[RAKE-RAKEBACK] How Much Do Online Poker Sites Take?

What is poker rake?

The rake is a fee collected by the gaming operator to finance operations and pay taxes. Rake is collected upon registration for tournaments or Sit & Go games and at the end of each hand in Cash Games. The rake amount depends on the gaming venue (live or online), the stakes being played, and can be capped.

Why is rake high in France?

The rake is the only way for gaming operators to finance their operations. The rake allows gaming operators to pay for:

• their employees (dealers for live games, developers for online platforms)
• their infrastructure costs (equipment and venue for live games, servers for online platforms)
• their marketing operations (advertising, welcome offers for new players or reload bonuses, loyalty programs through rakeback)
• the overlay of certain tournaments with guaranteed prizepools
• research and development of new formats like Expresso/Spin & Go, Hit & Run...
• mandatory public levies from the French government

Rake: The French Government and Poker

Since the opening of the online poker market in France in 2010, the law requires a levy of approximately 2% capped at €1 on poker stakes played.

Thus, without disregarding the principle of equality, the total taxation for poker (State + social security) could be set at 2% of stakes with a limit of €1 per hand pursuant to Articles 47, paragraph 13, and 48, paragraph 6, while the rates for horse racing and sports betting were set at 5.7% for the State (Art. 47, paragraph 12) and 1.8% for social security (Art. 48, paragraphs 2 and 4) ― noting that the referred law proceeds to standardize the tax base by considering the volume of stakes.

This government levy serves as a kind of VAT on poker.

When you buy a product like a pizza, 5.5% of the price you pay goes directly to the government.
In the case of a computer, 19.6% of the computer's price goes to the government.

This money collected by the government is then used to fund social security to combat gambling addiction and help finance culture through sports initiatives, for example.

Different Forms of Online Poker Rake

There are two forms of rake in online poker:

• In MTTs and Sit & Go games, the fee is collected at registration
• In Cash Games, the rake is taken directly from the pot after each hand

Rake in MTTs and Sit & Go Games

The rake in MTTs and Sit & Go games (classic or Expresso/Spin & Go) corresponds to a percentage of the buy-in. This is the simplest fee system to understand.

For example, with a €1 buy-in, €0.90 goes to the prizepool and €0.10 rake is collected by the gaming operator. Some rooms prefer to have rake on top of the buy-in, so the buy-in would be €1.10 with €1 for the prizepool and €0.10 rake.

For Expresso/Spin & Go games, the rake is less visible as it's not directly indicated at registration. You can find the rake by looking at the jackpot distribution and calculating the expected value of an Expresso/Spin & Go. The rake is the difference between the buy-in and the expected value divided by the number of players at the table.

Example: 3 players paying €1 buy-in, the expected value of the game is €2.70 before the Jackpot draw. We have €1 - €2.70/3 players = €0.10 rake

Cash Game Rake

The Cash Game rake is a percentage of the stakes directly taken from the pot at the end of each poker hand. To prevent the rake from being too high, this percentage is almost always capped, meaning it cannot exceed a fixed value. The rake cap depends on the number of players at the table, the stakes being played, and the game variant.

Another Way to Think About Rake

This rake format is implemented by poker rooms to comply with French law.

A rake in the form of a fee on deposits or withdrawals could have been considered. This type of rake would be a significant barrier for players who would better understand that to be profitable, they must first win back what was taken in fees.

The current rake system is almost invisible to players, which is very advantageous for poker rooms. The risk is that when players discover the rake, they might feel "cheated".

What is "no flop no drop"?

"no flop no drop" means that if a hand ends pre-flop, there's no rake. The gaming operator doesn't collect anything but must still pay the 2% government levy from their own pocket. The majority of online rooms have implemented "no flop no drop".

When the market opened, Bwin decided to keep a 2% rake for hands that didn't reach the flop to pay the tax imposed by Arjel. This seems to have ended now following player complaints, and Bwin appears to apply a real "no flop no drop" policy, absorbing the 2% tax themselves.

Capped Rake on Micro-Stakes and High-Stakes Cash Games

Let's compare a hand played at a 5-player table with a 5.75% rake capped at €0.40 in NL2 and capped at €3 in NL400.

5.75% Rake Capped at €0.40 in NL2

With a Big Blind of €0.02, the rake cap of €0.40 corresponds to 20bb.

Given that the rake is 5.75%, you would need a pot of more than 347.8bb to reach the cap.
To get this result, simply divide the cap by the rake percentage: 20bb/5.75% = 347.8bb in the pot

To reach the cap in a hand at a 5-player NL2 table, you need 347.8bb in the pot, in other words, almost 3.5 buy-ins, which rarely happens.

The majority of NL2 hands at a 5-player table will have 5.75% of the pot taken as rake and won't reach the cap. We can easily say that approximately 5.75% of your winnings are taken in NL2 on a 5-player table.

5.75% Rake Capped at €3 in NL400

With a Big Blind of €4, the rake cap of €3 corresponds to 0.75bb.

Given that the rake is 5.75%, you would need a pot of 13.5bb to reach the cap.
To get this result, simply divide the cap by the rake percentage: 0.75bb/5.75% = 13.04bb in the pot

To reach the cap in a hand at a 5-player NL400 table, you need 13.5bb in the pot. A pre-flop betting round and a flop C-bet usually reach 14bb in the pot.

The majority of NL400 hands at a 5-player table will have €3 taken from the pot as rake, reaching the cap. We can easily say that approximately €3 of your winnings are taken in NL400 on a 5-player table for each won hand.

The Verdict on Rake Between Micro-Stakes and High-Stakes

Let's assume that out of 100 hands, we've seen the flop and won 20 hands with an average pot of 25bb at the end of each hand.

In NL2, from each 25bb pot, 5.75% is taken, which is 1.4375bb per won hand where we saw the flop. We saw the flop in 20 hands, so we paid 28.75bb in rake.

In NL400, from each 25bb pot, €3 is taken, which is 0.75bb per won hand where we saw the flop. We saw the flop in 20 hands, so we paid 15bb in rake.

The verdict for Cash Games: the lower the stakes and the bigger the pot, the more impactful the rake is.
Conversely, the higher the stakes and the smaller the pot, the more negligible the rake becomes.

What is rakeback?

Rakeback is equivalent to a traditional loyalty program offered by online poker rooms. By bringing profits to the room, they reward the player by giving back a small portion of their profits in the form of points to spend in a store or direct cash.

Rakeback is very effective from a marketing perspective, as it transforms rake into a way to get rewards, making it appealing to players. The real cost of rake isn't felt at its true value thanks to rakeback.

Some rooms offer rakeback that can be calculated mathematically, like Winamax.fr. Other rooms, like PokerStars, prefer to have a low and competitive rake without offering rakeback, instead using a loyalty system that includes elements of chance like Stars Rewards.

Personalized Rewards
Receive rewards you'll want to use in the games you love to play, based on your profile, when you play real money games across all our available products.

This type of system rewards weaker or losing players by offering them more gifts, encouraging them to play more, while good players who generate volume end up with less interesting rewards proportional to their stakes.

Which room has the best poker rakeback?

As mentioned before, rakeback depends on rake. A room with low rake will have lower rakeback. The best poker rakeback is the one that isn't necessary because the poker site takes very low rake.

Rake and Rakeback: The Winamax Case Study

We'll start by studying No Limit Hold'em Cash Game at different limits. The rake will be applied on 5-player tables with pots going to showdown. All information will be taken from Winamax's VIP program rules.

We'll express the rake in Big Blinds to make it proportional to the stakes played. We'll perform detailed calculations for NL2. To more easily compare rake between different limits, all data will be presented directly in a table.

Here's the procedure for our case study:

1. Presentation of rake percentage and cap in euros
2. Calculation of the Big Blind equivalent of the cap
3. Calculation of the pot size needed to reach the cap
4. Definition of the function determining the rake cost based on pot size
5. Calculation of rakeback based on Winamax Miles multiplier corresponding to Winamax VIP status
6. Calculation of the real rake cost after subtracting rakeback

Presentation of Rake Percentage and Cap in Euros

Winamax's rake is 5.75%, regardless of the limit. In NL2, the rake is capped at €0.40.

Calculation of the Big Blind Equivalent of the Cap

In NL2, the Big Blind is €0.02, the Big Blind equivalent of the cap is

Calculation of the Pot Size Needed to Reach the Cap

To reach the cap, the rake of 5.75% on the pot must be greater than 20bb. We're looking for the pot size where 5.75% rake equals 20bb. To find this, we divide the cap by the rake percentage and get

Definition of the Function Determining Rake Cost Based on Pot Size

The goal is to define a function that determines the rake expressed in Big Blinds based on the pot size. We can split the function into two parts: when the pot is 347.8bb or more, the rake is 20bb, and for a pot less than 347.8bb, the rake is 5.75% of the pot size. Mathematically, we can write it as:

Calculation of Rakeback Based on the Multiplier Coefficient Corresponding to Winamax VIP Status

To calculate rakeback, we need to define the portion of rake that comes from us and is therefore attributed to us for rakeback. In a pot where only 2 players have invested chips, the rake share is 50% each. We're looking for the number of Miles earned based on the rake and the multiplier coefficient for Miles earnings. By default, the multiplier coefficient 1 means €1 of rake = 3 Miles in Cash Game.

Since we express rake in Big Blinds, we need to multiply it by the value of one Big Blind to calculate the rakeback. We get the rakeback based on rake in euros and the coefficient through the following function:

Calculation of Real Rake Cost After Subtracting Rakeback

Winamax Miles can be exchanged in the Winamax VIP store for cash starting at 385 Miles for €5, decreasing progressively up to €5000 for 333,330 Miles. We will arbitrarily set a conversion rate of €1 for 75 Miles (which is lower than the actual store price but allows us to smooth out lower prices for larger volumes).

We obtain the real rake cost by deducting the earned rakeback:

Let's Estimate and Compare Rake Across Different Winamax Limits!

By entering the pot size and Miles multiplier coefficient, the results update in the table. The colored lines correspond to the limits where the rake is capped for the specified pot size.

We can see two trends emerging that confirm our previous calculations:

• The bigger the pot, the higher the rake expressed in Big Blinds
• The lower the limit, the higher the rake expressed in Big Blinds

This graph shows the rake expressed in Big Blinds relative to pot size.

For NL1000 and NL200, the rake is immediately capped when the pot exceeds 25 Big Blinds, resulting in a rake that is very small proportionally to the pot size.
For NL50, the rake is capped starting from slightly over 100 Big Blinds. A significant portion of hands will therefore have capped rake.
For NL10 and NL2, the rake is capped from 300 Big Blinds and above. Almost all hands at these limits won't have capped rake and will see 5.75% taken from the pot.
If the average winning pot is 20 Big Blinds, this equals 1 Big Blind in lost potential earnings per hand that goes to showdown for these two limits.

The Impact of Rake on bb/100 Hands Without Rakeback

The higher the bb/100 hands, the higher the rake until it becomes capped.

For 10bb/100 before rake, the net result after uncapped rake is 9.425bb/100
For 100bb/100 before rake, the net result after uncapped rake is 94.25bb/100

Playing NL5000, the impact will be 0.08bb because the rake is automatically capped as soon as the pot reaches 2 Big Blinds. With 10bb/100 before rake, we get 9.92bb/100 after rake, which is negligible

Tournaments and Rake

As in Cash Games, the rake for tournaments with a small buy-in is proportionally higher than for tournaments with a large buy-in. On Winamax, the rake ranges from 10% to 6%. For tournaments, €1 of rake equals 4 Miles to spend in the VIP store.

Rake is an Invisible but Beatable Enemy

When learning to play poker, the rake is almost invisible at the table but its presence has a real impact on winnings. It is still largely beatable as demonstrated by all poker players who start at the lowest limits and climb them one by one by simply being better than others.