In the game of poker, the rake is like a woman. Always taking money out of your pocket and never putting any back in….I Hope everyone had a Happy Valentines Day, and hope you got lucky with all the rake you paid. Many of you maybe unaware of what the rake amounts are and what additional monies are taken off the table with the slight of hand that dealers use. Many of you are also unaware of how that affects the game.
Well I am not the one with all the answers but I will pose a few questions and scenarios that might shed some light on this taboo subject. So first off in case you did not know most casinos and poker rooms take a rake, this is of course how they make money off of poker. Usually in casinos and rooms the rake is 10%, however where the big difference comes in is the "extras" and or additional rakes when the pot gets to be a certain size.
In Shreveport this weekend I looked over at the placard on the 4-8 game and the rake stated 10% max of $5, and this seems pretty standard. When I was moved to the 2-5 NL game the placard said 10% max of 4. When I asked why the difference the answer was of course the bad beat jackpot. The bad beat jackpot usually gets an additional $1 per hand, but at the NL tables the bad beat does not exist for some reason. So lets move on to card rooms here in Dallas, keep in mind that I fully understand that these places are in the business to make money and that they are taking certain legal risks in doing so, so I don't fault them for taking more rake than what you would find in a casino. That being said, if you were to ask a dealer "what's the rake?" they would likely respond with the rake is 10% max of $5, but that is not entirely true. Yes the rake is capped at $5 when it hits $50. However and this is a big however. I understand it that for each additional $100 after that original $50 they take another $5. Now this may not seem like much but it adds up. If you have a $450 pot they would actually be taking $25 out of the pot. Yep that is right $25 for simply dealing a hand, and while you probably don't care about it while you are hastily staking the chips after winning a huge pot, You should, and if you are not that person stacking the chips you should care even more. Why? Cause it is money that is leaving the table. And when money leaves the table it means that you no longer have the chance to win that money. If you take 10 players and sit them at a table and they cant buy back in and they are all equally skilled and equally lucky and they just are basically trading chips around eventually there will be no chips left to trade. How fast will this occur? Well it is often said that a decent dealer can deal 30 hands an hour. Well at a likely avg. of $3 a hand in a casino and $5+ a hand in a underground room the money is being removed at a rate that boggles the mind, $90-$150+ an hour. The only way to maintain the money on the table is people re-buying and or "fresh blood" coming to the table. And when you add in the extra rakes for bad beat and high hand jackpots it goes even faster. Sure the bad beats and high hands are paid back to players, but that is just another blind bet on your side and one that you are not any favorite to win.
So how does this affect the game and more importantly your game. Essentially you are paying to play and the longer you play the more you will pay. And While I have never been a fan of sitting down winning a big pot and leaving it sort of makes sense. Usually during the course of a game you are going to get 1-2 monster hands that are going to pay you off. Then the rest of the time you are just treading water and losing money to the rake and dragging the occasional pot. But if you double up when you first sit down maybe you should look at saving your self the time and money and just get up and leave. You are doing more than taking a profit you are saving time. And taking the money off the table means it is no longer at risk. Get up and go. You can drive down the street to another place and only put your winnings on the line. Hell you might even be able to stay at the same place just say "I forgot I need to go take care of something", get up cash out leave and then come back after going to a bar for a few minutes. Some people won't like this but hell poker is war.
So next time you go to a room or casino ask what the rake is and get into the details. Find out how much you are paying to play and what you are getting in return. So what do you get in return for this rake? Well you ought to be getting service and service with a smile. You should expect comps weather that be at the poker rooms in Dallas in the form of a free meal (granted the waitress expects a tip) or free beverages. You ought to be looking at rooms and places that are going to go that extra mile, I mean after all this is what you are really paying for. You should also ask for comps etc in the casinos. So Just like You should be getting comped on V-day for your rake and playing time you ought to be getting comped in the poker rooms.
"In the poker game of life, women are the rake. They are the fucking rake."
~ Lester "Worm" Murphy, "Rounders"
