hello AaronBrown

I really look out for your posts, as often they are an oasis of facts and rationality, and are always worth reading. Thanks.

I may take this slightly off topic, but I can't resist as it is something I have pondered upon a lot for quite some time.

Going on from what you say, could it not be that the rake (which is a casino manipulated variable) is set just so that it maximises the house's return, so that it is set to the maximum EV- for the players which will still allow growth in the business.