What is Rake? Rake Explained in 2 minutes

Fact checked by:
Mike Goodpaster Last Verified
26/06/2026 Add betting.net™ as a preferred source.

The rake is the amount of money taken by the house in return for operating a poker game. Unlike many other games available to play at a casino, the house is not involved in the betting themselves – poker is played between the players, so money would only change hands between the participants. Because of this, the casino takes a commission in return. When playing online poker cash games, a small percentage of each pot is kept for the provider/host. In most cases, the rake can have a maximum cap of a low amount and is only taken if there is a flop. This doesn't sound like a very much, but it amounts to a substantial amount when you calculate how many games are played over a longer period of time.

Our favorite poker betting sites

How is the Rake used in Betting?

With roulette, blackjack and a range of other games the participants play against the dealer who is a representative of the casino, known as “the house”. If the hands are lost the money goes to the house. In poker the money is only won by the players, so casinos needed a way of making money from the games – that’s where the rake comes in.

The rake can be taken in a number of ways – either by tournament fees, a percentage of the chips taken while the hand is being played or a timed collection. The amount can be anywhere between 2.5%-10% of the hand, although promotions can sometimes offer players the chance to play for less.

The rake doesn’t really exist in sports betting, as bettors are usually betting against the bookmaker’s odds. In American sportsbooks though there is a vigorish – sometimes known as the vig, juice or cut – which is the amount charged by the bookmaker for taking a bet.

Why Do Poker Sites Charge Rake?

The costs for running an online poker site or online poker betting app. You’ll have to pay for:

Web servers that can handle multiple games with potentially hundreds to thousands of consecutive players.
The initial investments required to develop a great poker game and promotions to remain the most renouned game.
24/7 support staff to handle customer service.

When combined, these things represent a massive expense on the budget sheet. Thus low rake poker sites need massive profits to even it all out.

Low Rake Poker Sites

There are no rules for poker sites which stipulate how much rake is allowed to be taken. If you're curious to know more about the rules of online poker we suggest reading up on that to get acquainted with the game before you start playing poker.

Did You Know...

With the recent changes to the sports betting laws in the United States, some professional leagues have attempted to negotiate a kind of rake on bets relating to their games, arguing that they should receive a cut of the betting money since they are putting on the events. There has been no settlement on this proposal as yet.

Is sports betting more your thing than online poker?

[bookie-finder]