The rake

Poker is zero-sum. Every chip one player wins, another loses. Six equally good players would, on average, all break even.

But the house takes a cut of most pots: the rake. Say 5% of the pot, up to 3 big blinds.

That money leaves the table for good. Hand after hand, there is less to go around. The game becomes negative-sum.

If the average pot is 12 big blinds, the rake is 0.6 a hand. Shared by six players, that’s 10 big blinds per 100 hands each.

So a player who beats this table by 6 big blinds per 100 hands before rake still loses 4 after it.

This is why so many players lose over time, even in a game of skill. The house is the one player who never loses.

The cap changes the picture. A 20 big blind pot pays the full 5%. A 200 big blind pot pays 3, just 1.5%.

Set the rake, the average pot and your edge. How good do you need to be just to break even?