The Unbeatable Opponent: Is Insane Rake Killing Live Poker?

You ever sit down at a live poker game, feel the felt, hear the chips riffling, and just feel ready to play your A-game? You’re playing well, making good folds, winning a few decent pots… but your stack is going nowhere. In fact, it’s shrinking.

You look over at the dealer button and see a mountain of chips being swept into the rake box every single hand. That sinking feeling is a familiar one for many players today.

We’re talking about rake—the house’s cut—and it seems to have gotten completely out of control. A recent discussion among players highlighted a €2/€2 game with a staggering 10% rake capped at €15. The consensus? It's basically unwinnable.

It’s not just about losing a few bucks to the house; it’s about a structure that fundamentally breaks the game, turning a battle of skill into a slow-bleed where the only guaranteed winner is the casino. So, what’s a player to do when faced with this unbeatable opponent?

That Sinking Feeling at the Table

There’s a certain magic to live poker. It’s not just the cards; it’s the whole atmosphere. The low murmur of conversation, the clatter of chips, the mental gymnastics of trying to read the guy across from you. But lately, there’s been a shadow hanging over the tables, especially at lower stakes. It’s the rake. And holy cow, has it gotten brutal.

Imagine this scenario: you sit down at a €2/€2 No-Limit Hold'em game. Pretty standard stuff. But then you learn the rake is 10% of the pot, capped at a whopping €15. You play a few hands, maybe fifteen or so. A few small pots, one medium-sized one. The dealer button passes, and you notice something wild—the dealer has already collected nearly €100 for the house. From your table. In about 20 minutes. Suddenly, the game doesn’t feel so friendly anymore.

Players are having to rebuy constantly, yet nobody seems to be building a truly massive stack, even with a few obvious fish donating chips left and right. Where’s all the money going? Straight into the casino's pocket. It’s just sick.

Is This Even Beatable? Let's Do the Math

When faced with numbers like that, the first question on every serious player's mind is simple: can I even beat this game? Let's be real, the answer is a hard no. A few players broke it down, and the math is horrifying. In a nine-handed game where the dealer is pulling in about €10 per hand, that’s around €1,000 raked per 100 hands played at the table. If you divide that by nine players, your personal share of the rake is over €110 per 100 hands. In a €2/€2 game, that's 55 big blinds per 100 hands (55bb/100).

For anyone not familiar with poker tracking stats, a professional player hopes to achieve a win rate of maybe 5-10bb/100 in a tough online game. A great live player might crush a soft game for 20bb/100. But nobody—and I mean nobody, not even Phil Ivey in his prime—is beating a 55bb/100 rake.

You are literally paying more to the house than the best players in the world can win. You're trying to fill a bucket with a massive hole in the bottom.

The game becomes what some have rightfully called a 'rake trap.' You might have a huge skill edge over everyone at the table, but that edge gets completely eaten alive by the house. You're not playing to win anymore; you're just playing to lose as slowly as possible.

The European