How rake works
Rake is the small fee Stacked takes from each real-money pot to keep the platform running.
The basics
On every real-money hand, 4% of the pot is taken as rake when the hand settles. Rake comes out of the pot itself — it's not added on top of bets, and players don't pay it as a separate line item. Free Play tables have no rake.
The 4% is capped per hand, with the cap scaling to the table's big blind. The cap keeps a single large pot at high stakes from generating disproportionate rake.
The cap
Each real-money table falls into one of five tiers based on its big blind. The cap on rake per hand is a multiple of that big blind:
| Big blind | Cap per hand |
|---|---|
| ≤ $0.25 | 10× the big blind |
| ≤ $1 | 5× the big blind |
| ≤ $2 | 3× the big blind |
| ≤ $5 | 1× the big blind |
| over $5 | 0.5× the big blind |
A worked example: a $0.50 / $1 table sits in the second tier (BB ≤ $1), so the cap is 5 × $1 = $5 per hand. A $40 pot at that table generates $1.60 of rake — under the cap, so $1.60 is what's taken. A $200 pot would generate $8 of rake at 4%, but the cap kicks in and only $5 is taken.
These numbers reflect the current defaults. Stacked can tune the rate and cap structure over time as we calibrate; if anything changes meaningfully, this page updates with it.
How the rake is split
Every dollar of rake splits two ways. The Host's share is the structural piece that makes the marketplace work — without it, there's no reason to run a public table.
- 25% goes to the Host of the table — credited to the Host's withdrawable balance at that table's contract. See Hosting earnings.
- 75% goes to Stacked as the platform fee.
Variations
There's one rake schedule today, applied uniformly to every real-money table. We may add promotional rake-free periods, discounts, or special table types in the future. When we do, we'll document them here.
Free Play
Free Play tables don't generate rake. No platform fee, no Host earnings — Free Play exists for trying things out and playing with friends, not for revenue.
What's next
- Hosting earnings → — the Host's 25% share, in detail.
- Per-hand settlement → — what happens on-chain after each hand.