Good Poker Win Rate For Small Stakes (2024 Update)

Good poker win rate
I get asked about what is a good poker win rate perhaps more than any other topic. That or "how many hours do I need to play to make $50 or $100 a day?"

They usually come from people who are new to online poker. And believe me I get it, people want to know how much money they can potentially make by playing poker.

Unfortunately it isn't always quite so simple in poker though. 

However, in this article I am going to give you the answers about what is a good poker win rate in small stakes games these days.


What is a Good Poker Win Rate?


First let me give you the short answer:

A good poker win rate is anything above 0bb/100. This is because most people lose at poker in the long run. However, in small stakes games like NL2, NL5, NL10, NL25 and NL50 a good poker win rate can vary from 3bb/100 to 30bb/100.

Now let's talk about what a good poker win rate is for the very biggest winners because I think that is what people want to know.

In my opinion the top 5% of the entire player pool are the ones who are the long term big winners. These are the guys who are winning the highest possible amounts.

These are also typically the ones who are professional poker players. So just to be clear, that is who I am talking about below.


Game Selection, Table Count and Tilt Contol - Biggest Impact On Your Poker Win Rate


So I will be assuming that they are religiously game selecting (both table selection and seat selection). Elite players tend to always be doing this anyways.

And of course, they are much more likely to be using a high quality poker HUD than amateurs.

Now of course the big thing with game selection is that when you are playing 18 tables at once you simply do not have anywhere near as much time to pay attention to it as someone who is 4 tabling for instance.

The same goes for the quality of your actual poker decisions. This will drastically affect your potential win rate. So I will break down the win rates below into three different volume categories.

I am also assuming throughout this article that these are the players who are very strong mentally. It is just a simple fact that most people will crack under the pressure when the going gets tough in poker.

This is one of the absolute biggest differences between that small group of elite winners in poker and everybody else.

In fact, this is something I discuss in my latest video: 5 Things You Will NEVER See Good Poker Players Do


Never miss my new poker videos, join 100,000+ who are already subscribed.

Lastly, I will also be assuming that they are studying all of the latest advanced poker strategy these days, which is something elite winning players tend to always be doing do anyways.

Because the game of poker is always changing, and therefore if you aren't willing to stay on top of the latest high level poker theory, you will simply get left behind.

And finally, what follows below is just my opinion from playing at all levels of the micros and small stakes games as a professional for many, many years. 

If you fail to achieve these numbers (or have already surpassed them) please don't send me hate mail!


What is a BB/100 Poker Win Rate?


Actually one last thing before I get to the numbers though just so we are all on the same page here. What exactly is a bb/100 poker win rate?

Well, in online poker we measure our success (win rate) in terms of how many big blinds you win for every 100 poker hands you play.

So this is why we call it bb/100. You can simply use a program like PokerTracker to easily get your own online poker winrate in bb/100.

This is different from a live poker game in a casino by the way where your winrate is typically measured in terms of how many big blinds you win per hour.

One last quick note, here is what I mean by NL2, NL5 and so on.
  • NL2 (also known as 2NL) = 1 cent / 2 cent blinds 
  • NL5 (also known as 5NL) = 2 cent / 5 cent blinds 
  • NL10 (also known as 10NL) = 5 cent /10 cent blinds
  • NL25 (also known as 25NL) = 10 cent / 25 cent blinds 
  • NL50 (also known as 50NL) = 25 cent / 50 cent blinds
  • NL100 (also known as 100NL) = 50 cent / $1 blinds

Alright, let's get to the actual numbers already!


Best Poker Win Rates Possible For Elite Players Who Play 1-8 Tables.


NL2 win rate: 15bb/100

NL5 win rate: 10bb/100

NL10 win rate: 8bb/100

NL25 win rate: 6bb/100

NL50 win rate: 5bb/100

NL100 win rate: 4bb/100


Best Poker Win Rates Possible For Elite Players Who Play 9-17 Tables.


NL2 win rate: 10bb/100

NL5 win rate: 6bb/100

NL10 win rate: 5bb/100

NL25 win rate: 4bb/100

NL50 win rate: 3bb/100

NL100 win rate: 2bb/100


Best Poker Win Rates Possible For Elite Players Who Play 18+ Tables.


NL2 win rate: 5bb/100

NL5 win rate: 4bb/100

NL10 win rate: 3bb/100

NL25 win rate: 2bb/100

NL50 win rate: 1bb/100

NL100 win rate: 1bb/100


By the way, if you want to start achieving winrates like this, I would recommend checking out my free poker course.

I just uploaded it on my YouTube channel last week: 16 Easy Poker Tips for BEGINNERS (Free Course)


Never miss my new poker videos, join 100,000+ who are already subscribed.


What Are These Poker Winrates Based On?


Now, please keep in mind that I have some of the highest winrates ever posted in these games and that is what these numbers are based on.


Many people keep sharing these poker winrates that I listed above online though and taking them wildly out of context.

In my experience, less than 2% of all poker players will even come close to beating these games for these winrates.

In fact, the vast majority of winning poker players will be in the 1bb/100 to 3bb/100 range, which is still very good (more on that below).

And like I mentioned off the top, the vast majority of people will actually lose at poker in the long run anyways (i.e. a negative winrate).

But people always ask me "what is possible." 

So the winrates above are "what is possible" for the absolute best small stakes poker players in the world, who are utilizing exceptional game selection, have excellent tilt control, and are using the proven optimal winning strategies for these games.


My Poker Winrates (Highest of All Time?)


If you have been following my poker blog for awhile, then you know that I arguably have some of the highest winrates of all time in many of these games, considerably more than what I posted above.

For example, my winrate at NL2 was nearly 30bb/100!

And I also achieved this winrate while mass multi-tabling by the way (20+ tables at a time) which makes it even crazier. All my winrates are posted here by the way.

But you must keep in mind that I achieved many of those winrates 10+ years ago when poker was considerably easier to beat (a lot more bad players).

I am also a 10+ year pro and I have written several books on these games, so I understand the absolute optimal strategy to crush these games.

So, please keep in mind that the numbers that I posted above reflect what is possible for the best players in today's games.

Many of the totally insane winrates that I achieved in the past in these small stakes games, simply are not possible anymore.


Poker Hourly Rate


You might be curious about what this means in terms of how much you make per hour at the poker tables though.

So if you want to break it down even further into your poker hourly rate, then you will need to figure out how many hands per hour you play.

For instance, if you are able to play 1000 hands per hour, with a winrate of 10bb/100 at NL25, then your poker hourly rate would be $25 per hour.

The big blind at NL25 is 25 cents. 

1000 hands at 10bb/100 = $25

I think you will want to make sure that you are a solid winning player playing at least these stakes, before you even consider going semi-pro or pro by the way.

This is something that I discuss in a lot more detail in my latest book.

Keep in mind that all of these numbers are pre-rakeback and pre-bonuses as well. This can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars more per month especially for high volume players at NL25 and higher.

Also, many professional poker players like myself make considerably more in sponsorships, endorsements and other "off the table" earnings these days as well.

This may also include offering personal coaching, book deals, making training videos, streaming and staking which is something that a lot of poker pros do these days as well.

So configuring your poker hourly rate (especially if you are a poker pro) is not as easy these days. But I would personally suggest aiming for a bare minimum of $100 per hour.


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good poker winrates for zoom
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What is a Good Zoom Poker Win Rate?


What about a Zoom poker win rate though? A lot of people play fast fold poker games like Zoom, Snap, Fast Forward and so on these days.

This is why I wrote the #1 Zoom poker strategy guide available these days online.

Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your Zoom poker win rate will not be as high as above. You will need to lower the win rates above by several big blinds at least if you play Zoom.

And the reason why is because in Zoom poker games you cannot table select. You also cannot seat select. This will heavily impact your ability to get on the most profitable tables and on the left of the fish.

By the way, in case you were wondering, yes, I do use quite a few poker tools and software when playing Zoom in particular to help me still find the fish and keep track of all my opponents.

For the complete list of all the poker software and tools I use at the poker tables, click here.

However, let me be clear that all is not lost if you play these Zoom games! The main benefit of Zoom is the ability to put in huge amounts of volume and also the convenience of sitting down and playing poker right away.

These two factors alone can often help mitigate a lower Zoom poker win rate so that you actually make more money in the end. And that of course is all that really matters.


Can You Make a Living Playing Small Stakes Poker? ($2000+ Per Month)


Something that people also often ask me is if you can make a living in small stakes games these days. And I will just say that that will be a bare minimum of $2000 per month.

Well, honestly it is not going to be easy if you play super low stakes like NL2, NL5 or even NL10. Or say, $10 or less buyin tournaments.

In fact playing super low stakes like this is one of my biggest regrets in my professional poker career.

In fact: If I Started Poker Again, I'd Do These 9 Things


Never miss my new poker videos, join 100,000+ who are already subscribed.

The bottom line though is this.

Most people in low stakes games will not be able to make $2000+ per month unless they have one of the elite winrates listed above.

You will also need to be multi-tabling, game selecting and have good tilt control.

However, if you are playing at stakes of NL25, NL50 or NL100 online ($1/$2 or $2/$5 live), then it is certainly possible to make 2k per month playing poker.

And that is because there is a lot more money on the line in those games. 

Therefore, if you can beat these games at an elite winrate, you might be able to make a full time income (depending on your circumstances of course).

As I have discussed several times on this blog, I spend most of my time grinding online in low cost of living tropical destinations.

Good Poker Win Rate For Small Stakes

Therefore, I don't need nearly as much money to be a professional poker player as some people who choose to live in an expensive Western country like the one I am from, Canada.

I discuss all this in much more detail in my popular 10 years as a poker pro article.


What About Live Poker Win Rates?


What about if you play live poker in a casino though? Well, live poker win rates are not measured the same as online poker win rates. Live poker win rates are measured by how many big blinds you make per hour.

The consensus has long been that in the two lowest stakes games that most casinos spread ($1/$2 and $2/$5), the very best players can expect to make around 10bb per hour.


In terms of a live poker hourly that equates to:
  • $1/$2 - $20 an hour
  • $2/$5 - $50 an hour

Again, these are the live poker win rates and hourly rate for the very best live poker players in the world at these limits.


Good Win Rates for Small Stakes Poker

The Let Down


Alright, let's inject some reality back into this conversation now. The average win rate and daily earnings of a random person just getting started in online poker are both in fact negative numbers.

Many people get caught up in the spell of the dream poker lifestyle. They have seen the millions being tossed around on TV and they figure that since they dominate their buddies every Friday night or have been "killing it" at the local 1/2 game for an inconsequential amount of hands that online poker is going to be a piece of cake.

The vast majority of them find out the hard way that it doesn't quite work like that. Let me now list the win rates that are much more common for these stakes. Keep in mind that at least 3/4 of people who play poker actually lose in the long run.

So the numbers below represent the average win rate that a winning online poker player (only 1/4 of the player pool) can expect to attain at the various stakes.


Average Poker Win Rate For 1-8 Tables.


2NL win rate: 6bb/100

5NL win rate: 4bb/100

10NL win rate: 3bb/100

25NL win rate: 2bb/100

50NL win rate: 2bb/100

100NL win rate: 1bb/100


Average Poker Win Rates For 9-17 Tables.


2NL win rate: 4bb/100

5NL win rate: 3bb/100

10NL win rate: 2bb/100

25NL win rate: 1bb/100

50NL win rate: 1bb/100

100NL win rate: 1bb/100


Average Poker Win Rate For 18+ Tables.


2NL win rate: 2bb/100

5NL win rate: 1bb/100

10NL win rate: 1bb/100

25NL win rate: 0.5bb/100

50NL win rate: 0.5bb/100

100NL win rate: 0.5bb/100


You can pull out your calculator again and multiply these numbers by your projected daily volume and hourly volume in order to get your daily and hourly earnings.

I hope these numbers prove valuable to all of the financial planners out there who want to know exactly how much they are going to make before they even get started!

Unfortunately though, poker doesn't actually work this way.

You need to put in a lot of time and effort studying your game and improving it if you ever want to make the big money in poker.


How to Improve Your Poker Win Rate


Your time would be much better spent simply forgetting about all of your future riches for now and instead focusing on playing as much as you can and working hard on your game away from the tables.

You should aim to develop the work ethic, discipline, emotional control and dedication to continued learning that are all necessary for long term success in this game.

Luckily though there are a few shortcuts these days that can help you achieve one of the best poker win rates much quicker.

Here are my top 2 suggestions:


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My other suggestion (especially if you struggle at NL2 or NL5 online or $1/$2 live) is Crushing the Microstakes. This is the #1 selling book of all-time at these stakes.

And I wrote it.

Best Poker Win Rate


This is the poker strategy book that has now helped tens of thousands of people turn around their results at the lower stakes.

And the reason why is because as the author, I have some of the highest winnings in online poker history at the micro stakes.

Crushing the Microstakes is a step by step A to Z guide which shows you the exact strategies that I have used to crush these games as a 10+ year poker pro.

*New* There is now an optional video course to compliment the book as well where you can watch me play live at the micro stakes, Zoom, 6max and full ring.

Best poker winrates

You get to essentially "look over my shoulder" as I show you exactly how I created some of the highest winnings in online poker history in these games.

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Final Thoughts


So what is a good poker win rate these days?

Well, as you can probably see, this is very much open for debate. It depends on how many tables you play, how good you are, how much you table select and so on.

But what I do hope you see though is that it isn't easy these days and you have to really be willing to put in the work both on and off the tables if you want to achieve one of the very best poker win rates.

I would also recommend studying some advanced poker strategy if you really want to take your game to an elite level and start making huge profits from poker.

The two best options are:


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Because, if you are willing to put in the effort, then I can tell you that anything is possible in this game.


Here is the view from my condo in Thailand, paid for by 10 million hands of poker!


Look, I am not here to encourage all the dreamers though who keep sending me all these emails asking about how rich they are going to get playing poker.

These are the people who are often doomed to fail in poker because they are thinking about the game completely wrong.

All they can see is dollar signs when they should be worried about putting in work and getting better at poker instead!

I am here however to encourage all those realistic people out there who have the will and desire to improve their poker game and ultimately achieve these top results one day.

Poker isn't easy these days but there is always room at the top for those with the willingness and drive to truly make it happen.

Lastly, if you want to know the strategy that I personally use to make $2000+ per month as a 10 year pro, make sure you download a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.


Let me know your thoughts on the best poker winrates in the comments below.

If you enjoyed this article, do me a favor and "Like" or "Tweet" it below!

good poker winrate

99 comments:

  1. Good post Nathan. This may be a stupid question, but why do you still grind micro stakes and not go up to low or mid? Surely you would be profitable at those stakes and you would inflate your monthly earnings?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Simon! I have played regularly up to NL200 in the past and may again one day. Right now I just grind NL25 and NL50 and am perfectly happy doing so. These are also the limits that I coach and write about so it helps me stay on top of the games.

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    2. How can i calculate my BB win for 100 hands? let say i play 17000 hands and won 40 dollars

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    3. Hey fabi, the easiest way would be to just use a tracking program and HUD like PokerTracker 4 and let it do the calculation for you.

      But if you wanted to do the math yourself then you would need to find out the total amount of big blinds that you have won. Then do a few calculations with the total number of hands to find out how many you are earning per 100 hands.

      Delete
  2. Nice post, as usual :)
    Thank you, for not supporting dreamers, and people who think about millions $ and cars.
    I am very appreciate your posts about work ethic and discipline.
    "There is no substitute for hard work"

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks again Nathan for bringing people back to reality and actually having a real "number" to strive for in PT or HEM. That helps alot. My poker sabbatical is over and now I really know those numbers posted for the average winning player are true, and if I want to at least pay for all the software and books I've purchased in the last 3/4 years, I can't skim-read anymore; or play my lazy LAG ways. Waiting patiently for book #2.......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks TeeGee. All the best going forward at the tables. I am midway through the second full edit on the book. Really hoping to have it out before the end of this month.

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  4. and .....winrate en Zoom ..FR ?

    Any ideia?

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    Replies
    1. I don't play much Zoom but it would be slightly lower across the board at all levels.

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  5. Yeah I am going along at about 4bb/100 of 25 NL FR Zoom.
    I think I should be playing a lot more optimally, putting people to the test, but I am not sure how to start implementing that.
    Also I have no real life poker buddies to help each other out.
    I think I am looking for coaching on a profit share basis.

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice work, that is a good win rate for NL25 Zoom. A coach couldn't hurt but it sounds like you are well on your way.

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    2. Spoke too soon, lol, now 1.5 bb/100 for only 10,000 hands, but regardless I will keep on trucking and keep my patience.
      I hear you are big on table/seat selection, I can't stand that, I just wanna play, lol. So that's partly why I like zoom, I guess.
      Maybe I should post again when I get closer to 100,000 hands or so.

      Thanks

      Delete
    3. as always great. how ever I play in usa at acr. table section is hard as there are few games open in micro limits to go fishing. any selection would be welcome and or sites to play as extra games sites. am not a fame of brovada/igition for several reasons. may be a bias??
      will post on forumn this month. again tks for your time.

      Delete
    4. Thanks Al glad this article helped! It is harder to table select on smaller sites. This is why I often player several different ones.

      Delete
  6. From what I've see... it's not worth playing more than 8 tables because your winrate will be lower and I would expected to be higher.
    In this case... why should I even bother to play more than 8 tables ? What would be the point ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rakeback. Despite the lower winrate the hourly is often higher for mass multi-tablers when this is factored in.

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    2. I see... I play at NL10 for now, I beat NL10 and I don't beat the limit yet. My winrate is 1bb/100... but you convinced me to play a maximum of 8 tables.
      I was thinking about buying a second monitor to connect it to my pc in order to play poker at 2 screens , but now I see it's not worth it.

      Delete
    3. Well I am not trying to convince anyone to play any amount of tables in this article. I have always said in fact that people should play whatever amount they feel comfortable with. All I am pointing out in this article is that there are clear differences in winrate depending on how many tables you play. Winrate is only one part of how much money you actually make at the tables though.

      Delete
    4. You say winrate is only one part.
      There are also other parts ?
      I thought winrate is actually the only measure you can analyze to see if you improved over a minimum sample of 100k ... like you said in your book.

      Delete
    5. There are three components that affect your total winnings or hourly. They are:

      1) Winrate
      2) Volume
      3) Rakeback

      Delete
    6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    7. Hi Nathan, you say you play on PokerStars. How do you claim rakeback there? They offer the annyoing FFPs only, so I think anyway.

      Delete
    8. Hey David,

      You can use those FPPs to purchase cash bonuses once you are Supernova. If you are not SN then you can play in satellites like I discuss here:

      http://www.blackrain79.com/2011/09/how-to-spend-your-pokerstars-fpps.html

      to get the best value for them.

      Delete
  7. Also... why would the winrate would be lower at zoom poker ? You basically don't have to wait for hands and you have to chance to focus on every hand very easily without getting tilted.
    Why you don't like zoom blackrain ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can't table select like you can at the regular tables so the winrates will always be lower.

      Delete
  8. Great article Nathan thanks. very interested to see the figures. I read Crushing the Microstakes last year and have been trying to employ it in my play at 0.01/0.02 stakes. I have not played many hands around 7000 to date but I am at least in profit after 12 months on Pokerstars. I'm only playing a single table and rechecking my play every session back against your strategy and making any adjustments where necessary.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Reggae and all the best at the tables!

      Delete
  9. Nice post man! Although I think that there is a decent decrease in winrate from nl50 to nl100, at least as it is from nl25 to nl50.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Willian. Ya I agree with you. The numbers are definitely a bit arbitrary.

      Delete
  10. HI Nath !
    Whats up ?
    Long time no see ?
    CAn you tell me what is the iwnrate for zoom nl10 6max ?
    Is it possible to make money from zoom anymore ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Dzift,

      Good to hear from you. This post was meant to be a little bit tongue and cheek. Nobody knows all of the answers to these questions because nobody plays all of these games at once over huge samples. Winrates at Zoom will be slightly less at all levels for my educated guesses above due to the lack of ability to table select compared to regular games.

      Delete
  11. Are these win rates for Pokerstars or across all rooms?
    I presume the win rates at stars would be lower than other rooms.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These win rates are based off of my opinion on Pokerstars yes.

      Delete
    2. Edited the article to say that it will be much easier to hit these win rates at a softer site though.

      Delete
  12. Are these win rates for full ring or 6max?? If 6maxwhat would u estimate the earn rates for full ring to be. Just found your blog and absolutely love it. An awesome read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are for both. Win rates don't differ that much between the two games. Glad you enjoy the blog!

      Delete
  13. First off, thank you. For making it so much simpler for guys like me who are sincerely starting out. There's no one else who writes specifically for micro stakes. I hope you can find the time to answer my questions.

    I try to tread on the safer side of things, so I've been playing play money so far to first make sure I can dominate that before moving on to 2 NL real money. My bb/100 (big blinds) is 24 over 54k hands, playing 6 tables Full Ring at 5NL play money on pokerstars.

    My question is: 1) Do you think I could expect the same rates at 2NL? I ask this because if it could be, then it's time for me to quit my full time job and pursue poker exclusively(because I can't put in the volume I want with the full time job). I live in a country where the profits I'll make from 2NL at 20bb/100 over 6 tables is enough to survive on and still progress up the limits with a steady bankroll 2) I'm playing 6 tables just so I can add volume. I'm usually flustered, hour after hour, and I make my decisions solely based on my cards, my position, and pot odds. Playing a single table, I feel like I can see through every player, take my time and always make the right decision. What should be my strategy to feel in control and not get flustered at a higher number of tables? Should I just focus on lesser variables and forget about stack sizes and images and players' tendencies and moods and other variables? People multi-tabling even 12 tables seems absolutely insane to me.

    Much obliged.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just read http://www.blackrain79.com/2014/09/47-things-that-i-wish-someone-had-told.html and realized not to waste my time on play money. Still hoping for an answer to question 2.

      Delete
    2. Hi Ajgar,

      Glad I can help :) Play money and real money are (unfortunately) not even close to being the same. People do not take the game seriously at all when there is no money on the line. So no, there is no correlation to be made with your results in play money right now and in real money later.

      Playing more tables is not something that you can learn to do over night. It is a slow process of adding one here and there and learning to get used to it. Also, there are many software aids that can help as well as using a HUD. But yes, short answer, when I am 12+ tabling I am not paying attention to every little thing at the table. I don't have time for that.

      Delete
  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi again, thank you for that reply above.

    If you were just starting out at NL2 and playing just one table, how many hands would you play at that table before adding more tables? Any winrate over less than 30k hands or even 100k hands wouldn't mean much, but playing that many hands at just one table would take months. At the same time, adding more tables before making sure you can really beat one table(which you can only make sure if you've played a lot of hands - which you can't do on one table in a reasonable amount of time) would compromise your ability to get better at the game because you would learn less and automate more, right? Am I overthinking this?

    I'm really looking forward to your advice on how to approach this, thanks again for your time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ajgar,

      I would say that you are definitely overthinking this. If one table is all that you can play then that is completely fine. If you can add more tables without it affecting your play then that is great. There is no set number of hands that you need to play before moving up. However it can take much longer than most people think to get a true idea of their results. We have to balance that by making some assumptions though. So should you play 100k hands at NL2? No, probably not. If you are winning at say 20k hands then chances are good enough that you are indeed a winner. Obviously even 20k hands will take a long time if you are only playing one table. This is why it is advisable to try and learn to play more.

      Delete
  16. i play 25nl 4-6 TABLE and over 40000 hands my winrate is 10bb/100 should i move up?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a very good winrate over a decent sample. If you are feeling comfortable and have the bankroll then yes I would consider taking some shots at NL50.

      Delete
  17. Hi man!

    Can u maybe give us the bb/100 by position (6max)? I run 10 bb/100 at nl 2 (200K hands, 4-6 tables), but i would like to know something more specific to reduce lost from the blinds and optimize the rest.
    Hope for ur help Thx :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everybody loses from the blinds. As one of the biggest winners ever at NL2 even I lost in the blinds although I came close to break even. At all higher stakes you will lose for sure and it will be a double digit number.

      Delete
    2. Hi, thx for the replay.
      I know is impossible to win. Here my last 150K hands. Knowing where i m doing bad woud be great so that i can concentrate on those position and try to improve (i hope not all of them are bad :D).

      Position Total Hands bb/100
      CO 26852 27,27
      BTN 27772 43
      BB 27503 -25,6
      SB 27887 -13,59
      MP 23727 14,25
      EP 13695 17,25

      Delete
  18. you do very well in BB, running like BE at nl10 zoom (last year) i had near .50 bb.
    At a softer site now i have this results with crushing until now mostly NL5, perfectly fine binds, below -35 bb in BB in good i think.


    SB is also o.k., here i was for some reasons much better in comparison, i think defending the BB passive and play fit or fold was kind of the problem.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Nathan, i'm actually happy with my winrate at 25nl (8.11bb/100) with 20k hands at this level. If i had not fallen down in a huge tilt mixed with variance over almost 2,2k hands my numbers would be much better (I think, that's the difference between Elites and the regulars =P. But the thing is i'm worried about my numbers on BB. Look, i'm gonna post my HM2 stats for each position and i would appreciate pretty much if you could tell me if i can really improve this aspect of the game, like the best selection of playable hands against the regular stealers (CO and SB) at this position (Forget about multiway pots because those are much easier to CALL or FOLD). Specifically, and beyond the peculiarity of each kind of villain, i would like to know any sort of default range to call or to raise in each case.

    Pos Tot Hands bb/100
    SB 2390 10.07
    BB 2449 -40.52
    EP 4423 16.08
    MP 3566 17.27
    CO 2242 24.36
    BTN 2326 12.40

    I know there is a major in my game that i can't solve yet.

    Would be great if you could say me anything to help me this issue.

    Greetins, from Argentina (sorry if i have misspelled some word or something, english,as you would know, is not my main language)

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  20. MAJOR LEAK. i forgot to write the word :P

    ReplyDelete
  21. in PT4 is says my BB/100 is 15.00, is this the 30bb/100 for that 2nl you have? Or am half as good as I could be?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a very good winrate. You don't have to worry about getting the very best winrate in the world in order to be successful at poker. Good job, keep it up!

      Delete
    2. I use PT4 as well. BB/100 in PT4 is blinds per 100 hands . . not Big Bets. I manually calculated it to double check. I think older versions of PT (or HM) have the concept of Big Bets. And the article above defines BB/100 as blinds per 100 hands. So yes, you are half as good as Nathan! But like he says, 15BB/100 is still crushing it

      Delete
  22. Hi, Nathan! I am not sure if that is OK to ask, since you advertise your own books first of all, but I'll try. What stuff (books and video) really helped you to improve your win rates, when you were still a beginner in NL?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I started playing there weren't very many good educational materials out there. There were no modern books, training sites etc. So I mostly just learned by playing the game.

      Delete
  23. Sorry to reply to this so late to the discussion... Have you ever seen any player with those top WRs over a significant (200k + hands)? Did you mean elite players as in what you think the highest stake players would do if they played those limits?

    I've never once seen 18bb/100 at 10nl from anyone over a legit sample, I haven't even seen anyone close to 40bbs/100 at 2nl, best I've seen wasn't even half that amount over a big sample.

    Forgive me if you did mean the highest stakes players, but to be honest, I can't even see those guys beating 10nl for 18bbs/100, that would be pretty insane over a proper sample, even in 2014.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi HellNative,

      This entire article was really written tongue in cheek. I get asked what a "good winrate" is all the time. Of course I don't have all the answers. So I decided to put together an article with some wild speculation for people to debate over.

      With that said, I do largely stand behind these numbers. My own winrates in these games have come close to these and that was mostly while mass multi-tabling and playing in terrible games on Stars without using much table selection.

      I think if an elite player table selected heavily, site selected and kept the table count low, these results could absolutely be replicated over a large sample.

      Delete
    2. Ok, thanks man. I'm assuming your WRs were pre 2014 though. Most players have had their WRs cut in half at micros these days from back in the day. Especially on Stars with the high rake.

      My own observations would say that at 2nl 20bb/100 is doable for the very best regs (of which you can probably count on one hand), but they'd move up before a legit sample is reached.

      I'm not sure if 5nl would be cut in half as it's really not that different from 2nl. 25nl is where things start to get quite a lot harder imo. Makes sense since that's where a possible living can be made.

      I'd love to see the very best WR at all the micro stakes levels over 200k+ hands. I think the biggest thing hindering huge WRs in general would be tilt, it's possibly the biggest thing holding back micro stake players, as you've alluded in some of your articles.

      Keep up the good work man, you've done a really good job on this site, even though you've made my games that little bit tougher. Haha.

      GL

      Delete
    3. Thank you. All the best to you as well :)

      Delete
  24. I feel privileged if these are the win rates in 2016 i am wining at 13bb/100 in 200NL over about 130k hands. I like your work though black rain always entertaining for me.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Nathan, Have been following you for over a year now, (not in a stalker kinda way) Really enjoy reading your articles, and they are often helpful.

    Question for this section of your web site, now we are deep into 2017 almost 2018, there has been a war on HUD usage taking place on several sites, the biggest name being Party Poker. could well be a RIP for the HUD cartel soon. Several sites have now banned it. Would there be anyway you could refine your elite and average taking into account that now and looking forward HUD usage may well be dropped everywhere. could you maybe do a no HUD elite and an no HUD average aswell as what you already have? i know thats a big ask. but i am aware that without HUDs the BB/100 will change.

    anyway if you cant be bothered with this i still love you man.

    guilt trip

    peace

    clark

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Clark, I am glad that my blog posts help!

      Pokerstars (by far the biggest site) and many other poker rooms still allow HUDs. This article is largely based off of my experience at Pokerstars as well, especially with the mass multi-tabling. So until they change their policies with regards to HUDs I don't see any reason to change anything.

      I do plan to re-write this article completely in 2018 though since it is long overdue.

      Delete
  26. ok buddy, Pokerstars will never get rid of HUD :-( thats the grinders site

    ReplyDelete
  27. Do these win rates take rake into account? If not, how can I figure out how my post-rake numbers stack up? I only (I believe) currently have the means to calculate my win rate after a 5% rake.

    ReplyDelete
  28. What sites give the best rake back for micros these days?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous25 June

    Hi, Nathan. Nice article, but I have a couple of questions about it:

    1. Are those values for FR (Fullring) or SH (Shorthanded)?

    2. By "bb/100" do you mean "big blind/100" or "Big Bet/100"?

    Back in the days, PT used BB (also called PTBB or ptbb by some) to indicate Big Bet (from *Limit* Holdem, that corresponds to 2xbb or twice the big blind amount).
    Nowadays, when analyzing *No Limit* results, PT uses BB (uppercase) to indicate big blinds, which leads to a lot of confusion.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I recently edited this article to make it more clear regarding win rates. It's bb/100 (big blind), not big bet. Also, these numbers are for both 6max and full ring.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous07 September

    Hello my friend! How are you? I have a quick question: how is your experience with improving winrate as a result of gattering more data from your hud? The question is how significant the HUD data size is to our winrate. I ask this because I can see some statistical improvements on my game but I did not do too many adjustments, and I see one of the reasons being the data size getting larger, helping me to make more and more non-standard decisions.

    Thanks man!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You always want to have the largest sample size possible when analyzing HUD data. Most HUD stats take at least 100 hands to converge to their true value, sometimes more.

      Delete
  31. Wow that's a lot of comments Hope some one reads this one
    Here's how I recommend losing or new players increase their win rate
    1 Don't waste 500bb ($10NL) a month on Doug Polk until you're over $50NL and profitable Doug is a poker savant and you're not and neither is the author Doug has proven on Twitch he can't beat micros cash games and struggles at $50NL He won $6500 in one day playing $100 and $200NL 10-12 tabling He has infinite money so don't try this at home. IMO in addition to the subscription fee add 5000bb to your bankroll to learn Doug's system and that's just not cost effective There are better no cost or low cost videos all over You Tube Smart Poker Study, Fitzgerald, Sweeny, and this author should keep you busy for your entire poker career at the micros and if you work hard have discipline and BRM you will get out of micros or make a decent side income in the micros I'm a little off topic, I know so I'll stop here

    ReplyDelete
  32. Want to make money in poker? STAY AWAT FROM POKERSTARS ,NO RAKEBACK

    ReplyDelete
  33. Those bb/100 not realistic period

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hello how are you? I follow your blog and I think it's great.
    In general, I would like to ask you:

    __ Would not it be important to include in this content how much of this fee is deducted by rake in poker rooms and their limits?

    For example: I learned from a coach recently that it is a mistake to think that we are victorious at micro limits with a bb / 100 rate below 14 on average. The rake in the online sals is much higher at the micro, low limits (very high indeed) compared to the rake charged to the higher limits and I thought that having a rate of 8bb / 100 was very good. A great mistake ...

    Mathematically to really be victorious at certain limits (not counting bonus and rackback), we have to deduct 14 to 15 bb / 100 on average which is what rake is charged on average in many rooms. That is, if you have 8bb / 100 in an amount of 100K hands played, it is a mistake to think that you are victorious at the lower limits. This rake decreases a lot as the limits increase, for example the NL2000 is infinitely less rake than NL10.

    Interesting would you add publish a blog with the theme, including those per room calculations. What do you think?

    GL, success!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Luciano thanks for the kind words glad my blog helps! Rake isn't something that I really get into because I am not an expert on it. Most online poker sites have a similar rake structure. And I have seen some analysis on this in forums before.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for accept Nathan :)

      Delete
  35. Other:

    What about Party Poker Changes on this 17/6/17? NO HH, No table Select...

    May u talk about it on your blog please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Luciano,

      Sorry but again this isn't something that I discuss on this blog. I write about poker strategy here. Online poker rooms make changes all the time and it is best to read poker news sites or forums to stay up on the latest.

      Delete
    2. Hi,

      I have to discord. I ve used your blog for years to strategy theme and stuffs like this content. On this one, has no strategy on discuss like dozen of others bring here by you. A lot of blogs are themes like better roons, etc etc, and now you have wrote about "Good Poker Win Rate For Small Stakes (2019 Update)" and its not about strategies.

      I ve seen along u for years and I have no used themes brought by you to wrote to my evolution. Its so special to me when I did and I had trust on you about help me and otters players.

      I have no idea... well, maybe I know... why you use this argument to not discuss it. To me like a player its so difficult too because I like we need to keep the fishes in the bowl but when some one step on sensive kind of theme some time could be exposed on difficult like that. Im sure its impossible some one like a pro has difficult to it, but I understand why and to me its no matter but I believe that coachers like u should think better about teaching mistakes to others. For long time your informations to me was a point of me studies and lot of expensive degree on my profit because I was satisfied with a lie.

      Thanks, I promisse importune you no more.

      Delete
    3. I found!

      Its IMPORTANT TO ME beg to you apologyze

      Nathan,

      I first want to apologize for my words in which I treated my mistake and his response in an evasive way I found in relation to the bb / 100 count needed to be winning and also on Party Poker and changes (you are not required to answer ). I think I confused everything about it, because the trackers report deduce the rake when they introduce us, and I was certainly not on a good day with myself.

      Anyway, I've heard some misconceptions about this and I ended up being not very kind and understanding with you in that post.

      I've been reading your contents for years and I recognize that you always bring very good content and that I exceeded myself.

      Please forgive me.

      Delete
    4. Hey Luciano,

      No problem at all! I didn't take any offence to it :)

      I gave you a much more thorough reply to your question in the comments for my latest blog post right here:

      https://www.blackrain79.com/2019/07/poker-bad-luck-streak.html

      Delete
    5. Ty Nathan, I ll take a look there! GL!

      Delete
  36. I am going to grind NL5 full time and today during the main 1st trial phase, NOTE: over a very small sample size at NL 5, I made 16 bb's/100 hands. I know that I can do it and obviously is a very small sample of less than 1000 hands but its an indicator. Just wanted to mention that I have calculated your win rate at NL 5 over 1.8 million hands and you made 14.5 big blind per 100 hands on average which is amazing, no doubt. Thank you for all the content and the inspiration. As you said Nathan, its do-able with a lot of hard work and commitment. Thank again, I will keep watching all your low stakes video content to help with my low stakes cash game. I find NL 5 a comfortable level, although I need to look more into the details of NL2, find it a little awkward in some respects. It just seems to be about playing 100% solid ABC poker and picking off weakness, you obviously can't bluff much at NL2.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Armon, good luck at NL5. I am glad my poker articles and youtube videos are helping you!

      Delete
  37. Played 12,000 hands so far at NL10, early days, my win rate is 10.9 BB's/100 hands. Up about 130 dollars, as you said the best players achieve 12 BB's/100 hands. Long way to go, keep the content coming. :) Thank you, I am playing NL5 on the side as well, feel more comfortable playing just 1 level, most of the time, which is NL10.

    ReplyDelete
  38. What sites are softer than stars, and also allow use of PT4?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just teach poker strategy on this website, I don't recommend sites.

      Delete
  39. Hi Blackrain, on what are the winrates you mention based please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My opinion based on millions of hands of experience playing at these stakes.

      Delete
  40. Hello Nathan ...
    When you play multi table do you use GTO or explanation....
    Exploitative play is very hard when you multi table...or do you always know your next move like GTO?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,

      I play mostly at the micros where there are very clearly defined player types in most cases. See this article of mine for example for more on that:

      https://www.blackrain79.com/2013/11/beating-regs.html

      So I just use my HUD (or reads if playing on a site that doesn't allow HUDs), and I make exploitative decisions based on that player type.

      This is not difficult when multi-tabling because once you know the tendencies of each player type, the exploitative counter is simple.

      For example, Nits/Tight Players almost always raise the turn/river only with the nuts. I don't need to balance or use GTO here, it's an easy exploitative fold with top pair etc.

      Hope this helps.

      Delete
  41. Hi Nathan,

    I want to thank you for the videos and articles you provide regularly it helped me alot to learn poker I was at 2Nl and I'm almost moved to 25Nl in about two month.

    Can you suggest me what stake should I stick to for making most money and is it possible to make 10k$ a month at mircos, my win rate is 16bb at 10NL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nice work! I am glad my poker articles and videos are helping you.

      What stakes to play is kind of an individual thing, so it's hard for me to say. Making 10k per month at the micros is pretty hard unless you are a massive winner and grind a huge amount of hands.

      Delete
  42. Hi Nathan.
    Just read the article as I was curious about my win rate being under quarantine for the last almost 2 months. Win rate at NL100 is currently 6.48BB/100 over 40,000hands. Not a huge sample, but with that said, I am wondering if I should be moving to a site with better rakeback. Currently on stars (like the software better), but party has rakeback and I guess that would only help/make sense to entertain the thought of playing there.
    Thoughts?
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very nice winrate great job! I don't recommend poker sites on this blog, I just teach strategy. But if you play a lot, especially at higher stakes like you do, finding the best rakeback deal is definitely important.

      Delete