No Rake Vs. Rake Back

If you are plugged in to the Internet poker world, you probably already know about the idea of rakeback. It seems like everyone on the Internet is talking about the idea of rake back, essentially getting the casino to give back the money you give them to play. However, you may also have heard talk about "no rake" Internet poker sites. If so, you may be wondering if there is a difference between rake back and no rake poker, what it is, and which is better. When you play Internet poker, or poker at any kind of casino for that matter, the casino takes what is called a rake. A rake is a few chips taken out of each pot to pay the casino. Most Internet casinos have a policy of "no flop no drop" meaning if there is a winner before the flop in a Texas hold'em game, they do not take any rake. Rake back deals are arrangements designed so that the players who have them will have some of the rake money redeposited into their poker account.

A no rake policy is one in which no rake is taken out of the pot at all. The World Poker Exchange site offers a no rake policy in which they do take the rake out of each pot, but redeposit the entire amount into their players' bankrolls, not taking any for the house.

So which is better? In most cases, no rake is better, if you can get it. In most rake back arrangements, you are only getting a percentage of a rake back, which means you are still paying some rake. In addition, the amount of rake you get back may be dependent on the amount of play, so more casual players are penalized, which is not the case for those playing on a no rake site.

However, certain rake back arrangements, such as online prop deals, may offer more than 100 percent of your rake back as compensation. In this case, you are actually getting paid to play, since you are getting more money deposited into your account than you actually paid in rake. In this case, the rake back policy is clearly better.

The deal you are most often going to find online is a rake back deal. Find the highest percentage rake back you can get, and use it combined with your poker skill to pad that bankroll. Rakebrain.com offers great rakeback deals for many different poker sites, including InterPoker and Mansion Poker.