RIO Rolls Out Changes to “Splash The Pot”, Adds Reward Program

Phil Galfond has introduced new changes to the rewards system of his brand new online poker training site ‘Run It Once’ (RIO).

Galfond has been keeping poker players and fans updated on the goings-on at RIO by writing blogs on a regular basis. In his latest blog post, Galfond highlighted the importance of user feedback in implementing the changes.

RIO’s Splash The Pot rakeback system has initially awarded 51% rakeback by randomly dropping antes worth up to 1,000 big blinds onto the table across all stakes. The winner of the hand gets the additional antes, boosting his or her pot.

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While the feature has received a lot of positive feedback from players, some have expressed a longing for the traditional flat rakeback system adopted by other sites. Their main concern is that RIO does not actually offer any guaranteed rakeback to all players, as it only gives away extra money in a pot that ultimately goes to the winner of that pot.

As a result, players turn to other sites to play poker, and this does not coincide with RIO’s goals. So Galfond has decided to come up with major changes to Splash The Pot to fix these issues. Splash The Pot will still stay, however the rakeback has now been reduced from the original 51% to 30%, making room for a secondary rewards system.

Players will now be able to compete for 100 big blinds or even more without worrying about their chips. During the splash, every player will be all-in for nothing automatically, with the winner of the hand receiving 70% of the splash. The other 30% will be shared by the other players — a win-win situation for everyone involved. In addition, players can now view and monitor how much they’ve won from Splash The Pot right in their lobby.

Secondary Rewards Program — Legends

Apart from major changes to Splash The Pot, Galfond is also adding a secondary rewards system which makes it possible for players to get an additional 45% rakeback. Legends is a weekly program that is primarily volume-based, with five rewards tiers — Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades and Legend.

Each of these tiers, made up of up to five levels, is achieved by accomplishing point-based milestones. For every €0.05 in gross rake paid, the players earn 1 point. Bonus points will also be awarded during specific stages. You can take advantage of the Legends Kick-Start promotion which is currently running to earn more points. The promo will only be valid until December 8.