Calculating Rakeback
Written May 29, 2008 by Jack Jones
Rakeback is typically determined based on your monthly rake total for the site with which you have rakeback. If you have a 30 percent rakeback deal with a given site and you pay $500 in rake in a given month, you will get $150 refunded into your poker account the following month.
How the Monthly Rakeback Total is Calculated – Dealt or Contributed
Dealt Rakeback
Although you do not collect every pot from which rake is removed, if you’re dealt cards, you are considered to have contributed rake to that pot. The rake per hand is determined by dividing the amount of rake subtracted by the number of players. For example, if you are in a ten-handed Texas Holdem game and $4 is taken out of a pot in rake, you are considered to have contributed $ .40 to that rake. After ten hands, if $4 has been taken out of every pot, you have contributed $4 of rake.
Contributed
If the site you play on uses contributed rakeback, you receive rakeback on the money you actually put into the pot and don’t have to share the money with someone who always folds his texas holdem hands pre-flop. This system is better for action players who are involved in many hands, while dealt rakeback is better for tight and patient players.
Rakeback in Tournaments
The particular rakeback site you are working with may not award rakeback for tournament play. If they do, it will usually be equal to your entry fee for each tournament (not the buy-in, which is the first number you see connected to a tournament, but the second, smaller number, e.g. if a tournament fee is $50 + $5, $5 is the rake).
Easy Rakeback Calculation
If you want to get a rough estimate of how much rakeback you are going to get, the rakeback affiliate you signed up with should have a rakeback calculator on their site. Just input the game you usually play, how long you play and what your affiliate deal is, and you’ll get a quick estimate of how much monthly rakeback you can generally expect.