• Average Poker Hands
• Average Poker Hands Per Hour Live Poker
• Rank Of Hands In Poker

The average 'made hand' is 2 pair i think; mathematically i think it's between a pair and 2 pair the average starting hand is Q7, the computer hand This would also mean that a hand with just a high. So in Zoom poker games you can expect to see anywhere between 200 and 250 hands per hour on average. Again, if you play 6-max it will be on the higher end of this range. This by the way is between 8 and 10 times as many hands as you will see in a live poker game. And if you multi-table, then you can double or triple these numbers.

Knowing your hands per hour is important for planning your sessions and figuring out your hourly rate. I dove into the statistics and did a bit of research and this is what I found out.

How many hands per hour in poker? Online you will play around 75 hands per hour on a 6-max table and about 62 hands per hour on a 9-max table. In online fast fold games like Zoom, Zone, or Snap you will play 200 to 250 hands per table hour. Live poker players will typically average 25 hands per hour.

Of course, these numbers can vary based on where you are playing. Let’s take a look at the factors that can effect your hands per hour experience.

There Are Fewer Hands per Hour in Soft Games

As the VPIP goes up the hands per hour tends to go down. For comparison sake, let’s take a look at Bovada/Ignition versus the Winning Poker Network (WPN). I have played hundreds of thousands of hands on both networks and checked my database to compare the numbers.

For 6-max games on Bovada and Ignition I average 68 hands per hour. On WPN I average 77 hands per hour. In 9-max games the numbers are 55 and 62 respectively.

Why the discrepancy?

It’s because the VPIP is quite a bit higher on Bovada and Ignition. I mean it makes sense. If more people are limping and seeing flops then, of course, the games will play slower. I am not a live player but I can imagine 5/10 players enjoy a higher hands per hour than 1/2 players.

What Are Your Exact Hands per Hour on Each Site?

Hold’em Manager has a handy multi-table report that shows exactly how many hands per hour are played based on how many tables are played at once. Here are my numbers:

6-Max

9-Max

Surprisingly, the more tables I played the higher my hands per hour is. I guess this makes perfect sense since game selection pretty much goes out the window when you are mass multi-tabling.

Hands per Hour Dealt Is Different Than Hands per Hour Played

If you look around the web you will see much higher numbers than I am writing about here. That’s because they are talking about hands per hour when you are actually dealt into the hand.

Raw hands per hour when actually being dealt in is like 90 per hour for 6-max and 75 per hour for 9-max. However, unless you are staying on the same table and playing for hours, lower numbers are more realistic.

What they fail to take into account that some of the time that you are sitting at a table you are not being dealt in. Hands dealt per hour does not include time players spend getting on and off the tables and sitting and waiting on big blinds. Therefore, actual hands played per hour is what you should use when trying to figure out your hourly win-rate.

What About Hands Per Hour in Live Games?

Live dealt in numbers tend to be much closer to reality since there is no multi-tabling and a player will typically stay at the same table for hours. Even so, the number of hands played per hour is still much lower than online.

Hands per hour in live games can range anywhere from 20 to 30. Besides almost exclusively being 9 or 10 handed, it takes time for the dealer to shuffle and deal. That leaves little time to actually playing poker. I have a ton of respect for the patience and mental toughness of live grinders.

Average Poker Hands

Aggressive Table Selection Affects Hands per Hour

The longer you stay on a table the more hands per hour you are dealt. This is because you have to pull up a new table, sit down, and then wait for the big blinds. This takes time. Therefore, switching games often lowers your hands per hour.

Now I am not saying you should stop game selecting. In today’s tough poker environment, robust table selection is how money is made. One way to remedy this issue and still maintain your desired number of hands per hour is to just add one more table. If you normally two table, try three.

Mass Multi-Tablers Slow down the Games

I have noticed a direct correlation between the maximum number of tables allowed on a site to how many hands per hour is played. This is due to mass multi-tablers, who tend to time bank often and hold up the games.

For example, Bovada and Ignition also only allow 4 cash game tables to be played at once. WPN still allows people to play 24 tables at the same time. Get two or three guys playing 24 tables on one table and it becomes time bank city. Watch your hourly rate shrink due to atrophied hands per hour.

Why Does Full Ring Play Slower Than 6-Max?

Full ring has a lower hands per hour because there are more players on the table that have to act during each hand. Also, 9-max games tend to play more passively than 6-max. Therefore, 6-max games tend to play about 20% faster than 9-max games.

What If I Mix in Full Ring Games and Want to Have the Same Hands per Hour?

If you want to play the same amount of hands per hour at 9-max that you do at 6-max you will simply just need to add more tables.

Let’s say you currently play 8 tables of 6-max and average 600 hands per hour. Since the average hands per hour at 9-max is 62, you simply divide 62 into 600 and that gives you your optimal number of full ring tables.
In this case, it is 9.68, or 10 tables.

• 600/62= 9.68

Fast-Fold (Zoom/Zone) Poker Hands Per Hour

In the last few years, the popularity of fast-fold poker has increased substantially due to the increase in hands per hour attainable. No longer do you have to sit back and watch a hand play out after you have folded. With the click of a button you are moved on to another hand.

This allows people to play between 200 and 300 hands per hour on each table.

What this means is that a player can use less real estate on his or her desktop and just focus on one or two tables at the time, while still achieving a substantial number of hands per hour.

Drawbacks of Fast-Fold Poker

Fast-fold poker is not for the feint of heart. In fact, it takes a completely different strategy than you would play on a regular table. Maximizing hands per hour can actually be a big factor in determining how to play.

Personally, I dislike fast-fold poker not because of the strategic differences or the speed of play. Rather, I believe that the game is not really poker at all.

Observing opponents and then adjusting your strategy based on what they do is at the heart of poker. Fast-fold poker takes this away since every hand will find you in a different mix of opponents. So much for using gameflow considerations to your advantage.

Final Thoughts

If you are reading this article so that you can start mass multi-tabling because you think it will increase your hourly rate substantially, I have to warn you. As hands per hour increases, ability to focus on what is going on and game select correctly tends to go out the window.

So unless you are at least a 6bb/100 winner playing one or two tables, I would not even consider trying to maximize your hands per hour yet. Your growth as a poker player is much more important than trying to increase your hourly rate.

However, once you are ready you now know how many hands per hour you can expect to play at the tables. I hope this information allows you to figure out your optimal number of tables to play to achieve your hourly rate goals. My optimal number of tables is about 6, what’s yours?

Related Questions

How do I calculate hourly rate in poker?Tocalculate your hourly rate you divide your total profit by the number of hours you have played.

What is a good poker hourly rate? What can be considered a good hourly rate in poker will vary from player to player based on their goals. It will also depend on the stake being played. It is much better to focus on win-rate instead of hourly rate. A good online win-rate will range from 2-4 big blinds per 100 hands for multi-tablers and from 4 big blinds to 10 big blinds per 100 hands for single tablers. However, due to the extreme softness of some live games, live players will often enjoy a win-rate much higher.

How many hands per hour in tournament poker? Hands per hour in tournaments will be higher than cash games since there is no table selection involved. Online you can expect to play 90 hands per hour for 6-max and 75 hands per hour for 9-max. As the blinds increase, hands also tend to play faster since the game evolves into push-fold. Live tournament players play around 30 hands per hour.

You have a good life.

You have a supportive family, a nice set of friends, and a decent job.

Whenever you find free time, you play poker with your friends and relatives and for some strange reason, you get to kill the game and win almost every time.

Although it’s impossible to win each hand you’re dealt with (even Phil Ivey has to fold a hand from time to time), you have a sense of what’s going on at the poker table.

You think you have the steel to win poker matches, especially in your home games, but have you ever thought about earning a second income from poker?

If this is the first time you’ve heard of playing poker as a source of secondary income then you’re in for a treat. A fair warning though, I don’t suggest that you gamble your lifesaving’s away.

All you need to do is be smart about it and plan in advance.

Start off with the extra cash that you have and make sure you don’t blow your hard-earned money away.

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Don’t give poker a bad name

Bull going all-in!

You’ve cards flying up in the air together with limped bodies and cowboy boots.

Poker is often associated with cowboys and westerns thanks to much Hollywood movies we’ve seen.

If not westerns, poker (and other card games) is often played in sleazy and dingy card rooms.

Rats won’t stand a chance in these filthy places much less you, the poker player.

Whether we like it or not, that’s the poker environment we’ve grown accustomed to: polluted, covered with cigar smoke, and dangerous.

Let’s thank the poker gods (and ESPN) because the descriptions above aren’t close to real card rooms and casinos.

You don’t see dudes from the ‘hood with guns toting at you. Instead, you’re more likely to find businessmen, math professors, MBA degree holders, and more plain average Joes.

Of course there are sharks (professional poker players who make a living out of the game), but with the right preparation and steady bankroll, the idea of earning a second income from poker is very possible.

The Reality of Poker: Gambling versus Sport

“Guys around here will tell ya, you play for a living, it’s like any other job. You don’t gamble, you grind it out. Your goal is to win one big bet an hour, that’s it. Get your money in when you have the best of it. Protect it when you don’t. Don’t give anything away. That’s how I paid my way through half of law school. A true grinder. You see, I learned how to win a little at a time” – Mike McDermott.

Are those lines familiar to you?

If they’re not, they’re from the opening scene of the movie Rounders.

We can get a lot of card philosophy from the movie if you’re considering earning a second income from poker.

The debate whether poker is gambling or sport remains unresolved and to the uninitiated, poker players are often frowned upon.

But one thing should be clear: Poker only becomes gambling if you play with reckless abandon like a boxer who throws punches with his eyes closed. What goes on at the poker table – how you you’re your cool, how you react, and how you decide – is a microcosm of real life.

Poker is no different from a sought-after business deal. It’s no different from war (or the threat of it) and brinkmanship is crucial. And just like the many aspects of our professional and private lives, poker is about making decisions.

Poker is not for the faint of heart. It’s for adventurers, thrill-seekers, and especially those with entrepreneurial spirits. It’s about taking risks and calculated chances.

Average Poker Hands Per Hour Live Poker

You must have the heart and soul to appreciate victories and the humility to accept defeat without going crazy.

Earning a Secondary Source of Income FROM POKER: How to Prepare

The Art of Poker

“Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” – Sun Tzu, Art of War.

It’s a scary thought, but I have to admit that poker’s a tough sport.

What’s easy these days anyway?

With that in mind, in wouldn’t hurt if you prepare before you rush into the sport.

Here’s another tip: treat poker as an investment.

If you look at poker as an investment, you won’t squander your cash in casinos and online card rooms like you have a cash flow that never runs out. Every investment has risk and to keep that always in mind will help you protect it.

Play within your means. Don’t be blinded by a pipe dream. Sure, it’s sweet to see yourself at the final table of the World Series of Poker with Phil Ivey on your left and Tom Dwan on your right.

Don’t mistake the money you win for fame, glory, and wealth. Think of your winnings as windfalls that could help pay the bills or the vacation you’ve been longing for.

What’s important is to play the blinds that won’t hurt your wallet.

Remember: your objective is to make poker a source of secondary income, not make you poorer. You have to grind it out.

Set Targets

Set yourself a goal each time you play.

Put a reasonable monetary target.

There’s no shame if your goal is to win $100 per four or five hours of playing poker every day.

The point is to build your bankroll big enough to augment your current income to support your family’s or friends’ financial needs.

Here’s another Rounders treat for you: “You can’t lose what you don’t put in the middle.”

Be wise when you play poker and make it a source of secondary income.

All the other players sitting with you at the table are out there to take your money, too.

Variance and bad beats will show their terrible heads from time to time, but you can control your losses if you leave yourself outs.

Who knows? Maybe the next time you re-read this article in front of you – this article that spawned your desire to consider earning a second income from poker – your monetary target is no longer $100 per night, but $5,000 or $10,000 or more!

Live Poker Games

Playing poker live does have some advantages.

I don’t know where you live or from which part of the world you come, but there are plenty of places you can go to find a good poker game.

Rank Of Hands In Poker

• Search for local card rooms within your vicinity.
• Check out the tables and their swings.
• Observing how the regulars play will give you an idea how strong the players are.

You can use what you observed and assess whether your game is good enough to play head-on with the veterans of the card rooms. You can have a feel of what’s going on around you by playing face-to-face with other poker players.

However, live poker games in card rooms and casinos have disadvantages.

Here they are:

• Gas money – with the economy plummeting, the price of petrol fuel is a pain in the neck. The objective why you want to play poker is because you want to earn a secondary income. If driving around town to find the best card rooms would result in additional cost then playing live poker may not be a good idea.
• Food money – Although there are card rooms that give free drinks and sodas to their clients, you need to eat, too, while you play for hours. However, food choices in card rooms and casinos can be pricey. You can’t play on an empty stomach because it can affect your judgment.
• Physical distance – travelling can be very exhausting. Apart from the gas and food costs, and depending where you are, the physical distance can take a toll on your game and decisions.

Online Poker Games

If you can’t handle the distance and you want to avoid additional cost, don’t worry.

Online poker games abound it’s like choosing from live card rooms, too. Below are three examples of online poker sites that you can try if you prefer to save more money:

• PokerStars.com – this is considered one of the largest poker sites worldwide. You can browse the site and you’ll find more tournaments and games than any other poker site. It has 24/7 customer support with secure deposits and fast cash outs.
• FullTiltPoker.com – Full Tilt Poker is an online poker room conceived and designed by some of the world’s leading professional poker players. Notable poker players that play in this site are Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan. You can start playing with beginners at small stakes tables or you can rough it out with the best players in the site.
• Bodog Poker – Bodog has plenty of tournaments and you can play in sit and go tournaments, multi-table and even WSOP qualifiers. All you need to do is to create an account and download the free poker software.

Learn More Poker

Learn more poker.

Finally, learn from the masters of the game.

Sure you can beat your buddies at home even when blindfolded. You can rip them off and take their barbecue money.

However, when you go pro – at least from earning a secondary income standpoint – it wouldn’t hurt to read about the game.

Chess grandmasters would spend thousands of hours playing. They also spend loads of time reading and studying chess books to up their game.

Go grab a poker e-book. Read Doyle Brunson’s Super System. My personal favorites, for some strange reason, include Phil Gordon’s Little Green Book of Poker and Daneil Negreaneu’s Hold’em Wisdom for All Players. You could also try the books of Phil Helmuth, Barry Greenstein, and Gus Hansen.

They’re all worth reading.

Watch videos how the pros play and bluff their way. Watch Ivey, Dwan, Esfandiari, Mizracchi. Sooner or later all else will become clear and you’ll have an arsenal of tricks that could help you increase your bankroll.

Besides, when you’re just starting with the game, you learned the rules and felt it as you went along.

This time, you have to be smart. Really smart.

That’s how you prepare if earning a second income from poker is what you want.

I will leave you with an inspirational video from Doyle Brunson and after you can start playing some real poker.