Shorthanded Rakes Could Close Small Poker Sites

Online poker rooms make their money though the rake which leaves players with the continual struggle to make money while still paying the house fees.

Making player pay rake while playing shorthanded could lead the closure of smaller online poker rooms.
The biggest problem with shorthanded rake is that games often fail to get going. While this isn’t a problem for a large online poker room, it is enough to destroy a small room which might have just a few hundred visitors a day. Furthermore, if a game fails to fill then all the participants can end the session having lost to the rake drop.
The good news is that some online sites recognize this problem, for instance PokerStars only charges 2% up to $0.50 for $1/$2 thorough $10/$20 fixed limit games. Bovada only charges 2.5% for a number of fixed limit games when it is two or three handed while other sites will not take a rake until the pot reaches a reasonable level.