Average Rake Low Limit B&M vs. My Local Cardhouse (?)

[hamsterhead]

I've been playing a decent amount at my local cardhouse...mostly a 1/2 limit game, but a bit with a 2/4 as well.

These players are all terrible, and while I'm not going to claim I'm the best limit player out there, I do know I'm a much stronger player than most people who sit down here. The rake though, seems a bit much for these games, and I'm wondering if this is cose to average or on the high side. I'm really questioning if I can beat these games with such a rake (although I'm currently beating the 1/2 for a very small amount).

1/2: $1.5 taken on the flop, $.50 on the turn, $.50 on the river. All hands pretty much go to the river, so it's almost always $2.5 taken from the hand. This becomes very very painful if only 2-4 people play the hand. The rake takes almost the whole pot at times (or actually will often take the whole pot when a button limps and big blind checks, and they decide to check the meaningless pot to the river).

2/4: Same structure, but doubled - $3 flop, $1 turn, $1 River.

Does anyone have any insights on this rake and its overall effect on profitability?

[ELCowboy]

Stop playing there. That rake is ridiculous, especially if it takes almost the whole pot. It's not worth your time to be playing there, unless of course you're there just to play cards.

[hamsterhead]

Well...it doesn't always take a large chunck of the pot...it just depends on the table. These tables are filled with people who love to throw their money away, and at times the average flop is 7-8 (of 9) people. But then there are other times with it's 4-5 per flop on average. I definitely believe that a tight table is ridiculous and not worth anyone's time, but I'm just curious how these rakes are in relation to other card houses/casinos who have similar games.

[Bob T.]

It's probably beatable, it just depends on the difference in skill, between you and your opponents.

With that rake structure, I would be looking for pretty wild games. As you said, if it is headsup and limped, the whole pot is gone. I guess that means that you should never open limp, because winning preflop is a lot better than winning on the flop.

[KitCloudkicker]

play higher stakes. that rake is terrible.

[chillrob]

It won't help him to play higher stakes if the rake goes up with the stakes as it apparantly does in these two games. Would be nice to know if the OP has other game options though.

[MtDon]

In answer to how it compares to other B&M games:

Most places I've played at take a percentage of the pot , up to a maximum rake.

Usually 10%, $4 max. Some places $5 max, a very few $3 max. Very seldom less than $4 or more than $5 for low limit.

Taking a set amount on the flop, turn and river - regardless of the size of the pot - is terrible.

Is part of the rake used for a bad beat jackpot? If it is, it's still terrible, just not quite as terrible.

[Sailboats]

Probably not beatable in the long run, even if it is, maybe for only few dollars.

[hamsterhead]

[ QUOTE ]
It won't help him to play higher stakes if the rake goes up with the stakes as it apparantly does in these two games. Would be nice to know if the OP has other game options though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I should have made this more clear, yes 1/2 and 2/4 is the same as far as price per stakes, however it gets better as you go out. Passed 2/4, the rake only goes up $1 ($6 total by the river) for 3/6 up to 15/30...at least I think this is the case.

To answer another question, yes, part is taken for the jackpot, I believe $1 of it, but the 1/2 doesn't get the same jackpot as the rest of the tables.

The 1/2 game ranges a lot from medium-loose passive to very very loose (7-8 every flop almost) with some agression. But unfortunately, since there is usually only one 1/2 table going a lot lately, and it's a 30 minute drive, it's somewhat of a pain to go home if the table is a bit tighter than average. (I know I should...I just don't sometimes).

As for 2/4, like I said, I've not played there as much, but it seems to not be as wild as often as 1/2. This is what makes me think I might not want to really play it at all until I have the bankroll for at least 3/6 or maybe 4/8.

I don't mind breaking even or profiting only slightly (or even losing if my game isn't good enough yet at a certain level to win), it's good practice. I just want to make sure that it's not near impossible to beat a game, since I'm sure I still make errors from time to time. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]