Unlike casino games, online poker does not involve a house advantage. In order to make online poker profitable, poker sites use the rake to collect money. The rake varies from site to site, but it is typically five to ten percent of each pot. As an online poker player, you have likely heard of rakeback. A multitude of poker sites have begun offering rakeback as an incentive for players to sign up. If you are looking to benefit from rakeback, here are a few things to keep in mind.

What is This Rakeback?

Rakeback is a percentage of the rake that the poker site pays back to you as a player. The percentage of rakeback is predetermined by the affiliate and can be up to 30 percent of what you contribute to the rake of each pot. For example, you will have no trouble finding an affiliate that offers 27% rakeback at FullTilt Poker.

There are two methods of calculating rakeback, and each caters to two different playing styles: loose and tight.

Understanding Dealt Rakeback and Contributed Rakeback

The two different methods of rakeback calculation are the dealt and the contributed. The dealt method calculates an equal percentage to all players in a hand. This means that if there are five players in a pot, each receives credit for contributing 20 percent of the rake, regardless of their actual percentage of contribution.

The players who benefit the most from this method are the tight players. Tight players are very picky when choosing the hands they play, but they can receive credit for rakeback just by throwing in the blinds when they’re required to do so.

The other method of calculating rakeback is the contributed method. With the contributed method, players are credited for rakeback according to exactly how much they actually contribute to the rake. So players who are more loose with the hands they choose to play stand to gain more in rakeback using the contributed method.

Monthly Payday

Rakeback is calculated per pot and therefore credited for each and every hand played where rake is collected. However, the accumulated credit for rakeback is not returned daily, but rather, at the end of the month. Your win rate is thereby boosted monthly.

If you pay $200 a month in rake, then with a 30 percent rakeback at the end of the month, $60 will be returned to your account. In order to collect 30 percent of what you already put into rake monthly, you just need to join a new site offering 30 percent rakeback.