iPoker’s Current Rake System (2025): The Real Player Value (RPV) Model Explained

As of 2025, iPoker’s entire rake distribution and rewards structure is built around the Real Player Value (RPV) model.

RPV is a hybrid system that blends two concepts:

• Weighted-Contributed Rake: Rewards you for the pots you actively play in.
• Source-Based Rake (SBR): Tracks where deposited money originates, even after it changes hands, rewarding the original depositor’s skin.

iPoker uses 50% of each for RPV calculation. This value is the basis for how much revenue a skin receives from the network for a player—and therefore what kind of rakeback or VIP rewards that player can get.

In other words, RPV is the single most important metric defining the real value of a player to the iPoker network.

Before diving deeper, let’s clarify what rake is.

Rake is the fee taken by the poker room from each cash-game pot as its main source of revenue. On iPoker, this is typically:

• 5% of the pot, with a maximum cap (around €0.5–€4 depending on stakes and table size).
• No flop, no drop: If there’s no flop, there’s no rake.

This collected rake funds software development, customer service, game security, and player liquidity.

In its early years, iPoker used a Weighted-Contributed system, standard in online poker:

• Rake from each pot was attributed among players proportional to their contribution.
• If you put 60% of the money in the pot, you were “credited” for 60% of the rake.

Outcome:

✅ Very transparent and fair for grinders
⚠️ But networks and skins had trouble monetizing depositing, recreational players, who often lost quickly and didn’t return.

To solve these issues, iPoker introduced Source-Based Rake (SBR):

• Half of rake attribution remained Weighted-Contributed.
• The other half credited the source of the deposited funds used in the pot.

This innovation tracked the origins of money, even after multiple transfers:

• If Player A deposited, lost to Player B, who lost to Player C, the rake generated from that money continued to credit Player A’s skin.

Reason:

✅ Incentivize skins to recruit and retain depositors
✅ Stabilize the ecosystem by valuing recreational liquidity
⚠️ Reduced rake attribution for grinders who primarily withdrew

The network realized the best approach was to combine both methods formally in a single metric.

✅ RPV was introduced as the unified standard.

It formalized:

RPV = 50% Weighted-Contributed + 50% Source-Based Rake

This model remains the basis for all revenue distribution and rewards in iPoker today.

iPoker's shift wasn’t just technical—it was strategic. The goals were:

• Promote ecosystem health: Reward depositing players, not just winning grinders.
• Balance revenue sharing: Skins that brought in fresh money got paid fairly.
• Stop predatory play imbalances: Grinders couldn’t drain the pool without depositing and still expect full rewards.

By mixing contribution and source-tracking equally, iPoker aligns incentives for both:

✅ Grinders can still earn—but not at the expense of network health.
✅ Recreational depositors are now a valuable, rewarded segment.

Let’s break down exactly how iPoker calculates and uses RPV today:

✔️ Weighted-Contributed Portion (50%)

• For each raked hand, half of the rake is attributed based on pot contribution.
• Rewards active play and volume.
• Example: If you put €6 into a €10 pot, you’re credited for 60% of this portion.

✔️ Source-Based Portion (50%)

• The other half is based on the source of funds in the pot.
• Money is virtually tagged to the original depositor.
• That “tag” persists as money moves between players.

Even if a grinder wins and continues playing with someone else’s deposited money, the source-based portion still credits the original depositor’s skin.

Skins’ revenue share from iPoker is based on each player’s RPV.

This means:

• Skins are incentivized to recruit depositors, who generate long-term RPV even after they lose.
• Affiliates often tailor rakeback deals around estimated RPV, not just raw rake paid.
• Grinders see reduced effective rakeback compared to old systems—but still get significant rewards from the Weighted-Contributed half.

The Real Player Value (RPV) model is the foundation of iPoker’s modern rake system:

A fair, hybrid approach that values both active play and the liquidity depositors bring.

For players, understanding RPV is crucial when evaluating:

• Expected rakeback percentages
• VIP programs and promotions
• Affiliate deals

Ultimately, RPV reflects iPoker’s commitment to a healthy, sustainable ecosystem—rewarding both grinders and casual players in a balanced way.

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