Everything You Need to Know About Poker Rake
Playing poker is a whole lot of fun and there’s little wonder why it’s been played for over 1000 years, according to some historians! But playing online poker, which is obviously much more recent, is one of the most fun things Aussies can do in their own loungeroom. You still get all the challenges, and you don’t have to leave your home!
It doesn’t matter if you’re playing poker in the casino or at home on the computer, the company that runs the casino still has to run itself – and that’s where a little thing called poker rake comes into play. If you’ve never heard of poke rake, it can be a little confusing, so let us break it down for you to help you understand it a whole lot better.
What Is An Online Poker Rake?
An online poker rake is the fee that online casinos, like Ignition Casino, charge through the games. Obviously, we’re a business. And like any business, without an income – we can’t survive. So, in order for us to survive, we need to take a small amount from each hand that’s played. That is a poker rake.
The amount we keep varies and it is generally $0.01 for every $0.20 per game. This amount varies and we have various rates for each circumstance. It’s generally capped – with a two player cap averaging $0.50, a 3-4 player cap at $1 and a 5+ player cap at around $2. Our rates vary, so we’ll talk about that a little later.
Types of Poker Rake
A poker rake basically allows us to continue to provide you with quality games. There are a few different types, including the pot rake, dead drop, timed collection, fixed fee and tournament fee. There is also an option for no rake. Here’s how each one works.
The pot rake is based on the dealer removing a small proportion of the pot after a hand is completed. It’s most common for money to be taken from the pot if the hand makes a flop, but if a player raises a pre-flop and everyone else that’s playing folds, there’s no rake taken. The player who wins pays the rake from their winnings. Often, the total amount taken in pot rake is 5-10%. This is the preferred method of online games. Most online casinos have a cap on pot rakes, which is good for players. An uncapped rake can be expensive.
The dead drop refers to the player paying an agreed fixed rake to the dealer before the hand commences. This ensures everyone pays the same amount of rake and it is mostly used in live games.
A timed collection is a fixed rake that’s collected at intervals throughout the game. For example, a rake may be set up to be taken from players every 15 or 30 minutes into the game. With this type of rake, all players are paying the same, which is better news for the winner.
A fixed fee is another poker rake option that will generally result in 5% to 10% being taken from the pot. These are more often used in games that have higher stakes simply because players don’t want to pay a huge amount of a large pot.
The tournament fee is standard for online poker players because they have to pay this to enter the tournament. The average amount is 10%, though this can decrease if there are a number of players signing up. This fee is charged on top of the prize pool, keeping fees and prizes separate, and it covers dealer costs, referees and general event costs at a live casino. So when you sign up for an online poker tournament, you’ll see the buy-in fee is usually something like $10+1. That means your stake is $10 and the rake fee is $1.
Obviously, the most popular option for players is no rake, though this doesn’t benefit casino owners. A good way to avoid paying the poker rake is to look for promotions, particularly for tournaments. It will decrease the cost to play. Tournaments that offer free-rolls or zero buy-ins are not raked. You can also find some online casino games that offer fully rake-free poker.
Ignition Casino Poker Rake
We don’t hide anything at Ignition Casino. Our poker rake is 100% transparent, and we’re very open if you want to know the rules and calculations. Want us to prove it? Keep reading.
As mentioned earlier, it’s generally $0.01 for every $0.020 that’s in the pot. Our revenue is capped per hand, which means you get more profits from each pot the bigger it gets. The actual cap though depends on the table type, the game and the stakes at play.
For example, a heads up game, we have a maximum rake of $1.
For a fixed limit, our max rate starts at $0.10 at the 0.05 and $0.10 tables. This increases up to $1 for the $1.00 and $2.00 tables. If the stakes are above that, the maximum rake depends on how many players there are and it’s capped at $3. It also changes depending on the number of players, with a max rate of $3 when there are more than six players.
You can see it in more details via the table below.
If you’re playing a pot limit or game with no-limit, the stakes increase. This includes $0.10 to $0.25 range from a max rake of $0.50 up to $2. Again it depends on how many people are playing the game. For stakes that are above that level, the max rate is anywhere between $1 and $4. See the table below.
At Ignition Casino we have a poker rake calculator that runs every hand that’s played. It’s automatic and calculates how much rake is owed, then deducts it. If you win then, you get whatever is left sent to your “chip stack”.
How can I maximise my profits?
So obviously if every player is paying a percentage of every game to the casino owners, you’re going to lose money. If there are 100 people playing a $100 tournament, the prize isn’t going to match up to $10,000 because the casino owner is taking a percentage of the total figure. Say you win $1000, but you only receive $900 – it can be a big hit to your bank, and your ego. So just prepare yourself for it. The more tournaments you play, the more poker rake you pay. You can’t do anything to stop it, but you can minimise the rake by not playing live games. You’ll also find poker Rakeback could give you more money in the end. Never heard of poker Rakeback? Here’s a run down.
Poker Rakeback is the only way you can get back some of the money you have paid as fees. For example, if you spent the week playing online casino and you paid $100 in rake, you might find a Rakeback deal for 20%, which means you get $20 back.
Different online casinos offer various deals that allow this feature. For Ignition Casino, we offer a VIP Rakeback deal, along with a number of other bonuses such as rewards systems, deposit bonuses and cashback numbers.
Other ways you can maximise your profits include:
- Avoiding games that have high rake caps
- Not playing uncapped games
- Make sure you know the rake percentage and max cap on the game you’re playing
- Play timed games and play more hands
- Avoid smaller stakes at tournaments as they tend to have higher rakes
Poker Rake With Ignition Casino
You can’t avoid rake in most games of online poker. If it didn’t exist, online casinos wouldn’t exist either. You’ll find all types of poker have this, including Poker rake and Vegas poker rake, you’ll even find an underground poker rake exists with all games.
If you’re starting out with online poker, don’t start by betting all your hard-earned money on the one hand. Start small. Play with a couple of dollars here and there and learn the game. Once you get your skills in order, you can up the ante and start betting more money and playing a wider variety of games.
Online casinos are designed for fun. Don’t take them too seriously with strategies. The whole joy of not having to put on a tux and head down to The Star in Sydney is hard to beat. And it’s not just about the tux – you don’t even have to put shoes on (or your pants if you really don’t want to). But we believe in responsible gambling and we want you to be careful. Set yourself a limit before you get online and stick to it. Don’t go overboard and if you’re on a losing streak, turn off the computer or mobile and come back to it another day.
Shop around on Ignition Casino to find a game that suits all your requirements. We’re quite upfront about our rake so you know what you’re getting. You’ll find an abundance of poker games available, including all your favourites like Texas Hold’em poker. We have a selection of live casino games, and we offer some fantastic online poker bonuses. Just by signing up with us, you’ll qualify for a huge pot of bonus money after making your first deposit.
Gamble responsibly and enjoy yourself. Now go have some fun!
