Rake in poker apps is the fee charged by the app itself (the “club”) from the pot. The rake is usually taken from the pot before the winner receives their payout. This makes sense because the rake is essentially the app’s way of making money off of each hand played.
It is worth noting that different tables on the same app may charge vastly different amounts per rake. This is simply because each club has its own rules regarding how much to take from the pot.
Key Information Needed to Understand Rake in Poker Apps
In order to understand the rake being charged by a particular app, you will need three key pieces of information:
- The rake percentage
- The rake cap
- Your rake back deal.
Let me define them for you:
- rake percentage: the percentage of the eligible pot that will go toward rake.
Example: 5% - rake cap: the maximum amount of rake that can be collected from a single hand.
Example: 3BB (big blind) - rake back: the percentage of rake paid back to the player by his/her agent or club.
Example: 25%
How Rake in Poker Apps Is Calculated
Here is how rake in poker apps is calculated:
Take a Table that charges 5% rake with a 3BB cap. Let us say that there are two hands being compared, hand #a & hand #b. Hand #a has a pot of $20 (20BB) and hand #b has a pot of $100 (100bb). Both hands have an effective rake of 5%.
- On hand #a ($20), we get: 5% * 20 = 1 big blind ($bb)
- On hand #b ($100), we get: 5% * 100 = 5 bb
However, due to the cap of 3 bb, hand #b gets a maximum effective rake of 3 bb.
As a rule of thumb, when it comes to rake in poker, the cap can potentially make a bigger difference than a few percentage points.
Typical Cash Game Rake Structure and Caps
Cash game rates typically fall within a range of 3%-8%, although some tables may charge upwards of 10%. Caps typically range from 1 bb to 10 bb, while others may have no cap at all. Again, these are just examples of typical club terms and not fixed rates for PokerBros, Club GG, etc… Be sure to check the specific Table terms for each stakes and game type. We list out each club and union’s rake schedules, which clearly illustrate how far apart club terms can actually be.
Why Losing Players May Appear to Pay More Rake in Poker Apps
Another reason that rake in poker apps may appear larger for losing players vs. Winning players is based on how the club reports rake contributions. There are two ways that a club can assign rake contributions to players:
- Weighted by each player’s contribution to the pot
- Based on each individual player’s loss
When a losing player has more rake contributed to him/her based upon how he/she lost (i.e., contributing to another player’s win), they will likely end up with more reported rake. Conversely, the winning player(s) will contribute less to the loser’s reported rake and thus will have less reported rake themselves.
This rake system was recently introduced to ClubGG and can be tweaked by club-owners, while PokerBros has always been using this method to reward losing players more.
Additionally, in cases where clubs allow admin to set a % weightage between the two options, this can create additional variability. Therefore, even though the actual amount of rake taken from the pot remains constant regardless of who won/lost the hand, a losing player’s reported rake will sometimes appear greater than a winning player’s reported rake. As such, it is essential to review the actual terms of the rakeback offer in addition to just reviewing the stated % rakeback figure.
How Rake in Poker Apps Changes When Tables Are Short-Handed
Most private clubs cut their rake in half when tables are short handed. Meaning when 2 players are only left to play from traditional multi-seated table.
A common method is to split both the percentage and cap in half. For example, a Table charging 6% rake with a cap of 4 bb may cut both down to 3% and 2 bb respectively during short handed games. Review the table rules prior to counting on reduced rake.
If you frequently start games or play heads-up, then the full-Table rate should give you little insight into what you’ll pay at a short-hand Table.
The Poker App with Highest Rake ?
Out of the most popular club poker apps, PPPoker clubs often charge the most rake.
It is especially evident in some of the CIS clubs where the fees can reach 10% and the cap can be 10BB as well. Make sure you grab a solid PPPoker rakeback deal, to be able to beat the rake. Of course, there are also many PPPoker clubs which have normal rake structures.
Club terms can vary significantly between apps and formats. Quality of lineup can greatly impact your experience as well. A soft table with high rake may still be worth playing; however, a tough Table with similar rake may not.
Prior to starting to play, we recommend confirming with your agent both the rake and rakeback offered. Rake in poker apps represents an initial cost; rakeback represents the refund you receive each week or month.
Are Games Soft Enough to Make Uncapped Rake Worthwhile?
Indian and Israeli ClubGG clubs can feature extremely weak lineups. However, many of these clubs operate without caps on their rake. With smaller pots, differences in percentages may seem negligible; however, large pots with uncapped rakes result in significant losses over time.
For example, at 5% uncapped, a $200BB pot results in $10bb paid towards rake whereas at 5% capped at $3BB it results in $3BB.
Softer lineup conditions must offset the added expense associated with no cap. Before committing to participate in either Indian or Israeli ClubGG games (and prior to accepting any offers for either game), confirm whether there are caps involved, what other Table-related fees exist and/or request clarification regarding these aspects as needed.
In short, rake in poker apps can be high, but the majority of the time, it is worth checking the lobbies out, even if initially the fee structure seems too steep.
Rake Structure in OFC ( Open Face Chinese Poker )
Open face Chinese poker or ofc generates relatively low levels of rake relative to busy hold’em and Omaha cash games. As such, prior to participating in either game or any combination thereof you should confirm how each respective club charges for each format and do not assume that each respective format follows standard pot-based raking procedures.
Although OFC does generate less rake than other formats, do not assume that all clubs utilize similarly low levels of raked revenue.
The fact that ofc generates less creditable rake means that users should anticipate less absolute chip rakeback at the same level of competition as other formats. For instance a 50% rakeback offer on 20 chips of creditable rake provides 10 chips; however, the same offer on 100 chips yields 50 chips.
Even though the deal percentage is identical for both scenarios, the creditable rake generated by each scenario differs.
How Rebates and Taxes Affect Chip Value
Besides rake in poker apps, certain private clubs impose rebates/taxes on chip settlements in addition to collecting table-related rake. Similar to how club terms regarding credits for rake-back vary from club to club and format to format, so too can rebates/taxes on chip settlements impact the value of chips received upon closing out wins and losses as well as the value of credits for rakeback received.
These are independent variables from percentages taken from each pot.
For example, under a 15% rebate/tax settlement; 100 chips may settle at approximately 85 units of currency. However; depending upon how your agent handles settlements for wins/losses/rakeback; values may be impacted.
Requesting examples showing both weekly wins & losses and weekly rakeback will provide clarity on the overall value provided by any given offer.
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