The intent of this article is to provide you with a simple definition of how rake and rakeback work in the world of online poker.

Poker rooms make their money by collecting rake; rake is the money poker rooms deduct from each pot.  Basically, when playing online poker, each hand you play, you are paying a fee to the poker room.  The average rake is normally ten percent of the pot with the maximum rake amount capped at three dollars.

Rakeback is a promotional offer that players can sign up for where a percentage of the rake is refunded back. Other terms for rakeback you might see are rake returns, cash back bonuses and rake rebates. 

To be eligible you would sign up at a poker room by way of a poker room affiliate at no charge to you. Going through an affiliate instead of going through the poker room ensures that you will receive rakeback.  Players who sign up to play poker directly at the online poker site forfeit the benefit of rakeback, losing out on refunds every month.  Once you sign up through an affiliate, the poker room will track your play and refund you back a certain percentage of your rake into your bankroll.

Poker rooms have their own individual rakeback programs with their own sets of terms and conditions. Educating yourself on reputable poker rooms is essential and the good ones will always provide you with rakeback schedules and have discussion forums in which to share your experiences.

Rakeback is the best way of recouping some of your stake back.  Searching the internet for the term “rakeback” will not only give you an endless list of online poker rooms that feature this offer but poker room affiliates offering rakeback services as well.