What Is Rakeback and How Does It Work in 2026?

If you play online poker, you're paying rake on every hand. Rakeback is simply getting a percentage of that money back. It's the single most important factor in your long-term profitability as a poker player. ## How Rake Works Every time you play a cash game hand, the poker room takes a small percentage of the pot — typically 3-5% up to a cap. For tournaments, there's a built-in fee (the "vig" or "juice") on top of the buy-in. Over thousands of hands, this adds up to a significant amount. For example, if you play NL100 ($.50/$1 blinds) and generate $30/hour in rake across two tables, that's $720/month in rake. At 50% rakeback, you'd receive $360/month back — money that goes straight to your bottom line regardless of whether you win or lose at the tables. ## Rakeback Calculation Methods Not all rakeback is calculated the same way: **Weighted Contributed**: You receive rakeback proportional to how much you contributed to the pot. If you folded preflop, you get nothing for that hand. This is the most common method used by rooms like GGPoker and PokerStars. **Dealt**: Every player dealt cards receives an equal share of the rakeback, regardless of whether they played the hand. This method benefits tight players who fold a lot. ACR and BCP on the Winning Poker Network use this method for their fixed rakeback. ## Top Rakeback Deals in 2026 Here's what the major rooms are offering: - **GGPoker**: 24-80% via Ocean Rewards (8 tiers based on monthly play volume) - **CoinPoker**: 33% flat rakeback paid weekly in CHP tokens - **Americas Cardroom**: 27% fixed OR up to 65% via Elite Benefits - **PokerStars**: 15-60% via Stars Rewards chests - **888poker**: 4-50% through weekly rakeback promos - **WPT Global**: 20-40% via Table Starter Boost program - **BetOnline**: 10-30% through Poker RISE program ## How to Choose the Best Rakeback Deal The best deal depends on your playing style and volume: 1. **Low volume recreational players**: CoinPoker's flat 33% is hard to beat — no tiers to climb, no minimum requirements 2. **Mid-stakes grinders**: GGPoker's Ocean Rewards scales well if you can reach Whale or Shark tiers 3. **High volume pros**: ACR's Elite Benefits at 65% is one of the highest available anywhere 4. **Crypto enthusiasts**: CoinPoker pays in CHP token which can appreciate in value Use our rakeback calculator to compare your expected earnings across all rooms based on your specific stakes and volume.