Rake is the fee a poker room or online site charges for hosting the game, and over thousands of hands it is often the single biggest factor separating a winning player from a losing one. Most players badly underestimate how much they actually pay.
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The Poker Rake Calculator lets you model exactly what you’re paying in a cash game or a tournament, using the real structure your room actually applies: percentage rake with a cap, the “no flop, no drop” rule, or a flat tournament entry fee.
Whether you play live at $1/$2 or grind online micro-stakes, this tool turns a vague sense of “the rake feels high here” into a precise hourly and per-hand cost you can compare across rooms.
π How to Use the Poker Rake Calculator
Start by choosing your game type at the top: Cash Game or Tournament. Each mode asks for a different set of inputs, matching how rake is actually collected in that format.
For cash games, always check whether your room applies “no flop, no drop” before assuming the standard percentage rake applies to every single hand you play.
For cash games, enter your average pot size, the room’s rake percentage, its rake cap, and how many hands you see per hour. If the room doesn’t rake hands that end before the flop, toggle that setting on and estimate what share of your hands actually see a flop.
π’ Calculator Fields Explained
Average Pot Size – the typical size of pots you’re involved in at your usual stakes, used to compute rake per hand.
Rake Percentage – the fraction of the pot the room takes, commonly 5% at low-mid stakes cash games.
Rake Cap – the maximum dollar amount of rake taken from any single pot, regardless of pot size.
Hands Per Hour – how many hands you play per hour; live tables run 25-35, online tables often 60-100+.
No Flop, No Drop – whether the room skips raking hands that end preflop (everyone folds before the flop).
% of Hands Reaching the Flop – only shown when No Flop No Drop is on; estimates how many of your hands are actually raked.
Rakeback Percentage – the share of rake refunded to you by an affiliate or the operator’s loyalty program, if any.
Buy-In Amount – the tournament entry cost that goes entirely into the prize pool.
Entry Fee / Rake – the additional fee on top of the buy-in that the operator keeps as its rake.
Number of Entrants – total players who register for the tournament, used to compute totals.
π° Understanding the Results
| Result Field | What It Tells You |
|---|---|
| Rake Per Raked Hand | Dollar amount taken from a typical hand you’re involved in |
| Effective Rake % | Rake as a percentage of the pot, after applying the cap |
| Rake Per Hour | Your total rake cost for an hour of play at this table |
| Rake Per 100 Hands | A standard poker benchmark for comparing rake across rooms |
| Total Prize Pool | The full amount tournament winners will split |
| Rake as % of Total Buy-In | What share of your all-in cost the operator keeps regardless of result |
The most useful number for a cash player is Rake Per 100 Hands, because it’s the standard unit used across the poker community to compare room-to-room rake burden.
A high rake percentage with a low cap can still be cheaper overall than a lower percentage with no cap, if your pots are consistently large.
For tournament players, the rake percentage of total buy-in matters more than the raw dollar entry fee, since it tells you what fraction of your money never has a chance to come back to you even if you run well.
π Calculation Formulas
| Rake Structure | Formula | Where It’s Common |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage with Cap | min(pot Γ rake%, cap) | Most online cash games |
| No Flop, No Drop | rake Γ (% hands reaching flop) | Many live cardrooms |
| Time-Based Collection | flat $ per player per half-hour | High-stakes live cash games |
| Tournament Entry Fee | entry fee Γ· (buy-in + entry fee) Γ 100 | All tournament formats |
Time-based rake, common at higher live stakes, is not modeled the same way as percentage rake β it charges a flat fee per half hour regardless of pot size, so it rewards playing bigger pots.
Knowing which structure applies at your table changes your strategy: percentage rake with a low cap slightly favors playing for bigger pots, since the marginal rake on additional pot size shrinks once you hit the cap.
π Practical Examples
Example 1 – Online Micro Stakes: $20 average pot, 5% rake, $3 cap, 75 hands/hour. Rake per hand = min($1.00, $3.00) = $1.00. Rake per hour = $75.00.
Example 2 – Live $1/$2 with No Flop No Drop: $80 average pot, 10% rake, $5 cap, 25 hands/hour, 65% reach the flop. Rake per raked hand = min($8.00, $5.00) = $5.00. Raked hands/hour = 16.25, so rake per hour = $81.25.
Notice that the live table in Example 2 rakes fewer hands per hour overall, but the effective hourly cost can still exceed a faster online game once the cap and fold-equity of preflop-only hands are factored in.
Example 3 – Tournament: $90 buy-in + $9 entry fee, 180 entrants. Total prize pool = $16,200. Total rake collected = $1,620. Rake as % of total buy-in = 9.09%.
Example 4 – With Rakeback: Same as Example 1, but with 30% rakeback. Rakeback earned per hour = $22.50, so your net effective rake cost drops from $75/hour to $52.50/hour β a difference that compounds significantly over thousands of hours.
π‘ Tips & Best Practices
Always compare rooms using Rake Per 100 Hands rather than the headline percentage alone, since caps and no-flop-no-drop rules change the real number dramatically.
If you play online, check whether your site publishes an official rakeback or VIP cashback program, and enter that percentage to see your true net rake.
Live players should track their actual hands-per-hour honestly rather than assuming a textbook number, since table speed varies a lot by room and dealer.
Consider table size when comparing rake burden: six-max tables typically deal more hands per hour than full-ring tables, which changes your hourly rake even at an identical percentage.
Shopping around for a room with a lower effective rake per 100 hands can be worth more to your long-term win rate than most single strategic adjustments at the table.
For tournament players, weigh the entry fee percentage against the structure and field quality β a slightly higher rake in a softer field is often still the better overall value.
- Recalculate whenever a room changes its cap or percentage
- Re-check your rakeback tier periodically, since many programs use sliding scales
Finally, remember that rake is a fixed cost regardless of whether you win or lose the hand, so minimizing unnecessary showdowns in marginal spots also indirectly reduces your rake exposure over time.
β οΈ Common Mistakes to Avoid
Ignoring the Rake Cap
Many players calculate rake as a flat percentage of every pot without checking whether a cap applies.
Assuming rake scales linearly with pot size when a cap exists will make you overestimate your true cost, sometimes significantly, at rooms with generous caps.
Always confirm the exact cap dollar amount for your stakes before using rake as a factor in game selection.
Forgetting No Flop, No Drop Rules
Players used to online rake structures often assume every preflop fold-out hand still gets raked when they move to a live no-flop-no-drop room.
Failing to account for no-flop-no-drop can make an otherwise reasonable-looking rake percentage seem far worse than it actually is in practice.
Estimate your actual flop-seeing frequency honestly rather than assuming a generic 100% raked-hand rate.
Overlooking Tournament Rake as a Percentage
Players compare tournament buy-ins by total cost without separating out how much goes to the prize pool versus the operator.
A tournament with a disproportionately high entry fee relative to buy-in is effectively taxing your action more heavily than the sticker price suggests, even if the total cost looks similar to a rival event.
Not Factoring In Rakeback
Skipping rakeback entirely in your calculations means treating two very different net costs as if they were identical.
Even a modest rakeback percentage can meaningfully change which room offers the best long-term value for your specific volume of play.
π― When to Use This Calculator
Use this calculator whenever you’re comparing two or more poker rooms or tournament series and want a like-for-like cost comparison rather than relying on headline rake percentages.
Serious volume players often say the rake structure matters more than the softness of the games at a certain point, because rake is guaranteed while edge is not.
It’s also useful before committing to a long grinding session, so you know your realistic hourly cost of playing before you sit down.
π Related Calculators
Rakeback Calculator, ROI Calculator, Bankroll Management Calculator, ICM Calculator, Poker Variance Calculator
π Glossary
Rake – the fee a poker operator charges for hosting a game.
No Flop, No Drop – a rule where hands ending before the flop are not raked.
Rake Cap – the maximum rake taken from a single pot regardless of size.
Rakeback – a refund of a portion of rake paid, given to loyal or affiliate-referred players.
Time-Based Rake – a flat fee charged per player over a fixed time interval, common in higher-stakes live games.
Entry Fee – the tournament rake, charged on top of the buy-in.
Prize Pool – the total money to be distributed to tournament winners, drawn from buy-ins only.
Effective Rake % – the actual percentage of a pot taken as rake after any cap is applied.
Six-Max – a cash game format with a maximum of six players per table.
Full Ring – a cash game format with up to nine or ten players per table.
VIP Program – a loyalty scheme, often tied to rake generated, that returns value to active players.
Hands Per Hour – the speed of play, affecting total rake paid over a session.
β Frequently Asked Questions
What is a typical poker rake percentage?
Most online cash games rake between 4.5% and 5%, while many live cardrooms rake closer to 10% at low stakes.
For example, a $1/$2 live game might rake 10% capped at $5, while an equivalent online game rakes 5% capped at $1, producing very different hourly costs.
Does rake apply to tournaments the same way as cash games?
No, tournaments use a flat entry fee added on top of the buy-in rather than a percentage of any pot.
A $100+$9 tournament means $100 goes entirely to the prize pool and $9 is the operator’s fixed rake, regardless of how the hand plays out.
This makes tournament rake easier to quantify upfront than cash game rake, which varies hand to hand.
How much does no-flop-no-drop actually save me?
It depends heavily on your preflop fold frequency, but it can meaningfully lower your effective rake if a large share of your hands end before the flop.
If only 60% of your hands reach a flop, your effective rake per hour drops by roughly 40% compared to a room that rakes every dealt hand.
Is rakeback worth chasing?
For high-volume players, yes β even a modest rakeback percentage can offset a significant share of total rake paid over time.
A player generating $1,000 in monthly rake with 30% rakeback effectively gets $300 back, which for many recreational win rates is a meaningful chunk of overall profit.
Why do live rooms sometimes use time-based rake instead of percentage rake?
Time-based collection is simpler to administer at high-stakes tables where pots are large and irregular, and it avoids disputes over percentage calculations on big pots.
It also means your rake cost per hour is fixed regardless of pot size, which can favor players who play larger pots on average.
βοΈ Legal Disclaimer
This calculator is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial or gambling advice, and actual rake structures vary by operator and jurisdiction. Always verify current rake rules directly with your poker room, and please gamble responsibly.
