Limits & Rake
In December, Molly Bloom pleaded guilty to collecting a rake on a poker game and then did the most American thing a criminal can do – wrote a book. Founding player of “the game,” Houston Curtis. Molly's Game Rake Discussion Saw and loved the movie when it came out, and recently I've been watching and reading interviews on the topic such as a somewhat recent one with Houston Curtis (the real life Harland Eustice).
1. Betting Limits
Taking A Rake In Poker Molly's Game
In an effort to suit each and every Member, 888poker.com provides a variety of tables, designed for different numbers of players and featuring various table Betting Limits. 888poker.com offers tables with the following Lower Limit Stakes (minimum Betting Limit) and Higher Limit Stakes (maximum Betting Limit):
| Table Limit | |
|---|---|
| Lower Limit | Higher Limit |
| 1 ¢ | 2 ¢ |
| 2 ¢ | 4 ¢ |
| 3 ¢ | 6 ¢ |
| 5 ¢ | 10 ¢ |
| 12 ¢ | 25 ¢ |
| 25 ¢ | 50 ¢ |
| 50 ¢ | $1 |
| $1 | $2 |
| $2 | $4 |
| $3 | $6 |
| $5 | $10 |
| $10 | $20 |
| $15 | $30 |
| $30 | $60 |
| $50 | $100 |
| $100 | $200 |
| $250 | $500 |
2. The Antes
888poker.com's games of Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better, follow the Ante schedule provided below:
| Table Betting Limit (Stakes) | Table Ante Amount | Table Bring-in Amount | Table Lower Limit Stake | Table Higher Limit Stake |
| 5¢/10¢ | 1¢ | 2¢ or 5¢ | 5¢ | 10¢ |
| 25¢/50¢ | 5¢ | 10¢ or 25¢ | 25¢ | 50¢ |
| 50¢/$1 | 5¢ | 25¢ or 50¢ | 50¢ | $1 |
| $1/$2 | 10¢ | 50¢ or $1 | $1 | $2 |
| $2/$4 | 25¢ | $1 or $2 | $2 | $4 |
| $3/$6 | 25¢ | $1 or $3 | $3 | $6 |
| $5/$10 | 50¢ | $2 or $5 | $5 | $10 |
| $10/$20 | $1 | $5 or $10 | $10 | $20 |
| $15/$30 | $2 | $5 or $15 | $15 | $30 |
| $30/$60 | $5 | $10 or $30 | $30 | $60 |
3. The Rake
As host, 888poker.com applies a Commission Charge ('Rake') to each Poker game's Pot. 888poker.com's Real Money Tables will be Raked, in US Dollars, according to the following schedules*:
*888poker.com reserves the right to reduce the rake on certain tables.
Fixed Limit Rake
Please scroll down for the Rake structure for No Limit and Pot Limit games.
Table Limit: 2¢-4¢ through 12¢-25¢
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2-10 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | 50¢ |
Table Limit: 25¢-50¢ through $1-$2
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2-10 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $1 |
Table Limit: $2-$4 through $10-$20
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2-3 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $1 |
| 4-5 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $2 |
| 6-10 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $3 |
Table Limit: $15-$30 through $30-$60
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2-3 | 1¢ for each 40¢ in Pot | $1 |
| 4-5 | 1¢ for each 40¢ in Pot | $2 |
| 6-10 | 1¢ for each 40¢ in Pot | $3 |
Table Limit: $50-$100
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2-3 | $1 for each $100 in Pot | $2 |
| 4-10 | $1 for each $100 in Pot | $5 |
Table Limit: $100/$200-$250/$500
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2-10 | Flat rake of $3 | $3 |
Pot Limit and No Limit
Table Limit:1¢/2¢
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2 | 1¢ for each 16¢ in Pot | $1 |
| 3+ | 1¢ for each 16¢ in Pot | $4 |
Table Limit:2¢/4¢ - 3¢/6¢
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2 | 1¢ for each 17¢ in Pot | $1 |
| 3+ | 1¢ for each 17¢ in Pot | $4 |
Table Limit:5¢/10¢-$1-$2 (excluding Jackpot)
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $1 |
| 3+ | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $4 |
Table Limit: $2-$4 through $4-$8 (excluding Jackpot)
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $1 |
| 3 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $2.5 |
| 4-10 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $4 |
Table Limit: $5/$10 through $25/$50
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2-3 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $2.5 |
| 4-10 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $5 |
Table Limit: $50/$100-$500/$1,000
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2-10 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $5 |
Taking A Rake In Poker Molly's Game Play
NL Jackpot tables
Taking A Rake In Poker Molly's Game
| No. of Players | Rake per Pot | MAX |
| 2 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $1 |
| 3 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $2.5 |
| 4-10 | 1¢ for each 20¢ in Pot | $5 |
Enjoy the tables and Good Luck!
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13:5505 Sep
Play money games do not often appear on the radars of more serious players, but every now and then they do get their place at the center stage. Not that long a go, we published an article about the first $1 billion play chips pot that was won on Full Tilt. However, the only common denominator between that article and this one is that both revolve around play chips.
The room in question this time are the Poker Stars. The whole matter was brought to the attention of the wider audience on 2+2 forums by the user 'Howard Beale', who explained that he sometimes likes to indulge the high stakes play money games on Stars and he noticed that the rake being charged in these games is huge.
Not a big deal, right? It is, after all, just play money, without true value. Although it may appear like that at the first glance, there is very important consideration here – Poker Stars do sell play money, so, effectively, it has real money value, even if users cannot sell it back.
Sales start at $350K for $1.99 and go all the way up to $75MM for $99.99 – and people are clearly buying these. Although there are often arguments that it is better to invest this money at the real money tables, some people simply enjoy the play money more and prefer to spend their time in a more sociable yet competitive environment. To each their own.
The absurdly high rake, however, got quite a few people worked up. Once people start paying for something, it is not really 'free' anymore (even if you can get a super small amount of play money for free when you bust). So raking pots is effectively bringing in the money.
Taking A Rake In Poker Molly's Games
Put simply, if we allowed the supply of play chips to grow unchecked then we would need to constantly add bigger and bigger games to accommodate those balances.
Since the thread generated a big interest and big discussion developed on the topic, the company representative on the site, 'Pokerstars Bob', chimed in with an attempt to shed some light on the situation. He tried to explain the number one reason for high rake was not the financial gain for the company but an attempt to sustain a healthy play-chips economy.
We want our paying play money customers to know that the value (not financial, let's say prestige) of their chips is going to remain somewhere near constant. That way they won't feel short-changed when they come to make another purchase.
'Bob' did not try to pretend that there weren't financial motives involved as well. The company is in it to make money as well, and that is no secret. High rake means that the company gets to preserve the revenue they get from the sales of play chips. The value of the chips would rapidly decline if they had to constantly introduce higher and higher table limits.
Finally, the Stars rep did emphasize that they never set the rake high with the goal of busting players faster, as that would not go along with the company ethos. 'Bob' would not share any info on how much the company makes from selling play chips (for obvious reason), but it is apparently enough to justify maintaining full time staff devoted just to the play money games.
It is next to impossible to figure out all the intricacies of an operation of such magnitude like Poker Stars, so it is up to everyone individually to decide if they believe the entire story but just remember next time yo go to the play money tables – you are paying the rake.