What Is Poker Rake? Simple Formulas, Examples & How to Beat It

Poker rake is a necessary evil that’s required to keep the games running. But just because it’s necessary, it doesn’t mean that you should ignore it. Rake considerations are an important part of being a winning player, as the rake you pay has a direct impact on your potential win rate. In this article, we’ll explain how rake works, how to calculate it, and how to find the poker sites with the best rake structures.

What is Rake in Poker?

Rake in poker is the percentage of a pot or tournament entry that a poker site takes for running the game. It costs money to create a platform, host servers, and employ people, so poker sites take a small percentage from the games they run to cover overheads and make a profit.

Generally speaking, the rake for online poker games is lower than the rake in live poker games. This is because the overheads of an online site are lower than those of a brick-and-mortar poker room, allowing the online platforms to offer a better deal while still making money.

Whether you play cash games or tournaments, it’s important to understand how the rake works before playing at a real money poker site.v

How Rake Works: Cash Games vs. Tournaments

Different poker formats handle rake collection in distinct ways; let’s see what the differences are.

Cash Game Rake

Cash game rake is a percentage of the overall pot, capped at a certain big blind amount. In our experience, most major poker sites charge between 3% and 5% rake in cash games. But how does that work in practice? Let’s look at an example.

BetOnline’s $0.25/$0.50 game charges 5% rake, capped at $3. This means that 5% of every pot will be taken by the site, up to a maximum of $3. So, if the pot size is $10, the site will take 5%, which is equal to $0.50. However, if the pot size is $100, the rake hits the cap of $3, so only $3 will be taken from the pot.

Generally speaking, cash game rake only applies to postflop pots. The majority of sites have a “no flop, no drop” rule, which means that rake is not taken if the hand ends preflop. The exception to this is GGPoker, which takes a rake if there has been a preflop 3bet.

The percentage taken and the big blind cap vary depending on the site, game, and number of players at the table, so it’s important to check the structure for the stakes you’re going to be playing. Let’s take a look at BetOnline’s rake structure for its $0.05/$0.10 (NL10) and its $0.25/$0.50 (NL50) Fast Fold tables.

BetOnline NL10 Fast Fold Rake Structure ($0.05/$0.10)

BetOnline NL50 Fast Fold Rake Structure ($0.25/$0.50)

(Exact figures vary by site; check the lobby rules before playing.)

Tournament Rake: Understanding Entry Fees and Buy-Ins

As poker tournaments are not played with real money, poker sites cannot take a percentage of each pot as they do in cash games. Instead, they take a “tournament fee” when you register for the event. 

For example, an $11 tournament usually has a $10 + $1 cost breakdown, where $10 of your entry goes to the prize pool, while the remaining $1 is taken by the poker site as the tournament fee. Percentage-wise, that works out at 9.1%, which is significantly higher than the rake you see at cash games.

Tournaments often have higher rake as you’re only paying the entry fee once, potentially playing for hours at a time, while cash game players pay rake for each hand they win.Visit our tournament rake structures page to learn more about how buy-ins are divided between prize pools and house fees.

Why Rake Hits Micro-Stakes Players Hardest

Counterintuitively, the rake at online poker sites is highest at the smallest games, and decreases as you move up stakes. This means that rake disproportionately affects players at the lowest stakes, where the majority of players spend their time. 

The biggest place where this is evident is the rake cap. At the lowest stakes, rake is capped at 15bb, which is almost ⅙^th of a starting stack. To contrast this, the rake cap in the highest stakes game is a fraction of a big blind. 
This is why it’s important to look at the cap in big blinds, rather than just the dollar amount. At $0.01/$0.02 (“2NL”), the cap might be just $0.30, but that represents a maximum of 15 big blinds per hand, compared to $8, which equates to 0.8BB at the $5/$10 game.

Just looking at the table can see how much worse it is for low-stakes players, but it gets worse when you extrapolate it across a session. In the comparison table below, you can see how quickly money gets taken off the table, assuming 1 max-raked hand per orbit.

The Hidden Cost of High Rake Caps

Using this simplified table, we can see that 7.5 buy-ins are taken off the table every 50 orbits at the lowest stakes games – and this doesn’t even account for hands that don’t reach the rake cap! This is why low-stakes poker is called a “rake-trap.” It’s hard to be a winning player when so much money is taken off the table during your sessions.


How to Adjust to High-Rake Environments

One of the ways to become a winning player and make it out of the microstakes is to adjust your game to the high-rake environment. Your strategy in these games should be designed to minimize the impact that rake has on your win rate. 

Cash game rake has the biggest impact on your results when it’s below the cap. Once the cap has been met, any additional money that goes into the pot is essentially rake-free. Here are some strategies that you can use in your games to avoid being raked below the cap:

• Play a 3bet or Fold Strategy Preflop – If you’re playing on a “no flop, no drop” site, you’re incentivized to play a 3bet or fold strategy from most positions. When you cold call, you’re significantly more likely to see a flop, which means that the pot will be raked. By 3betting, you have the chance to take the pot down rake-free, or you get to play a bigger pot with a range advantage over your opponent, making it easier for you to hit the cap.
• Avoid Limping – Limping is one of the worst things you can do in a high-rake environment, as you’re seeing a flop with a low starting pot size. When the pot’s only 3-4bb going into the flop, it’s extremely difficult to hit the rake cap by the river.
• Increase Your Big Blind Squeeze Rate – When you play hands in the big blind, you’re more likely to see flops, as you’re getting better pot odds to call a raise, particularly if another player cold calls. However, a lot of marginal hands become breakeven or losing when you factor in rake and having to play out of position. By increasing your squeeze percentage, you win more pots preflop (without rake), and you’re in a much better position to win the pot if you get called.

Poker Site Rake Comparison: Which Sites Charge Less?

Understanding the differences between the rake at major poker sites helps you choose the most cost-effective platform for your stakes. Choosing the best-value option can be the difference between being a winning player and a losing player, so have a look at the structures of some of our top-reviewed sites:


Pro tip: If you’re a lower-stakes player, you should look for sites with lower rake caps and more generous rewards over slightly softer competition. The difference can add multiple BB/100 to your win rate.

When evaluating poker room offers, it’s important to grasp the trade-offs between different reward structures. Our guide to comparing rakeback and bonuses helps you choose the option that provides better long-term value for your playing style.

How to Get the Most Rakeback: VIP Programs and Promotions

When comparing rake structures of each site, you should also look at their rakeback offers. These promotions give you back a percentage of your rake based on the amount you play during a week, month, or year. Most sites offer between 5-25% for casual players, while the highest-volume players can get up to 60% rakeback.

These programs reduce the effective rake that you pay and should be part of your calculations when deciding where to play. In fact, a strong rakeback program can even mitigate a larger rake structure if the rewards are good enough. Let’s look at an example to illustrate this.

As you can see, despite having a higher cap and a higher rake percentage, you actually pay less rake at Site B thanks to its stronger rakeback program.

One important thing to note before choosing a site based on its rakeback program is the minimum rake requirements. Many sites require you to rake a minimum of $25 per week to be eligible for rakeback rewards. This prevents players at the lowest stakes from benefiting from these programs.

If you’re currently grinding $0.01/$0.02 (2NL) or $0.02/$0.05 (5NL), we recommend prioritizing sites with lower rake caps and percentages over higher rakeback programs. If you play $0.05/$0.10 (10NL) or higher, you’re more likely to benefit from these rewards.

To help you make the most of these rakeback programs, our experts have offered some tips for you to follow:

• Opt into VIP programs immediately.
• Focus volume on one site to climb reward tiers faster.
• Take advantage of rake races and leaderboards.
• Schedule sessions during double-point or “Happy Hour” promos.

Advanced Rake Management Strategies

Smart players take steps to reduce the impact of the rake on their win-rate, helping them grow their bankroll and move up the stakes. To help you do the same, we’ve provided three proven methods to minimize your rake burden while maximizing your returns.

Single-Site Strategy

The best way to maximise your rake rewards is by focusing your play on a single site. Many sites increase your rake rewards based on volume, so playing a small amount of volume across multiple sites will reduce your rewards.

Timing Your Sessions

Many sites offer promotional periods with enhanced rewards, so try to plan your sessions around these times. Doubling your rakeback rewards can turn you from a breakeven player into a winner, so it’s worth looking out for these offers. Some of the best promotions to look out for include:

• Double VIP point weekends.
• Happy hour promotions during off-peak times.
• Monthly reload bonuses that effectively reduce your rake burden.
• Seasonal campaigns with boosted reward multipliers.

Volume Optimization

 It’s common for poker sites to have a staggered rakeback system that offers rewards at set milestones, rather than a set percentage. For example, a site may give you $5 in rakeback if you rake at least $25, but if you only rake $24, you get $0 in rewards.

If this is the case, it’s important to plan your volume around your rakeback rewards. If you’re only a couple of dollars away from your target, it’s worth putting in a quick session to unlock the next level of rewards. Similarly, if you know you’re a long way from your target, you may be better off waiting until your rewards reset.

Smart Rake Management: From Break-Even to Winning Player

While rake is an annoying part of the poker experience, you can limit its effects on your win rate by taking the proper steps. Choosing sites with lower rake percentages and smaller caps will keep more money on the table, while rakeback programs help you get back some of the rake that you pay. Remember, the rake can be the difference between being a losing and a winning player, so compare the rates across our recommended online poker sites to find the best places to play.

Jordan Conroy

Author

View All Posts By Jordan Conroy

Jordan started writing about poker in late 2020 after discovering he could combine his passion for explaining things with his favorite game. He continues to stay on top of the newest poker theory and the latest goings on in the poker world to deliver top-quality content. While poker is his biggest passion, he also closely follows soccer, snooker, and F1.

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