Many a player begins his/her online poker career at the play-money tables. It is a cost-free way to get used to the rules of the game and maybe even to put some poker education under one's belt - although of the value of the latter the author of this article remains rather doubtful.

As soon as one moves on to the real money tables, he/she will run into a huge obstacle - one the presence of which he/she had never anticipated. This obstacle is not the outstandingly skilled nature of the action, neither is it the vast knowledge gap regarding the game between the rookie and the seasoned players. It is the rake.

The rake is the instrument that the poker room uses to generate revenue. From every pot that is awarded at its tables, the poker room subtracts a small amount of money, called the rake, which is around 5% up to a maximum of $3.

Some poker rooms charge less on micro-limit games, others offer such games completely rake free. The rake is usually the highest on high-stakes NL games, where the cap is sometimes pushed even higher than the otherwise industry-standard $3, and it can reach $5.

The very first reaction rookies have when faced with the rake is: "it's insignificant anyways" or "it's only the winner who pays it so I'll worry when I win a lot".

None of these arguments stands its ground though. The rake is paid by all the players who actively contribute to the pot, and that means you too, regardless of whether you win or lose. That's just the way rake calculation methods work. The pot doesn't belong to the winner when it's raked, rather it belongs to all the players. It is only awarded to the winner after it's been raked.

To address the other argument: no, the rake is not insignificant. You'd be amazed to find out how much rake you generate through the course of a month, money which represents losses for you. What you need to do is fight the rake every way you can and attempt to reduce it every step of the way.

The very first - and quite obvious move you need to make is to sign up for a rakeback deal. Rakeback will give you around 30% of your rake back (some deals offer 50%, while other deals called prop deals can be as generous as 100%). Rakeback (cashback as some rooms call it) will give you a steady trickle of additional poker revenue, all on money you would've lost otherwise. Rakeback doesn't require any kind of effort on your part whatsoever, it just sits there quietly and does its work.

Besides rakeback, there are other subtle ways to influence your rake production. When playing in cash games, you'll be paying rake on every hand that you play. The faster the game is - and in online poker it does get pretty fast - the more rake you'll be coughing up per hour. The more aggressive the action is, the more money you'll lose to the rake.

Playing in tournaments is one way to reduce your rake. You pay a one-time entry fee, and you do not pay more regardless of how many hands you end up playing.

Tournaments also offer you better odds to make money than cash games do in the long-run.

Make sure you know how and why the rakeback chips away at your winnings and take steps to correct the situation.