Compare · Rake
Online Poker Rake Compared
Every room says "about 5%". The number that actually decides your win rate is the cap — and the caps are all over the place.
Rake is the cut the poker room takes from each cash-game pot. Almost every site quotes a percentage somewhere around five, which makes them all look the same. They aren't. What matters at the tables is the cap — the most a room will take from a single pot — and how that cap changes with the stakes and the number of players dealt in. Below is every room on this site for which I've published hard numbers, pulled from the individual room pages, so you can see the differences without opening a dozen tabs.
Why the cap beats the percentage
At NL50 (blinds $0.25/$0.50) a typical raked pot is $20–$60. Five percent of $40 is $2, so a room with a $2 full-ring cap and a room with a $3 cap take the same $2 on that pot — but the $3 room keeps taking more as pots grow, while the $2 room stops. Over a few hundred pots a session the cap is the whole story. At the micros, where pots rarely reach the cap, the percentage matters more; from NL50 upward, look at the cap first.
The big three, cap for cap
Cash game rake caps by stake band and players dealt in (NL Hold'em / PLO). Amounts in USD.
PokerStars (.com / .eu)
| Stakes | 2p | 3p | 4p | 5–9p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.01/0.02 – $0.05/0.10 | $0.25 | $0.50 | $0.75 | $1.00 |
| $0.10/0.25 – $1/2 | $0.50 | $1.00 | $1.50 | $2.00 |
| $2/4+ | $1.00 | $1.50 | $2.00 | $3.00 |
GG Network (GGPoker, Natural8…)
| Stakes | 2p | 3p | 4p | 5–9p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL2 – NL50 | $0.50 | $1.00 | $1.50 | $3.00 |
| NL100 – NL200 | $1.00 | $1.50 | $2.00 | $3.50 |
| NL500+ | $1.00 | $1.50 | $2.50 | $4.00 |
Winning Poker Network (ACR…)
| Stakes | 2p | 3p | 4p | 5–9p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.01/0.02 – $1/2 | $0.50 | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 |
| $2/4 – $4/8 | $1.00 | $1.50 | $2.00 | $3.00 |
| $5/10+ | $1.25 | $1.75 | $2.25 | $3.00 |
How to read them
- ✓ At NL2–NL50 full ring, PokerStars caps at $1–$2 while GG caps at $3 — a real gap at stakes where you see the cap constantly.
- ✓ WPN's cap never rises above $3, so at $5/10 and up it is actually the cheapest of the three for full-ring pots.
- ✓ Heads-up, GG and WPN are identical ($0.50 → $1.00+) and PokerStars is half that at the smallest stakes.
- ✓ GG takes nothing on hands that end preflop, which softens its higher caps for tight, preflop-heavy games.
Every network at a glance
Rake structure and what the room itself pays back. The "rakeback" column is the room's own loyalty program only — deals through TableFinder sit on top of it.
| Room / network | Cash rake | Caps (full ring) | Tournaments | Room's own rakeback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PokerStars | ~5%, weighted contributed | $1 – $3 | ~9%, lower at high buy-ins | Stars Rewards chests, ~15–60% by tier; opt-in |
| GG Network | Higher than most; none on preflop pots | $3 – $4 | — | Ocean Rewards, typically 20–40%; PVI adjusts per player |
| WPN | 5%, post-flop only | $3 flat | ~10% low/mid, ~5% high; Spins 6% | 27% flat, or Elite Benefits up to 65% |
| iPoker | ~4–5%, among the lowest | Varies by skin and table | 7.5–10% | Per skin: ~30–35% typical; William Hill up to ~54%; bet365 none since 2022 |
| partypoker / bwin | 5% from $15/30; micro $0.01 per $0.20 | $2 (2–3p) / $5 (4+) | — | Cashback up to 55% weekly; VIP ~22%/month |
| 888poker | Varies by game and stakes | — | — | Weekly cashback 5–50% by volume; 888Club 27–36% at top tiers |
| Chico (TigerGaming) | 5.5% at all tables | $1 – $5 | — | 10% base, up to 30% via network VIP |
| Club apps (PPPoker, X-Poker, Suprema…) | 3–5%, set per club | 3–7 big blinds | Per club | Negotiated with your agent, commonly 20–70% |
| SwC Poker | 1–4%, no flop no drop | — | — | Krill tiers 5–50%, lifetime and never reset |
| WSOP.com | — | — | — | Poker Rewards 0–32% by tier |
| BetMGM / Borgata | partypoker US structure | — | — | ~10% via iRewards, more while clearing bonuses |
| Italy, France, Portugal | Regulated-market rules; generally lower than international rooms | Check in client | Check in client | Room loyalty programs; deals available |
Four things the percentage hides
Dealt vs. weighted-contributed rake
Under a "dealt" model every player who was dealt cards shares the rake equally, even if they folded preflop. Under "weighted contributed" — PokerStars' model — you are charged in proportion to what you put in the pot. If you play tight, weighted contributed is cheaper for you; if you're the one splashing around, dealt is. It also changes how much rakeback you generate, since rakeback is paid on rake attributed to you.
"No flop, no drop"
Many rooms — GG, WPN, SwC, most club apps — take no rake on pots that end before the flop. In games full of three-bets and folds, that's a meaningful discount that never shows up in the headline percentage. Rooms that rake preflop pots effectively charge more than their number suggests.
Table size changes the cap
Every table above shows the cap climbing as more players are dealt in. Six-max and full-ring games are raked harder per pot than heads-up, but the pot is also being built by more people. What you care about is rake per hand you play — which is why short-handed regulars often prefer rooms with low 2p/3p caps and full-ring players prefer a low ceiling like WPN's flat $3.
Rake and rakeback are one number
A room with high rake and 40% back can be cheaper than a room with low rake and nothing back. Work out what you actually pay: rake generated minus everything that comes back — the room's loyalty program plus any deal on top. The rakeback comparison covers the "back" half of that sum, and Rakeback 101 explains it from scratch.