Poker Earn Rates For NL Holdem Cash Games
Poker Earn Rates For No Limit Holdem Cash Games, Shows Average Earnings For Different Levels With And Without Rakeback.
Poker earn rates are tricky to calculate in the short-term, but over a reasonable sample size these do balance out to give us a set of convenient figures to aim for. This article lists the expected win rates for NL Holdem cash games for different skill levels of players. We do this from $10 buy-ins right up to $1000 games to cover as many readers as possible. Different skill levels are taken into account, as is whether you currently have a rakeback deal – those readers who do not currently have a one of the many available rakeback deals in place may be surprised as to how much difference this can make to your hourly take. We have provided links to help you find a suitable rakeback deal once you have enjoyed this article!
Poker Earn Rates For NL Holdem Cash Games – Standardizing Calculations!
Earn rates in online poker games are usually shown in a format called PTBB/100. This rating system actually started back when fixed limit Holdem was the main game and comes from a software tool called PokerTracker. ‘Poker Tracker Big Bets’ are a number twice the big blind. So if you are in a 50c / $1 blinds game a “PTBB” is $2. This earning measure is this how many sets of 2 big blinds you win on average per 100 hands played.
Just to clarify, here are some examples:
6PTBB/100 @ $25 No Limit Holdem with a 25c big blind is $3 = ((25c*2)*6) per 100 hands played.
2.5PTBB/100 @ $400 No Limit Holdem with a $4 big blind is $20 = (($4*2)*2.5) per 100 hands played.
Expected Poker Cash Game Earn Rates Based On Skill Levels
Of course, not all poker players are equally skilled. So we need to take into account how good you are compared to the competition at a particular level. As we move up levels there are significantly less players simply giving their cash away – and the earn rates will go down. These should be seen as averages relative to the general toughness of the games. All figures are in PTBB/100.
| Buy-In Level / Big Blind |
Average Winner |
Solid Winner |
Crushing The Game |
| $10NL (10c BB) |
3 |
6 |
10+ |
| $25NL (25c BB) |
3 |
6 |
10+ |
| $50NL (50c BB) |
2 |
4 |
7+ |
| $100NL ($1 BB) |
2 |
3 |
5+ |
| $200NL ($2 BB) |
1 |
2 |
4+ |
| $400NL ($4 BB) |
1 |
2 |
3+ |
| $600NL ($6 BB) |
1 |
2 |
>2+ |
| $1000NL ($10 BB) |
1 |
2 |
>2+ |
Poker Earn Rates – How Big A Difference Does Rakeback Make?
If you do not currently receive a weekly or monthly rebate from your poker site via a rakeback deal you will be surprised how big a difference this makes, we will give some examples of different players using the win rates above and show you how much more cash the players receiving rakeback are earning!
Example #1: Smaller Stakes Recreational Player… We will start small, with a fun player who clocks up 15 hours a week of NL25 6-max, playing 3 tables with a reasonable 4PTB/ 100 on average.
So, 200 hands per hour @ 15 hours = 3,000 hands per week – at $2 per 100 this is a steady $60 in bankroll growth weekly or $250 monthly (accounting for the extra part of a week each month!). Now we add a 30% rakeback deal – a quick calculation shows this would add an additional $34 per week or $140 (approx) per month giving our player an improved take home of $390.
Example #2: Grinder At The Lower To Middle Stakes… If you are considering grinding yourself into heaps of money a rakeback deal is a must. This player plays 8 tables of 50c / $1 no limit, while the extra tables do reduce win rates a little we are still looking at 2 PTBB/100 overall, multiply this by 40 hours and 65 hands per table per hour and we have around 20k hands per week – a respectable $800 cash every single week totaling more than $3300 a month!
Now we add rakeback… a lot of rakeback! Playing this many tables means a lot of cash coming your way – in fact a conservative estimate would give more than $900 a week extra with a 30% average rakeback deal – that is more than doubling our grinder’s income to almost $7,000 per month.
Poker Earn Rates – How To Get Yourself A Great Rakeback Deal
Well, you have come to exactly the right place – we have articles, calculators and reviews to help you choose the right deal for you. Choose the page below which best suits your experience level and situation, or alternatively check out the main rakeback deals page and use the ‘Ask Mark’ form – I am always available to provide personalized advice.
If you are new to rakeback and want to learn more about how this profitable comp system can work for you then check out our New To Rakeback FAQ page
If you would like to browse summaries of some of the leading sites which offer rakeback deals, with links to detailed reviews where required then check our Best Rakeback Sites page.
For those with non-rakeback accounts who would like to explore whether it is possible to get switched to rakeback we have a guide to Rakeback For Existing Accounts.
Finally, if you would like to find an accurate calculation of your own potential earnings from rakeback before going further we recommend our Cash Game Rakeback Calculator page.
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