You track wins. You track losses. You probably don't track what you paid the house to run those hands. That number is larger than most players want to know.

Standard online rake at NL100 runs around 5% of the pot, capped at $3 per hand. Sounds small. At 100 hands per hour across a six-hour session with average pots around $40, you've contributed roughly $120 to the house. Per session. Before a single dollar of equity changed hands.

Over a month of regular play, a moderately active NL100 player generates $1,500-2,500 in rake. Your winrate has to clear that before you're in profit. A lot of players who think they're slightly losing to the players are actually breaking even with the players and losing to the house.

Private club apps work differently. The operator sets the rake structure, not the platform. Good operators run 2-3% with lower per-hand caps. That same session costs $50-70 instead of $120. Over a month the delta is the difference between a losing month and a winning one for a lot of players at these stakes.

Rakeback in clubs is also direct - up to 60% back monthly, no tier systems, no loyalty ladders, no milestone bonuses that require volume thresholds most recreational players never hit. What's promised is what arrives.

The actual hourly calculation for club poker is: table winrate minus effective rake plus rakeback. Most players only do the first number and wonder why the math never quite adds up.

Paying less rake is a competitive advantage. Has nothing to do with how you play.

Rake is the one expense every poker player pays and almost nobody actually calculates.