- What is Poker Rake?
- Cash Game Rake in Depth
- Tournament Rake in Depth
- The Rake Calculator – How It Works
- Worked Examples
- Advanced Considerations
- Key Takeaways
- FAQs: Rake Calculator
Stop treating rake like background noise. It’s the biggest opponent in every game you play. A small percentage of each pot or fee can completely erase your edge, especially at micro and small stakes. This guide explains exactly how rake works in cash games and tournaments, shows you how to calculate its impact in bb/100 and ROI terms, and highlights when rakeback or site selection makes the difference between winning and losing.
What is Poker Rake?
Rake is the house fee for running poker games. It’s not optional, and it comes straight out of the pots you play or the buy-ins you enter.
- In cash games, rake is usually a percentage of each eligible pot up to a maximum cap.
- In tournaments, rake is the fee on top of the buy-in (e.g. $100 + $9).
- In sit & go’s and satellites, the same principles apply but rake can be proportionally higher.
Your task as a player isn’t just to beat opponents, it’s to beat the rake structure too.
Cash Game Rake in Depth
Percentage + Cap
Typical online rake is 4–5% per pot, capped at $2–$3. At micros, the cap is smaller in dollars, but relative to the blinds, the bb/100 cost is enormous.
No Flop, No Drop
Some sites only rake if a flop is dealt. This dramatically reduces rake in tight games, especially heads-up pots that end preflop.
Rake Attribution
- Contributed (weighted): You pay in proportion to what you put in raked pots.
- Dealt: Everyone at the table pays equally, even if they folded.
- Hybrid models: Some sites adjust between the two.
This means your style matters: loose players pay more under contributed rake; nits pay more under dealt rake.
Rake to bb/100 Conversion
Why it matters: your true winrate isn’t chip EV, it’s chip EV minus rake.
Example calculation at 50NL:
- Big blind = $0.50
- Average rake you personally pay per hand = $0.07
- $0.07 / $0.50 = 0.14 bb per hand
- 0.14 × 100 = 14 bb/100 rake cost
If you’re beating the pool for 6 bb/100 pre-rake, you’re actually losing 8 bb/100.
Tournament Rake in Depth
Buy-in + Fee
Every MTT buy-in has two parts:
- $X goes to the prize pool.
- $Y is the fee.
For a $109 event ($100 + $9):
- Rake percentage = 9 / 109 ≈ 8.26%
ROI Tax
If your skill edge generates 15% ROI in a rake-free world, the 8% fee cuts your achievable ROI almost in half.
Final Table and ICM Impact
Because tournament equity is already nonlinear, rake pressure compounds:
- Min-cashes get heavily taxed.
- Deep runs absorb rake better.
- Satellites and turbos exaggerate rake’s effect since survival is already valued highly.
The Rake Calculator – How It Works
Inputs (Cash)
- Stakes (blinds)
- Rake % and cap
- No-flop-no-drop setting
- Attribution method
- Your VPIP/PFR (for contributed rake)
- Hands per hour
- Rakeback %
Outputs (Cash)
- Average rake you personally pay per hand
- Rake cost in bb/100
- Rakeback recovered in bb/100
- Net winrate adjustment
Inputs (Tournaments)
- Buy-in + fee
- Pre-rake ROI assumption
- Rakeback or rewards %
Outputs (Tournaments)
- Effective rake %
- Net ROI after rake and rewards
- Break-even ROI target
Worked Examples
Cash: 25NL (0.10/0.25 blinds), 5% rake capped at $1
- You VPIP 22% and see a flop 16%.
- Average pot size when you continue = $9.
- Rake per pot = min(0.05 × 9, 1) = $0.45.
- Contribution share = 50%.
- Expected rake you pay per hand ≈ $0.45 × 0.16 × 0.5 = $0.036.
- Per hand in bb = 0.036 / 0.25 = 0.144 bb.
- Over 100 hands: 14.4 bb/100.
Even with 30% rakeback, you’re paying 10 bb/100 net.
Tournament: $55 MTT ($50 + $5)
- Rake percentage = 5 / 55 = 9.09%.
- Pre-rake ROI = 20%.
- Net ROI = 20 – 9.09 = 10.91%.
- With 10% rakeback, ROI recovers to ≈ 12%.
The difference is whether you can sustain variance with half your ROI stripped away.
Advanced Considerations
Stake Scaling
- Micros: rake is proportionally highest. Beating 10NL for more than 5 bb/100 is extremely tough.
- Mid stakes: rake cap often reached, reducing marginal tax on bigger pots.
- High stakes: absolute dollar rake is higher, but relative bb/100 cost is lower.
Table Size and Speed
- 6-max and Zoom tables play more hands per hour = more rake/hour.
- Full-ring games rake less per hour but offer fewer edges.
Style Effects
- Loose players pay more under contributed models.
- Nitty players suffer under dealt rake.
- Aggression helps: winning pots preflop avoids rake entirely.
Key Takeaways
- Rake is not just background, it is often the largest obstacle to winning.
- Always convert rake into bb/100 (cash) or ROI (tournaments).
- Game selection and site choice matter as much as skill.
- Rakeback reduces but doesn’t erase high rake.
- At micros and small stakes, you must either crush the field or move up quickly to sustainable structures.
FAQs: Rake Calculator
What is considered high rake?
Anything over 10 bb/100 at common stakes or 10%+ in MTTs is considered crushing.
Why does rake matter more at micros?
Small pots relative to the cap mean you’re paying 5–6 bb/100 even before playing badly.
Can rakeback make an unprofitable game beatable?
Sometimes. A 30% rakeback deal can turn a −2 bb/100 reg into a breakeven player, but rarely into a winner.
Do live games have lower rake?
Not always. Many live cash games charge time-based rake or very high per-pot percentages at low stakes.
Should I avoid high-rake formats?
Yes. Spin & Go’s, hyper turbos, and micro MTTs often have the steepest rake. Unless you have a big edge, focus on softer, lower-rake formats.