Beating the Rake

[Fonzi]

Beating the Rake

As many of you know my now, I'm a poker bankroll expert. A few of my friends tell me that they seem to have a winning game overall, but their bankroll isn't growing. They feel that there must be a hole in their game somewhere, or that their record keeping is off. In some cases, they swear that they must be getting cheated or skimmed somewhere!

Well they ARE getting skimmed. We all are.

Poker rooms make money by charging a nominal fee to use their service. We call it the rake. Whether you're talking about a cash game or a tournament, a portion of what you're paying into the pot or prize pool is being taken by the casino.

Now it may seem like a small thing, a few percentage points depending on where you play. But the rake makes break-even players into losing players, and slightly profitable players into break-even players. It is a necessary evil though, unless you become a prop player or finds a good rake free venue that won't rip you off.

This is one of the big reasons that you only count RESULTS, not pot-by-pot victories. If you can't beat the rake, you're at best a recreational player. You aren't going to be a 'break even pro', no matter how many books you read on milking casino comp systems. The only true break even pros are working for the house as prop players. They'll either earn an hourly fee in addition to any playing wins, they'll have a reduced / rebated rake, or both!

So how do you beat the rake? Don't move up to higher stakes too quickly! Simply put, if you can't beat the rake by a significant amount, and it takes you a year to move from 1/2 to 2/4 ring games, hold off. You need to be getting consistent results at whatever level you're at before you push yourself up the ladder! Otherwise, you're rapidly going to find yourself in a hole, working for the casino and not yourself. It's a hard trap to spot, it might take months and months of bankroll review to realize that you aren't beating the rake by enough to make any different.

Become a master of the basics, play at lower levels. Shoot for the elusive 1.5 to 2 big bets per hour in profit. That's considered excellent, effective profit. You can move up at 1 BB/hr at the higher levels (where 1 BB is a lot of money!), or per hour or less, and you should seriously review your game before making any move up in limits.

There is a direct correlation between winning consistently before moving up a level, and beating the rake at that next level. It's about comfort and sufficient transferable skills. If you're trapped in rake hell right now, drop down in limits! Are you beating the game again? Re-educate yourself before you move up again, because you need to do more than become better than your opponents. You need to beat the house as well, otherwise, you better pick another business.

Bill Ricardi ? Internet Gaming Guru

[YellowRoses]

Thanks for the article very interesting and informative.

[Dunbar]

Plan B would be to get rakeback and win loyalty points freerolls

[rrauwl]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

Plan B would be to get rakeback and win loyalty points freerolls

Next time. Really that's a piece in and of itself. AND there are some good books on the subject of comps and players clubs, both on and offline.

[rrauwl]

Originally Posted by YellowRoses

Thanks for the article very interesting and informative.

Not a problem! Thank Fonzi for being a patron of myself and our writing cabal.

[Fonzi]

Originally Posted by rrauwl

Next time. Really that's a piece in and of itself. AND there are some good books on the subject of comps and players clubs, both on and offline.

I'm about to book my Vegas trips and I'm getting free weekday stays at the Rio for both my Event #2 trip and for the Main Event. And discount rates for the weekends. Comp Points are the way to go both online and offline.

[acefishing]

i realy enjoyed this informative piece of wisdom coulnt agree with you more
i still play mostly lower limits up to 2/4 but am not ashamed to play .25/.50
if im on a bad run till things get back to normal

[rrauwl]

Originally Posted by Fonzi

I'm about to book my Vegas trips and I'm getting free weekday stays at the Rio for both my Event #2 trip and for the Main Event. And discount rates for the weekends. Comp Points are the way to go both online and offline.

Rock on. Make sure you bring your Total Rewards card. If you don't have one, sign up for one on their web site.

[Fonzi]

Originally Posted by rrauwl

Rock on. Make sure you bring your Total Rewards card. If you don't have one, sign up for one on their web site.

I have one, that's the only way to get free rooms.

If you make it to Vegas for the WSOP, there's a booth right outside the Amazon room that prints Rewards cards with the WSOP logo on it. It's pretty cool.

If I get some time later today, I'll post some of my tips and tricks that I've learned over the years to get free rooms and 5 star dinners.

[nightmoves44]

Some sites offer a rakeback account,you should look into it b4 joining a site,some also charge a cashout fee too,sounds like a phone company!!!