Given the vastness of the online poker industry, it's only normal that not all poker rooms calculate their players' rake contributions and thus the due rakeback the same way. Different poker rooms have different algorithms implemented to do this job, and each of these algorithms offer certain advantages/disadvantages for players, depending on their playing style. For the purposes of this article, I'll assume you already know how the rake collection is supposed to work in theory (with everyone credited for the exact amount of rake contributed). In real life, things don't always work like that though.
The Full Tilt rakeback for instance works on a different principle. At Full Tilt Poker, every player who is dealt into a hand gets credit for an equal percentage of the rake resulting from that hand, regardless of whether or not he/she commits any money to the pot. This method is called the dealt rake method. This way, you'll be generating rakeback and redeeming bonuses without ever really putting your funds into harm's way. While the setup works fine for tight passive beginners, it is not exactly fair towards tight aggressive and loose aggressive players who end up generating rake rebate for others this way.
The dealt rake method is only one of many though. The contributed rake method is one step closer to crediting players for their actual rake contributions. This method only gives rake credit to those who actually put money into the pot, may that be through a voluntary bet or through a compulsory one (blinds). The only problem with this method is, it divides the rake resulting off a hand equally among those who have contributed to the pot. This means that if you're loose player and you usually feed the pot generously, you'll still end up generating rakeback for the guy who posts his blinds and then folds. Those who refrain from putting money into the pot though will not earn any rakeback off aggressive players' backs.
The third poker rake calculation method used is the weighted contributed method. This method is 100% accurate in crediting players for the exact amount of rake they generate. The weighted contributed rake method determines exactly every player's contribution to the pot, then goes ahead and credits the same percentage of the resulting rake to them. If you put a lot of money into the pot, you'll generate loads of rake, if you only contribute little, you'll end up with little rake. Whether or not this method is to your advantage depends on lots of things, one thing is certain though: it's the fairest one of all. What you contribute is what you get.
By Steve Larson
*Steve Larson is anonline poker player from Canada. Visit his site for more useful tips.
