ONLINE POKER ROOM RAKES

ONLINE POKER ROOM RAKE CHARTS

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Okay, here's the deal on online poker room rakes. Rakes are essentially the fee a poker room charges to play their games. Online poker room rakes tend to run from around 5% of the pot (up to a maximum based on the limits of the game) down to roughly 1.6% of the pot at some places (at higher limits only). As usual, the rich are mostly treated better than the poor, with the higher percentage rakes being taken out of the lower limit games, and the lower percentage rakes coming out of the pots on the higher limit games. Most but not all online poker rooms reduce the max rake when the number of players at a table is fewer than six.

Ultimate Bet* stands out for its low rakes, especially at limits of $30/$60 and up. If you study the charts below, you will find that the rakes at most other online poker rooms are very similar, with the rakes at the online-casino affiliated poker rooms slightly worse. For example, at Aztec Riches (a Microgaming/Prima Poker skin), the max rake on 50¢/$1 and $1/$2 games is $1.50, instead of the $1 everywhere else. And on higher limit games, the Aztec Riches rake tends to go up slightly faster than at the standalone online poker sites.

But there are slight differences between all the online poker rooms, and if you plan to play games at particular limits, it may be worth shopping for the best rake structure for the exact limits you play, all other things being equal.

For example, at 5¢/10¢ limits and below, there is no rake at any of the major poker sites except Ultimate Bet, where the rake on these games is 1¢ for every 20¢ in the pot, with a max rake of 10¢. Also, at Microgaming/Prima Poker joints, the rake is up to 7¢ on these games.

But Ultimate Bet is better than many other sites for the rake on games with limits of $30/$60 and up, with a rake of $1 per big bet, instead of $1 per $20 in the pot, or the $1 at $40, $2 at $70, $3 at $100 structure (or similar), you find elsewhere.

Players with experience in live poker rooms will notice that the online poker room rakes are lower than what they're used to in live games. We show you the rakes at the Wynn poker room in Las Vegas for comparison. Notice that lower-stakes players take the worst of it once again.

Quick Links to Rake Charts
Party Poker	Poker Stars	Paradise Poker
Full Tilt	Ultimate Bet	Aztec Riches Poker
Poker.com	Doyle's Room	Wynn, in Las Vegas
Bugsy's Club	Poker Room

Bugsy’s Club*
Limits	Number Players	Rake Formula	Max Rake
$0.50 / $1.00 and lower	Any	$0.05 for every $1 in pot	$1
$1.00 / $2.00	Any	$0.25 for every $5 in pot	$1
$2 / $4 to $4 / $8	2 - 3	$0.50 for every $10 in pot	$0.50
$2 / $4 to $4 / $8	4 - 5	$0.50 for every $10 in pot	$2
$2 / $4 to $4 / $8	6+	$0.50 for every $10 in pot	$3
$4 / $8	2	$0.50 for every $10 in pot	$0.50
$5 / $10 to $8 / $16	2 - 3	$1.00 for every $20 in pot	$1
$5 / $10 to $8 / $16	4 - 5	$1.00 for every $20 in pot	$2
$5 / $10 to $8 / $16	6 - 10	$1.00 for every $20 in pot	$3
$5 / $10	2	$0.50 for every $20 in pot	$0.50
$6 / $12 and up	2	$0.50 for every $40 in pot	$0.50
$10 / $20 to $15 / $30	2 - 3	$1 @ $40, $1 @ $70, and $1 @ $100	$1
$10 / $20 to $15 / $30	4 - 5	$1 @ $40, $1 @ $70, and $1 @ $100	$2
$10 / $20 to $15 / $30	6+	$1 @ $40, $1 @ $70, and $1 @ $100	$3
$20 / $40	2 - 3	$1 @ $50, $1 @ $100, and $1 @ $160	$1
$20 / $40	4 - 5	$1 @ $50, $1 @ $100, and $1 @ $160	$2
$20 / $40	6+	$1 @ $50, $1 @ $100, and $1 @ $160	$3
No Limit 25¢ / 50¢	2 - 3	0.05 per $1	$0.50
No Limit 25¢ / 50¢	4 - 5	0.05 per $1	$2
No Limit 25¢ / 50¢	6+	0.05 per $1	$3
No Limit 50¢ / $1 and $1 / $2	2 - 3	0.25 per $5	$0.50
No Limit 50¢ / $1 and $1 / $2	4 - 5	0.25 per $5	$2
No Limit 50¢ / $1 and $1 / $2	6+	0.25 per $5	$3
No Limit $2 / $4	2 - 3	0.50 per $10	$0.50
No Limit $2 / $4	4 - 5	0.50 per $10	$2
No Limit $2 / $4	6+	0.50 per $10	$3
No Limit $3 / $6 and $5 / $10	2 - 3	$1 @ $40, $1 @ $70, and $1 @ $100	$1
No Limit $3 / $6 and $5 / $10	4 - 5	$1 @ $40, $1 @ $70, and $1 @ $100	$2
No Limit $3 / $6 and $5 / $10	6+	$1 @ $40, $1 @ $70, and $1 @ $100	$3
No Limit $4 / $8	2	$0.50 for every $10 in pot	$0.50
No Limit $5 / $10 and up	2	$0.50 for every $20 in pot	$0.50