partypoker’s new top tier of their VIP program aims to reward high volume players with increased rakeback.

In an online poker landscape where many sites are cutting rewards and scaling back cash bonuses to high volume players, partypoker is reversing the trend with the implementation of their new Diamond Club VIP Program.

Players that earn 100,000 points over the course of a calendar year will qualify for Diamond Club status, which is at the top of the Cashback Loyalty Program that was implemented by the site. Players who meet the requirements will earn at least 50% rakeback along with other bonuses.

The change comes after Mike Sexton, the new partypoker Chairman, laid out 10 commitments he’d like to deliver to the poker community. One of his goals was to “reward players who start games and keep the action going.”

Sexton wants to reward the regular players and the Diamond Club does that by rewarding regulars over all of the different poker variants. Players can qualify for this level of rewards by grinding cash games, Multi-table tournaments, Sit & Gos, Fast Forward and Sit & Go Hero games.

Since this is a program to reward high volume players, partypoker decided to have a respected poker pro oversee the program.

Former #1 overall player on PocketFives and current partypoker Ambassador Patrick ‘Pleno1’ Leonard will oversee the operations of the club. Leonard, who is currently 12th on the PocketFives worldwide leaderboard, will be a point of contact for players, consulting with them on improvements to the system, the software and the overall product that partypoker is putting out.

“I joined partypoker initially because management promised me they would have the player’s best interests in mind and invest in the poker community,” said Leonard. “The Diamond Club will be an important part of this strategy.”

Leonard hopes that with the implementation of this level of rewards, partypoker will change the poker ecosystem for the better, rewarding those who keep the action going on the site.

“Over recent year, I have unfortunately seen certain online sites punish regular players who start games and encourage predatory regulars to prey on amateur players and weaker players,” said Leonard. “The Diamond Club will reward regulars who start games and continue games and not reward these predatory regs who jump into a game for a small amount of time when they believe their win rate is sky high and sit out when the weaker players has gone broke.”

While other programs have shifted away from rakeback based reward programs, Leonard doesn’t feel that any of the new innovations in reward programs have worked. He thinks the best way to run a rewards program is to reward your most loyal customer base.

“I’ve seen a lot of people who don’t have a background in poker try and come up with ‘revolutionary’ ways to improve loyalty systems and not surprisingly, most of them have failed,” said Leonard. “Quite simply, those who want to support partypoker and make this their home for playing poker will be rewarded generously.”

In addition to the extra cash rewards, Diamond Club members will receive a dedicated Customer Support line on Skype, which is available 24/7.

Once achieving Diamond Club status with partypoker, players will have their additional Diamond Club rakeback and VIP bonuses deposited into their account every Monday on top of their normal rewards. If a player earns the required amount of points in less than 12 months, they will begin receiving benefits immediately.

Sign-up now for partypoker.com to take full advantage of the Diamond Club VIP Program.