Poker Rake Rising: Hidden Fees & Industry Trends

David Moore · 2026-01-27

Let's talk about the cost of playing poker. It's not just your buy-in. There's always been a fee, the rake, that covers the basics. Think of it as the price of admission. It pays for the dealers, the room, and all the behind-the-scenes work that makes a tournament happen. For years, this was pretty straightforward. When I started playing nearly two decades ago, the rules were clear. A typical live tournament with a buy-in between €200 and €1,000 had a 10% rake. Smaller buy-ins sometimes saw that jump to 20%, while bigger games had a lower percentage. Nobody enjoyed paying it, but at least you knew what you were getting. ### What Determines the Rake? It's not just about the buy-in amount. The tournament structure plays a huge role. A slow, deep-stacked event that runs for days costs more to operate. More dealer hours, more venue time. That justifies a higher rake. On the flip side, a fast, shallow tournament should cost less, but that logic isn't always followed. Other factors come into play too: - The venue itself. A fancy hotel ballroom booked just for poker costs more than a regular casino table. - The extras. Does the operator throw a player party? Offer food vouchers or run a loyalty program? When you get value back, a slightly higher fee feels more palatable. Recently, I sat down with Dara O'Kearney and special guest Jack Hardcastle on 'The Chip Race' podcast. Jack's a WPT and GUKPT champion, and we dug into a worrying trend. Rake isn't just going up—it's becoming harder to spot. We're seeing more 'hidden rake' in the industry. This lack of transparency might help an operator's bottom line today, but it's terrible for the game's long-term health. Poker ecosystems don't die suddenly. They erode. Players don't storm out in protest. They just slowly, quietly, lose interest and drift away when the cost feels disconnected from the value. ### The Operator's Dilemma Now, it's only fair to acknowledge the real pressures poker rooms face. Costs *have* gone up. In places like Ireland, where tournaments are often in hotel spaces, rental fees have skyrocketed since COVID. Wages and staffing costs are up too. As Dara pointed out, even big, successful tournament series often just barely break even. Add in taxes like VAT taken directly from entry fees and more complex regulations, and the profit margin gets razor-thin. It's why so many tours head to places where it's cheaper to run events. But here's the thing. Recognizing legitimate cost increases doesn't mean every price hike is justified. Alongside those real pressures, there's plain old greed. Some operators are pushing the limits because they think they can get away with it. I used a metaphor on the show: players are like the proverbial frog in boiling water. If you turn the heat up slowly, the frog doesn't jump out. Small, incremental rake increases are tolerated because they're small. But eventually, the water boils. ### The Rise of Hidden Fees Maybe the bigger problem isn't that rake is rising, but that it's hiding. We traced this shift back to something that once seemed harmless: the dealer add-on. A small, separate 2% fee to cover dealer tips felt transparent. But it opened the door. Now, fees can be buried in the prize pool structure, disguised as 'administrative fees,' or tucked away in terms you need a magnifying glass to find. That shift from clear pricing to opaque fees is what truly damages trust. When you don't know what you're really paying, you can't make an informed choice. And that's a losing hand for everyone in the long run. The conversation with Jack wasn't just about fees—it was about the future of the game we love. Keeping it honest, transparent, and sustainable is the only way to keep the tables full.