Rakeback in Poker - How Rakeback Works for Poker Players

Rake is a tool used by poker rooms to make a profit and rakeback is when they offer it back to poker players as an incentive to play their poker games.

Explaining the concept of rakeback

Rakeback is basically the money that a player gets given back from part of the rake that he or she originally paid. The rake is the original fee the cardroom takes from the player. This rebate normally comes from a non-cardroom, third party source, like an affiliate (which is an individual who signs up players and earns money from that player’s rake). So basically the rakeback is the refunded money owed to a player.

How rakeback is paid

There is no one set way that a rakeback is paid. It comes through many different sources via online poker rooms, affiliates or real, live casinos. Ofteimes direct money payments for online poker play are used but with real, live casinos, rate cards are more the norm. It is found that it is much easier to use rate cards for tracking and rakeback payment.

How rakebacks usually work in practice

Rakebacks are usually “offered” by the casino and the offer usually ranges from about 25 to 40 percent. This is standard but sometimes such offers can be even larger. The more a player rakes, the more they will ultimately be refunded. So sometimes it is worth it for a player to put in an initially high rake.

Advice for players to improve their rakeback

For players to have a chance of getting a rakeback, they would be best advised to sign up at a poker room through an affiliate. It is important for players to check out the different affiliates and which ones provide the best deals for players. It is important to note that the site offering the rakeback will take a couple of percent (read the fine print for specific details) of the total rake, but most of it goes to the player. Each site is different so be careful.

Make sure you get the best rake, depending on what game you play

Players should be aware that different poker games have different deals for rakeback. A player will make more rake with shorthand poker for example as more pots are involved, making more rakes. Playing at more than one table at a time also means more hands and thus more rake. So players would be well advised to play with rakeback when they are involved in a lot of pots. But ultimately all players must be aware that the rake is how the online poker sites make most of their money. So even if you’re going to get a rakeback, it’s the house that has the advantage in this one. The house always takes a percentage of each hand for itself so be careful.

Why it’s so important for players to understand rake and rakeback

Very often players are not careful and have thus not familiarized themselves with rake and rakeback. What happens in such a situation like this is that the sites anyway automatically take the rake and the people remain in the dark. And this has a huge impact on their play as not only does he or she have to beat the other players at the table but the rake as well. So one who might have won money if there weren’t any rakes, ultimately loses due to the house fee. So watch out and read the fine print!