Natural8 rakeback in 2026

How Natural8 rakeback is paid

Natural8 is a separate poker room on the GG Network with its own website, cashier and account system. Its rakeback, meaning the part of your rake that comes back to you, is paid through Ocean Rewards, the network-wide program that took over from Fish Buffet.

The program has eight levels, named Fish, Shrimp, Crab, Turtle, Octopus, Dolphin, Whale and Shark. Shark is the top level. Natural8 publishes an estimated cashback for each level and marks every figure as approximate: about ≈16% of your rake at Fish, ≈40% at Turtle and ≈80% at Shark.

GGPoker, the flagship room of the same network, runs the same program under its own brand. The GGPoker rakeback page covers the GEM exchange store in detail.

What happened to your Fish Buffet level at Natural8

When Ocean Rewards went live, Natural8 did not start existing players from zero. Each account received a starting level based on two measures, and the higher of the two applied.

1. The Fish Buffet level the account held on the day of the switch.
2. The level matching the Fish Points the account earned from the start of the previous calendar year up to the switch.

The second measure helped players whose Fish Buffet level had dropped during a quiet stretch but who had built solid volume over the longer period. From that starting point, everything runs on Tide Points.

Tide Points, the January reset and demotion

Natural8 credits 100 Tide Points for each $1 of rake. Points pile up through the year and set your level, and the balance returns to zero on January 1.

If your yearly total falls short of the requirement for your current level, Natural8 moves you down. A player who reached Dolphin one year and then plays half as much the next can expect to start the following year lower.

Natural8 publishes the yearly Tide Points needed for each level. Shrimp starts at 10,000 Tide Points, Turtle at 200,000, Dolphin at 2,000,000 and Shark at 10,000,000. The table lists every level with its threshold, GEM multiplier and estimated cashback.

To judge your pace, multiply a typical month of rake by the Tide Points rate and then by twelve. Find the highest threshold in the table that your yearly total passes, and the cashback estimate in that row is roughly the share of rake Natural8 expects to return to you.

Does casino play count toward Ocean Rewards at Natural8?

Yes. The Natural8 casino also earns points toward Ocean Rewards, so a player who mixes poker sessions with casino games builds progress from both.

For a poker player measuring value, the share of rake returned at the tables is the figure to track. The rakeback guide explains how rooms count contributed rake and how that changes what you receive.

What GEMs are and how you spend them

GEMs are the reward unit of Ocean Rewards. Natural8 credits them as you play, and you exchange them for prizes in the rewards section of your account.

A higher level raises the GEM multiplier, from x1.5 at Fish to x5 at Shark, which is how the program turns a better level into more money back for the same rake.

Which Natural8 players gain from the yearly cycle

Because Natural8 resets Tide Points on January 1 and demotes accounts that miss their requirement, the program pays best when your rake is spread evenly over twelve months. A player who returns in November after a long break has only a few weeks to build a total before the count starts again.

Players who split their play between Natural8 poker and the Natural8 casino can count both toward the same level, which suits someone who uses one account for both.

Deposits and software at Natural8

The minimum deposit at Natural8 is $$5, and the cashier accepts crypto. Natural8 offers desktop and mobile apps.

To estimate a return from your own numbers with a rate you choose, use the rakeback calculator. The rakeback program comparison sets Ocean Rewards next to flat-rate deals at other rooms.

Questions and answers