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I won’t go into too much detail on this topic, because rakeback mainly concerns more experienced players, typically starting from the €2 stakes and higher.
As we’ve already mentioned, all players pay a 7% rake. On a €10 Spin, that means €0.70 is taken per game.
To reward regular players, poker sites offer loyalty programs that redistribute part of this rake as cash. This is known as rakeback.
For example, if you play €10 Spins with 30% rakeback, you’ll get back:€0.70 × 0.3 = €0.21 per game.
So rakeback is an additional source of income and should be factored into your ITM/CEV calculations when determining profitability.
Let’s take Betclic as an example: we saw earlier that you need an ITM of 35.9% (which corresponds to a CEV of 38.5) to be profitable.
With a rakeback of 30%, the required ITM drops to 35.1%, or a CEV of 27.5.(If you want the detailed math, refer to Chapter 3 where we went through a similar calculation.)
That means you need a lower ITM to be profitable if you benefit from good rakeback.
Rakeback becomes an essential factor from the €2 limits and up.
Depending on your playing volume, it can add a significant amount to your total profits — and in some cases, it can even turn a losing player into a winning one.
