Your effective hourly rate at online poker depends on more than just your winrate. Multi-tabling, rakeback, and bonus promotions all contribute to your bottom line. Understanding how these factors interact helps you make better decisions about your playing setup.
How multi-tabling affects winrate: Adding more tables increases your total hands per hour but typically decreases your per-table winrate. Each additional table demands more attention, leading to more automatic decisions and fewer exploitative plays. Most players see a winrate decrease of 0.3-1.0 BB/100 per additional table.
Diminishing returns: There is an optimal number of tables where your total hourly rate is maximized. Beyond that point, the winrate decrease per table outpaces the volume gain. For most players, this sweet spot is between 4 and 8 tables depending on stakes, game type, and experience level.
Rakeback amplifies volume: Rakeback is proportional to the amount of rake you generate, which increases linearly with tables. This means rakeback effectively subsidizes multi-tabling by partially offsetting the winrate decrease. At high rakeback percentages (40%+), it can be profitable to play more tables than your winrate alone would justify.
Note: This calculator uses a simplified model. Actual results depend on your specific game, opponents, and playing style. The winrate degradation per table is an estimate and varies between players.
