Grand Poker Network Review - 50% Rakeback & Cheap Rake
Grand Poker Network History
Professional Rakeback is happy to introduce to you the newest US friendly poker network, Grand Poker. Grand Poker went live on November 1st, 2014. Ordinarily Professional Rakeback does not work with brand new poker sites like this, preferring instead to test out the company for a number of months privately in house, to make sure everything is on the up and up. However, we are making an exception in this case. The reason why is rather simple, Grand Poker is owned by the 5Dimes group.
The 5Dimes group is a number of online gaming related properties who Professional Rakeback has worked with for over four years now. Not only are we happy with our dealings with them, but soare our customers. This group is primarily a very large offshore sportsbook and casino group, they do however offer up some soft poker games. Recently they have decided to go off on their own and offer their own poker games to their own player base, and hence they have created The Grand Poker Network. The 5dimes group consists of a number of A+ rated online sportsbooks and casinos such as Island Casino, SportBet and of course 5 Dimes.
Review
Now that we know who and what is behind Grand Poker, Professional Rakeback would like to explore the software, games, payouts, rakeback and rewards offered to players. Please note that the "Grand Poker Network" also encompases a few white label sportsbook skins. As such, the "Grand Poker Room" may also be known as "The Dragon Room" on some of the Asian sportsbetting sites that share their games. The Dragon Room and Grand Poker are the same product through and through, just marketed differently to North Americans and Europeans versus Asians. UPDATE: GPN has embraced bitcoin as well as four major types of prepaid cards for same day free deposits and free withdrawals!
GPN Rakeback
Grand Poker Room rakeback is extremely high when compared to US poker sites, but also compared to all Euro, Asian, and ROW sites. Rakeback comes in two flavors. There is a flat rakeback conversion where players can exchange their Grand Poker Points, or GPPS, directly through the poker client for 35% flat rakeback. Alternatively, one can earn 50% to 100% rakeback in a non-standard way. All players that sign up with Professional Rakeback will be automatically opted into the rakeback program. Rakeback will always be a minimum of 35% and likely considerably higher.
Here is how the non-standard rakeback conversion works. Players earn poker points while playing in the cash games and tournaments. These points are used in special "AdvanceToGo Tournaments" which are basically sit and goes where one earns their rakeback via a tiered payout structure. The first place finisher receives a payout from the SNG equivalent to 100% rakeback on the points used! Everyone else in the tournament gets a cash equivalent of 50% once the tournament completes. Thus, depending on how skilled you are in the ATG tournaments, you will earn a rakeback rate of at least 50% even if you never bink a first place finish. But since you are an animal on the felt, you will likely do considerably better and have an effective rakeback rate of 60-75%.
Once again, all you have to do to take advantage of this is register your account via Professional Rakeback and begin playing real money games. Click here to jump to account creation instructions.
Poker Client Software
The GPN software is a brand new custom made poker client. The lobby is easily navigable and neatly organized. The cash game tables are smooth, the cards look clean and fresh, and the speed of hands dealt is above average. The GPN poker software currently comes in two forms and will accommodate the vast majority of people seeking to play online poker as it is sporting both a native Windows as well as a fully functional Mac friendly poker client. Grand Poker also has one of the best "Instant Play" browser based, "no download" poker clients out there. It is fast and responsive, just like the desktop software and unlike some Instant Play poker clients, it allows for fluid multi-tabling. This means that even Linux users can play on Grand Poker.
Games & Tournaments
All games on GPN are denominated in United States Dollars or USD. There are a variety of games offered including Texas Holdem, Omaha, and Omaha High Low. The games are offered in heads up, six max and full ring nine man configurations. All the popular no limit, fixed limit, and pot limit betting types are offered.
The Grand Poker Network is brand new, so the tournament offerings will not blow your socks off with six figure weekly guarantees. As it stands at the time of this review, the highest buy-in multi-table tournament is a fifteen dollar buyin. The largest guaranteed tournaments are $750 USD with a $7.70 buyin which runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The tournament fee structure is ten percent across the board, which is typical for the current offering of tournament stakes. Grand Poker has been running a promotion since 2015 that has a number of "no buy-in" tournament offerings with guaranteeds ranging from $50 to $500. For smaller stakes tournament players, this is a great opportunity to build a bankroll versus soft competition with no rake!
As a brand new network, this will be a great spot for micro stakes and small stakes poker players to duke it out with a very fishy player pool. In fact, the prior incarnation, the "pilot test" for Grand Poker if you will, was actually named "Fish Pond" in contrast to "Shark Tank" which was the old network, Winning Poker Network, that 5Dimes used to be a part of. In early 2016, 5Dimes and its sister companies, stopped being a part of WPN and started offering the GPN exclusively to their poker clients. Anyone signing up with Professional Rakeback will have access to Grand Poker, however Winning Poker Network is no longer accessible through the 5Dimes group.
GPN tournaments come in a variety of flavors including the traditional freeze out, rebuy and add on, shoot out, satellite, sit and go, freerolls and more. Players will find that their player points, earned at a rate of 250 per $1 paid in rake, will allow them not only to advance in monthly promotions, but will also purchase tournament and freeroll tickets.
Signing up for Grand Poker is a bit different than some other poker sites. At most poker sites one simply makes an account directly with the poker site. However, since Grand Poker is an internal network of the 5Dimes group, players must first create a main account, which is a sportsbook account, at one of the websites owned and operated by the 5Dimes group. There are three options by which players can access Grand Poker - SportBet, Island Casino, and 5Dimes. All options are the same with the exception of small website navigation differences and color schemes. The fast cashouts and payouts we have all come to expect are offered by all three skins, as they share the same cashier. Players simply need to choose a skin, sign up using the instructions below, and then begin playing at Grand Poker by transferring money from their main account to GPN. All three choices offered by Professional Rakeback are A+ rated all across the internet and score high marks in our Monthly US Poker Cashout & Payouts Report.
Step 1: Clear Cookies in your web browser. If you need help with clearing the cookies in your web browser, click the appropriate icon below and a pop-up window will detail the process for you. This step is MANDATORY or you may not receive your initial deposit bonus at this US friendly poker site!
Step 2: Click one one of these text links which will open a new window that allows you to create a Grand Poker Network rakeback account via SportBet - Island Casino - 5Dimes
Step 3: In the new window that opened after you chose a site to access GPN from, click on the appropriate sign up button 
(SportBet) 
(Island Casino) 
(5Dimes) to create your master account at your selected site. As stated previously, this will not be just a poker specific account, but will also give you access to the Casino, Sports Book and other offers from SportBet, Island Casino, or 5 Dimes.
Step 4: Maximum password lenth is 10 characters. Fill out the form ensuring that all information is correct. Even if you don’t want to places bets in the casino or sports book this information will be used for your poker account.
Step 5: After confirming your information a box with a personal identification number (PIN) included. It should look something like 5D123456789. This will be the code that you send to us to confirm that you are being properly credited and will allow us to help you more easily in the future.
Step 6: Click on the “Poker” tab on the far right along the top menu. Enter your PIN and password and click “login”
Step 7: You will be prompted to enter a username. While it says for Grand Casino, this will also be the one you use for Grand Poker. You will not use this username to login, its only purpose is to identify you at the tables. After you have chosen your desired name, click “submit.”
Step 8: The next screen will prompt you to download the client. Don’t be alarmed if the download moves slowly, this is standard.
Step 9: Skype or Email us your PIN and registered email address for confirmation of your new account.
Step 10: Deposit, then transfer funds from your main sportsbook wallet to your Grand Poker wallet to begin playing.
Cashier Information - Deposits and Withdrawals
The sites that host the GPN have a long standing reputation as A+ rated sportsbooks and casinos. That reputation being earned not only for excellent customer service, but also for extremely fast payouts and easy deposits.
Very few poker sites have as many free deposit and withdrawal methods as GPN does. For example both credit card and bitcoin deposits are free. Even for those methods that have a fee, there is a low-cost solution. Every Monday between 9am and 1pm EST, players can request any withdrawal and be credited back up to $40 worth of processing fees. Thus, if you wait until Monday to scheduel your withdrawals, virtually all withdrawals will be free! Please note, only one withdrawal per 30 days is eligible.
Deposit Methods
Credit and Debit Card, Person to Person (Money Gram, RIA, Western Union), Money Order, Bitcoin (we recommend this option), Sportsbook Transfer and Account to Account Transfer. It is best to ask Live Support for the current rates, as some of these options are only accessible during certian hours, and others have fees associated with them. Please note that WU deposit is not available to American customers.
Withdrawal Methods
Bank Draft (Checks), Bank Wire, Credit and Debit Card Refunds, Person to Person (Money Gram), Money Order, Bitcoin (we recommend this method), Sportsbook Transfer and Account to Account Transfer. Of note, if you have exclusively deposited with Bitcoin, you have the option of withdrawals of unlimited size. That's right, no limit whatsoever on withdrawal size!
Miscellaneous Questions and Answers
Is this new Grand Poker Network safe and legit?
SportBet, Island Casino and 5Dimes are independently audited by Michael Shackleford of The wizard of Odds Consulting, Inc. The Bonus Casino games are also audited monthly by Jacobson Gaming LLC. All audits have been Certified Fair Gambling approved and received RTP Certifications. These audits can be found on the 5Dimes, Island Casino and SportBet websites under domainname/bonuscasino_TRP[dot]html
By signing up to play on the Grand Poker Network players will also have full access to a world class reduce juice sportsbook and online casino games at all three of Professional Rakeback's GPN partner sites.
Grand Poker Country and USA state restrictions
Online Poker UK players will rejoice at the fact that despite the recent legal changes and challenges in the UK poker market, they are allowed to create accounts and participate in the online poker games that GPN has to offer. GPN is also a US friendly real money poker site offering some soft and juicy micro and small stakes poker action for our pro grinders to enjoy.
Grand Poker is open to residents of all 50 US states, even those that are traditionally excluded such as Washington, Missouri, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada, Kentucky, Maryland, and Louisiana. GPN is also open to all countries with the exception of France. Sorry France, you got 1 outered!
Software Requirements for Windows PC
Windows XP / Vista / Windows 7
Pentium 4 with 3 GHz (or compatible CPUs)
1 GB system RAM
Broadband Internet connection
Software Requirements for Mac
Mac® OS X 10.6.8 or higher
Intel® Processor
300MB available HD space
1 GB system RAM
Broadband Internet connection
1024X720 minimum display resolution