Last Minute Rake Hike for Cash Games at EPT Prague Draws Criticism

A last minute rake increase for cash games at the Casino Atrium has drawn heavy criticism from the poker community. The new venue for the EPT Prague was recently bought by high-stakes reg Leon Tsoukernik and the ever-controversial character is accused of milking the situation unfairly.

Fair or Not?

It is usually the case when a business changes hands that changes come straight away. The new owners will immediately look to stamp their management style on the operation. In this particular case, Tsoukernik looks to be shifting the rake policy to something similar to what the King’s Casino in Rozvadov charges.

A statement from the King’s Casino regarding the new situation included the following:

“A major reconstruction is planned to provide the same standards as the King’s Resort in Rozvadov. The main change and future focus of the Atrium will be live poker cash games. The vision is to become the leading venue regarding poker cash games in the capital of the Czech Republic.”

Whenever unexpected price increases come, those who foot the bill will invariably be unhappy. Especially poker players.

Looking from the other side, it is also true that price hikes are sometimes required to lift the status of a venue. If Tsoukernik wants to build up the Casino Atrium to the levels of the successful King’s Casino then that is his right. 

Nobody was complaining about rake in Rozvadov - quite the opposite, in fact, because the games are thought to be insanely good.

Maybe a little more warning could have been given, with the rake increase coming only a week before the EPT kicks off in Prague. People will have made travel arrangements long before now.

That said, it is unlikely these increases are enough to warrant people deciding against travelling to Prague. Even if they haven’t already booked flights and hotels.

How Bad Can it Be?

A post in the 2+2 forums detailed just how drastically things have changed. One point which will please many players is the new policy of spreading all cash games in euros rather than Czech koruna. This alone will offset some of the rake hike for many players, due to avoiding currency exchange charges.

Old Rake

• $2/$2 – 5 percent capped at $13
  
• $2/$4 – 5 percent capped at $13
• $4/$8 – 5 percent capped at $21
• $8/$16 -5 percent capped at $21
• $21/$42 – 5 percent capped at $21
• $42/$84 – 5 percent capped at $21

*Converted from CZK currency

Current Rake

• $2.20/$2.20 PLO – 5 percent capped at $22
• $2.20/$5.50 NLH – 5 percent capped at $22
• $5.50/$5.50 PLO – 5 percent capped at $22
• $5.50/$11 NLH – 5 percent capped at $22
• $11/$11 PLO – 5 percent capped at $22
• $11/$27 NLH – 5 percent capped at $27
• $27/$27 PLO – 5 percent capped at $27
• $27/$54 NLH – 5 percent capped at $27
• $54/$54 PLO – 5 percent capped at $27
• $54/$108 NLH – 5 percent capped at $27
• $108/$108 PLO – 5 percent capped at $27

On top of this significant increase, there will also be an extra €2 taken from every pot that sees a flop to cover staffing costs.

No rake will be charged if no flop is seen, and if the table is only four-handed 5% rake is charged and capped at €10.

One point that needs clarifying is what happens when players ‘run it twice’. The instruction seems ambiguous, but it is thought that rake will be charged for both runs. If this turns out to be true there might be a few disgruntled players come the start of the EPT.

While this type of controversy is usually associated with PokerStars, in this case they will only be controlling the tournaments with Leon Tsoukernik dictating policy for the cash games during the EPT.