The basic formula
For a session, hourly rate is profit divided by hours played. If you won $200 in 4 hours, that session’s rate is $50/hr. Over many sessions, your average hourly rate is total profit divided by total hours across those sessions.
Why it beats staring at one session’s result
A single great night or bad beat can mislead you. Hourly rate over weeks or months reflects skill and game selection more clearly than one tournament cash or one live session — as long as your sample is large enough.
Variance and sample size
Even strong players face swings. Tracking many sessions lets you see whether your hourly is trending up, stable, or worth revisiting (stakes, game choice, or study). A dedicated poker tracker keeps that history in one place without spreadsheet upkeep.
Live vs online
You can compute hourly for home games, casinos, and online sites the same way — as long as you log time and net result. Labeling sessions by location type keeps filters meaningful when you review your data.