Rake in Poker

As rake is a very basic term, it is important for players to understand its mechanisms. Rake is a fee that is charged by the host of the game for services rendered. Most of the time it is a percentage of the pot being played.

Rake is also associated with rakeback, which is one of the most important mechanisms of communication between a player and a rakebacker. Simply put, rakeback is a cashback for the players, through which they recoup part of their commission. Since rakeback can be as high as 70 percent, many online poker players choose to play at a given room based on rakeback levels.

Types of rakeback

In poker, there are the following types of rake:

• The Pot Rake. This is a small portion of the pot that is raked in at the end of the hand. Most often the size of this rake is in the 5-10% range.
• Dead Drop. Some gambling houses use this type of rake to ensure that all players receive the same commission. Rake in this case is negotiated in advance and is required prior to the start of the hand.
• Timed Collection. A good alternative to the rake discussed above. Players pay their commission at regular intervals – e.g. every 20 minutes.
• Fixed Free. Most often used in High Stakes games. Fixed Free – Fixed Commission paid from any pot.
• Tournament Free. One of the most popular rake types. It usually represents no more than 10% of the buy-in. However, the percentage can decrease as the number of entries into the game increases.

Features of rake calculation

It should be stated upfront that rake is hardly ever applied by gambling houses today. However it is necessary to remind the principle of commission calculation: rake in this case is distributed between the players in proportion to their fees.

• The method of calculating rake is divided evenly among the participants. In this case the players who left the game until the moment of accepting bets do not pay the commission. The contributed method is popular among game organizers today. For example, it is used in the most popular poker tournament organised by PokerStar.
• Another method of calculating rake is called dealt. It involves redistributing the commission among the players who have received cards. For example, in a party there are 6 poker players, and the amount of rake is 6 euros. As the result each player has to pay €0.5.

Understanding how rake is calculated and paid out helps players not only to develop an optimal spending strategy at the table, but also to choose a poker room with the lowest commission.