Run It Once Poker Review

Run It Once Poker was established in 2019 by a well-respected Phil Galfond, with a purpose to “make poker better together”. This poker room clearly appeals to casuals with its accessibility and prohibition of third-party tools. It also offers a variety of tutorials and guides, making it a favorable starting place for beginners.

Run It Once Poker also provides some exciting promotions and events. For example, an exciting Galfond Challenge, where the founder and owner of RIO takes on at least six opponents in a series of individual high stakes heads-up matches.

In this review, we will discuss the most exciting and features of the RunItOnce Poker room. 

Bonuses and promotions

RIO offers generous promotions which are likely to draw and benefit casuals over regulars. Welcome bonus practically has no expiry, therefore you are not encouraged to be on a constant grind.

StreamR scheme is likely to attract even more people who are looking for simple entertainment. Weekly leaderboards do not have much competition, which offers newcomers an opportunity to win some extra money.

Welcome Bonus

All new players will get a 100% FDB of up to €600. This reward will be valid for all installments you make within 30 days of your first deposit. The welcome bonus is released in increments of €5 for the first €100 and in small chunks of €10 with larger amounts. 

For example, €5 is paid for every €25 rake (for the first €100), meaning a 20% cashback. The amount to be raked is increased with every €100 of reward received. It won’t expire as long as you play at least one hand every 30 days.

Run It Once Poker rakeback

The Legends Rakeback loyalty program directly rewards users that play more. You will get more and more as you move through the ranks: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, and Legends.

You earn one point per €0.05 in rake paid.

For example, the entry-level Clubs start at 10% cashback and are available for anyone who has at least 60 points (€3 in rake). On the other hand, the final Legends tiers offer €900 in cash prizes for every 90,000 points (€4500 in rake).

Splash the Pot

One of the latest big innovations by the RIO Poker was the Splash the Pot system. This system gives returning 30% of all cash game rake collected. It is a random event which can happen in any given hand (chances increase if the pot size is bigger).

The winner of the hand will collect the main pot and the added Splash the Pot bonus. It was so innovative that big sites such as GGPoker have copied this format.

StreamR and 110% rakeback

RIO Poker also offers a payoff program for players that stream their games on Twitch. A person with 200 total watch hours in a month will receive a 50% rake return. Streamers have the potential to earn up to 110%.

Overall, the RunItOnce loyalty program is a great way to reward committed members. StreamR program is a unique choice to draw new audiences and gain Twitch presence, although 110% may not be a realistic target for most of the streamers, as it requires 20,000 watch hours per month.

Rake

Run It Once Poker charges between 4 and 5.75% rake. At No-Limit Hold’em, the rake is 5.75% for micro-stakes (up to €50), 5.5% at mid-stakes (up to €1,000), and drops to 4% at €2,000 stakes. 

At Pot Limit Omaha, the rake is 4.50% for micro-stakes (up to €50), 5% at mid-stakes (up to €500), and 4% at high-stakes (up to €2,000).

When comparing rake to other available online rooms, the commission here is significantly higher. On the other hand, the “net rake” is lower than its competitors due to previously mentioned rakeback programs. 

Games and Traffic

• Average online 100
• Best time to play Evening in European time

RunItOnce Poker is a relatively new poker site. Therefore, it does not have a wide variety of games. The only ones available are No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha.

There are no regular SnG, MTT, and HU as well as an “exotic formats” like Stud, PLO Hi/Lo. The reason for that being lack of traffic. 

You won’t find thousands of players online. The majority of traffic comes from Europe, with 100 during peak hours (majority in No-Limit Hold’em) at best. Most of the traffic is soft for the reasons that will be discussed later. 

Such low traffic is definitely a downside. However, this poker room is still growing and gaining traction. It has all the chances to improve and become more popular. 

Cash Games

As mentioned earlier, RunItOnce Poker has only No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha. They are 6-max starting at €4 buy-in (€0.02/€0.04) and going up to €1,000 (€5/€10).

The room does not offer a diversity of poker formats. In our opinion, it is a big negative, especially for a new place that wants to attract new users.

Run It Once Poker Tournaments (MTT)

RIO does not offer MTTs. In November 2020, Runitoncepoker has launched an SNG select. It offers a combination of a standard sit & go (Classic) and lottery sit & go (Cub3d).

SNG select uses the same pool for both formats. The games are three-handed and the winner takes all. A Glitch event can generate random rewards even if you lose. This tournament combines players that like fixed prizes and those that enjoy playing for a variable prize with up to 1,500x multiplier of their buy-in.

Even though this competition is unlikely to attract high-skilled regulars due to its randomness, it is a very good and unique approach to combat the low-traffic problem. Even during quiet times, games will go off quite fast.

Game softness

Overall the lineups at RunItOnce Poker is quite soft. Lack of cash game/tournament choices and HUD elements won’t gravitate sharks and bots. Casuals will dominate the traffic due to their promotion networks for the reasons mentioned before in the review.

It is important to note that regular players are likely to be found playing only high-stake tables. The low-mid-stake tables will be dominated by soft traffic.

Attitude towards professional players

• Trackers and HUD – no.
• Auto-seating scripts – no.
• Mining – no.
• Bumhunt – no.

Run It Once Poker tries hard to appeal to both professional and recreational players. Phil Galfond has stated that professionals can of course play at any stakes they like, but the RIO team is constantly on the lookout for predatory behavior. As another means of casual player protection, tracking software and HUDs are not allowed. The user's identity will always remain hidden and avatars always change whenever the player joins a new session.

Prohibition of HUDs and other third-party software makes RIO Poker a very favorable and safe environment for hobby players. It is very unlikely to stumble upon sharks or encounter predatory behavior.

RunItOnce Poker software

Poker client is only available for Mac and Windows. One of the key features is the dynamic avatar system. As mentioned earlier, player’s avatars will change whenever they enter a new game. There is no chat option. People can express themselves only through a given set of emoticons and phrases.

HUDs are only allowed at high-stake “nosebleed” tables. 

Runitoncepoker prioritizes the protection of the player’s identity, which is great news. It is important to note that frequent updates are released to the game client (around each month). These updates add new elements such as resizable tables, new backgrounds, and layouts, improvements to hotkeys, visual tweaks, and the ability to download hand histories. 

Mobile App

At the moment, Run It Once Poker does not have a mobile app. The development team has not announced a release date, however, it is expected that it will come out in a near future for IOS and Android.

Reliability and trustworthiness

• Established – 2019.
• License – Malta.
• RNG certificate – iTechLabs.
• Identity verification – necessary.

Run It Once is a 100% safe and legal poker site. Run It Once Ltd. is incorporated and registered in Malta and regulated by Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). It also holds a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) license.

They also have excellent customer support. You can contact them directly via discord or email, and they are very responsive:

Email: [email protected]

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/5r9xzRQ

Please keep in mind that to get a faster response, you must write from their registered email address, mention their username, and write in English.

Not to mention that it was established by a well-respected champion, Phil Galfond. This definitely adds quite a few trust points. 

Deposit and withdrawals

Games are played in EUR. Unfortunately, RunItOnce Poker does not support cryptocurrencies, but they are working on implementing them. The standard cash out time is 72 hours.

Please note, that supported methods can only be confirmed in the cashier and default deposit limits may vary based on the location.

To verify your payment method, you will be asked to send a scan or digital photo of your:

• Identity Card/Passport/Driving Licence.
• Front of the bank card.
• ID belonging to the owner of the bank card.

This room also supports P2P transfers, meaning that it allows players to transfer funds between their accounts.

Pros and Cons to play Run It Once Poker

From everything discussed, it is fair, to sum up pros and cons.

• Founded by Phil Galfond.
• Up to 110% rakeback for streamers.
• Welcome bonus never expires.
• Low “net rake” due to various promotions.

The dark side of the room:

• Low cash game traffic.
• A limited selection of cash games and tournaments.
• No MTTs.
• No mobile APP.

Run It Once is a very exciting online poker project, and undoubtedly the market will respond sooner or later. However, the competition is quite hard and there is still not enough traffic to consider it “the main site” to grind. 

RunItOnce Poker room will clearly benefit low-stake casual NLH and PLO fans, due to its good rakeback deals. It is unlikely to attract regulars or PRO because of its HUD prohibition and lack of MTTs. 

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