Poker rake is a small percentage taken from each real money pot and this is how the casino or online poker room generates revenue, they rake each pot, which is usually 5-10% of the pot which is capped.
In tournaments you’re charged entry fees which includes the rake and is a fixed amount. When you see an online tournament buy-in of $3 + $0.30, the $0.30 amount is the rake being charged by the poker room for hosting the event.
Each land-based casino and poker room has its own “rake schedule” that defines the amount of rake that is removed from each poker hand in cash games.
Regarding raked hands, at a poker table you’ll play 30-60 raked hands per hour. Some tables, for example play money tables are rake free and don’t generate rake for the poker room.
ROUNDERS QUOTE “Worm: Just like the saying says, you know? In the poker game of life, women are the rake. They are the fucking rake.”