“But I pay rake!”
That’s a common complaint I hear from players. They always want it to be a lower number and for it to go farther (better chairs, cheaper food, free hotel rooms, etc).
I want to address some rake complaints that don’t make much sense to me.
I also want to share, as an operator, what I think a player could do to accomplish their goals when they’re complaining about rake.
Why percentage-based rake complaints fall short
One complaint I hear is that operators should use a common percentage to create the rake amount across different buy-ins.
Obviously, the lower the buy-in, the higher the rake percentage will be. But it's not always accurate to use a percentage when calculating or complaining about rake. I’ll share why.
Obviously, it doesn't cost me 10 percent an hour to staff, run, or use the real estate we're using to hold a tournament.
If I'm running a $100 tournament, the percentage is going to be higher than if I'm doing a $10,000 tournament, because the fixed costs don’t change as drastically as the buy in.
Another common complaint is when the tournament rake ends up being higher than the first-place prize.
Percentages work the same way when it comes to paying out first place. If I have a 10,000-player field, the percentage for first is going to go down. If a tournament had a million entries, I obviously couldn't pay 30 percent to first place, because now I have 70 percent to give to another 100,000 people.
So naturally, when you have a tournament with a huge field, at some point, the rake will exceed first place. That figure has somehow become this arbitrary number that we complain about, where the house should never make more than the first-place player.
Well, in some instances, they should. It’s just going to happen. If the rake was a fair price when you entered, it’s still a fair price when the total exceeds first place in a highly successful tournament.
Speak with your dollars
Ultimately, the goal here is to figure out how to lower rake. So, how do you get an operator to reduce it?
I always use this example. If you had a hamburger stand and you knew you were going to sell 100 burgers, whether you charged $10 or you charged $20, what would you charge?
I would charge $20. So would many venues and poker tours, because they know people will pay it as they’ve established a brand that customers like.
I see poker players walk into the poker room wearing a $50,000 watch, using a $2,000 phone, and wearing $400 shoes. Why do they do this? It's not because that's what it costs to make those products. It's because those brands have established a reputation for quality. They have brand recognition.
Many poker tours and events have also established a reputation for their product, and people really want it. They want to be in that specific tournament and pursue whatever prize and accolades come with winning it. So clearly, they’re willing to pay that extra rake to participate.
But ultimately, if you're playing in one of those events and want operators to change the way they structure things, you must speak with your dollars.
The best way to influence change is to spend your money where the pricing feels fair.
If you keep complaints fair and reasonable, people will listen. If you spend your dollars at places that do what you want them to do, eventually more places will charge a fair and reasonable price for the product you want in order to stay competitive.
I want players to know that I am an operator, and I’m also in the customer service industry. Your voice always matters to me, and I listen to it.
I don’t do these videos to lecture or preach. I genuinely want to offer a different perspective – one that helps you push for the changes you want to see in the industry.
Justin Hammer is the Live Events Director for PokerAtlas, online Tournament Director for the Texas-based poker app Hijack, and a Tournament Director for Thunder Valley Casino Resort. He also brings his expertise as a consultant and minority owner of Desert Bluffs Casino in Kennewick, Washington.
With years of experience across live, online, and casino operations, Justin has established himself as a trusted leader in the poker world.
For more info visit PokerAtlas.com, HijackPoker.com, and bluffs.poker. Follow Justin on X.
