Hosted by PocketFives President and Editor in Chief Lance Bradley and poker writer Matt Clark, The Fives runs each week and covers the latest poker news, preview upcoming events, and debate the hottest topics in poker.

The news over the last 24 hours has been all about PokerStars. And Monday afternoon even more news came in, as the online poker giant announced rake increases for Spin & Gos, multi-table tournaments, and ring games. According to a release announcing the change, the average increase across all games will be 4%.

The percentage of rake charged by operators has been the subject of fierce debate in the poker community. While professional players have long sought to lower the fee in order to improve their win rate, poker rooms have grappled with setting a rake that appeases grinders and recreational players, while allowing for the operator to… Continue reading Players Push for Reduction in “Excessive” PLO Rake

In a surprising turn of events, PokerStarsannounced on Tuesday that it has rolled back most of the rake increases it implemented in November and is cancelling most of the increases planned for this month. This is quite a pleasant development coming from a company that had been trending steadily downward in customer satisfaction after a… Continue reading PokerStars Reverses Rake Increases

As you probably know by now, PokerStars, the largest online poker site in the world, bumped the rake in its cash games, tournaments, and sit and gos. The cash game players most affected are high-stakes grinders, those who prefer Heads-Up No Limit Games. PokerStars doubled the maximum rake to $1 for all No Limit games… Continue reading Have PokerStars’ Rake Increases Affected Cash Game Traffic?

PokerStars announced new promotional and rake changeseffective in November and the beginning of 2015. These changes could lighten the wallets of just about every PokerStars customer via a reduction in benefits and increased rake across the board for cash games, sit and gos, and tournaments.