Introduction to Rakeback



When online poker players play at an online poker site, they are paying a sort of rent or table tax called rake. If you play online poker, you need to know about rake in order to pick a site that lets you make more money when you win. You can do this by signing up with an online poker site through a rakeback affiliate.



What the Rake Is in Online Poker



Most games of chance follow a design that allows the House to win. This is how casinos stay in business and make their money. Even if one person has a lucky streak, other players will lose enough so that the House makes up for it. Online poker works differently, though. Online gaming sites do not need to worry about who wins or loses in games like Omaha and Texas hold’em because they will collect a percentage of the pot regardless of which player wins. This percentage is called the rake.



The Logic of Rake

All players contribute to rake, even if they don't win a pot. This is because each player who gets a hand has certain equity in each pot, and the rake reduces that equity. However, because only the winner collects each pot, other players are not expected to notice the rake. Meanwhile, the winner is usually happy with the 95 percent of the pot he or she has collected.



The Reality of Rake

The truth is that rake costs all players money and reduces the win rate. If there were no rake, good players would win more and less skilled players would lose less. Rakeback promotions can reduce the rake and let that win rate rise.

The Reality of Rakeback

Rakeback affiliates allow you to sign up with a new online poker site and get rake returned to you at the end of the month. You simply use the rakeback affiliate to sign up with the site for the indicated rakeback percentage. As you play on the site, your contributed rake is catalogued. At the end of the month, your percentage applies to the rake you have contributed and the result is refunded to your poker account.