It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned veteran of 20 years’ experience or a completely new to the game. It’s important to track your results when playing poker. Performance can be measured in several ways, not just looking at the bankroll and seeing if it’s growing or not. That’s a simplistic way of looking at poker sessions.

Instead, you should spend a little time setting up a system that tracks important statistics. By doing this you will know how much you make, what your best games are and if you are improving. This article will detail three tips for stat tracking.



1] Calculate your win rate regularly

Your win rate can be measured several way but the most useful one is your hourly rate. Narciso Baldo of Texas Hold’em Questions states “the key to understanding your poker win rate is to only judge it at intervals”. Basically, there’s no point looking at it every day as it will fluctuate in the short term. Set regular intervals like monthly or quarterly. This will be over an appropriate length of time and allow you to see what you make per hour. 

The hourly win rate is a simple calculation. You just divide what you won or lost by how long you played for. So, if you visit the casino and play cash games, log the time you start and finish, then total up your winnings or loss at the end. Easy peasy.

2] Use poker software

The next thing to do is invest in some poker stat tracking software like poker tracker. This software allows you to see at a glance what hands you win from and which are trouble. You can also see profit and losses from various seats at the poker table. Finally, if you play tournaments, you’ll be able to see what your ROI is for different buy-ins. This is great as you can make better decisions moving forward.

The software is not free and be careful using it – some poker sites are clamping down on the use of heads up displays. Read the poker site’s policy on stat tracking software before trying to use it and read out playing tips too.

3] Start a spreadsheet

Lastly, we come to my favourite – the spreadie. A spreadsheet can be used effectively by even the most inexperienced of desktop users. There are plenty of spreadsheet providers out there but my tip is to use Microsoft Excel. The best thing about setting up poker spreadsheets is you are the master. You can choose what you want it to reveal. It can be as basic or as complex as you need it to be. I recommend starting off with the basic points; date, amount won or lost and format. As you input data, facts will emerge that will give you insights into how you’re performing.

There you have it, three awesome stat tracking tips for poker players. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing in brick-and-mortar cardrooms or online – track your stats and monitor your performance in 2021 and beyond.