Rake
The share of each buy-in the site keeps as its fee instead of adding it to the prize pool.
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- What it means
- Rake, or the entry fee, is the part of a buy-in that does not go into the prize pool.
- How it is calculated
- The simulator takes rake as a share of the buy-in: the prize pool is the field size × (1 − rake) buy-ins. ROI is measured after rake.
- Worked example
- A $10 tournament with 10% rake puts $9 per player in the pool. With 500 players the pool is $4,500 and the site keeps $500.
- Why it matters
- Rake is why a break-even player loses money: every player's average return is 1 − rake of a buy-in before skill comes in.
Try it: Variance and bankroll calculator
See also: ROI, In the money (ITM), Bankroll