Calculate Rakeback

In this article, we're going to teach you how to calculate Rakeback. Online poker rakeback is a great way to increase your poker profits. In order to fully understand just how lucrative your Rakeback deal is, you can calculate your potential rakeback.

There are various types of online poker Rakeback deals, each calculated in a similar way, but determined by different factors in a poker hand. We'll be going over how to calculate Rakeback for the different methods poker rooms use to measure your rake:

Shared Rakeback

Dealt Rakeback

Contributed Rakeback

Tournament Rakeback

How to Calculate Rakeback: First Things First

Before we get into the exact formulas for calculating Rakeback, let's lay out a few ground rules. We will be using a $60 pot, which is raked at $3, and assume you have a rakeback deal of 30%.

A poker pot that reaches at least $60 will always be raked at exactly $3, even if the pot increases to $1,000 before the hand is over. At almost every online poker room, the standard rake is 5% capped at $3. Note that there are some online poker rooms that cap the rake at $5, but it's rare, so we're dismissing that fact in our "How to Calculate Rakeback" tutorial.

How To Calculate Shared Rakeback

A Shared Rakeback deal pays a Rakeback percentage according to the total rake, divided by the number of contributing players. A contributing player is any player who put at least one chip into the pot. Small Blind and Big Blind bettors are always contributors to the pot.

The amount of rake individually contributed does not matter. The amount raked divided by the number of players contributing will determine your shared Rakeback.

Let's say you're playing at a 9-seater table, but only 4 players contribute to the pot, raked at $3. The formula is:

Rake / Players = Average Rake

$3 / 4 = $0.75

The next step is to find your Rakeback percentage (remember, we're using the 30% Rakeback) from this average rake. The formula is:

Average Rake * Rakeback Percentage = Shared Rakeback

$0.75 x 0.3 = $0.225

For convenience, we'll round that up to $0.23. This is the amount you would earn in Shared Rakeback for the hand.

How To Calculate Dealt Rakeback

Dealt Rakeback is very similar to Shared Rakeback. The only differences are 1) so long as you are dealt cards in the hand, you are eligible to receive Dealt Rakeback (no contribution necessary), and 2) the total rake is divided by all players dealt in the hand, not just those who contribute.

At a short-handed table of 6, where all 6 are dealt cards, you must divide the total rake ($3) by all 6 players to find the average rake amount.

Rake / All Players = Average Rake

$3 / 6 = $0.50

From the average rake, we can find your Rakeback percentage.

Average Rake * Rakeback Percentage = Dealt Rakeback

$0.50 x 0.3 = $0.15

The Dealt Rakeback earned for the hand is $0.15.

Let's try one more example, with a full table of 10 players.

$3 / 10 = $0.30

Next, calculate the Rakeback percentage.

$0.30 x 0.3 (30%) = $0.09

This hand would earn $0.09 in dealt Rakeback

How To Calculate Rakeback: Contributed Rakeback

Contributed Rakeback is generally the hardest to calculate because of the way it is paid. Contributed Rakeback does not pay from a average rake amount, but rather as an exact percentage of the player's contribution to the rake.

The first step is to find exactly what percentage you contributed. Let's say you dropped $20 into a $60 pot, raked at $3. To find the percentage, we must first determine what percent contribution to the pot belongs to you. The formula is dollars contributed divided by total pot size:

20 / 60 = .3333

Now we multiply this percentage by the total amount raked to find your total contribution:

$3 x 0.3333 = $1

This $1 is what your contributed Rakeback percentage will be paid from. Again, the average Rakeback is 30%, so we're looking for 30% of $1.

$1 x 0.3 = $0.30

You would collect $0.30 in Contributed Rakeback for this hand.

How To Calculate Rakeback: Tournament Rakeback

Last, we'll define how to calculate Tournament Rakeback. The good news is, this is the easiest online poker Rakeback to calculate. Your Rakeback percentage is taken directly from the amount you pay in tournament fees. Note that it is only the fee, not the buy-in, which is calculated into Tournament Rakeback.

A $10+$1 tournament has a $1 fee, so at 30% Tournament Rakeback...

$1 x 0.3 (30%) = $0.30 Tournament Rakeback

A $50+$5 tournament would earn $1.50 in Tournament Rakeback.

$5 x 0.3 = $1.50

For more information on the various forms of rakeback, please visit the following pages:

Shared Rakeback

Dealt Rakeback

Contributed Rakeback

Tournament Rakeback