Poker Rake & Fees

What is Rake?

Poker is the only casino game to be played against other players, not the house. The house makes money off of poker by employing a “tax” on every hand (usually around 2.5%-10% of the pot up to a cap). This tax is known as “rake” and it helps the house compensate for the lack of direct advantage it typically enjoys against players in all other games.

Poker tournaments are a little different. Tournaments (especially online) allow a large number of players to compete in a game of elimination for a portion of the prize pool. The prize pool is made up of everyone's buy-in minus the entry fee (usually 10% of the buy-in). Though this may not seem like much, the entry fee means that the house is making almost as much as the second place winner for every single tournament that they host. These fees add up quickly, especially for average, small-stakes players.

Websites like SharkScope, show the impact these fees have on a player’s game over time.

This player appears to have lost $10,460 over their last 1,400 games

When rake is accounted for, the players total earnings are actually +$1,600. Over $11,000 were paid in house rake.

To put it into perspective: An average cash-game player playing consistently at $1/$2 blinds pays about $12/hour to the house in rake. In just a month of play they could pay more than $350 in rake alone. As the stakes increase so does the amount of rake you are paying to the house with consistent $10/$20 players paying over $20/hr on some networks and upwards of $50/hr on others.

While you might assume that the most noticeable and profitable games for the house would be the higher stakes tables and tournaments, these games are sometimes given preferential treatment in order to incentivize play. Percentage-wise, it is players of the average stakes that bear the brunt of rake and fees.

Over the last two decades, poker has increased in popularity, with large tournaments and high stakes cash games being televised to showcase the value and complexities of the game. This has normalized the rake and fees taken by the house among players at all levels. Despite increased online competition, there has been little progress in favor of the players, leaving people to accept the game as it is and just assume that there is no better option.