Formats

Cash Game Poker: How It Works, Stakes, Rake and Where to Find a Table Online (2026)

Cash games are poker in its purest form: the chips on the table are money, you sit down and leave whenever you like, and every pot is settled on the spot. That freedom is why most of the world’s poker is cash. This guide covers how a cash table works, what stakes and buy-ins mean, where the rake hides, which table rules change the game, how much bankroll you need — and where to find a running cash table online right now.

Updated: 23 October 2026

Looking for a cash table today? The club catalog on RatePokerClub lists clubs by app, stakes, games and rakeback with player reviews, and the poker rooms section covers the big sites. Each club page shows the agent contact to join.

Key takeaways

In a cash game chips equal money at a fixed rate; you buy in for an amount you choose (usually 40–100 big blinds) and can leave any time.
Stakes are written as blinds: $0.25/$0.50 is “NL50” — the big blind is $0.50 and a standard 100 BB buy-in is $50.
Rake is taken from each pot — typically 3–5% with a cap of 2–5 big blinds — so the rake cap matters as much as the percentage.
A winning cash player keeps 20–50 buy-ins for their stake; the deeper the tables and the wilder the game, the more.
Club apps (PPPoker, ClubGG, PokerBros) run cash tables around the clock inside unions; the softest ones are at micro and low stakes.

100 BBstandard full buy-in

3–5%typical rake with a cap

20–50buy-ins of bankroll for cash

24/7cash tables in large unions

Cash game vs tournament

In a tournament you pay once, get a stack of tournament chips and play until you bust or win; the prize depends on where you finish. In a cash game nothing is fixed: every chip has a face value, you can add money, rebuy after a lost stack and cash out whenever you stand up. Blinds never go up, so there is no pressure to gamble — the game is about making better decisions than the people at your table, hand after hand.

	Cash game	Tournament
Chips	Real money at a fixed rate	Tournament chips, no cash value
Blinds	Fixed	Increase every level
Leaving	Any time	Only when you bust or the event ends
Rebuy	Any time, up to the table max	Only while re-entry is open
Variance	Lower — results spread evenly	Higher — a few deep runs decide everything
Time	Your choice	Hours, unknown end

Stakes, blinds and buy-ins

Cash stakes are named by the blinds. $1/$2 means a small blind of $1 and a big blind of $2; players also say “NL200” — the standard 100-big-blind buy-in. In club apps the same idea applies to chips: a 0.5/1 table with chips worth $1 each is NL100.

Each table has a minimum and maximum buy-in, usually 40–100 BB (some tables allow 200 BB or more — “deep”). Buying in for the maximum gives you the full set of options postflop and lets you win a whole stack from a weaker player; a short buy-in is a legitimate strategy for push/fold play but earns less from mistakes.

Stakes	Blinds	100 BB buy-in	Who plays
Micro	$0.01/$0.02 – $0.05/$0.10	$2 – $10	Beginners, learning, play-money graduates
Low	$0.10/$0.25 – $0.50/$1	$25 – $100	Most online regulars and recreational players
Mid	$1/$2 – $2/$5	$200 – $500	Experienced regulars, club “high” tables
High	$5/$10 and up	$1 000+	Professionals and well-off amateurs

Rake: where the house takes its share

In cash games the room or club takes rake from pots: a percentage of each pot (usually 3–5%) up to a cap — a maximum per hand, often 2–5 big blinds. Many places use “no flop, no drop”: pots that end preflop are rake-free. The cap is what matters at higher stakes: 5% of a 300 BB pot is 15 BB without a cap and 3 BB with one.

Club apps return part of the rake as rakeback through agents — 30–50% is common, which makes the real cost of playing far lower than in the big rooms. Compare clubs by rake and rakeback in the catalog; the maths of rake vs rakeback is in our rake guide.

Table rules that change the game

StraddleA voluntary blind of 2 BB posted before the cards, usually from under the gun. It doubles the effective stakes and makes pots bigger.

Run it twiceWhen players are all-in, the remaining board is dealt twice and the pot is split by the results. Same expectation, half the variance.

Bomb potEveryone posts an ante and the flop is dealt with no preflop betting. Huge multiway pots — see our bomb pot guide.

InsuranceAn all-in favourite can insure part of the pot against a bad beat. Common in club apps; it reduces variance at a price.

Seat / stack rulesMinimum stack to stay seated, time limits per hand, no ratholing (leaving and returning short). Read the club rules before sitting.

VPIP and jackpotsSome clubs enforce minimum VPIP to keep tables loose, and bad beat jackpots add a lottery on top of the game.

Table selection: the easiest edge there is

In cash games you choose your table — and that choice is worth more than any single strategy tweak. Look for tables with big average pots relative to the blinds, several short or oversized stacks, players who limp and call a lot and a seat to the left of the loosest player. In club apps the lobby shows players, average pot and often VPIP; a 40% VPIP table is where the money is.

Signs of a good cash table
Average pot above 15–20 big blinds at a 6-max table.
Many hands going to the flop multiway.
Players with odd stack sizes — they rebuy to random amounts, a recreational tell.
Chat is active and friendly; regulars rarely chat.
Evening and weekend hours in the club’s home time zone.

Bankroll for cash games

Cash variance is gentler than in tournaments, but a losing stretch of 10–15 buy-ins is normal even for winners. The usual guideline is 20–30 buy-ins for a solid winner at low stakes and 40–50 for aggressive games, deep tables or if the money matters to you. Move down a level when you drop below the floor, move up when you have the roll for the next stake plus a cushion. Our bankroll calculator turns your winrate and standard deviation into a risk of ruin.

Your situation	Buy-ins to keep
Beginner, micro stakes, learning	20–30 (losses are tuition)
Winning low-stakes regular	30–40
Mid stakes or very aggressive games	40–50
Playing for a living	50–100

Where to find a cash table online

Two worlds offer cash poker online. Poker rooms (GGPoker, PokerStars and the others in our rooms section) have the biggest lobbies at all hours, but tougher fields and, for players from some countries, access problems. Club apps — PPPoker, ClubGG, PokerBros, Suprema, X-Poker — run private clubs joined into unions: the fields are softer, rakeback is higher, and unions keep cash tables full around the clock. You join by club ID through an agent, who handles deposits and withdrawals.

Step 1Pick a clubcatalog: app, stakes, rakeback

Step 2Contact the agentTelegram on the club page

Step 3Join by IDapproval in minutes

Step 4Buy chipsthrough the agent

Step 5Sit downcash lobby, pick a table

From the catalog to a cash table in a club app

PPPoker 1.0 · 1

ClubGG 4.5 · 1

PokerBrosReviews & guide

RatePokerClub catalogTop PPPoker clubs by player reviews

All clubs

SALOON PHNo reviews yetUnion: Pinoy DonksOpen club #2

SALOON RUBNo reviews yetRakeback 50%Union: DoubleRubleOpen club #3

VOLNANo reviews yetRakeback 50%Union: YAMAL UnionOpen club #4

ROOXNo reviews yetRakeback 40%Union: PPPFishOpen club #5

FISHIFYNo reviews yetRakeback 45%Union: Prime TimeOpen club

01What is a cash game in poker?

A game where chips have a fixed money value, blinds don’t change and you can join or leave at any time. Each pot is settled on the spot.

02How much should I buy in for?

The table maximum, usually 100 big blinds, if you want to play a full strategy. A short buy-in (40 BB) is fine for a push/fold style or when you’re learning a new stake.

03What is rake in a cash game?

A percentage of each pot (usually 3–5%) up to a cap of a few big blinds, taken by the room or club. Rakeback returns part of it to you.

04How many buy-ins do I need for cash games?

20–30 for a winning player at low stakes, 40–50 for aggressive or mid-stakes games. Drop a level when you fall below your floor.

05Where do I find cash tables with weak players?

Club apps at micro and low stakes, in the club’s evening hours. Use the catalog to compare clubs by stakes, games and rakeback and read player reviews.

06Is cash or tournaments better for a beginner?

Cash: you control the stakes and the time, variance is lower, and you can review hands between sessions. Tournaments add ICM and structure on top of basic poker.