What is a Poker Rake Race?

Before we can fully answer this question we have to look at the much bigger question of what is Poker Rake? Poker rake is a fee that a casino or online poker room takes during a poker game. The exact amount you pay in poker rake can vary from casino to casino and room to room but a rough estimate is anywhere between 2-10% of the total pot. In a tournament the rake is normally paid as part of the entrance fee however in a cash game it is taken out of the pot at the end of each hand.

A poker room takes poker rake to pay for the upkeep of the casino and pay wages for their workers, in the case of a bricks and mortar casino. Alternatively, for an online poker room, the poker rake will go towards paying for domain hosting fees and future website development. For more information on poker rake and the various ways that it can be taken you can refer to our "What is Poker Rake?" guide.

Here at RakeTheRake.com we provide rakeback services for our customers, which means that poker players that sign up with us can claim a portion of their poker rake back from the poker sites, hence the term rakeback. We work with many different online poker sites to provide the best possible rakeback deals that are available anywhere on the internet.

Now, back to the original question. What is a poker rake race? A poker rake race is a competition between several poker players to rake the largest amount in a given period, such as a week or a month. In some of the more unusual poker races there is a target of a certain amount raked as opposed to a certain time period i.e. the first player to rake $1000 is the winner.

Here at RakeTheRake we provide poker rake races for all of our players. Some poker races are only available at certain poker rooms, for example, we offer a Monthly RakeTheRake Rake Race. At the end of the month, we will share a large prize amongst the top rakers of the month, with first place obviously receiving the largest share.

Winning a Rake Race

At this point, the obvious next question is "How do I win a rake race?". The first and most unsurprising answer to that is to pay the most rake. The best way to pay more rake is to play more hands of poker than anyone else, so the first step is to sign up at a poker room of your choice and then provide your player ID to us here at Rake The Rake.

Once you have signed up, then you can start playing, I would suggest if you aren't already a regular player to check out our "Rules of Texas Hold 'em Poker" guide. If you are already aware of the basic rules of the game and feel confident to get started then I would always suggest to first start playing at lower stakes games such as 50c/$1 or $1/$2 before moving to the higher stakes games.

If you find yourself lost at any point then you can always refer back to the guide above, or you could have our "Texas Hold 'em Poker Hands Rankings" guide open on a different tab. This guide can help you make sure if you have a strong hand or not. It's easy to say that two pair beats a pair, that much is obvious, but as you go up in hands and you start to get more and more valuable hands it can get confusing.

Do 3 Kings beat a Straight? How about 4 of a Kind against a Full House? There have been many self-confessed "poker pros" that have come unstuck when they become too complacent, remember, ego is not on your side, keep a level head and don't get too excited, or too disappointed either, your luck can change at any moment, for better or worse.

Multi-Tabling

Once you feel you have a solid grasp of the game, it's nuances and trivialities, it could be time to try the advanced, but common, practice of "Multi-Tabling". Multi-Tabling is the term used for when a player plays at several tables at once.

There are several benefits to Multi-Tabling but it essentially boils down to the amount of hands you play, if you play more hands, you pay more rake, if you pay more rake, you can claim more rake back. Be aware though, some online poker sites have strict rules banning the use of this practice, so be sure to check the rules where you play before you try this. It doesn't matter how lucky you are, you can't win any money if your account has been suspended.