiliates be effected? Will Merge rooms continue to dominate the space on rakeback websites? Will Races and Chases continue to run through major rakeback affilaites (like PTP Rakeback)? How similar will promotional value be between skins moving forward?

Will this open the door to underground rakeback offers that many dub as parasites of the poker ecology? What will Merge do to control this demon?

To be fair, Merge has not intentionally released this information to the public. It was leaked before they had the opportunity to fine tune their plans. For years Merge rooms have offered outstanding player value on thin margins and it’s only reasonable for them to seek larger margins after the events of Black Friday.

What Should You Do?

While it isn’t known if players signing up before June 1st will be grandfathered in to their agreements, it is very likely that they will receive some preferential treatment. PTP Rakeback offers the best value anywhere on Merge at both Carbon Poker and RPM Poker:

RPM Poker

35% rakeback paid daily

$25,000 Monthly Rake Chase

100% Deposit Bonus up to $1,000

6.5% VIP Cash Back

Mo’ Moneuy Mo’ Promos in May

Carbon Poker

35% rakeback paid daily

$10.000 Monthly Personal Rake Chase

200% up to $2,000 Deposit Bonus

High Value VIP program

Free Training from Drag The Bar

Super Money Tree and other monthly promotions

More news on this story as it develops, or contact our rakeback staff if you have questions about your specific situation.