BB/100 (Big Blinds per 100 Hands)
BB/100 is a poker win rate: the number of big blinds a player wins or loses on average per 100 hands, letting results compare across stake levels.
BB/100 means big blinds won per 100 hands. It is the standard way to measure a cash-game win rate. Because it is expressed in big blinds rather than chips or currency, it lets you compare results across different stakes: winning 5 big blinds per 100 hands means the same thing whether the blinds are 1/2 or 50/100.
How to calculate BB/100
- Convert your total result into big blinds: net chips won ÷ size of the big blind.
- Divide by the number of hands played.
- Multiply by 100.
BB/100 = (net winnings in big blinds ÷ hands played) × 100
Worked example
You play 5,000 hands at blinds of 1/2 and finish up 600 chips.
- Big blinds won: 600 ÷ 2 = 300 bb.
- Per hand: 300 ÷ 5,000 = 0.06 bb.
- Per 100 hands: 0.06 × 100 = 6 bb/100.
If another player lost 1,500 chips over 10,000 hands at blinds of 5/10, that is −150 bb, or −1.5 bb/100. Even though their chip loss was bigger, the comparison in big blinds is fair across both games.
Reading your win rate honestly
Poker results swing a lot in the short run, so BB/100 over a small number of hands tells you very little. A single big pot, say winning 100 big blinds with A♠ A♥ against K♣ K♦, can move a 1,000-hand sample by 10 bb/100 on its own. That is the effect of variance.
- Small samples (a few thousand hands) are dominated by luck. Treat the number as a rough indicator, not a verdict.
- Larger samples (tens of thousands of hands) start to give a more reliable picture, though uncertainty never disappears completely.
- Track it alongside decision quality. Reviewing hands and comparing them with good strategy tells you more, sooner, than the win rate alone.
Things BB/100 does and does not include
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Does it include blinds you posted? | Yes. Your net result already reflects every blind and ante you paid. |
| Does it include rake? | Usually it is measured after rake, because that is what you actually kept. |
| Can it compare tournaments? | Not well. Tournament results are typically measured by return on buy-ins instead. |
| Is it affected by table size? | Yes. Short-handed and heads-up games involve more blinds per hand, so win rates and swings tend to be larger than at full tables. |
Using BB/100 to improve
Look at your win rate by situation, not only overall. Many players find they win from late position and lose from the blinds, which is normal, but the size of those losses shows where the biggest improvements are. Combined with sound bankroll management, a realistic sense of your win rate also helps you decide when moving up in stakes makes sense.
Frequently asked questions
What does bb/100 mean in poker?
It means big blinds won per 100 hands, the standard way to measure a cash-game win rate across different stakes.
How do I calculate my bb/100?
Divide your net winnings by the big blind to get big blinds won, divide by hands played, then multiply by 100.
How many hands do I need for a reliable win rate?
A few thousand hands is mostly noise. Win rates become more meaningful over tens of thousands of hands because short-term variance is so large.
Related poker terms
- Variance — Variance is the short-term swing between your actual poker results and your expected results, caused by the luck of the cards.
- Big Blind — The big blind is the larger forced bet posted two seats left of the button before the deal. It sets the minimum bet and is the last to act preflop.
- Bankroll Management — Bankroll management means keeping money set aside only for poker and choosing stakes small enough that normal swings cannot wipe you out.
- Rake — Rake is the fee a cardroom takes for running a poker game, usually a small percentage of each cash-game pot or a fee added to a tournament buy-in.
- Expected Value (EV) — Expected value (EV) is the average amount a poker decision wins or loses if repeated many times. Good players choose the option with the highest EV.
- VPIP (Voluntarily Put Money In Pot) — VPIP is the percentage of hands in which a player voluntarily puts money into the pot before the flop. It shows how loose or tight someone plays.