Rake changes at Party Poker affect calculations and structure

This past week Party Poker made some sweeping changes to their rake calculations, moving away from the “Dealt” method to the “Weighted” method, as well as changing their rake structure by dropping the stakes eligible for Max Rake collection from $15/$30 down to $3/$6, and decreasing the amount of rake taken from Micro-Stakes Fixed-Limit games. After a number of outraged players complained about the proposed changes the site has decided to put the new structure on hold for the time being.

Although Party Poker does not offer rakeback to their players, the switch to the “Weighted” method will affect the number of Party Points different players receive. Under the old method, each player that was dealt into the hand would receive an equal number of Party Poker Points based on the total rake. Under the new method players will be credited an ascending number of Party Poker Points based on the amount of money they contributed to the pot –Two Party Points are awarded for every $1 a player contributes in rake.

Example: The first player moves all-in for $10, then five players fold, another player calls, and the two blinds both call the $10 bet as well. Assuming there is no more action; the rake would reach the $1 cap for a $10 NLHE game, and under the old “Dealt” method each player would be credited with contributing $.11 to the rake. Under the new “Weighted” method the rake would be distributed in the following way:

• The four players who went all-in would be credited with contributing $.25 to the rake each; earning each player .5 Party Points
• The five players who folded (contributing nothing to the pot) would receive 0 Party Points

The other major change is of course the increase in the maximum rake taken from games as low as $3/$6. Before, a player would have to be participating in a $15/$30 or higher No Limit Holdem or Pot Limit Omaha to see the Max Rake of $5 collected. However, with the new changes Party Poker will now be collecting the Max Rake of $5 from games as low as $3/$6 (provided there are at least 4 players at the table).

Under the new rake structure, Party Poker will be taking $.05 for every $1 in the pot up to a maximum of $5. So even though the Max Rake is set at $5, the pot will have to exceed $100 to hit that amount.

While mid and high-stakes players will likely be screaming bloody murder (which they did) about the rake increase imposed upon them, micro-stakes Limit players will see a more lax rake collection. Instead of paying $.01 for every $10 in the pot, micro-stakes players will now pay $.01 for every $.20 in the pot – with the Max Rake still set at $.50.