Almost all poker players understand that there’s a cost to play the game. On every hand, there is some amount money that’s taken out of the pot and paid to the house and dealers for running the game. Rake rates tend to be a much lower online, but they still have a considerable impact on how you play your game. Here are a few of the most popular rake methods and how they will impact your cash back, and loyalty points at the online poker tables.
Dealt Rake
Out of all the different ways to calculate rake, dealt rake is the simplest. In this mode, everyone who received cards pays equally. If you are at a table with 10 players, the house may take one or two dollars from the pot. This would result in a 10 – 20 cent contribution from each player at the table.
This method does not influence how you a play very much; so long as you’re sitting at the table and beans out cards you will pay the same amount in, so there was no reason to change strategy. This method benefits the more conservative players since they received the same amount of rakeback and promotion bonuses for each hand played without making unnecessary gambles.
Contributed Rake
Contributed rake works sort of like dealt rake but only applies to those who put money into the pot. It does not matter how much money they put in the pot just so long as some amount is paid in.
This is beneficial for those who play loosely and see a lot of flops. They don’t necessarily need to bet further down the line, so long as they have any amount of money contribute to the pot they get the full benefit of the rake credited to their account.
While this system isn’t used very often anymore, you can still find agen poker online tables employing this method.
Weighted Contributed Rake
This method of rake calculation is by far the most popular and considered the fairest. Rake is assessed to each player based on the amount that they contributed to the pot. This means that you will get more rate contribution on the hands that you bet more and less on the hands where you bet less.
While weighted contributed rake may be considered the fairest, aggressive loose players are still favored the most from this method. It’s a simple matter of paying bigger rewards to those who play harder, which makes quite a bit of sense both the player and the house.
Hybrid Rake
This method varies depending on which program you are using. Hybrid rake rewards other activity by the player, such as sports betting and making initial deposits.
Under hybrid models, the poker rake is often determined half by the way that contributed approach and the other half by other metrics that vary from casino to casino. In all cases, these rake models are explained in more detail on the website.
Most poker sites operate a bit differently from one another. No matter what the model is, don’t deviate your strategy in order to accommodate this model. Instead, find a site that offers a rake calculation method that favors your individual play style.