PokerStars Rake Structure

PokerStars rake adheres to a “no flop, no drop” policy, meaning that no money is taken out of hands that end on the first betting round (before the flop in Hold’em and Omaha, before Fourth Street in Stud games, and before the Draw in Draw games).

Cash Game Rake is 5%

The rough summary of PokerStars rake structure for cash games is that they take 5% rake of every pot up to $2 at low stakes, $3 at mid stakes, and $5 at the very highest stakes. An exception is made for 1-on-1 tables, which are raked at a maximum of $0.50 per pot. Overall, the rake on PokerStars is nearly identical to the rake scheme of its closests competitors. PokerStars rake back returns range from 5.50% to 68.42% based on VIP level.

Pot Limit and No Limit Rake at PokerStars

Stakes up to and including $0.10/$0.25

Stakes higher than $0.10/$0.25, up to and including $50.00/$100.00

Stakes higher than $50.00/$100.00

Fixed Limit Rake at PokerStars

Stakes up to and including $1.00/$2.00

Stakes higher than $1.00/$2.00, up to and including $100/$200

Stakes higher than $100/$200

Tournament Rake is 6-10%

Tournament buy-ins are divided into two separate pieces: one large piece for the prize pool, and a smaller piece to cover PokerStars’ hosting costs. This latter piece represents the “rake” of the tournament, and it is typically is between 6-10% of the total buy-in.

All tournament buy-ins on PokerStars are described using this two-part system. So in a $100 + $9 tournament, for example, for each entry, $100 goes to the prize pool and $9 rake goes to PokerStars.

PokerStars Rake Calculation

PokerStars uses the dealt method to estimate rake contribution. This means that for every hand, each player who was dealt cards will If six players are dealt into a hand that ends up being raked for $1.50, then each player is said to have contributed $0.25 of rake.

PokerStars rakeback comes in form of Frequent Player Points are awarded to players based on how much rake they contribute, which can then be converted to cash at the PokerStars VIP Store. Savvy players would do well to understand the implications of the rake calculation system.