How is poker rake calculated?

Each network has three variables: percentage, cap, and drop rule. The percentage is taken from each pot up to the cap. Nearly every site uses no-flop no-drop, meaning rake is only collected on hands that see a flop. GGPoker also collects on 3-bet pots that end preflop.

What does bb/100 mean in poker rake?

bb/100 is the number of big blinds paid in rake per 100 hands played. It maps directly to your win rate — a room charging 4 bb/100 in rake requires a 4 bb/100 win rate just to break even. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive room is often 2-3 bb/100.

Which poker site has the lowest rake?

It depends on your stake and table size. At micro and low stakes, WPT Global and CoinPoker typically have the lowest effective rake. At higher stakes where caps matter more, the ranking shifts. Use the calculator above with your exact stake and player count for an accurate comparison.

Does rakeback offset the rake difference between rooms?

Partially. Rakeback returns a percentage of rake paid, but it rarely closes the full gap between a high-rake and low-rake room. A room charging 6 bb/100 with 30% rakeback still costs more than a room charging 3 bb/100 with no rakeback. Toggle rakeback in the cost calculator to compare net costs.

How does tournament rake differ from cash game rake?

Cash game rake is a percentage of each pot, capped at a maximum. Tournament rake is a flat fee at registration (e.g., $100+$9 is 9% rake). You pay it once regardless of how long you play. The range across major rooms is 7% to 15%, with meaningful differences at higher buy-ins.

What is net rake in poker?

Net rake is the amount of money you actually spend in rake relative to the pots you play, calculated from real pot size distributions. Because of rake caps and the no-flop-no-drop rule, net rake is always lower than the formal rake percentage. The gap widens at higher stakes where caps bind on a larger share of pots.

Does the GGPoker Big Hand Jackpot affect rake?

GGPoker charges an additional 1BB when the pot reaches 30BB or more to fund the Big Hand Jackpot. Over large samples, the jackpot is redistributed evenly among all players, so the charge and payouts cancel out. Net rake calculations are not affected by this jackpot.

Is PLO rake higher than NLH?

PLO rake percentages and caps are usually the same as NLH at major rooms. However, because PLO pots run larger on average, you hit the cap more often, which means effective rake as a percentage of the pot is lower. The absolute dollar amount of rake per hand is higher in PLO, but the rake per big blind won is often comparable or lower once caps bind.

Which site has the lowest PLO rake?

At micro and low stakes PLO, CoinPoker and WPT Global typically offer the lowest effective rake. At higher stakes where caps dominate, the ranking shifts because PLO pots are large enough to hit caps on almost every raked hand. Use the calculator with PLO selected for an accurate comparison at your exact stake.

Does Zoom or Rush & Cash have different rake than regular tables?

Fast fold formats like PokerStars Zoom, GGPoker Rush & Cash, and 888 SNAP use the same rake percentages and caps as regular tables. The key difference is volume: you play 2-3x more hands per hour, so total rake paid per session is significantly higher. The rake per individual hand is identical.

Fast Fold Rake Comparison

Effective rake cost by stakes, game type, and room.

Game Type

Players

Stake

#	Room	Rake / 100	Net Rake	Cap	bb / 100	Action
1	WPT Global	$2.03	2.68%	$2.004.0 bb	4.1	Play →
2	PokerStars	$2.46	3.23%	$2.004.0 bb	4.9	Visit
3	TigerGaming	$2.61	3.43%	$3.006.0 bb	5.2	Play →
4	Betsson	$2.61	3.43%	$3.006.0 bb	5.2	Play →
5	Americas Cardroom	$2.61	3.43%	$3.006.0 bb	5.2	Play →
6	Ladbrokes	$2.61	3.43%	$3.006.0 bb	5.2	—
7	PokerStars	$2.61	3.43%	$3.006.0 bb	5.2	Visit
8	Winamax.fr	$2.61	3.43%	$3.006.0 bb	5.2	—
9	888Poker	$2.64	3.47%	$4.008.0 bb	5.3	Play →
10	CoinPoker	$2.64	3.47%	$4.008.0 bb	5.3	Play →
11	Ignition	$2.64	3.47%	$4.008.0 bb	5.3	Play →
12	PokerStars US	$2.83	3.73%	$3.006.0 bb	5.7	—
13	GGPoker	$2.86	3.75%	$4.008.0 bb	5.7	Play →

Most rake comparisons stop at advertised percentages and caps. This page goes further and computes the effective cost per hand at your stakes. A room charging 5% with a $3 cap can be cheaper than a room charging 4% with a $5 cap, depending entirely on your stake and how often pots reach the cap. The calculator above converts each operator's published schedule into bb/100, the same unit you measure your win rate in, so you can read rake the way you read your own stat line.

The full table below ranks every major network across all four variants and every player count. At microstakes, percentage dominates because pots rarely hit the cap. At $1/$2 and higher, the cap becomes the binding variable and the ranking shifts. WPT Global and CoinPoker hold the lead at low stakes; GGPoker and PokerStars close the gap as caps start to matter. Switch the variant and table size in the table below to see exactly where your game sits.

Full Rake Comparison

Variant

Players

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How We Calculate Online Poker Rake

The calculator applies each operator's rake rules to actual pot size distributions compiled from several million NLH cash game hands across $0.02/$0.05, $0.25/$0.50, $0.50/$1.00, and $1/$2. Each player count has its own distribution. For stakes outside the sampled range, pot sizes are scaled proportionally. For non-NLH variants, distributions are adjusted using documented scaling factors: PLO pots are scaled 1.6x with a higher flop rate (more multiway, more postflop action), Short Deck 1.3x (stronger holdings from the reduced deck), and Fast Fold 0.75x with a lower flop rate (tighter preflop play). These adjustments produce accurate relative rankings between rooms even though absolute bb/100 values will differ slightly from a pure PLO dataset.

Three variables define rake at every cash game table: the percentage taken from each pot, the cap on that percentage, and the drop rule. Nearly every site uses no-flop-no-drop, meaning rake is only collected when a hand reaches the flop. GGPoker is the exception, also collecting on 3-bet pots that end preflop. The interplay between percentage and cap is what makes comparing rooms difficult without a calculator. A room with a high percentage but a low cap can be cheaper than a room with a lower percentage and a higher cap, depending on your stake and table size.

Loose players pay more rake than tight players at every stake. These figures reflect average play. At higher player counts, pots run larger and caps bind more often, so a room that looks cheap at 6-max may not be at 9-handed. The same logic applies across stakes: micro-stakes pots rarely hit caps, so percentage matters most. At mid and high stakes, the cap becomes the dominant variable.

Default figures are gross rake. When the rakeback column is enabled, "Net bb/100" reflects gross rake minus each room's published rakeback rate. Rates used are realistic midpoints for a regular grinder, not theoretical maximums. A room advertising "up to 65% rakeback" may deliver 25-30% to a typical player grinding 15-20 hours per week.

We maintain rake schedules for 13 networks covering every regulated and offshore operator with meaningful traffic. Schedules are verified against published room terms. CoinPoker updated their caps in March 2026; those figures are current. Submit hand history data or report discrepancies at contact.

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Full Rake Comparison

How We Calculate Online Poker Rake

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