See how rake and rakeback work across online poker rooms like GGpoker, PokerStars, iPoker, Winamax, CoinPoker, 888poker, and partypoker to choose the most profitable games.
What Is Rake (and Why It Matters)
Rake is the fee poker rooms charge from cash-game pots or tournament buy-ins. It funds software, operations, and promos. Your effective rake is the rake you actually pay after caps, formats, table size, and rakeback/loyalty adjustments. Choosing the right site and stakes can meaningfully improve your winrate.
In this article, we will go through many online poker rooms and their rake structure, so you can make an informed, stats based decision when picking your tables.
All of these cardrooms are supported on Check Replay. Review your toughest, most-raked hands with Check Replay and turn fees into edge.
Let’s dive in!
GGPoker
The rake on GGpoker is generally higher than most of competing online poker rooms in the industry. While some of the games have percentages close to their counterparts, GG Poker’s rake cap for 2/3 player tables and 4+ players it´s notably higher.
In the following table, you will understand the rake structure for regular Pot Limit Omaha cash games. The rake cap is displayed in big blinds, so for a $0.10/$0.25 blind table the rake cap is $0.75. The rake cap for a $5/$10 cash game table is $15, or 1.5 BB.
In the table below we see the structure for both GG’s Cash and Rush rake. The rake percentage is a flat 5%, while the rake cap is 3 BB across multiple stakes. Also noted that if the table is not fill, there is no rake or cash drop.
PVI Rake and Fish Buffet
Thinking of player retention, the concept behind Player Value Index (PVI) in GG poker is to have recreational players benefiting more in comparison to professional players in terms of rake. Instead for raking the same, recs should have a higher PVI, thus earning more rakeback than a pro.
PVI ranges in each players from 0-1. This factor is then multiplied by your value of rake generated. Each new account begins with a PVI of 1, and it floats according to many variables as you progress your game. The rakeback from Fish Buffet is also determined by your PVI status.
The minimum PVI is 0.36, and what determines it are volume and winnings. The higher they are, the quicker your PVI will go down.
So, if you have a PVI factor of 0.5 and the true rake generated is $1000, your rakeback will be based on $500 PVI rake.
Fish Buffet is GGpoker’s loyalty program. It consists of 8 levels, divided into 24 ranks. By earning Fish Points (FP) you can secure up to 60% rakeback at platinum level. FP is accumulated through playing cash games and tournaments, averaging a 100 FP reward for every dollar paid in fees.
888poker
888poker’s rake is considerably higher. As a host, 888poker applies a different rake structure to game types and different limits alike. Rake fees are charged in cash games as it follows:
PokerStars
PokerStars rake structure can vary according on stakes, field, variants, and events. It still consolidates itself as one of the best in the market. PS also abides by a “no flop, no drop” rule. That implies that rake is not charged before the flop in Hold’em or Omaha.
The cash game rake will never exceed 5%, with a cap of 3$, except for some of the higher limits.
We’ll go through tables that show us exactly how rake structure is set in these different tournaments:
On the downside, PS charges a higher rake for Spin & Go and most turbo tournaments.
iPoker Network
On average, iPoker Network charges around 5% for cash game tables, and 10% for MTT’s. On spin based games (like Twister) it will go to around 7%. iPoker has implemented across all card rooms a new rake distribution system called Source-Based Rake (SBR).
This is a system of indirect distribution that considers many factors when calculating rake fees.
Here is a table regarding rake in iPoker network cash games, it starts at around 6,67% reaching 5% rake for any higher stakes tables.
Those include the volume of games played, average deposit rate, withdrawals, and also a percentage based on your profits and losses. The SBR model (a lot like PVI status for GGpoker) benefits amateur and losing players, and affect regs negatively, charging a higher rake than what a normal commission system would.
SBR represents around 50% of all rake fees paid by profitable players.
Winamax
Winamax is a France-based online poker room very proeminent in the European gambling market. As of now, in France, it remains as the biggest, most popular cardroom, surpassing the usual whales like PokerStars or GGPoker.
The rake on Winamax is a steady 6.5%. Below you will see a table regarding rake caps for different stakes, and different player structures.
The cap for stakes until NL/PLO20 remains 1.5 EUR regardless of the number of players.
Loyalty Program
Winamax, as other card rooms offers a standard first deposit bonus of 100% up to 500 EUR. It’s VIP system consists of 6 monthly and 6 annual levels.
Points are won and exchanged for rake as the base of the system.
The exchange rate is 4 points for 1 EUR of rake.
The player VIP status is calculated on a monthly basis. You can rank up your VIP status by acquiring Miles. Points are generated through playing on Winamax real-money poker tables. A point multiplier will be set given your ranking on the VIP chart, thus being converted to Miles.
Winamax’s miles earned can be traded for goods and services in the Winamax Poker Boutique.
From “Chrome” to “Red Diamond”, Winamax also offers a monthly freeroll tournament for members of every single VIP tier.
The chart below indicates the ration for Miles and multipliers for different VIP tiers.
CoinPoker
CoinPoker is the biggest crypto-based cardroom in the world, offering games established in BTC, USDT, ETH, and etcetera. CoinPoker also has it’s very own cryptocurrency – CHP, used for rake and rakeback purposes mostly.
CoinPoker rakeback program is very simple. If you have a CHP balance on your account, rake will be debited from it while you play, making you eligible for a 33% rakeback every Monday. If you don’t hold CHP, however, rake will be deducted from your USDT balance, making you not eligible for the 33% rakeback feature.
Make sure to always hold CHP as to get the best rakeback deal possible!
The rake on cash game tables is one of the lowest in the market, a fixed 5%, which caps from 0.3 to 25 USD. Charging also 8% for MTT Tourneys, and a mere 5% for Cosmic Spins, a cheaper alternative compared to other Spin-type games in different card rooms.
CoinPoker states that there is no commercial incentive behind rake fees, and that 100% is reinvested towards player experience, deducting a minimal percentage regarding administrative expenses.
In the table below we will review the rake structure for 7, and 4-max tables, accordingly.
Partypoker
Partypoker in the past was consolidated as one of the biggest online poker rooms in the market. After it’s withdrawal from Russia, it has deranked from the top 10 poker rooms to becoming a niche pick in some European countries.
Partypoker is considered one of the weakest choices due to an outdated software and a ban on HUDs and trackers, such as Hand2Note.
However, in terms of rake, there is a possibility of earning up to 55% of rakeback fees.
Partypoker cash games also abide by the “no flop, no drop” rule. Charging fees only when players see the flop. On NLH tables, the standard fee is 5% or $0.01 to every $0.20 on the pot. Rake cap will vary according to limits and the number of players in the hand.
In the table below we’ll go through the limits and cap for the No-Limit Hold’em variety.
For Pot-Limit games, a standard 5% fee remains, however, we see the cap on limits from 10$/25$ being slightly lower.
In MTTs and SNGs partypoker establishes a standard 10% rake.
In Spin-based games, the rake fees depend on the buy-in. The higher the limit, lower are the fees charged. It can vary from 8% rake on 0.25$ to 5$., reaching 4% on 250$ buy-in games.
Partypoker cashback
Partypoker’s rakeback program allows players to get back up to 55% of the paid fees. To be eligible for this program, the user must activate the rakeback function on Settings, and accumulate at least 10 loyalty points per week.
The amount of bonus points acquired of each 1$ of rake depends on the variety of game.
Partypoker will credit cash in your balance every monday. The more points, the higher percentage of rakeback.
10 points will offer you a $0.50 rakeback, ranking levels up to 1200 points, exactly $96. By reaching the max level, partypoker will pay 16$ for every additional 200 points acquired.
Players that specialize in Spin-based games can benefit from the Diamond Club, receiving additional bonuses that can be withdrew immediately. Every 1$ in SPINS rake will provide you 2.5 bonus points.
In the following table, we will go through all SPINS Diamond Club rakeback offers.
How to Lower Effective Rake in Online Poker
- Pick right formats & table sizes. Full-ring often hits cap less frequently than short-handed; no-flop/no-drop tables save preflop.
- Target cap sweet spots. Many mid-micro stakes have favorable cap/BB ratios—study the room’s table.
- Exploit loyalty. High-volume recs get more RB under PVI/SBR; pros should model true post-RB EV per room.
- Use tools. Track your net EV and volume; review hands to improve bb/100 so rake matters less.
Pro tip: after each session, review your biggest raked pots with Check Replay to find leaks in capped spots and multiway boards.
