What is Rakeback?

Once you understand what rake is, it is very easy to understand what rakeback is.  Many online poker rooms have decided to offer rakeback to players.  The rakeback offering is in addition to all of the other bonuses and promotions that the poker room has available for players.  Signing up at a room that offers rakeback is a win, win situation for players. Depending on the poker room, the rakeback is calculated differently.  We will explore the different calculation methods in this article.

Contributed Method

Most sites use the Contributed Method for determining rakeback.  The Contributed Method requires you to participate in a hand to receive rakeback.  As long as you see the flop, you will earn your share of the rakeback.  All of the players that see the flop will have the rake split between them, and your rakeback percentage will be determined by this amount.  We have an example of how you can figure your rakeback using the Contributed Method below.

If you are in a pot with 6 other people and at the end of the hand the pot is $8 and $1.20 was taken for rake, the $1.20 would be divided evenly amongst the 6 players to determine rake.  In this case it would be $0.20 per player.  You take the $.20 and multiply it by the percentage of rakeback the room offers you.  In this case we are going to use 30% since that is the industry standard.  $0.20 X 30% = $.06 so you would earn $0.06 by participating in this hand.  If you would like to figure your rake on your own using the Contributed Method, you can use the formula below.

(Total rake) / (number of players in the pot) = MGR

MGR * Rakeback Percentage = amount you earn

For the example that we went over in the above paragraph, your equation will look like this:

$1.20/6 = $.20

$.20 * 30% = $.06

Weighted Contributed Method

A few sites use the Weighted Contributed Method to figure rakeback.  It is very similar to the Contributed Method.  Using the Weighted Contributed Method, your rakeback percentage is figured on the actual rake that you contribute to a pot.

Using the Weighted Contributed Method if you were involved in a pot with 4 other players and you folded before the river, your rake would be determined by the actual money you had involved in the pot.  If there was a total rake of $8 but you only contributed $1 to the rake, then your rakeback would be determined by the $1 that you actually contributed.  You can figure your rakeback using the Weighted Contributed Method by using the following formula:

(Amount of money you put in the pot) / (total money in the pot) * Rake = MGR

MGR * Rakeback Percentage = Amount of Rakeback you earn

Dealt Method

Many poker rooms use the Dealt Method to determine rakeback.  By using the Dealt Method, every player that is dealt into a hand is considered to be contributing to the rake.  When the rake is divided up at the end of a hand, it is divided equally between all players that were dealt into the hand.

It is very easy to figure the amount of rake you contributed using the Dealt Method.  If 5 players were dealt into the hand and the total rake was $2, then the $2 is divided by 5.  So, each player is considered to have contributed $.40 in rake to the pot.  The $.40 is then multiplied by the percentage of rakeback you earn.  The average rakeback is 30% so this is what we use in our examples.  So, if you are receiving 30% rakeback multiplied by $.40 then you will earn $.12 in rakeback.  We have the formula for you to use to figure rakeback using the Dealt Method below:

(Total Rake) / (Number of players in the hand) = MGR

MGR * Rakeback Percentage = Amount of Rakeback you earn

The formula would look like this using the above example:

$2/5 = $.40

$.40*30% = $.12

The rakeback that you will earn depends on several factors.  The time you spend playing poker and the stakes you play fits into the equation.  Cash game players usually accumulate more rake than players that play mainly sit ‘n go tournaments and multi table tournaments.  Even casual players can easily accumulate $50 a month in rakeback.

When deciding which room is best for you, you should take into consideration the type of player you are.  If you are a player that is a bit loose and likes to participate in a lot of hands, then a room that uses the Contributed Method will be best for you.  If you are a tight player that only participates in premium hands, then a room that uses the Dealt Method will be best for you.  The rakeback that you earn will be automatically credited to your player’s account.  Depending on the poker room, your rakeback will be paid out daily, weekly, or monthly.