partypoker vs PokerStars rakeback in 2026

partypoker and PokerStars programs side by side

Rakeback means money a poker room gives back from the rake it collected from you. partypoker states that return as a percentage tied to weekly point targets. PokerStars converts rake into progress toward a chest, and your chest level sets how much of that rake comes back.

How rake turns into points at each room

partypoker Weekly Cashback starts after a single opt-in. You earn 1 point for every $1 of rake or tournament fees, in cash games, tournaments and Sit and Go formats alike, and the count runs from Monday to Sunday.

PokerStars asks you to press Start Now once to join Stars Rewards. Each $1 of cash game rake adds 100 Reward Points to the bar. Tournament fees add points as well, and each full bar opens a chest at your current level.

What the return looks like in percentage terms

partypoker pays 8% once your week reaches the first points target and rises with higher targets to a ceiling of 20% of the rake you generated. Points that fall between two targets pay at the lower one, and nothing carries over into the next week.

Stars Rewards has six chest levels: Blue, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond and Black. Each level has a fixed chest value: Blue returns 15% of your rake, Gold 25% and Black 40%. Opening chests often enough within a rolling period moves you up a level, and a long stretch without one moves you down. Above Black, PokerStars Select pays 50% and Select+ up to 60% in daily cash.

A month of $400 rake at both rooms

Suppose you pay $100 of rake in each of four weeks at partypoker. Every week passes the 50-point target but not the 150-point one, so each week returns 10% of its rake. The payout lands as cash on Monday.

The same $400 at PokerStars returns 15% at Blue Chest or 25% at Gold Chest, paid out as chests whenever a bar fills rather than once a week. Model the partypoker side in the rakeback calculator.

Rake at $0.05/$0.10 No-Limit Hold'em

At NL10 (No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05/$0.10 blinds), partypoker takes 5% of the pot with a cap of $$1. PokerStars takes 5% with a cap of $$1, and 4.25% in Pot-Limit Omaha at the same blinds.

At NL10 the two rooms charge the same No-Limit Hold'em rate and cap. One step up, at $0.10/$0.25, PokerStars takes 4.5% with a $$2 cap, so it keeps less from large pots there. Both rooms apply no flop, no drop. From $0.10/$0.25 upward, the partypoker cap for five to ten players is $$3.

Where partypoker and PokerStars accept players

Both rooms are available in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy, both accept players from Canada and Ireland as offshore rooms, and both are restricted to a few regulated states in the United States. PokerStars also runs licensed sites in Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal and Sweden.

Local sites of both brands run their own versions of the loyalty program, so the terms above describe the international sites. partypoker has its own network, and PokerStars runs the PokerStars network, which Betfair Poker joined in August.

Which player each room suits

partypoker suits a player who wants to check each Monday that the cashback matches the rake paid, and who mixes tournaments with cash games, since every format counts. The weekly targets are on partypoker Weekly Cashback.

PokerStars suits a player in Portugal, Sweden or another market where it holds a local license, who plays every week and wants a rate that rises with the chest level. Chest levels are explained on PokerStars rewards. For more pairs, see 888poker vs PokerStars, bwin Poker vs partypoker or the rakeback comparison.

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