What is Rakeback?

Rakeback is a poker promotion for qualifying players. It returns to players some of the rake they have generated by playing poker online or in land-based casinos.

What's rake?

Every poker room takes a fraction of the pot as a fee for organizing the game. Rake applies only to poker because players play against each other. Land-based casinos take more rake than online casinos because they have more overhead. Online casinos usually have a cap on the rake that they can take from any one pot. Usually the cap is about $5.00, even if the pot is in the hundreds of dollars.

Who pays the rake to the casino?

No one actually pays rake. The house takes it from each pot.

How do the casinos figure how much rake each player "contributed"?

There are two ways to calculate rake. One way is called the Shared Method. Every player who started the hand is credited with "contributing" the same amount of rake. The other way is called the Contributed Method. In this one, the house calculates the percentage of the pot each player put in and each player's rake is the same percentage. In the second method, early folders lose out.

What happens next?

Each poker player in the rakeback program receives either daily, weekly, or monthly, a cash amount of credit in their account. The rakeback is a percentage of the rake. There is some variation in the percentage from casino to casino; so you should do some research before registering for in a rakeback program.

How can I do all this research myself?

You don't have to. It's our job to help you do this and many other kinds of gaming research. It's our profession. The casinos call us affiliates because, through our efforts and hard work, players find the right spot for themselves in the massive online gaming world. The same applies to rakeback.

Can I take my rakeback with me?

Some casinos let you cash out your rakeback and others don't.

How do I know they are keeping accurate records?

Everything in the online gaming industry is based on state-of-the-art computer software. Just as the cards being played in an online poker game come from the Random Number Generator, powerful and reliable software; the program that tracks rake is also powerful and reliable.

Do all casinos offer rakeback?

No. Most do, however. Some offer rakeback through a VIP program.

So, bottom line, is rakeback good for me?

Rakeback is a promotion run by poker rooms. It is mostly an online promotion because it is easier to keep track of each player's rake online. Like all gaming promotions, it is designed to keep players online. If you play responsibly, rakeback is a great promotion. It is like found money, allowing you to play longer, ostensibly "on the house".

But there are two big pitfalls that trip up some poker players. First, some players have calculated that if they play thousands of hands every month, the rakeback alone can amount to a lot of money. There is a term for such players: rakeback pro. Most players who fancy themselves rakeback pros are losing more than they would if they played under more control.

The second pitfall is playing for higher stakes than you can afford or that your skill level is suited to. Remember, poker is, at the end of the day, a game of skill. If you play above your skill level or above your true bankroll, you will surely lose more than any amount of rakeback can give you back.