01Why win rate needs converting

Big blinds per 100 hands is the cleanest way to measure a cash-game edge, because it strips out stake and volume and leaves only the skill signal. That same purity is also its limitation. A win rate of five big blinds per 100 tells a player how well they play, but it says nothing about how much money that skill actually puts in their pocket. To answer the practical question - what is this worth per hour, per session, per month - the rate has to be converted into currency, and that conversion depends on factors the win rate deliberately ignores.

02The conversion, step by step

Three numbers turn an abstract win rate into real money: the cash value of one big blind, how many hands are dealt each hour, and how many hours are played. The converter chains them together.

Dollars per 100 hands = (win rate / 100) x big-blind value x 100. Dollars per hour = (win rate / 100) x big-blind value x hands per hour. Projected month = hourly profit x hours per month.

The figure per 100 hands is the purest dollar translation, since it depends only on the win rate and the stake. The hourly rate adds the pace of play, which is where online and live poker diverge sharply: the same win rate at the same stake is worth far more per hour online simply because more hands are dealt. The monthly projection then scales the hourly figure by the time committed, turning a playing rate into an income estimate.

What different win rates can mean in dollars
Win rateBB valueHands/hrHourly estimate
2 bb/100$180$1.60/hr
5 bb/100$180$4/hr
5 bb/100$280$8/hr
8 bb/100$2100$16/hr
10 bb/100$5100$50/hr

03Reading the dollar figures with care

Converting to currency makes a win rate tangible, but it also makes it easy to over-trust. The hourly and monthly numbers are expected values - what the play is worth on average over a long horizon - not a wage that arrives reliably each month. Variance ensures that real months scatter widely around the projection, and a single hot or cold stretch can dwarf the underlying edge. Reading the converted figures alongside the variance calculator keeps that uncertainty in view, while the guides to what a win rate captures and the ranges that are realistic at different stakes help judge whether the input itself is plausible. Used together, they turn a single bb/100 figure into a grounded picture of what an edge is genuinely worth.

04What affects your real poker hourly rate

The converted figure moves on more than the win rate alone. These are the levers that decide what an edge is actually worth:

  • Your true long-run bb/100. The honest, large-sample win rate - not a hot month - is the foundation everything else multiplies.
  • Stake and big-blind value. The same edge moves far more money at higher stakes simply because each big blind is worth more.
  • Hands per hour or tables played. Volume is a multiplier; adding tables or playing faster online scales the hourly rate directly.
  • Game selection. Softer tables lift the real win rate, which feeds straight through to the dollar figure.
  • Rake and rakeback. Rake quietly lowers the effective win rate, while rakeback adds back an hourly amount the converter does not see.
  • Cash versus tournaments. This conversion is built for cash-game bb/100; tournament edges are better measured with the ROI calculator.

05Why a converted win rate is only an estimate

The hourly and monthly figures are long-run averages, not a salary. It helps to hold a few things in mind before treating them as income:

  • Hourly profit swings wildly - real sessions almost never land on the average.
  • A single hot or cold week can outweigh the underlying edge many times over.
  • Volume matters more than any one day or month; the estimate only holds over a large sample.
  • Table quality drifts, so the true win rate behind the figure is never perfectly fixed.

Pair the converted numbers with the variance calculator to see how far a real month can stray from the projection before anything is actually wrong.

06Who this converter is most useful for

  • Cash-game players tracking a bb/100 win rate who want it in money terms.
  • Anyone comparing stakes, to see what moving up is really worth per hour.
  • Players estimating the side-income potential of a part-time schedule.
  • Players checking whether a modest win rate still adds up to a meaningful figure.
// faq
How do you convert bb/100 to dollars per hour? +

Multiply the win rate as a fraction of 100 by the dollar value of one big blind and by the number of hands played per hour. For example, a 5 bb/100 win rate at a 2-dollar big blind over 80 hands an hour gives 0.05 times 2 times 80, or 8 dollars an hour. The converter does this automatically and also shows the figure per 100 hands.

How many hands per hour does an online player see? +

A single table of online no-limit hold-em typically deals between 60 and 90 hands an hour, so a one-table grinder might use around 75. Multi-tabling multiplies that figure, while live poker is far slower at roughly 25 to 35 hands an hour, which dramatically changes the hourly value of the same win rate.

Why does my hourly rate look low for a good win rate? +

Hourly profit depends as much on volume and stake as on the win rate itself. A strong bb/100 figure at a small stake or a slow live table simply does not move much money per hour. Raising the big-blind value, the hands per hour, or both lifts the hourly figure without changing the underlying skill the win rate measures.

Is the projected monthly profit guaranteed? +

No. The monthly figure is the expected value if results land exactly on the win rate, which over a single month they rarely do. Variance can push a real month far above or below the projection, so the number is best read as a long-run average rather than a forecast for any particular month.

Can two players with the same bb/100 earn very different hourly rates? +

Yes, easily. Hourly profit is the win rate multiplied by the big-blind value and the hands played per hour, so two players with an identical bb/100 will earn completely different amounts if one plays a higher stake or sees more hands. A 5 bb/100 winner four-tabling a $2 big blind online makes far more per hour than the same win rate at a single slow live table.

Why does table count change poker hourly profit so much? +

Because hands per hour is a direct multiplier on the hourly figure. Adding tables online multiplies the number of hands dealt per hour, and since the converter scales profit by that volume, more tables lift the hourly rate in near-proportion - provided the win rate holds up across them, which spreading attention too thin can erode.