When does BB/hr become a good measure?

[hackers238]

Due to the huge swings that I always see in NL, when does the BB/hr measure become a good measure of how well you're doing? 1000 hands? 10000 hands? 100000 hands?

I find that there is so much variance that it's hard to use this as a measure. 1 hand can make the difference between 3 BB/hr and -3 BB/hr.

[Talking Poker]

I would say at least 10,000 hands... but obviousl 50k or 100k would be a lot better measure.

[ChipFish]

I think that the answer is never.
One stat alone is very dangerous... be careful.

[BlibbityBlabbity]

I have always heard of BB/hour in terms of limit play. Grinding it out over a long period of time at the limit tables 10K+ hands would give a pretty good idea of your results.

The swings in NL seem like it would make this number irrelevent. Being a consistant winner over time is really the only thing that matters in NL, no? (and not going broke ) You could calculate it, but I don't see where it would tell you all that much for NL, IMO.

I would be interested to hear why others might think it is useful, though.

[Gutzz]

I agree 10k is min... Still kinda low tho.

Believe it or not, limit has bigger swings than NL. I mean sure .25/.5 NL has larger swings than .25/.5 limit, but when you compare dollar winrate to dollar swings, the dollar amount swings in NL are much smaller than limit. I haven't really tried explaining this to anyone before, so forgive me if it's poorly worded and makes little sense .

Cheers,

Gutzz

PS. I like BB/100 more than BB/hour.

[scurvydog]

I'd say 50,000 hands minimum. 10,000 is kind of small, especially if you're relatively new to the game, actively reading poker books and absorbing/employing new strategies, playing on sites where the player base changes significantly due to promotions, etc.

[4Flusher]

When you sit down to a Cash game playing NL you had better make sure you come with a good bankroll !! I'm not talking Tournaments now, where you ppay a small entry and vie for a Big Payout. The analogy of Micro limit Hold'em games pales in comparison.

I suggest a little reading will go a long way. Dollar winrates don't mean much when a maniac goes all-in and u call him with AA and he flops 2 pair. And You called with 10000 chips.

[SirFWALGMan]

You playing becomes statistically valid at 10,000 hands. The more hands the better, but by the time you have played 10,000 you have enough hands to make a statistical trend. I know I am saying this poorly, but anyway. I read an article once about AI's for Poker playing and read the stat number there.