Rake is the fee a poker room charges for running the game: a small percentage of each cash-game pot, up to a cap, or a fee added to a tournament buy-in. Rakeback returns part of that fee to you, through the room's rewards scheme or, where the room allows it, an affiliate deal. For a regular player, rake is the biggest cost in the game.
How rooms take rake
- Cash games: a percentage of each pot, up to a maximum per hand. The rate and the cap can change with the stakes and the number of players at the table.
- No flop, no drop: many rooms take nothing from a hand that ends before the flop.
- Tournaments: a fee on top of the buy-in. In a £10 + £1 tournament, £10 goes into the prize pool and £1 to the room.
- Live card rooms sometimes charge a fee for your seat every half-hour instead of raking pots.
Why rake hurts most at low stakes
Take a room that charges 5% of each pot, capped at £3. The cap rarely comes into play in small games, so the full percentage applies:
| Stakes | A 40-big-blind pot | Rake at 5%, £3 cap | Rake in big blinds |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0.05/£0.10 | £4 | £0.20 | 2 |
| £0.50/£1 | £40 | £2 | 2 |
| £1/£2 | £80 | £3 (capped) | 1.5 |
Real rooms usually set lower caps at the smallest stakes, but the pattern holds: measured in big blinds, players in the smallest games pay the most rake. That is why rake and rakeback matter most to micro-stakes regulars.
How rakeback works
- Flat cashback: a fixed share of the rake you pay, returned weekly or monthly.
- Tiered rewards: points for every pound of rake, exchanged for cash, tickets or bonuses, with better rates as your volume rises. Some tiers reset every month.
- Races and leaderboards: prizes for the players who earn the most points or play the most hands in a set period.
- Affiliate deals: some rooms let affiliates pass part of their commission back to players. Many ban it and run only their own rewards, so check the terms.
Rooms also differ in how they credit rake to you. The dealt method splits each pot's rake equally among everyone dealt in, which suits tight players who fold often. The contributed method credits only players who put money in the pot, usually in proportion to how much they put in.
Working out what you really get back
Add up everything you received in a month, counting tickets only at the price you would have paid anyway, and divide it by the rake you paid. A player who paid £200 in rake and got £40 in cash plus £10 in tickets they used is getting 25% back. Our example review shows how we present this for each room. Before you choose a room for its rewards, ask:
- Is the reward paid in cash, or in bonuses and tickets with conditions attached?
- Do points or tiers expire?
- Is rake credited by the dealt or the contributed method?
FAQs
What is rake in poker?
Rake is the fee a poker room charges for running the game. In cash games it is a small percentage of each pot, usually up to a maximum per hand; in tournaments it is a fee added to the buy-in, such as the £1 in a £10 + £1 tournament.
What does no flop, no drop mean?
It means the room takes no rake from a Hold'em or Omaha hand that ends before the flop, for example when everyone folds to a raise. Many online rooms work this way, but not all, so check the room's rake page before you play.
Is rakeback worth it?
For regular players it adds up: someone paying £200 a month in rake who gets 25% back receives £50 a month. For occasional players it is small change, so choose a room for its games and rake first, then compare the rewards.