Which poker room to choose? The player has to evaluate many factors, among which rake is not the last one. Indeed, the size of the winnings from each distribution depends on the rake. The lower this value, the greater the percentage of winning, and vice versa. Therefore, in this article we invite you to get acquainted with the main ways of withdrawing rake by rooms, as well as with rooms that remove the minimum rake.
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Ways to collect rake
Throughout the entire existence of online poker, the rake collection system has progressed and improved. However, in different poker rooms completely different methods of collecting commission fees can still be used. This allows players to choose the most profitable room for themselves and lose less money on rake.
So, let’s take a look at the most popular ways to collect rake. Dealt is one of the first rakeback systems. The same amount of money is debited from each player, regardless of whether he took part in the deal, or discarded cards pre-flop without investing a cent in the bank. Undoubtedly, such system is mostly unfair, because players have to pay a commission on money that they did not even play. For example, at the table 9-max two players fired, the rest folded. The percentage of rake will be collected from the account of all 9 players. This rake method has not been used by poker rooms for a long time, although the PokerKing room refused it only in 2017.
Simple Contributed – a more advanced, but still biased rake collection system, consisting in the fact that the commission is withdrawn only from those players who have invested money in the bank. Regardless of the size of the invested funds, the rake is distributed equally to all. For example, the players in the small and big blind folded, the other two players all-in. The commission will be equally distributed among all four players.
Weighted Contributed is the most common rake method today. In accordance with this method, rake is distributed in proportion to the money invested in the bank. Most rooms now use this particular system.
Actual – a method in which the entire rake amount is paid only by the player who won the hand.
Source Based Rake (SBR) is a recent rake deduction method that iPoker rooms are actively using. This system is aimed at attracting recreational players and is not so beneficial to regulars. The fact is that when calculating rake, the source of the money invested in the bank is taken into account – a deposit or a win. In the first case, the rake will be significantly higher than in the second. Consequently, the player who spent the money from the deposit will receive an increased rakeback.
Here is an example of rake calculation using the SBR system. Suppose that the first player plays with funds from a deposit, and the second with a win. Both contributed equal amounts to the bank and the total rake was $ 5. If the rake was calculated using the Weight Contributed method, then both players would split the rake equally – $ 2.5 each. However, the SBR method takes into account the source of the money, so $ 3.5 will be debited from the first player, and $ 1.5 from the second. Therefore, the rakeback will be great for the player playing on deposit money.
The SBR system accurately takes into account how much money was contributed and how much was won when calculating rake. For example, if a player made a deposit of $ 100 and at the time of distribution his bankroll was $ 130, then the rake for him will be less than the standard value. If after the same deposit on his account is $ 60, then the rake will increase. The sizes of money won and deposits are also compared. For example, if both players play for winnings, then the greater rake will be written to the player with a smaller share of the money won. Undoubtedly, such a system will be more beneficial for those who regularly lose and often make deposits. Players with profits will have to be content with a small rakeback.
True Value Rake – a rake collection system in accordance with the performance of each player. With this method, experienced players who plus write themselves less rake than amateurs. The system automatically analyzes the history of the hands and determinse who reg and who is the fish, respectively distributing rake. For example, with a total rake of $ 5, an amateur can be recorded $ 4, and a reg can get only $ 1.
Loser rake collection system used by Lotus Poker Room. With this method, the rake is being recorded on the players in accordance with the size of their loss. According to such a system, a player who won all hands in a session will not receive rake at all, and therefore he will not receive rakeback.
When choosing a poker room, you also need to consider such a value as cap in rake. It shows how much maximum rake is limited. For example, if the cap is $ 5, then regardless of the size of the formed bank, the commission of the room cannot be higher than $ 5. So, with a standard rake of 5% and with a bank of $ 200, the room commission should have been $ 10. However, if there is a cap of $ 5 rake, only $ 5 will be withdrawn from this pot, not $ 10. Thus, it is more profitable to choose rooms with a low cap.
Rake in different poker rooms
The leader of the online poker industry, PokerStars, raises a rake from each hand that reaches the flop, 4.5-5% in size, depending on the discipline and the limit played. Caps are $ 1.5-3.5 for both Hold’em and Omaha. Although rake and caps are standard here, this poker room is considered very disadvantageous, because the rakeback is too small – 1-5%. In addition, there are no rake races and there are no other ways to return part of the rake.
PartyPoker
In the PartyPoker poker room, like in PokerStars, the rake is calculated according to the Weight Contributed system. At all limits the rake is standard and equals to 5% of the bank. But the cap differs depending on the limit. At NL2-NL10 tables, the rake limit is $ 1. On NL20-50 tables, the cap is $ 2. At higher limits, the rake cannot exceed $ 3. PartyPoker compares favorably with Stars with a high rakeback – our players can return up to 60% of the rake.
- No Russian regular grinders and bots
- All the kinds of poker presented
- Lots of action at all stakes
- Fast cashouts
- Comfortable software
- Anonymous tables with amateurs
- Equal low rake at all stakes
- Trackers not allowed
888Poker
888Poker also uses the Weight Contributed system to calculate rake. The size of the rake depends on the limit and poker format played and ranges from 5 to 6.25%. The maximum size of the rake collected is limited to a cap of $ 1- $ 5. Rakeback in this room reaches 10%.
- Amateurs from Asia
- High stakes heads-up tables
- very weak fields in expensive games
- Cashier via agent
Betfair Poker
In iPoker, the rake is calculated using the Sourced Based Rake method, i.e. the amount of commission depends on the source of money – deposit or winnings. Despite the focus on fans, iPoker rooms will be interesting for regulars as well. For English-speaking players, there is Betfair Poker room with good support, convenient payment systems and peak traffic falling in the evening Moscow time. Here the size of the rake is also 5%. Caps in the room are among the lowest. For example, for limits NL10-NL25, the cap is 0.6-1.5 euros, and for limits up to NL100 the maximum limit is 3 euros. In this case, players can expect a return of up to 40-45% in the form of rakeback.
- All the variations of poker
- High traffic at all the stakes
- Fast cashouts
- Comfortable software
- Weight-contributed rake system
PokerKing
The rooms of the Winning Poker Network use the standard rake accounting system – Weight Contributed. The rake here is fixed for all limits and amounts to 5% with restrictions from 0.5 to 3 euros. In the flagship room of the network, PokerKing, one of the most favorable conditions for playing in SNG in the format of a tour and hyper-turbo, as rake in such tournaments is lower than that of most competitors. In the SNG jackpot rake is 6%. Our players can receive rakeback up to 70%.
- Many recreational players from US
- Good rakeback
- Good PLO and MTT-traffic
- Second and succeeding cashouts in the month have additional fee of 5%
GGPoker
GG Network is an actively developing poker network that attracts with its weak field and favorable gaming conditions. GGPoker is one of the best online poker rooms targeted at the European audience. It removes the standard rake of 5%. Restrictions depend on limits and fluctuate in a wide range – from $ 1 to $ 20. Due to the high rakeback, players can return more than 50% of the rake collected.
- Recreational players from Asian countries
- Very weak fields at all the stakes
- Push or Fold tables
- Direct cashier
- Poker software is prohibited
- No heads-up tables
TigerGaming
Although the American Chico network removes the highest rake from the reviewed rooms and networks – 5.5%, it has an important advantage – a weak field of players from the USA and Canada. There is also a relatively low cap – $ 1- $2 at the NL10-NL25 limits and $ 1.5- $ 3 at the NL50-NL100 limits. Players registered in the rooms of the Chico network through the PokerProDeals website will be able to receive increased rakeback of up to 60%.
- Recreational players from US and Canada
- Good traffic
- Fast cashouts (within 24 hours)
- 7.5% of the deposited amount is deducted from the rake
- Paid converter for stats display
- No Russian regular grinders and bots
- All the kinds of poker presented
- Lots of action at all stakes
- Fast cashouts
- Comfortable software
- Anonymous tables with amateurs
- Equal low rake at all stakes
- Trackers not allowed
- All the kinds of poker presented
- Lots of action at all stakes
- Good sng and mtt traffic
- Comfortable software
- Good bonuses for new players
- Very slow support
- No HU Tables
- Lots of action at all stakes
- Reliable partner
- Comfortable software
- Good Rakeback
- No OFC Poker
- Many recreational players from US
- Good rakeback
- Good PLO and MTT-traffic
- Second and succeeding cashouts in the month have additional fee of 5%
- Recreational players from Asian countries
- Very weak fields at all the stakes
- Push or Fold tables
- Direct cashier
- Poker software is prohibited
- No heads-up tables
- Recreational players from US and Canada
- Good traffic
- Fast cashouts (within 24 hours)
- 7.5% of the deposited amount is deducted from the rake
- Paid converter for stats display
