The house drop

Aside from the mechanics of the poker game, you must also master the concept of the house drop. The drop is the term that describes the money taken from the game by the cardroom or casino. Because poker is not a game staked by the casino, the money you lose does not go to the house. The money you lose goes to another player, and the money you win comes from other players. But never think that an establishment is providing a nice poker table and dealer as a courtesy. A drop is harvested from all poker games, and knowing the rate at which money is being taken by the house for the drop is absolutely crucial to your ability to win.

The drop inhibits your chances of winning, especially long term, because it is perpetually eating into your bankroll or playing budget. If you can’t bet enough to absorb the loss caused by the drop, then the game that you’re playing is unbeatable. For example, many places take a $5 per hand fee. If you’re playing 3-6 limit Texas Hold’em then the house is taking a big bet every hand. No matter how good of a player you are, you’re never going to be able to overcome the cost of the drop. Such unbeatable games are prolific and players of limit poker games must be very mindful of them. The house drop is an easy thing to overlook when you are a novice player because you are so focused on your cards.

The drop money is collected with a number of different methods. In cardrooms in California , two systems prevail: blinds or time. Every poker game you play will have mandatory blinds, and sometimes these blind bets or a portion of them are collected by the house for the drop. Blinds are basically a per hand fee. If blinds are not being collected for the drop, then the time method will be applied. Time is a fee that you pay usually every half hour or sometimes every 20 minutes to the house. Bigger money games are more likely to use time. 

The drop collection techniques used in California can be found at any cardroom or casino, but some other approaches for taking money exist. (Is there really any limit on ways of taking money?) An alternative and very common method for collecting the drop is known as the rake. The rake is a fee based on a percentage of the pot. In lower limit poker, it’s generally 10 percent up to a set amount (like $4 or $5). For example, a $30 pot would have a rake of $3. Or, in the case of a rake with a $5 cap, a $75 pot would have a rake of $5 instead of continuing the 10 percent rate up to $7.50.

Understanding the drop, how it is collected, and how the amount relates to the betting levels of the game are crucial to becoming a successful poker player. You really have to pay attention to how a house takes its money before you sit down in a poker game. Before you buy in to a game, you must ask the floorperson or dealer how the drop is taken. Do not just plop down in a seat, buy your chips and start playing without having any idea what the drop is because it could seriously undermine your poker game. 

Now that you know the procedural basics, we can move on to the strategies and concepts that will allow you to start winning pots.

Continue: Limit and no-limit poker defined