In online poker, looking at your gross winnings can be deceptive. The true measure of a professional player is their win rate in bb/100 (Big Blinds per 100 hands). But there is a silent killer that eats into that number: The Rake.
Many players don’t realize that at micro-stakes, the rake can be as high as 8-10 bb/100, making it incredibly difficult to beat the game without a good rakeback deal. Our Rake Analysis Tool allows you to take data from your tracker (Holdem Manager 3, PokerTracker 4, or Hand2Note) and convert it into actionable insights. It calculates your Rake Load and determines exactly how much your rakeback boosts your actual win rate.
Rake Analysis Tool
bb/100 CalculatorHow to Use the Calculator
This tool is designed to work with your poker database. Here is how to audit your costs:
- Select Stake: Choose the limit you play most often (e.g., NL25 or NL100). This determines the value of one big blind.
- Enter Volume data:
- Hands Played: Enter the sample size from your database (e.g., 50,000 hands).
- Total Rake Paid ($): Look at your tracker’s “Rake” or “Fee” column for that sample and enter the total dollar amount.
- Enter Rakeback Deal (%): Input your effective rakeback percentage (e.g., 25% for a standard deal, or higher for VIPs).
- Analyze the “bb/100” Metrics:
- Rake Load: How many big blinds the room takes from you every 100 hands.
- RB Boost: How many big blinds are added back to your win rate via rakeback.
- Net Cost: The “Drag” on your win rate. If you have a win rate of 5 bb/100 and the Net Cost is 4 bb/100, you are crushing the game for 9 bb/100 pre-rake!
Real-World Examples: The “Micro-Stakes Trap”
Rake affects different stakes differently. Rake caps make high-stakes games cheaper (in bb/100 terms) than micro-stakes games.
Example 1: The NL10 Grinder (High Load)
You play 50,000 hands of NL10 ($0.10 bb). You paid $450 in rake.
- Rake Load: The calculator shows -9.0 bb/100. This is massive.
- The Reality: To break even, you must beat the other players by 9 bb/100. This is why micro-stakes are hard.
- The Fix: With 40% rakeback, you get a +3.6 bb/100 Boost, lowering the barrier to 5.4 bb/100.
Example 2: The NL200 Reg (Low Load)
You play 50,000 hands of NL200 ($2.00 bb). You paid $3,500 in rake.
- Rake Load: The calculator shows -3.5 bb/100.
- The Reality: Because of the rake cap, the “drag” is much lower. A win rate of 3 bb/100 here is much easier to sustain post-rake than at NL10.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Where do I find “Total Rake Paid”?
In Holdem Manager 3, go to Reports and look for the “Total Rake” stat. In PokerTracker 4, look for “My C Won” vs “My C All-In Adj” graphs details, or add the “Rake” statistic to your report view. If you don’t use a tracker, you can estimate it using the “Load Avg” buttons in our calculator.
What is a good “Rake Load” number?
Lower is better. At NL2-NL10, a load of 8-12 bb/100 is standard (and painful). At NL25-NL50, it usually drops to 6-8 bb/100. At mid-stakes (NL100+), you want to see numbers below 4 bb/100. If your load is higher than average, you might be playing too many loose pots (VPIP) where rake is taken.
Why does bb/100 matter more than money?
Money results are biased by the stake level. Winning $100 at NL2 is a god-like performance (50 buy-ins). Winning $100 at NL100 is just one buy-in. bb/100 measures your pure skill relative to the blind level, allowing you to compare your performance across different limits.