How Poker Club Owners Actually Make Money: Rake, Commissions and Unions Explained

Most people who start a private poker club underestimate how the money works. They focus on getting players, running games, and keeping things fair — but the underlying economics often remain unclear until they’re already operating.

Here’s a straightforward explanation of how rake, commissions, and union structures actually affect a club owner’s bottom line.

What Is Rake?

Rake is the fee the house takes from each pot or tournament entry. In private mobile poker clubs on platforms like PPPoker, X Poker, and ClubGG, rake is typically calculated as a percentage of each pot up to a maximum cap, or as a percentage of tournament buy-ins.

For a club running active cash games across multiple tables, monthly rake generation can range from a few hundred dollars at micro-stakes to tens of thousands at higher limits.

How Commissions Work

Club owners don’t keep all the rake. A portion goes to the union the club operates through — this is the commission. Commission rates vary significantly: 7–10% is the competitive range, 10–15% is common mid-tier, 15–20%+ is hard to justify unless union traffic is exceptional.

The math compounds quickly. On $20,000 in monthly rake, the difference between a 7% commission and a 15% commission is $1,600 per month — nearly $20,000 per year. Choosing the right union isn’t just an operational decision; it’s a major financial one.

What Unions Actually Provide

In exchange for commission, unions provide shared liquidity — access to a larger player pool than any single club can generate independently.

Without a union, a club with 50 members can only run games when enough of those 50 members are online simultaneously. With a union, those 50 members connect to a network of thousands of players across dozens of clubs. Tables fill. Games run. Players stay.

The Settlement Cycle

Most established unions settle weekly. This means club owners receive a breakdown of rake generated during the week, minus the union’s commission, and the net amount is transferred.

Weekly settlement is the industry standard. Bi-weekly or monthly settlement creates cash flow problems — clubs still need to manage their player balances on a shorter cycle than they’re receiving income.

Before joining any union, confirm: how often do you settle, and what does the settlement report include? Line-item transparency — rake by table, by session — is a reasonable baseline expectation.

The Real Numbers: A Simple Example

A club running 4 active tables averaging $500/month in rake per table generates $2,000/month.

At 10% commission: the union keeps $200, club nets $1,800. At 7% commission: the union keeps $140, club nets $1,860.

Scale that to 10 tables at $1,000/month each:

• 10% commission: union keeps $1,000, club nets $9,000
• 7% commission: union keeps $700, club nets $9,300

The absolute difference grows with volume. High-volume clubs should negotiate aggressively on commission, or find a union where competitive rates are standard.

Getting More Players — and Keeping Them

The single biggest lever for club revenue is active player count. More players means more tables, more rake, more income.

Clubs that grow fastest tend to do three things: join a union with genuine traffic, offer consistent game availability, and build a reputation for fair play and fast settlements. For practical strategies on growing club membership, the guide on how to get more players in your poker club covers the approaches that actually work.

Summary

The economics of running a private poker club are straightforward once you understand them: rake is revenue, commission is cost, and the difference is your income. Choosing the right union — with competitive commission, genuine traffic, and reliable settlement — is the most important operational decision a club owner makes.

Everything else follows from there.

TOP UNION operates across PPPoker, X Poker, and ClubGG with a 7% commission rate and weekly settlements — topunion.club