Best Poker Rakeback Deals in 2026
The best poker rakeback deals are like a cheat code to boost your bankroll, earning you back a slice of the rake you pay every time you hit the tables.
Poker rakeback offers work on both cash games and MTTs, and some sites pay out even if you’re not a regular. The key is to choose the rakeback deal that’ll give you maximum value – and we’ve lined them all up.
In This Guide
What is Rakeback?
You might wonder why rake is important. Consider it the cost of playing poker for real money. It’s the portion of each cash game pot, or percentage of every tournament buy-in, that the site keeps to pay for its services.
Rakeback is when some of those funds are put back into your account. It’s one of those poker deals which can have a big impact over time.
The best online poker rakeback repays some of the rake you’ve paid either weekly or monthly. It’s a way to reward you for your time at the tables, and it means you get more back if you play longer or for higher stakes.
If you break even from poker, or even lose a little at the tables, you can profit once the best poker rakeback deals are applied.
If you’re a high-volume players, this can add significantly to your bankroll.
How the Best Rakeback Poker Sites Work
So, how do you calculate rakeback in poker? Conveniently, poker sites will automatically log how much you pay in rake, taking into account your cash game action and the tournaments you enter.
If the platform has a straightforward rakeback policy – let’s say 25% – you’ll get back a quarter of all your rake.
Some sites prefer to offer cashback based on how many points you accumulate. This can be harder to quantify in terms of value. Everygame Poker, for example, awards Frequent Player Points as you play, and for every 100 FPPs, you receive a Gold Chip. You can redeem 20 Gold Chips for $5, or use them to enter Gold Chip tournaments.
Rakeback in Cash Games
Rake in cash games is generally around 5%, so when any pot is awarded, 5% is removed for the house. A rake cap is usually placed on every pot, and this amount will depend on the table stakes.
If you’re really active when playing Omaha or Texas Hold’em, you’ll contribute more rake, since you’ll be involved in more hands and bigger pots. This means you can expect to receive a higher percentage than passive cash game players, who rarely put their chips across the line.
Example:
- You’re playing with a flat 33% rakeback
- You play a $0.50/$1 ring game for two hours, paying $12 in rake
- $12 (total rake) x 0.33 (rakeback percentage) = $3.96
- You receive $3.96 rakeback from your session
Rakeback in MTTs
Rakeback in MTTs is different from cash games since the house doesn’t take a percentage of every pot played throughout a tournament. Instead, you’ll pay one entry fee, or buy-in, which attracts rake (often referred to as a tournament fee).
Fees are based on a buy-in percentage that might change from one tournament to another, even on the same site. For example, a $5 tournament might attract a 10% fee, meaning only $4.50 goes to the prize pool, while the house withholds $0.50.
Your rakeback will be a percentage of your total tournament fees paid over the course of a week or month.
Example:
- You’re playing with a flat 33% rakeback
- You play four $50 + $5 MTTs in a week
- $20 (total rake) x 0.33 (rakeback percentage) = $6.60
- You receive $6.60 rakeback from your tourneys
Types of Rakeback in Poker
Like poker probability and odds, the best poker rakeback deals are not as straightforward as a single calculation.
Here’s how the different types of rakeback work:
Dealt Rakeback
This version evenly distributes a pot’s rake to all players sitting at the table, regardless of whether they went to showdown or folded pre-flop.
Each player’s share is then subjected to the site’s rakeback percentage to calculate how much they receive.
Shared Rakeback
This method is similar to dealt rakeback, except that the rake is split evenly only between those players who voluntarily put money in the pot. If you fold without contributing, or even pay the blinds without further action, you won’t get a cent.
Contributed Rakeback
The most common format is contributed rakeback, where your reward depends on how much you contributed to the pot. If you paid $20 into a $60 pot, you’ll get much more back than the player who paid the big blind but folded without putting in more chips.
Poker Rakeback Payouts
The best rakeback deals pay out regularly. It might be weekly or monthly, and is also dependent on the stakes and game types you choose. You’ll either receive an email with your award amount, or it’ll pop up as a notification in your account.
There are no wagering requirements at the best rakeback poker sites, as you’ll get genuine cash.
Cashing Out Your Rakeback
You can cash out your rakeback just as you would regular poker winnings. Crypto payments are becoming increasingly common.
In some cases, you may be able to cash out to your bank card, but it’ll be slower and may come with a fee.
Expert Tips for Playing at the Best Poker Rakeback Sites
Now you understand how the best rakeback deals work and the different forms available, you’re in a better position to make the most of this potentially lucrative reward. These tips will help you get the most from your play.
- Choose wisely: Choose the poker rakeback option that suit your play.
- Don’t chase the volume: Although you get more rakeback the more you play, only spend what you can afford in terms of money and time. Overdoing it only exposes you to financial risk, and you’ll play worse if tired and irritated.
- Try multi-tabling: One way to increase volume without adding time is by multi-tabling. Once you have enough experience, try to open more than one cash game table, or play more than one tournament at a time.
- Keep rakeback in your bankroll: Adding your bonus to your playing funds means you have more to play with, and so can move up a level faster. Stick to solid bankroll management rules, such as only ever exposing 2-5% of your bankroll to any session. This means you’ll never play scared or risk busting your roll.
- Stick to your hand ranges: Even if you’ve locked in one of the best rakeback deals around, you shouldn’t overplay your hands because you’re itching to get involved. Play your cards well and let your skill take care of the results.
How to Claim Poker Rakeback
Many of the best poker rakeback deals are loaded straight into your account. But you may need to opt in or choose your plan to get started.
Here are the different ways you can claim rakeback on poker:
- Automatic. Some of the very best poker rakeback deals are fully automated, and don’t require anything on your part.
- Opt in. You may need to manually opt in. This could mean hitting a button once per month or week, or it could just be a one-time thing. You’ll be able to see this in the promotions section.
- Email. Some poker rooms, such as Everygame, require you to email the team to start earning rakeback. You’ll only need to do this once.
How to Calculate Rakeback in Poker
The first thing to know is that rakeback is calculated automatically by the poker room. So, if your only concern is getting paid, you don’t have to sit there and work it out.
If you’re a high-stakes player or just want a deeper understanding of how the best poker rakeback deals work, here’s how to calculate rake.
Cash Game Rake
There are a few different ways that poker rooms calculate rake at cash game tables. For most online poker rooms, a small percentage is taken from each pot you play. This is generally anywhere from 2% to 10%, with around 5% being average.
If you’re playing live, the dealer might only collect rake from the player on the dealer button. There’s also something called no flop no drop, which means a poker room doesn’t charge rake on hands which are wrapped up before the flop.
To calculate poker cash game rakeback:
- Multiply the pot size by the rake. For example, if you win a $3 pot, multiply it by the rake (0.05 if it’s 5%) and you get $0.15.
- Multiply the total rake by the rakeback amount. For instance, if you receive 20% rakeback on the previous example, you’d multiple $0.15 (the rake you’ve paid) by 0.2 (20%) for $0.03.
MTT Rake
You know when you open a tournament in the lobby and there’s a ‘+’ sign for the buy-in? The second number is how much rake you’ll pay. So, if you join a $10 + $1 MTT, you’ll pay $1 in rake. If it’s a $200 + $15 event, you’re paying $15 in rake.
In MTTs, rake is paid once and is fixed. Your action at the tables has no bearing on how much rake you pay.
To calculate poker tournament rakeback:
- Check out how much rake you’ve paid. It’ll be in the tournament lobby, just after the ‘+’ symbol.
- Multiply the total rake by the rakeback amount. For instance, if you receive 30% rakeback on a $10 + $1 MTT, you’d multiple $1 (the rake you’ve paid) by 0.3 (30%) for $0.30.
Is Poker Rakeback Worth It?
Yes, it’s absolutely worth claiming rakeback where possible, because it’s your chance to reclaim money for free and has no drawbacks.
There are two three reasons that poker players don’t claim rakeback:
- They’re not aware of rakeback
- They don’t know how to claim it
- They believe they don’t play enough to make it worthwhile
After reading our rakeback guide, you already know what it is and how to claim it. The only obstacle might be if you feel you won’t earn much from it.
This may be true if you’re a casual player. Your rakeback could end up being just a few bucks per month, or even cents. But, no matter how small the margins, it’s still worth it. The best rakeback offers rarely require you to do too much after opting in, and even small claims can dd up over time.
Think of it like getting interest on a low bank balance. If you can’t be bothered getting the best deal, you’re the only one losing out.
Key Takeaways
Rakeback and other forms of cashback remain a firm favorite because they’re like passive income. Each week or month, you receive a cash percentage of all your cash game rake or tournament fees. It’s one of the best poker bonuses, as it boosts your bankroll with no drawbacks.
Some will consider themselves professional rakeback players because they can generate a considerable profit.
- You get higher rewards the more you play.
- Adopt solid bankroll management to make the most of the best rakeback deals.
