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•7 min read•Poker Strategy

Poker Profit Tracker: How to Calculate and Track Your Hourly Win Rate

Learn how to track your poker profits and calculate your true hourly win rate. Discover the tools and methods used by winning poker players to monitor performance.

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Poker Profit Tracker: How to Calculate and Track Your Hourly Win Rate

Whether you play poker recreationally or professionally, tracking your profits is essential. A proper poker profit tracker helps you understand your true win rate, identify leaks, and make better decisions about bankroll management.

Why Every Poker Player Should Track Results

Understand Your Actual Hourly Rate

Without tracking, you might think you're winning when you're actually break-even (or worse). Accurate records reveal:

  • Your true hourly win rate
  • Performance by stake level
  • Results by game type (cash vs tournaments)
  • Variance vs skill

Identify Your Leaks

Detailed tracking exposes:

  • Losing sessions patterns
  • Tilt triggers
  • Unprofitable game types
  • Problematic playing times

Make Better Decisions

Data-driven insights help you:

  • Choose optimal games
  • Set proper stop-loss limits
  • Decide when to move up stakes
  • Know when to take breaks

What to Track in Your Poker Sessions

Essential Data Points

  1. Date and Time: When you played
  2. Casino/Platform: Where you played
  3. Game Type: No Limit Hold'em, PLO, tournaments, etc.
  4. Stakes: Blinds or buy-in level
  5. Duration: Hours played
  6. Buy-in Amount: How much you brought
  7. Cash-out Amount: How much you left with
  8. Profit/Loss: Net result

Optional Details

  • Table conditions (loose, tight, soft, tough)
  • Key hands or notable moments
  • Physical/mental state
  • Specific opponents

Calculating Your Poker Metrics

Hourly Win Rate

Hourly Rate = Total Profit ÷ Total Hours Played

Example: $3,000 profit over 150 hours = $20/hour

BB/Hour (Big Blinds per Hour)

For cash games, measure in big blinds for stake-independent comparison:

BB/Hour = (Total Profit ÷ Big Blind Size) ÷ Total Hours

Win Rate by Stakes

Track separately for different levels to know where you perform best.

Setting Up Your Poker Tracker

Step 1: Choose Your Method

A dedicated tracking app offers:

  • Automatic calculations
  • Visual charts and graphs
  • Session history
  • Performance analytics

Step 2: Create Categories

Organize by:

  • Game type (cash, tournament, SNG)
  • Stakes level
  • Location/platform
  • Game variant (NLHE, PLO, etc.)

Step 3: Log Every Session

Consistency is key. Track:

  • Every winning session
  • Every losing session
  • Every break-even session

Understanding Variance in Poker

Short-Term vs Long-Term

Poker has significant variance. You might:

  • Lose for weeks despite playing well
  • Win for weeks despite playing poorly
  • Only see true results over thousands of hours

Sample Size Matters

  • 100 hours: Very unreliable data
  • 500 hours: Starting to be meaningful
  • 1,000+ hours: More reliable win rate

Using Tracking to Manage Tilt

Review your data to identify:

  • Sessions after big losses
  • Late-night playing patterns
  • Revenge session tendencies

Bankroll Decisions Based on Data

When to Move Up Stakes

Use your tracking data to confirm:

  • Consistent win rate at current level
  • Sufficient bankroll for next level
  • Positive hourly rate over significant sample

When to Move Down

Your data might show:

  • Losing at current stakes
  • Bankroll below comfort zone
  • Tilt affecting higher stakes play

Privacy-First Tracking

A good poker tracker should:

  • Never access your poker account
  • Keep your results completely private
  • Allow simple manual entry
  • Work without any external connections

You're just recording your session results—no account linking required.

Building Good Tracking Habits

After Every Session

  1. Log immediately while details are fresh
  2. Record exact buy-in and cash-out
  3. Note session duration
  4. Add relevant observations

Weekly Review

  • Calculate weekly profit/loss
  • Check hourly rate trend
  • Identify any patterns

Monthly Analysis

  • Evaluate overall performance
  • Review by game type and stakes
  • Set goals for next month

Conclusion

A poker profit tracker is your most valuable tool for improvement. By manually logging every session, you build the dataset needed to make smart decisions about your game. Whether you're playing for fun or profit, tracking turns guesswork into knowledge.

Start tracking your poker sessions today and discover your true win rate.