Poker hourly rate calculator
Win rate in bb/100 tells you how well you play. Hourly rate tells you what that is worth. Enter your win rate, stake and volume — and the hands behind the number, to see how much of it is signal.
In big blinds per 100 hands.
In money: 1 for NL100, 0.25 for NL25.
Around 25-35 live, 60-90 online.
Rewards and rakeback in money per hour, if any.
In bb/100. 80-100 is common in no-limit hold’em.
The sample your win rate comes from.
- Hourly rate
- +15
- Per hour, including rakeback.
- Big blinds per hour
- 15
- Hands per hour
- 300
- True win rate, 95% range
- -2.9 to +12.9
- Hourly rate, 95% range
- -8.67 to +38.67
- Hands to know it within ±1 bb/100
- 3,112,000
hourly = bb/100 x hands per hour x tables / 100 x big blind + rakeback
The range assumes independent hands with a steady spread. It says how far your true win rate could be from the one you observed, not that it will move.
How to calculate your poker hourly rate
hourly = bb/100 × hands per hour × tables ÷ 100 × big blind
Your win rate counts big blinds per 100 hands, so multiply it by the hands you play in an hour and divide by 100 to get big blinds per hour. Multiply by the big blind to get money. At 5 bb/100, four tables of 75 hands an hour make 300 hands, 15 big blinds an hour, and at NL100 15 an hour. Add rakeback on top.
- Inputs
- Win rate5
- Big blind1
- Hands per hour, per table75
- Tables at once4
- Rakeback per hour0
- Standard deviation90
- Hands played50,000
- Result
- Hourly rate+15
- Big blinds per hour15
- Hands per hour300
- True win rate, 95% range-2.9 to +12.9
- Hourly rate, 95% range-8.67 to +38.67
- Hands to know it within ±1 bb/1003,112,000
Hourly rate by stake and volume
| Stake | 1 table | 4 tables | 8 tables |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL10 | 0.38 | 1.5 | 3 |
| NL25 | 0.94 | 3.75 | 7.5 |
| NL50 | 1.88 | 7.5 | 15 |
| NL100 | 3.75 | 15 | 30 |
| NL200 | 7.5 | 30 | 60 |
| NL500 | 18.75 | 75 | 150 |
Live poker hourly rate
Live games run around 30 hands an hour at one table, so the same skill earns far less per hour in big blinds. A strong 10 bb/100 at 1/2 is 3 big blinds an hour, 6 in money.
Live players rarely know their bb/100, and do not need to: net result divided by hours played gives the hourly rate directly, as long as every session is written down. A session log does exactly that, including the losing nights people tend to forget.
How sure are you of your win rate?
A win rate measured over a sample is an estimate, and poker samples are noisy. With a standard deviation of 90 bb/100, the 95% range around an observed win rate is ±1.96 × 90 ÷ √(hands ÷ 100). After 50,000 hands, a 5 bb/100 result means your true win rate is somewhere from -2.9 to +12.9 bb/100 — an hourly rate anywhere from -8.67 to +38.67 in the example above.
| Hands | Margin (bb/100) |
|---|---|
| 10,000 | ± 17.6 |
| 50,000 | ± 7.9 |
| 100,000 | ± 5.6 |
| 250,000 | ± 3.5 |
| 500,000 | ± 2.5 |
| 1,000,000 | ± 1.8 |
Use the low end of the range when you size a bankroll. The bankroll calculator shows how many buy-ins that more cautious win rate needs.
More tables or higher stakes?
Adding tables raises volume but usually lowers your win rate, because each decision gets less attention. Going from four tables at 5 bb/100 (15 an hour at NL100) to eight tables at 3 bb/100 makes 18 — more money, from a thinner edge.
Moving up a stake works the other way: NL200 at 2.5 bb/100 pays 15 an hour, the same as NL100 at 5 bb/100, but every swing is twice as large in money, so it needs twice the bankroll. A higher hourly rate is only better if the bankroll can carry it.
Hourly rate in tournaments
For tournaments, multiply your ROI by your average buy-in and by the tournaments you finish per hour. At 15% ROI and a 20 average buy-in, playing 6 tournaments an hour across several tables is worth about 18 an hour. Tournament results take far longer to settle than cash results, so treat the figure as a long-run average rather than a wage.
This number covers one spot. PokeAI covers your game.
The calculator answers how much. PokeAI answers why — on the hands you actually played, using this same engine for every number it gives you.
Questions about this calculator
- How do I calculate my hourly rate in poker?
- Multiply your win rate in bb/100 by the hands you play per hour, divide by 100, and multiply by the big blind. Add rakeback. Live players can divide their net result by the hours played instead.
- How many hands per hour do you play?
- Roughly 25 to 35 per table live, and 60 to 90 per table online, depending on the site and the number of players. Multiply by the tables you play at once.
- What is a good hourly rate in poker?
- One that stays positive after rake, expenses and a cautious read of your win rate. Compare hourly rates at the same stake: a higher figure built on more tables or higher stakes also means larger swings.
- How many hands do I need to know my win rate?
- More than most players expect. At a standard deviation of 90 bb/100, 100,000 hands still leave a 95% range of about ±5.6 bb/100 around your result.
- Should rakeback count towards my hourly rate?
- Yes, it is money you earn per hour played — but keep it separate from your win rate, so a change in the rewards programme does not hide a change in how you play.
- Why does the calculator show a range?
- Because an observed win rate is only an estimate of your true one. The range shows where the true figure probably sits given your sample; it narrows as you play more hands.
Related calculators
- Poker Bankroll Calculator
Work out how many buy-ins you need for cash games, sit & gos and tournaments from your win rate or ROI, your swings and the risk of ruin you accept.
- Risk of Ruin Calculator
How likely is your bankroll to bust at your ROI and variance, and how many buy-ins you need to bring that risk under 5% or 1%.
- Call EV Calculator
Enter your equity, the pot and the bet to see the expected value of a call in chips, plus how much equity you are above or below break-even.
Further reading
- Downswing or Leak? How to Tell From Your Own Poker Numbers
How big downswings get for winning players, how often a winner is still behind after 50,000 hands, and the signs in your own results that point to a leak instead.
- Free Poker Bankroll Spreadsheet: Excel and Google Sheets Template
Download a free poker bankroll spreadsheet for Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers: session log, net result, hourly rate, bankroll and live vs online totals.
- Live vs Online Poker Bankroll Tracking: What Changes and Why It Matters
Live and online poker need different records. Hands per hour, costs, win rate units and how long it takes to trust your results, worked through with numbers.
- Poker Bankroll Management: Fixed Percentage, Kelly and Stop-Loss
Three bankroll management methods worked through with real numbers: fixed percentage, the Kelly criterion and stop-losses, and the risk of ruin behind each.
- Poker Session Log: What to Record After Every Session, and Why
What a poker session log should record, live and online: the six fields every session needs, the extras that find leaks, and the mistakes that make results lie.
- When to Move Up in Stakes: Bankroll, Sample Size and the Shot Rule
Move up when your bankroll covers the next stake, not after a good week. How to take a shot with a fixed budget and a fixed exit, and what its result tells you.