Rake Comparison Poker Sites

Rake is the tax of the poker world. It’s the only way poker sites make money off games like poker in which the house has no advantage.

• Ignition Poker Rake
• Poker Rake Definition
• Standard Poker Rake

On this page, I have listed a few poker sites that have reasonable rake policies. These are the poker sites that you should visit first if you play poker frequently and would like to minimize the detrimental effects of the rake. Below, you can read more about how the rake works at various poker sites.

Rake is generated from tournaments by charging a fee that isn’t added to the prize pool. In a $10+$1 tournament, for example, $10 of each buyin goes towards the prize pool while the additional $1 is kept as income for the poker site. Rake Policies at Major Poker Sites. This next section will explain how the rake works at major poker sites. This Online Poker Rake Comparison and Rake Calculator shows how much rake players effectively pay when playing online poker cash games and which poker sites are the least and most expensive. When playing online poker cash games, approximately 5% of each pot is retained for the provider.

This table is ranked according to the average rake in no-limit and fixed limit games. To create these rankings, I looked at two factors: the average rake and maximum amount raked from each pot. This isn’t the most scientific approach, but I think the above table represents, in order, the best low rake poker sites for most players.

It’s important to compare both the rake % and the cap. For example, BetVictor charges what looks like a jaw-dropping 10% on micro stakes no-limit games below 0.05/0.10. This would be ridiculous on its own, but the cap per pot is just 0.10 which is quite a bit lower than the industry average. You’ll have to see the rake charts below to get a better indication of which poker site is the best for your exact game-type.

Tournaments are raked about 10% across the board, but it varies quite a bit from site to site and game to game. So for now, the focus on this page remains on cash games. I will do a similar page with a focus on SNGs/MTTs at some point in the future.

The effects of the rake aren’t apparent from hand to hand, but believe me; the rake has a huge impact on your long term rate of return. Playing in high rake games is akin to giving your money away. To prove my point, I submit the picture below:

This is a screenshot that shows about 200,000 hands I logged in PokerTracker during a period of high volume play. This picture is ancient, but the point it makes remains true to this day. If you look over to the second column from the right, you can see that I paid a total of $21,544.20 in rake over that stretch of time. I could have bought a new car with all that rake!

How the Rake Works

Poker sites make money by keeping a small percentage of every pot in cash games and charging players a small fee to participate in tournaments. The house has no stake in who wins or loses.

Cash games

In cash games, the house sets aside a portion of every pot and keeps that as its source of income. The percentage ranges from about 2.5% to 5% depending on the site, stakes and number of players at the table.

Another thing you should note when comparing the rake in cash games is the “rake cap.” This cap states the maximum amount each poker site will take out of any single pot. The lower the cap, the better.

Tournaments

Ignition Poker Rake

On average, tournaments come with a rake of about 10%. Rake is generated from tournaments by charging a fee that isn’t added to the prize pool. In a $10+$1 tournament, for example, $10 of each buyin goes towards the prize pool while the additional $1 is kept as income for the poker site.

Rake Policies at Major Poker Sites

This next section will explain how the rake works at major poker sites. The purpose of detailing all this for you is to help you make the best decision for your style of play. You will find that the best low rake poker sites for cash games are not the same as the best sites for tournaments.

Rake policies can be fairly complicated with sites charging varying amounts based on the game type, number of players and stakes. Most poker sites don’t actually express the rake as a percentage. Instead, they have a policy that states something along the lines of “$0.01 of every $0.20 is kept as rake.” This works out to about 5% over the long run, but the percentage can vary because the rake only bumps up when each pot reaches the next increment.

If a pot reaches exactly $1.00 for example, a poker site with the rake policy detailed above would keep $0.05 for a rake of exactly 5%. However, a pot of $1.19 would still only be charged $0.05 because the pot hasn’t yet reached the next increment (which would be $1.20). Larger increments work out better for the player because the rake only bumps up at each increment.

How Much Rake is Appropriate?

This is kind of a subjective topic to tackle, but I do have a few opinions on how much rake is “appropriate.” I don’t mind that the rake exists – poker sites have bills to pay too. What I do mind is excessive rake that serves no purpose but to drain money from the poker economy.

A rake of about 10% is appropriate in MTTs and SNGs.

Sadly, it is the small stakes players who get hammered on rake the most. If you don’t play at the right poker site, you can find yourself paying 20-25% in rake for micro stakes SNGs and MTTs. I know that PokerStars, for example, has $1.00 SNGs in which $0.80 goes to the prize pool and $0.20 is kept as rake.

The rake in cash games varies based on stakes – or at least it should. Low rake sites charge lower percentages at low stakes tables to give the player there a viable game that doesn’t just suck money from everyone.

No-flop, no-drop is a policy that should be in effect as well. This policy states that if the hand doesn’t make it to a flop, no rake is taken from the pot.

The best thing you can to do minimize the impact of the rake is to use the charts above to choose the poker site that has the lowest rake for your preferred game. The site that’s best for low stakes low limit games may not be the best site for no-limit heads-up ring games. Choose the site that works best for you.

Stock Poker has lowest rake of any licensed online poker site

Our cash table rake across all levels & limits only 2.5% and capped at one big blind.

This is in some cases ten times less than other online platforms.

Our tournament fees are always 5% or less.

No rakeback schemes or tricks on Stock Poker. Just the lowest rake available.

How much are you paying in Rake?

Poker Rake Definition

Please research your platform yourself, and if you are playing in a club ask your agent.

Nearly all platforms offer some type of rakeback deal.

Most rakeback promotions have hard to achieve playing thresholds that are often not achieved by most players.

Again check you site or ask your agent on just how much rakeback are you achieving from that rakeback promotion.

Stock Poker: 2.5% with 1BB cap across all stakes and all games.

Standard Poker Rake