As a poker player, with more or less experience, there are a number of terms in this game that you will have to master perfectly in every game you play if you care about your winnings. Two of them are rake and rakeback.
If you are not familiar with these terms yet, the truth is that they have important implications in every hand you play and you have to take them into consideration, especially rake, to decide if you have chosen the right game.
Do you want to know what is the importance of rake and rakeback in poker? We tell you!
What is rake in poker?
Simply put, rake is the commission that the poker room takes for hosting a game. This commission is used to finance the costs of the service and its maintenance. So we could say that it is money well invested.
As you can imagine, each poker room sets its own rake. Hence, at the beginning of our post, we have emphasized the importance of knowing it to assess whether or not you are interested in playing the game.
In general terms, the poker rake is usually a small percentage of the pot. That is why it is only charged at tables where real money is played and it is only paid by the player who wins the pot. Does that mean that those players who do not win the game are not charged rake? Yes, it does.
As we have mentioned, each poker room establishes its own commission, so it is interesting to know it beforehand. If you are wondering if we can establish an average rake in poker, the answer is yes.
Average rake in poker
When analyzing the conditions of poker rooms, casino or gambling houses, you can find different conditions regarding rake.
Regarding the rake in poker, in addition to the fact that, in general, it is only charged if the hand reaches the flop, the percentage charged to players is usually around 5% of the pot, although everything depends on the stake you play.
In this sense, it is worth noting that the micro and low stakes charge a higher commission, while in the medium or high stakes, the commission is usually lower in comparative terms. In the case of the former, the rake percentage tends to be around 3%-6% of the pot.
It is also important to note that depending on the modality you play, Limit or NL, the rake percentage also varies. For example, in the case of limit tables, it is usually charged .25$ for every 5$ in the pot up to a maximum of 3$ of rake that corresponds to a pot of 60$.
This maximum limit is what is known as CAP and is basically a ceiling that prevents the rake commission from being too high. For no-limit tables, rake is usually charged at $0.05 for every $1 in the pot up to a maximum of $3.00 rake.
If this rake concept has left you with a bittersweet taste, you will be happy to know that rakeback is the percentage of the rake that is from.
What is rakeback in poker?
As we mentioned before, rakeback in poker is the percentage that is returned from the commission that the player has been charged and receives in the form of points exchangeable for prizes, bonuses or whatever the room offers.
As we can see, rakeback is closely linked to rake, so the more rake you generate, the more rakeback will be returned to you. That is why rakeback tends to benefit especially regular poker players, although the truth is that it depends largely on the promotion or reward system to which you are attached in the room in question.
So, just as we found different rake percentages, we can also speak of different levels of rakeback and that, undoubtedly, you have to consider because it directly influences the earnings you receive. What types of rakeback can you find? We can divide them into two models:
- Direct rakeback: as its name suggests, we are talking about a reward that the player earns directly as, for example, through a welcome bonus or other promotions of the rooms. Direct rakeback can be further broken down into three types: dealt rakeback, flat rakeback and progressive rakeback. The latter is the most common, the more you play, the more cashback you get.
- Indirect rakeback: perhaps the one that is becoming more and more popular in the poker world. It is the one you get through the increasingly popular rake races. You can also find this rakeback model in lucky jackpots of the room itself or poker app (chests, roulette wheels, etc).
Regardless of the type of player you are, whether you have more or less experience on the green carpet, rakeback has to be in your focus because, ultimately, it is a source of extra profits.
