What are POKER affiliate programs?

The online poker rooms make money by 'raking' tables. When you sit down at a table and make a bet, a small percentage of that bet goes to the online poker room (aka the house). When you enter a tournament, a small entry fee goes to the house. This makes being a poker affiliate different than being an affiliate in any other online gambling industry - instead of wanting your players to lose, you want them to win. The more money your players bet (win or lose), the more money the house rakes.

There are two ways which you can make money as a poker affiliate:

1) Revenue Share - You take a percentage of the revenue your referrals create for the poker room through raking. This percentage varies from poker room to poker room. The average revenue share for online poker affiliates is about 25%

2) Cost Per Action (CPA) - You are paid for each 'real' player you refer to the poker room. The affiliate program terms will define what a 'real' player is. The player usually needs to wager a certain amount of money to qualify as one. The average CPA for online poker affiliates is about $100

Which option is better? It depends on who you are targeting. If your visitors are knowledgeable players who are likely to play a lot of poker and end up wagering a lot of money, you want to go with the Revenue share option. For example, say the active players you refer generate an average of $10 of rake per day for the online poker room:

With 1 active player (at 25% of $10) you would earn $2.50 per day

With 10 active players (at 25% of $100) you would earn $25 per day

With 20 active players (at 25% of $200) you would earn $50 per day

With 100 active players (at 25% of $1000) you would earn $250 per day

Many online poker rooms will offer you higher revenue shares (up to 50%) when they see that you are an affiliate who is bringing them many players and they don't want you to end up sending those players elsewhere. So it is entirely possible:

With 200 active players (at 50% of $2000) you would earn $1000 per day!

And don't forget about the CPA option. If you have a good base of less poker-savvy visitors, this might be your better option.

With 1 new player per month (at $100 per player) you would earn $100 per month

With 10 new players per month (at $100 per player) you would earn $1000 per month

With 25 new players per month (at $100 per player) you would earn $2500 per month

And..

With 100 new players per month (at $100 per player) you would earn $10,000 per month!