High rake is why plenty of players who "play well" never move forward. If your game produces 3 big blinds per 100 hands before rake and the table charges you 8, the result is negative even when your decisions are right. Rake isn't something you suffer, it's something you manage. And that starts with understanding what changes at the table when the fee goes up.
What rake is, in two lines
Rake is the fee the room charges for running the game. In cash games it's usually a percentage of every pot that reaches the flop (around 5%) with a cap per hand; in tournaments it's a fixed fee on top of the buy-in, typically 8% to 15%. If the concept is new to you, start with what rake is and how rakeback gives part of it back: the basics with numbers live there.
Why high rake changes your strategy (not just your results)
Three effects almost nobody looks at:
- Small pots pay the full percentage; big pots pay less. With 5% and a 3-blind cap, a 20-blind pot pays 1 (5%) and a 120-blind pot pays 3 (2.5%). Hands that live off winning small, frequent pots suffer the most.
- Pots won preflop pay no rake. Most online rooms and apps run "no flop, no drop": if everyone folds before the flop, the room takes nothing. Every pot you take down without seeing a community card is worth 100%.
- Every marginal call gets more expensive. Calling 1.5 blinds to play for a 5.5-blind pot requires 27% equity (your probability of winning). If the final pot shrinks by 5%, you need about 29%. Two points sounds small; it's exactly the two points where the bottom of your range lives.
The 5 adjustments
1. Defend less from the big blind
The big blind is the position that plays the most small pots out of position. Under high rake, the bottom of the range (K-4 offsuit, Q-7, 9-5 suited against a 3-blind open) goes from a close call to a clear fold. Don't stop defending: trim the worst 10-15% of what you used to call with. The full criteria are in big blind defense.
2. With marginal hands, 3-bet or fold; call less
Calling an open almost always lands you in a raked pot. Re-raising (a 3-bet) has two good outcomes: the opener folds and the pot is free, or they call and you play a big pot, where the cap makes rake matter less. Flat-calling hands, neither strong enough to re-raise nor cheap enough to see a flop, are the first to go.
3. Zero limps and fewer small multiway pots
Limping (entering by just paying the blind, without raising) manufactures exactly what rake punishes most: small pots, several players, reaching the flop. If the hand is worth playing, raise; if not, fold. And with three limpers in front of you, raise bigger than usual: you want fewer opponents and a pot that clears the cap quickly.
4. Keep stealing (more, not less)
Here the rake works for you. A button open that takes the blinds pays no fee. Stealing blinds often from the cutoff and button stays profitable; what drops is the profitability of stealing with junk from early positions, where you get called more and the pot reaches the flop.
5. Pick your format with a calculator in hand
In tournaments rake is a fixed fee: it doesn't change your decisions at the table, but a 15% fee on a turbo sit and go is a mountain to climb on skill alone. In cash games, look at the percentage and the cap: same 5%, different cap, very different result. Between cash games and tournaments there's no single answer, but there is one rule: before you sit down, know what the seat costs.
The math almost nobody does
Rake is measured like winrate: in big blinds per 100 hands. An active player at the lowest stakes can be paying 8 to 12 bb/100; at mid stakes the figure usually halves, because the cap matters less and pots are relatively bigger. If your net winrate is negative but your pre-rake winrate is positive, you don't have a game problem: you have a table problem.
To know your number you need to log sessions. Session tracking covers the total; tracking software breaks it down by hand and by position (the ones we use are on our tools page).
Rakeback: the other half of the adjustment
Everything above cuts what you pay. Rakeback returns part of what you already paid. If you generate 8 bb/100 in rake and get 30% back, you recover 2.4 bb/100: for a player winning 3, that's close to doubling the net result. So when you compare where to play, the question isn't "how much is the rake?" but "how much is the rake minus what comes back?". Medium rake with no return can cost more than high rake with clear rakeback. It's the standard we apply in our club, and if you play on club apps, it's worth understanding how a Suprema club works before you pick a table.
Mistakes we see in reviews
- Changing your whole style: playing so tight that rake drops but gross winrate drops with it.
- Ignoring the cap: sitting at a table with the same 5% but double the cap and not noticing until the end of the month.
- Blaming rake for a downswing. Rake is constant; variance isn't. Review your hands before you review the fee.
- Moving up "to pay less rake" without the bankroll for it. Rake drops proportionally, but opponents get better. First read when to move up in stakes.
The lesson
High rake doesn't force you to play worse: it forces you to play more precisely. Trim the marginal from the big blind, prefer re-raising to calling, don't manufacture small pots, keep stealing and pick the table knowing what it costs. Then measure, because without a number there is no adjustment. And look for a way to get part of what you pay back: it's the only play on the list that doesn't require a tough decision.
Do you know how much rake you pay per 100 hands? If not, bring your session log to the community and we'll work it out with you. Join free.