Rake, when used here, is the amount that you pay the house to play poker.  On the internet the house is the poker site where you registered and deposited so that you could play for real money.

Players Should Always be Looking for

Opportunities to Reduce Their Rake

Some common methods include:

Rakeback is a means of reducing the amount that you pay the house by having part of what you pay to the house refunded to you.  Typically the full rake is still collected from every pot, but then periodically (monthly is common) you will get a portion of your rake deposited back into your poker account.  Rakeback is almost always dependent on how you sign up for a poker site.  Rakeback is active on all cash games, and sometimes for tournament fees as well.

Bonus is another means of reducing the rake you pay.  Many online poker sites will offer players a bonus in exchange for a deposit and a certain amount of play.  Usually the poker sites have figured out how much play is required so that the bonus is less than the rake generated by the player for his play.  That way the site does not lose money, and is, in essence, giving the player a temporary or finite rakeback deal.  On very rare occasions a poker site may offer a bonus that returns more than 100% of a players rake in bonus - those offers should be hopped on immediately!

Affiliate Promotions are another way to reduce the amount you pay to play poker.  Poker affiliates are people who promote online poker sites to attract new business for the poker sites.  Affiliates are paid by the poker site to do this.  Some affiliates will offer cash or merchandise to new players who register for a poker account through their affiliate website.  These offers are sometimes quite valuable and should be considered when evaluating rake reduction methods.

Loyalty Programs are yet another way that players can reduce the house burden for playing poker.  Loyalty programs are initiated by the individual poker sites and are used to reward long term players at their site.  Typically a player will earn and accrue some type of loyalty points that can be exchanged for various types of merchandise.  Merchandise availability varies widely from site to site, so if you're considering playing long term at a site for their loyalty program, then ensure they have merchandise that you want.