Poker Rake

By Wagercomms

The difference in Poker Rake Systems

The business aspect of online poker is that operators charge a small fee for each poker hand played, based on the pot, and this is referred to as rake.

In some low limit games operators don't rake unless the pot reaches a certain level, but in general most hands reaches a level in where a rake is taken from the pot, and while rake numbers can be converted to percentage levels, rake is commonly presented at fixed numbers per pot size. The interesting aspect is however the way operators and software producers determines a players participation in the pot, as this is having an effect on loyalty points and rakebacks, especially for high volume players.

Rake Systems

In general there are two methods of calculating rake that operators (software producers) use, dealt and contributed. To confuse the matter even further the dealt system is sometimes referred to as contributed, and where the actual contributed rake system is referred to as weighted contribution, hence we will break down the details of the two enabling you to easily identify the various methods.

Dealt Rake System (contributed)

The dealt method will calculate rake based on all players being dealt cards in the hand. This means that the total rake for that hand is then equally divided by the number of players who were dealt cards, regardless of how much each player have betted into the pot. It is argued to be less fair and to promote tight play.

Contributed Rake System (weighted contribution)

The contributed method is similar but calculates rake based on players betting into the pot. This means that the total rake for that hand is proportionally divided between the players based on the amount contributed to the raked pot. The contributed system is argued to be less fair as it promotes aggressive play.

Tight and Aggressive

The novice to poker may wonder what the argue is about, two system, one promoting tight play, and the other promoting aggressive play, what is the actual difference?

In short tight players supports the dealt system (contributed) as it gives credit to the raked pot regardless of how much they have actually spent in the pot, they were in the game etc.

The aggressive players supports the contributed (weighted contribution) system as it gives credit based on the actual amount they have spent in the pot, they were in the game and contributed etc.

The real impact of the two systems is the fact that most poker rooms offers some sort of loyalty scheme to its players, based on raked hands, hence the dealt system credit tight players more points than aggressive players, and the weighted contribution credit aggressive players more points than tight players. In general the discussions means little, as most operators (software producers) today supports the weighted contribution, and those yet not doing so is looking to shift.

Still the actual amount raked from the pot should be of higher importance than the different rake systems, as the latter mainly deals with loyalty points per raked contribution, and is secondary to the actual raked amount.

The Actual Rake

Playing online poker operators business is to supply technology, software, support and staff in managing operations, and where rake are the operators revenue stream.  

Operators have also for long adopted a no rake policy, unless the pot reaches a certain level, and rake is also capped at a maximum level. This could in fact be compared to the weighted contribution, as operators take rake when players contribution have reached a certain level, and they stop when the pot reaches a cap level.

Some operators and games also take into consideration the number of players in the hand, in where the max rake is in relation to the number of players, and a "no flop, no drop" policy, whereby no rake is taken if the hand ends before the flop, again this could be compared to weighted contribution.

Applied Rake

Taking a look at the general rake models used by poker rooms there is mainly two ways to apply rake, or a combination of the two, that is commonly used.

One being rake taken from the pot per a predefined level that is in relation to the pot size, and which is commonly applied in Fixed Limit games, and where the no flop and no drop policy applies.

Table Limits 0.5-1 and 1-2

Pot Size              5           12           20           Max 

Rake              0.50       0.25       0.25                 1

Table Limits 2-4, 3-6, 4-8, 5-10, 6-12 and 8-16

Pot Size            20          30          40              50              60              Max

Rake                    1       0.50       0.50           0.50           0.50                   3

Table Limits 10-20, 15-30, 20-40 and 30-60

Pot Size            40          50         70              100           Max 

Rake                    1        0.50     0.50                  1                 3

The other is rake taken in relation to the number of players in the game and pot size, and which is commonly applied Pot Limit and No Limit games, and where the no flop and no drop policy applies.

Number of Players              Rake per Pot                                  Max Rake

Players 2-3                           0.05 for each 1.0 in the pot                         1

Players 4-5                           0.05 for each 1.0 in the pot                        2

Players 6-10                          0.05 for each 1.0 in the pot                        3

No Flop No Drop

Commonly the no flop and no drop policy is applied in that pots are not raked unless the flop is seen, (Hold'em and Omaha etc) and pots are not raked unless the hands gets to fourth street (Stud, Razz etc).

Standard Rakes

While the above charts shows a max rake between and 1 and 3 there are several variations between poker rooms, at least in how it is presented, and where some poker rooms sets the max rake at 0.5 on low limit games (0.5/1), while on high limit games (100/200) the cap is set at a higher max rake of 5. However the 1 to 3 cap levels can be said to be used as standard levels, and first rule on rake is that the applied rake structure should be easily accessed and clearly presented.