Find The Lowest Rake In Online Poker (2020)
One of the most important factors of game selection in poker is the rake. Rake can mean the difference between a profitable game and a game in which you make a loss (or break even at best). Here, we explain how rake works in online poker, and if you scroll to the bottom of the page you’ll see a comparative chart of the rake for all online poker sites so you can find the lowest rake for your chosen level of online poker. Some sites have different rake percentages for different stakes, so be aware of that when choosing a site or deciding to progress to a higher level.
What is rake in poker?
Poker is the only casino game where the players can win each other's money, and aren’t betting against the house. As the casino doesn’t make any money from winning bets against its customers, the casino instead charges a fee on all poker cash games. This fee is called rake, and it is taken as a percentage of each pot played in the poker game.
Whether you’re playing cash games in a poker room or casino, live or online, rake is usually taken as a percentage of each pot.
Typically, online casinos take less rake, which is understandable as they have lower overheads compared to a live casino and operate in a more competitive space.
What is a rake cap?
To understand how much rake you will be paying it is important to understand what a rake cap is and how it affects you.
The rake cap is the maximum amount of rake that can be taken per hand. Your average live game might have a rake of 10% capped at 5 big blinds, which means that once the pot reaches 50bb no further rake will be taken, no matter how big the pot gets. This serves to bring the average rake per pot far below 10% (as many pots will be bigger than 50bb). If the rake cap was instead 50bb it would almost never be hit and the rake would be essentially a flat 10% on all pots. That 10% comes right out of your profits.
This is why it is important to maximise your value hands by exceeding the rake cap where possible. If you hold the nuts and can get a lot of rake free money in the pot you will instantly increase your win rate.
How does rake affect profit?
In order to be profitable you have to overcome the rake. For example if the rake is roughly 15bb/100 (15 big blinds per 100 hands played) then you need to be winning at least 15bb for every 100 hands you play in order to break even, and 16bb or more to make a profit.
The actual amount of rake you pay during a poker game will vary based on how active you are as a player, as you’ll only pay rake on the pots you get involved in. Therefore, players who get involved in fewer hands pay less rake. On the other hand, more active players pay more rake, and they’ll play a lot of rake if the rake cap is high.
Hyper aggressive play is penalised by rake, especially in games with an extremely high rake cap.
Rake in Online Poker Games
Below is a table of the rake charged at each stake level across many of the big EU sites. It is surprising to see just how much these numbers vary and goes to demonstrate how few players care about how much rake they are being charged.
All money raked is money you cannot win, it comes off the table and is gone for good, so it pays to find the games with the lowest rake and take your money there.
Note that across all online poker sites the rake cap is so high on the lower stakes that they very rarely if ever get hit. (These games are effectively uncapped.)
| 1c/2c | 2c/4c - 2c/5c | 5c/10c | 10c/25c | 25c/50c | 50c/$1 | $1/$2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PokerStars | 3.5% $0.30 Cap | 4.15% $1 Cap | 4.5% $1.50 Cap | 4.50% $2 Cap | 5% $2.50 Cap | 5% $2.50 Cap | 5% $2.75 Cap |
| PartyPoker | 5% $1 Cap | 5% $1 Cap | 5% $1 Cap | 5% $3 Cap | 5% $3 Cap | 5% $3 Cap | 5% $3 Cap |
| Unibet | N/A | 2% €0.50 Cap | 3.5% €1 Cap | 4.5% €2 Cap | 5.5% €2 Cap | 6% €3 Cap | 6% €3 Cap |
| GGPoker | N/A | 5% $0.50 | 5% $1 | 5% $2 Cap | 5% $4 Cap | 5% $5 Cap | 5% $6 Cap |
| William Hill | 7.5% €0.50 Cap | 7.5% €0.50 Cap | 7.5% €2 Cap | 5% €2 Cap | 5% €2 Cap | 5% €4 Cap | 5% €4 Cap |
| 888 Poker | 6.25% $4 Cap | 5.9% $4 Cap | 5% $4 Cap | 5% $4 Cap | 5% $4 Cap | 5% $4 Cap | 5% $4 Cap |
All games are no-limit variants and 8/9-handed, or full ring.
Rake at Pokerstars
The cash game rake at Pokerstars is ranges between 3.5% to 5% depending on the stakes, meaning it shapes up very well against the other sites on this list. In a vacuum, Pokerstars appears to be the best place to play for the lowest raked online games.
However, be aware that the use of HUDs is allowed and PokerStars has one of the strongest player pools meaning this lower rake doesnt necessarily mean a higher win rate.
Rake at partypoker
The rake at PartyPoker is 5% for all games of any stake, which really favours the higher stakes (as is the case with most sites). The rake at PartyPoker is higher than PokerStars across the board but you dont have to worry about other players using HUDs. It is generally accepted that the PartyPoker player pool is on the weaker side which should form a part of your decision when deciding where to play poker online.
rake at unibet poker
Unibet poker is built around the idea of protecting the casual players, which shows in their rake structure - which ranges from 2% to 6%.
Unibet changed its rake structure in April 2020 which slightly increased rake at the lowest level but it remains the industry best for 4NL rake.
Unibet Poker’s lowest stake, 4NL, has a rake of 2%, and with a respectable cap of only €0.50 you really cant go wrong here. Unibet also bans HUDs and any kind of note taking at the table, and uniquely, also allows you to change your usernames up to 3 times per day - making this a real haven for casual players. (Being able to change your username multiple times per day means that stronger players can’t identify you as a casual player until they’ve played against you for some time.)
rake at ggpoker
GGPoker charges 5% rake across the board for all cash poker games. The rake cap at GGPoker is high, especially when compared to other sites, and they rake pots before the flop (none of the other sites do this and it really eats into your winnings quickly). Combined, these are large drawbacks to the GGPoker rake structure that make other options more appealing.
rake at william hill poker
At 7.5% the rake on William Hill Poker is the highest you will see on any online poekr site. Personally, this high rake is one of the reasons I won’t play at William Hill any more.
rake at 888 poker
888 Poker does offer a competitive rake structure at certain levels. As you approach the higher stake games of 50NL and 100NL the rake is very much in line with other sites. At the lower stakes its hard to make a good argument to play at 888 Poker, as the rake cap is absurdly high and the percentage is increased for the lowest stakes players.
Comparing rake in online poker
Although you can use this information to help you decide where to take your poker game, you should take other aspects of online poker into consideration when choosing where to play. These include the player pool, rake back, what stakes you want to play, and the usability of the different poker client software. To find out more about playing poker online, check out our post on the differences between online and live poker.
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