When going to the casino to play low fixed limit hold'em, often called LHE, players have to be aware of the rake.
What Is The Rake?
The rake or “drop” is the amount of money that the casino or “house” takes out of a hold'em pot. Typically this amount can range from 10% of the pot to a fixed amount of $3-$5 regardless of the size of the pot. The reason the rake is so important, is that the rake can completely wipe out any profits during your hold'em session. Because of the low limit of the stakes, usually anywhere from 1/2 to 2/4, the pot sizes are not really high in relation to the rake taken from the pot.
Why Is The Rake Tough To Beat?
When a player factors in: the amount of money they are paying when they’re in the blinds on each orbit or round, the times that he will be involved in a hand and not win it, and finally the reduced amount of money she receives from a winning pot because of the rake and the dealer tip, it becomes very difficult to leave with a net profit at the end of a session.
So How Can A Player Beat It And Be A Long Term Winner?
So how can a low limit hold'em player beat the rake? In many cases, he just can’t. If the rake is too high, which can be somewhere around 20% or more of an average winning pot, then it becomes too difficult to overcome and she will eventually lose her buy-in. In other cases if the pot sizes are large enough to make up for the amount of rake taken from the pot, it is possible to leave with a profit over the long term.
So, to beat the rake, a player must look for games that are loose, where pot sizes are large compared to the rake taken. This means looking for games where more than half the table, on average, is seeing the flop. And where at least half of those players are also seeing the turn card. This will help to make bigger pots, and bigger pots mean more profit when a player wins a hand. These games are known as “no fold’em hold’em” games and they can be quite profitable for a winning player. However they can also present challenges with variance, the amount a player's bankroll can go up or down over the long term.
