def beatable.

I use 32/hr and often think it is too low. I really need to suck it up and count hands for a week.

My general is 30/hr. Some dealers are faster. Sometimes the action is makes the game slower. I have always used that number. Counted hands for like a week to get accurate details.

I have a jellybean counting method you can use.

My guess is the more hands you get in an hour the far worse the table is.

So much Yes to this... high hands per hour means less flops, less turns, less rivers... boo villains who fold.

Give me 15 hands per hour with 14 of them going to showdown vs 30 hands per hour with 20 done pre-flop.

I imagine there is some strong variance in when/where you play in what the avg # of hands is that you see.

Given your range of available games (by room) and times, I suspect you are better positioned than most to comment on this.

Maybe if you're running hot...

It would be much more beneficial to see more hands for me than my opponents.

Btw, I am not talking about the polar extreme of 15 hands or 35 hands, but rather something in between. I don't think I would ever sit at a table that's playing 15 hands/hr, unless of course I am the one hitting all of the hands and going to SD.

Your not going to be involved in all the hands, ldo. It takes 221 hands to get AA(always play 6+ hour sessions). So you should plan your sessions according to that. If your getting 15 hands an hour in holdem. Get up quick fast in a hurry. That's live plo or limit holdem numbers.

Write down number of orbits and just count number of missed hands, which is probably easier to track.

If not, even counting orbits should give you a general idea.

Many people with salaried jobs get paid semi-monthly, with one cheque coming around the middle of the month and one at the end. So there's more disposable income going around on the first weekend of a month.

$1,761 in 35.25 hours on the first weekends of the months in my records at 1/2

25.69bb/hr in 44.25 hours including both 1/2 and 2/5

lol sample size though, would be interesting to see others' data

Can't speak to tax season, but it's pretty much universal that the first weekend of the month, barring holidays, is going to be the liveliest.

If you had to approximate the difference in EV between playing a Monday afternoon and a Saturday night, what would you put the number at?

ie. If you're earning $x/hr on a Saturday, and you're earning $y/hr on a Monday afternoon...

$x - $y = $?

I know this is all speculation, and the answer depends on each player. Just curious to see some approximations.

Yeah, I'll do something like this for a week or so and see what I come up with.

I am clear about the theory as to why the first weekend (and maybe also after the 15th) would be more profitable but what I am trying to do is get data from all of the people in this thread who keep records of their play to test the theory. So DK, you are at $49.95/hr at 1/2 in first weekends; what about the rest of the month?

And how about everyone else? I know that many of you have the data. It doesn't even have to be win rates that you post; just the ratio of first weekend win rate to rest of the month win rate.

Remember, understanding the math(s) is what separates us from the fish.

I finally moved up to 2/5 from 1/2 and after my first 100 hours of play at 2/5 I am +$8,972 and I'm averaging $90/hr.

Running Good

Counting hands has turned out to be super easy. I knew I should have done it a long time ago.

I just open the notes app on my phone, and type an "x" into the note immediately after acting on my hand.

39.8/hr so far this week. I expect the weekend to be significantly slower.

There are counter apps out there that's even easier, FYI.

There's one called Tally Counter.

39/hr vegas games are tight as hell.

Omg your game sounds horrible.

nice. all still at the shoe?

This is the sickest brag I have ever read.

Ugh. I see posts like these and feel like I can only dream. I really must work harder.

I feel like tax season is flying by...just over one month left, and I'm up just less than 2bb/hr over a total of 87 hours of play since the middle of January. I can't get lots of hours in because I have an evening cleaning job that keeps me tied up till 9 or so every weeknight.

fwiw my buddy is a huge fish and moved to vegas for a job and plays 1/2 all over the place. says the games are incredibly soft.

They are...

Yeah I'm in a similar boat. I only play on weekends, averaging 77/hr over 151 hours of 2/5 play. Running good for sure. Split among the two casinos I go to, I have 90 hours at Casino A averaging 120/hr and 51 at Casino B other averaging 3/hr. So...yeah. Super tiny sample, of course, but the players at A are far worse than B as well so A will be my home turf for a while.

What do most in here consider a decent sample size for live play? 1,000 hours? Less? I have a couple of considerations going on.

1) When to attempt 5/10

2) At what point do I consider quitting my day job to play live poker full time? This is clearly a complex question where everyone is different. Just trying to see how you guys gauge this scenario. I really enjoy playing poker which not all winning players do. My job kind of sucks although it's easy and it pays decently, but I don't have any future in my position without going to grad school or pursuing difficult designations.

Give me some generalities if you'd like. Move to 5/10 if still beating 2/5 for X/hr over 300hrs? Quit my job and play poker if I'm making 2X(dayjob) over 500 hours? Stuff like that. I appreciate it a lot!

P.S. Perhaps this post is too personal and I should have started my own thread but i'm new to LLSNL and don't really know the etiquette around here.