Hey everyone!

I just took a look at my stats after 35k hands for the first time and I am completely astonished (not in a good way) by the rake. I mean don't get me wrong - I'm really happy about my results but looking at the rake really discourages me and makes me wonder if I should find another way to grind up my bankroll... I haven't looked at my bankroll yet (I never do) but at this point, I kind of have an idea of where it is.

So after a bit over 30k hands my numbers look like this:

pre RB: + $351.03 (20.1bb/100)
post RB: + $154.88 (9.20bb/100)

https://i.postimg.cc/PqHKGcms/pre-rb...ax-nl5-hii.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/Rh2QgbMY/post-rb-33656hands-nl5-6max.jpg


I know I should move up limits but at the moment my BR doesn't allow me to do so.

So I guess my question is:

- What are the best ways to deal with the rake?

- Should I just find something else (mtt for example) to grind up my roll at this point in order to save time?

Thank you.

P.S: Please no ''get a job'' answer. I can't at the moment due to health issues.

To be honest, you look like you're dealing with the rake pretty effectively by winning at nearly 10bb/ 100 without running massively over AIEV and across a reasonable sample size.

I'm also a bit unclear in what way you think moving up will help- GG Poker at NL5 has a rake of 5% with a $0.5 cap, while GG Poker at NL10 has a rake of 5% with a $1 cap- so exactly the same proportionately. And moving from NL5 to NL25 is a massive jump both in quality and bankroll required.

The real question is why you're so concerned? Obviously, lower rake is better, but tournaments have fees which are pretty substantial at the micro/ small stakes level. Juice is like death and taxes (in fact, it's very like tax for poker)- inevitable. So why give up a game format you're taking down comfortably in order to switch to one where you're not sure of your profitability?

IMO, the best way to deal with rake is as always in poker- study more, eliminate leaks, increase your bb/100, and get your game in good enough order that you're ready for NL10 and higher, hopefully without your winrate decreasing too much. Pretty much every problem in poker (and life more generally) can be solved by being better at what you do.

Pretty basic question... NL5 refers to BB being 5 cents or 5 USD? How do I tell between 5USD game from 5 cents game? Is it noted as NL$5?
Sorry for being off topic here, but just wanted to make sure.



Seems like OP is playing on GG Poker based on his WinLoss vs EV Graph, so the rake is 5% by default capped at 10 BB at 0.2-0.5 game, but cap reduces as you move up in stakes. However, from what I've read and heard, moving up in stakes might hurt your bankroll as games gets tougher and once should study and improve more.
Rake cap gets lower at 0.10-0.25 and 0.25-0.50 at 8 BB, and at 0.5-1.0 it gets down to 5 BB, and at 1.0-2.0 game it gets down to 3 BB.

I have the goal of growing my bankroll and be able to play at 1.0-2.0 game at some point, as the rake is obviously lower. However, for the time being, as DevaCap stated, I do see rake as a form of tax, that I cannot avoid by playing poker, so just have to accept it.
There's no magic way of growing your bankroll from one day to another, so we should just focus on the long run imho.

Originally Posted by mediashocky

Hey everyone!

I just took a look at my stats after 35k hands for the first time and I am completely astonished (not in a good way) by the rake. I mean don't get me wrong - I'm really happy about my results but looking at the rake really discourages me and makes me wonder if I should find another way to grind up my bankroll... I haven't looked at my bankroll yet (I never do) but at this point, I kind of have an idea of where it is.

So after a bit over 30k hands my numbers look like this:

pre RB: + $351.03 (20.1bb/100)
post RB: + $154.88 (9.20bb/100)

https://i.postimg.cc/PqHKGcms/pre-rb-32023hands-6max-nl5-hii.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/Rh2QgbMY/post-rb-33656hands-nl5-6max.jpg


I know I should move up limits but at the moment my BR doesn't allow me to do so.

So I guess my question is:

- What are the best ways to deal with the rake?

- Should I just find something else (mtt for example) to grind up my roll at this point in order to save time?

Thank you.

P.S: Please no ''get a job'' answer. I can't at the moment due to health issues.

Don’t let rake change your mind on what game you should play. You have a 20BB WR so keep doing what you are doing, also you should get rakeback every week so that should help you a bit. If you get tired of grinding at cash games try playing a tournament sometimes. As long as you stick to your game and manage your BR then you will move up in stakes faster and on GGPoker the more you play or increase your level on rakeback program than you will get a higher rakeback. So don’t worry about the rake and just keep playing your game.