Rake

The rake is the fee a cardroom or poker site charges to host the game. In cash games it is usually a small percentage taken from each pot, up to a maximum (the "cap"). In tournaments it is built into the entry fee.

Unlike casino games, players in poker compete against each other, not the house. The rake is how the house gets paid.

How Cash Game Rake Works

Most rooms take a percentage of each pot, often somewhere between 5% and 10%, up to a cap. Live cardrooms often take around 10% with a cap of a few dollars, sometimes plus a small extra drop for promotions like bad beat jackpots. Online sites often take about 5% with a lower cap at small stakes.

Many rooms use "no flop, no drop": if a hand ends before the flop, no rake is taken.

Tournament Rake

Tournament buy-ins are often shown as two numbers, like $100 + $10. The $100 goes into the prize pool and the $10 is the fee. That is a 10% rake on the entry.

Why Rake Matters

Rake comes out of every pot, so it is one of the biggest costs a poker player faces, especially at low stakes where the cap is rarely reached. A player can be better than their opponents and still lose money if the rake is high enough.

Rakeback

Some sites return part of the rake to players as rakeback, either as a flat percentage or through a loyalty program. For regular players, rakeback can make a big difference to their results.

Examples

• A $60 pot with 10% rake capped at $5: the house takes $5.
• A $100 + $10 tournament: $100 goes to the prize pool, $10 is the rake.

Related Terms

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