With the buzz around rakeback growing many online players are asking us “What is rakeback?” – hopefully this easy to follow explanation will help:

What is Rake?

Rake is a poker site’s main source of income and is paid by every single real money player. In cash games it is the percentage of the pot which the house takes as a service for providing the software to play on. In tournaments it is the additional fee which is not included in the total prize pool.

For example:

In a cash game at Betfair the pot is $60.

Rake is calculated at 5% so Betfair’s rake would be $3.

In a tournament the entrance fee is $20 + $2 – the rake would be the $2

What is Rakeback?

Rakeback is the repaying of a proportion of the rake taken back into your account. Rakeback is the online version of comps at a casino, but instead of a free room in a virtual Betfair hotel you receive cold hard cash. Joining Betfair through RakebackPoker.com allows the player to receive 30% of their rake delivered straight into their account on a periodical basis. RakebackPoker.com is allowed to do this because we drive traffic to Betfair’s site and keep players there. We offer you the loyalty bonuses you deserve!

How much Rake do I pay?

It is not uncommon for players who multi-table to pay in excess of $1,000 in rake every month. For an estimation of how much rake you are paying please use our calculator at the bottom on the right hand side of the screen.

With Rakebackpoker.com you could receive 30% of your contributed rake back from Betfair. Contributed rake is calculated by analysing the investment of each player into a pot and thus the percentage of the rake they are owed.

For example:

Hero (with a rakeback deal) contributed $20 to a $60 pot, Betfair take 5% or $3 of this pot as the rake. Hero has contributed one third of the total pot and so will receive rakeback on 1/3 of the total rake or $1. In this case Hero receives rakeback in his account of $0.30 – all for just one hand on one table.

So now we’ve answered the question “What is Rakeback?” simply click here to start receiving rakeback at Betfair.