Every serious player tracks results. The question is how. A spreadsheet is free and endlessly flexible; an app is faster at the table and does the maths for you. Here is how to set up each one properly and how to decide.
The columns every poker spreadsheet needs
| Column | Example | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Date | 2026-11-06 | Monthly and yearly results |
| Game and stakes | NLH $1/$2 | Win rate by stake |
| Type | Cash or tournament | Cash and tournaments need different stats |
| Location | Casino or site name | Find your best venues |
| Buy-in (total) | $300 | Include every rebuy and add-on |
| Cash-out | $465 | What you left with |
| Hours | 4.5 | Hourly rate and bb/hr |
| Expenses | $20 | Tips, travel, food if you count them |
| Notes | Tough table | Context when you review |
The formulas
- Profit = cash-out − buy-in (− expenses if you track net).
- Hourly rate = total profit ÷ total hours. Divide the totals, not the average of each session's hourly rate.
- bb/hr = hourly rate ÷ big blind. In the example above, $165 in 4.5 hours is $36.67 an hour, or 18.3 big blinds per hour at $1/$2.
- Tournament ROI = total profit ÷ total buy-ins × 100.
Where spreadsheets go wrong
- Typing at the table. Spreadsheets are awkward on a phone, so sessions get logged later from memory, and memory is optimistic.
- Mixed stakes. Averaging hourly rates across stakes hides where you actually win. You need filters or pivot tables to see it.
- Broken formulas. One pasted row can silently break a total, and you may not notice for months.
- No variance context. A spreadsheet shows what happened, not whether your results are meaningful. Working out standard deviation and confidence intervals by hand is tedious.
When an app is worth it
An app makes sense once you play regularly or play live, where a session timer and one-tap logging remove the friction. A good tracker also calculates win rate by stake, location and day, your bankroll in buy-ins and how much variance to expect. If you love spreadsheets, keep one, but make sure your app can export to CSV so your data is never locked in.
A simple way to decide
- A few home games a year: a spreadsheet is fine.
- Weekly or more, live or online: use an app and export a backup now and then.
- Selling action or tracking several bankrolls: use an app with staking and multiple bankroll support.
You can try the free PokerTracking dashboard in your browser with no sign-up, compare options in best poker bankroll tracker apps, or check your numbers with the win rate calculator and profit calculator.