Rake & rakeback

Rake in Poker Apps: How Clubs Set It and How to Pay Less (2026)

In club poker apps the app itself doesn’t decide how much you pay per pot — the club does. That’s why rake can differ several times over between two clubs on the same app. Here’s how it works, what to ask before you deposit and how to work out your real cost of play.

Updated: 16 October 2026

Key takeaways

In ClubGG, PPPoker, PokerBros, X-Poker and Suprema the club owner sets the rake: a percentage of the pot plus a cap.
Rakeback is paid by the club or agent, not by the app — and it varies from 0 to about 50%.
Compare clubs by effective rake: table rake × (1 − rakeback).
In our catalog, ClubGG clubs charge about 5–7% with 40–50% rakeback.

5–7%typical rake in ClubGG clubs in our catalog

40–50%rakeback those clubs pay back

2.5–4%effective rake after rakeback

0%rake in a zero-rake club (yes, they exist)

Who sets the rake in poker apps

On a regular poker site such as GGPoker or PokerStars the room sets one rake schedule for everyone. Club apps work differently: the app is just the software, and every club is its own small poker room. When the owner creates a table, they choose the game, the blinds and the rake — a percentage of each pot and a cap, the maximum taken from a single hand.

Club ownersets % and cap per table

Every potrake is taken at showdown or on the flop

Agentreturns part as rakeback

Youpay the difference

Where the rake goes in a club app

When clubs join a union, the union usually sets common rules for its shared tables, so every club in it charges the same table rake — but rakeback deals still differ by club and agent.

Percentage vs cap: which matters more

The two numbers hit different players. On micro stakes the pots are small, the cap is rarely reached, and the percentage is what you actually pay. On mid and high stakes most pots are big enough to hit the cap, so the cap decides your cost. That’s why a club with 5% and a low cap can be cheaper than a club with 4% and no cap.

Your game	What decides your rake	What to look for
Micro stakes, full ring	Percentage	The lowest % you can find
Low and mid stakes, 6-max	Percentage and cap	A cap of a few big blinds
High stakes, PLO, bomb pots	Cap	A low cap — percentages matter little here

Short-handed and heads-up tables

Some apps lower the rake automatically when a table isn’t full. In ClubGG, for example, a 3–7 seat table with only 2 players charges 50% of the normal commission, an 8–9 seat table charges 50% with 3 players or fewer, and a heads-up table (2 seats) always charges 100%. Other apps leave this to the club — ask before you sit heads-up.

Rakeback: the other half of the price

Rakeback is the share of your rake that comes back to you. In club apps it’s paid by the club or your agent — usually weekly, in chips — and it’s negotiated, not fixed. That’s why the referrer ID you enter when joining a club matters: it ties you to the agent who pays your rakeback.

Share of your rakeThe clearest deal: you get back a fixed % of the rake you paid, win or lose.

Based on club winnings“Rake minus player winnings” schemes can pay you less when you win. Ask for the exact formula.

LeaderboardsWeekly prizes for volume — a bonus on top of rakeback, not a replacement.

Payout scheduleA good club pays on a fixed day without reminders.

How to compare clubs: effective rake

Never compare clubs by the table rake alone. What you really pay is the rake minus the rakeback:

Table rakee.g. 6%

Minus rakebacke.g. 50%

Effective rake6% × (1 − 0.5) = 3%

Effective rake = table rake × (1 − rakeback)

Club	Table rake	Rakeback	Effective rake
Club A	6%	50%	3%
Club B	5%	40%	3%
Club C	4%	0%	4%
Club D	7%	50%	3.5%

Club C looks cheapest on paper and is actually the most expensive. If you play a lot, the gap adds up to hundreds of dollars a month.

What to ask before your first deposit

The rake percentage and cap on your stakes — in big blinds or chips.
Whether rake is taken from pots that end preflop (“no flop, no drop”).
Your rakeback %, how it’s calculated and when it’s paid.
Bad Beat Jackpot contributions — not rake, but they also come out of the pot.
Any extra fees on deposits and withdrawals.

Red flags
The agent can’t tell you the rake or cap on your stakes.
Rakeback is “discussed later” or changes after you deposit.
Uncapped rake on high stakes or PLO tables.

Rake in the main club apps

The principle is the same everywhere — the club decides — but the apps differ in how much they help players compare.

App	Who sets rake	What we know
ClubGG	Club owner or union	Short-handed discounts built in; clubs in our catalog: 5–7%, rakeback 40–50%
PPPoker	Club owner or union	Rake set per table; rakeback through clubs and agents
PokerBros	Club owner or union	Rake set per table; big unions run rake races and leaderboards
X-Poker	Club owner or union	Rake set per table; rakeback via agents
Suprema Poker	Club owner or union	Rake set per table; union rules apply on shared tables