Poker Rake Impact Calculator
Calculates the total rake the poker room collects from your play based on average pot size, rake percentage, cap, hands per hour, and volume. Use it to compare sites and formats or to measure how much rake erodes your hourly win rate.
Last updated: May 2026
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About this calculator
Rake is the fee the poker room takes from each pot, calculated as a percentage of the pot up to a maximum cap. The total rake paid per period is: total_rake = min(avgPotSize × (rakePercent / 100), rakeCap) × handsPerHour × hoursPlayed. The min() ensures the rake never exceeds the cap regardless of how large the pot grows. Variables: avgPotSize (the average pot you see, in dollars), rakePercent (room's rake rate, typically 3.5–5% online), rakeCap (per-pot maximum in dollars, typically $0.50–$5 depending on stake), handsPerHour (75–100 for 6-max online, 60 for full ring, 25–30 for live), hoursPlayed (per month). Multiplying through gives your effective monthly rake exposure. Understanding this number is essential because rake is a fixed cost that must be overcome by your win rate before any profit is possible. At micro-stakes, rake as a fraction of average pot can exceed 10%, making profitable play nearly impossible without rakeback. Edge cases: the formula assumes rake is taken from every pot you play, but most rooms operate 'no flop, no drop' — pots that don't see a flop are not raked, slightly reducing your true rake. Tournament rake is structured differently as a fixed fee per buy-in (typically 8–12% of buy-in) and uses different math. Live cardrooms may also rake time-collection ($5–$15 per half hour) rather than per-pot rake — adjust accordingly.
How to use
Example 1: Average pot $30, rake 5%, cap $2, 30 hands per hour, 40 hours per month. Step 1: rake per pot = min($30 × 0.05, $2) = min($1.50, $2) = $1.50. Step 2: rake per hour = $1.50 × 30 = $45. Step 3: monthly rake = $45 × 40 = $1,800. Verify: at $1/$2 NL ($2 BB), a 5 BB/100 winner makes $0.10 per hand × 30 × 40 = $120/month gross from BB/100 alone — far less than $1,800 in rake, so winning requires either rakeback, a much higher win rate, or both. Example 2: Average pot $8 (micro-stakes), rake 5%, cap $0.50, 90 hands per hour, 60 hours per month. Step 1: rake per pot = min($8 × 0.05, $0.50) = min($0.40, $0.50) = $0.40. Step 2: rake per hour = $0.40 × 90 = $36. Step 3: monthly = $36 × 60 = $2,160. Verify: $0.05/$0.10 NL micro player pays more in rake than a $1/$2 player at lower volume, illustrating why micro-stakes rake is brutal in percentage terms.
Frequently asked questions
How does rake affect my hourly win rate in poker?
Rake is a direct cost subtracted from every pot you play, reducing your effective win rate regardless of skill. A player winning at 10 BB/100 at $0.25/$0.50 NL might pay 5–8 BB/100 in rake alone, leaving real profit of only 2–5 BB/100. At micro-stakes the rake as a percentage of average pot is highest, which is why many micro-stakes players struggle to beat the rake even with a positive chip-EV game. Rakeback deals, loyalty bonuses, and VIP programs can return a significant portion of rake, effectively boosting hourly rate. Most tracking software computes a separate 'rake-adjusted win rate' that subtracts your rake contribution — use that number when evaluating your skill, since the gross win rate overstates your edge.
What is a rake cap and why does it matter when choosing a poker site?
A rake cap is the maximum amount the room can take from a single pot regardless of how large it grows. Without a cap, rake would scale infinitely and make deep-stack play prohibitively expensive. A $2 cap on a 5% rake means pots above $40 are not raked further, protecting big-pot players. Sites with lower caps are generally more profitable for winning players, especially at higher stakes where pots frequently exceed the cap. Always compare effective rake (rake percentage × typical pot relative to cap) rather than the headline percentage. PokerStars, GGPoker, and Party Poker all publish their rake schedules — use these tables to compute your real exposure at the stakes you play.
How do I use this calculator to compare rake costs between two poker sites?
Run the calculator separately for each site using their rake percentage and cap, keeping pot size, hands per hour, and hours constant. The difference in monthly rake totals is the cost advantage of one site over the other. For example, if Site A charges $1,800/month and Site B charges $1,200/month for the same volume, Site B saves $600/month before rakeback. Also factor in rakeback percentages — if Site A offers 30% rakeback ($540 returned), the net gap narrows to $60/month in favor of Site B. Include any sign-up bonuses amortized monthly. This calculator turns site selection into an objective decision rather than a brand-loyalty choice.
What are common mistakes when calculating rake impact?
Forgetting that pots without a flop aren't raked ('no flop, no drop') overstates total rake by 10–25%, depending on game style. Using the headline rake percentage without checking the cap can wildly overstate rake at higher stakes where most pots exceed the cap. Ignoring rakeback in net-cost calculations makes one site look much worse than its true value. Conflating per-hand rake with per-hour rake gives wrong totals when hands-per-hour varies. Mixing tournament fee structure with cash-game rake math is invalid — tournament rake is a fixed per-buy-in percentage charged at registration, not a per-pot cut. Forgetting that some rooms rake the small blind (e.g., PokerStars' 'no flop, no drop' exception for big-blind-only pots) adds small extra cost not captured here.
When should I NOT use this rake calculator?
Tournament rake follows a different model — a fixed percentage of buy-in (8–12%) charged at registration, not a per-pot cut. Use a tournament-specific ROI calculator instead. Live cardrooms often use time-collection rake ($5–$15 per half hour) plus or instead of per-pot rake; adjust the formula accordingly. Home games and private clubs typically have flat fees or no rake at all. Casino dealer tokes (tips, typically $1–$2 per pot) function similarly to rake but aren't included in the bookmaker's published rake schedule — add them separately for an accurate total cost. Heads-up specialists need different rake math because heads-up cash games often have higher rake percentages with lower caps. Some sites cap rake per player rather than per pot (PokerStars 'cap per seat') which changes the multiplication; check the room's rake schedule carefully.