Contributed Rake -v- Dealt Rake
Nearly all the online poker sites featured on Poker Real Money have some form of first deposit poker bonus or loyalty program that is based on “Bonus Points”. These Bonus Points are allocated according the money that an online poker room deducts from a cash game pot in rake, or that a player pays to participate in a Sit n Go or multi table tournament.
There are two methods of allocating Bonus Points for the rake deducted from a cash game pot – contributed rake and dealt rake – and this article explains both, and how you may benefit by selecting an online poker room to play real money poker which offers one over the other. Please note that the method to allocate Bonus Points for fees paid to enter Sit n Go or multi table tournament is the same whichever site you choose to play at.
Contributed Rake
The contributed rake method of distributing Bonus Points allocates points according to the personal contribution you make to the rake in a cash game. If, for example, you were playing in a €0.10/€0.25 cash game at Bet365 Poker (who award 15 Merit Points per Euro raked), in which you contributed €2.00 to a pot of €4.00; Bet365 Poker would deduct €0.20 in rake and award 3 Merit Points – 1.5 Merit Points each to you and the other player in the pot.
Even if you are not involved in the conclusion of the pot, you will still be awarded Bonus Points if you have paid any money into the pot for that hand. If, for example, you were in the big blind in the above hand and paid €0.25 (the Big Blind), and then folded your hand because of the action preceding your turn to bet; you would still receive 0.1875 Points for your contribution to the pot.
The more hands you are involved in, the more you will contribute to the rake and the more Bonus Points you will be awarded. Therefore this type of points allocation system would suit the player who tends to get involved in a high number of hands.
Dealt Rake
The dealt rake method of distributing Bonus Points allocates points to every player dealt into a hand provided rake has been deducted from a pot. All the sites featured on PokerRealMoney.com apply a ‘No Flop, No Drop’ policy. This means that, if a hand is won before the ‘flop’ is dealt (the first three community cards), no rake is deducted from the pot and no Bonus Points are awarded.
So, if you were seated at a 6-Max $0.10/$0.25 table at Americas Cardroom (who award 5.5 Rank Points per dollar raked), and were dealt into a hand which resulted in a $4.00 pot being won, Americas Cardroom will have deducted $0.20 from the pot in rake and share 1.1 Rank Points between the six players dealt into the hand.
Provided you are not ‘Sitting Out’ at a table (in which case you would not be dealt into the hand), you will be awarded a share of the Bonus Points awarded in each hand – irrespective of how much you have contributed to the pot, or even if you have not paid into the pot for that hand at all.
So Where Should You Play?
We have already mentioned that the contributed method of rake would be beneficial to a player who gets involved in a lot of hands. It should also be your preferred method of distributing points if you play games with dual pots – such as Omaha Hi Lo or 7 Card Stud Hi Lo – as players tend to get as many chips in as possible when they have hit the nuts high or low hand.
The dealt rake method of distributing Bonus Points will suit tight players, who do not get involved in a high percentage of hands – especially if you can find a table where everybody else is playing loosely! Typically, the online poker sites we feature on PokerRealMoney.com that use the dealt rake method have quite low player-per-flop percentages, but if you can find one over 30% it could significantly help you clear your first deposit poker bonus or increase the value of your site´s loyalty program!
The Contributed Rake Method is Most Suitable for:-
- Players who like to get involved in a lot of hands
- Players who play dual pot games
The Dealt Rake Method is Most Suitable for:-
- Tight, aggressive players
- Players who multitable
Poker Room Reviews by Rake Method
Read our Reviews of Online Poker Sites which use the Contributed Rake Method
Read our Reviews of Online Poker Sites which use the Dealt Rake Method
- Americas Cardroom review (US friendly)
- Intertops Poker (US friendly)
- Lock Poker scam (NOT friendly)