How many hands do you need to play per month to make poker your primary source of income?

Imagine you decide to open a coffee shop. If you simply brew coffee and hope people show up, you will probably go broke in the first month. You need to know exactly how many cups of coffee you must sell per day to pay rent, cover the cost of beans, and make a net profit.

Poker works the same way. If you just sit down at the tables and hope to “hit” some money, poker will remain a lottery for you. This article is your business plan. It will show, using simple numbers, how many hours and at which tables you need to play in order to quit your main job and make poker your primary, stable source of income in Ukraine. No illusions, just raw math and real facts.

Professionals do not measure income by days or weeks, because one day you can win 2,000 hryvnias and the next day lose 1,500. That is called variance, or, in simple terms, luck and bad luck.

To estimate your real earnings, people use bb/100 — how many big blinds (required bets) you win on average per 100 hands played.

Main rule: the more hands you play in a month (this is called “volume” or “distance”), the less your income depends on luck and the closer it gets to your true earnings.

Option 1: Regular tables in classic poker rooms

Let’s say you play NL25. These are tables where the maximum buy-in is $25 and the blinds are $0.10 and $0.25.

Your goal is to make $1,500 net per month.

• Your edge over others: let’s assume you play reasonably well, keep learning, and your winrate is $5 for every 100 hands. In money terms, that is $1.25 per 100 hands.
• How much you need to play: to earn $1,500, you need to play about 120,000 hands per month.
• Safety net (rakeback): the poker room takes a tiny fee from every pot. But if you play through a good partner, the room returns part of that fee to you. Over this volume, you would get back about $350 for free.
• Real plan: taking the returned money into account, you need to play about 90,000 hands.

⏱ How many hours is that?

If you play simultaneously at 4 tables (standard for regulars), you can play about 300 hands per hour. Total: 90,000 / 300 = 300 hours of play per month. That is a lot (about 10 hours a day). That is why professionals do not play 4 tables, but 6-8 tables at once, so they can fit into the normal range of 150-180 hours per month (like a standard job).

Option 2: Fast poker (Zoom) — for those who like pace

In fast poker, you do not have to wait for others to finish the hand. You press “Fold” and instantly get new cards at another table.

• Pro: you build volume 3-4 times faster. On two Zoom tables, you can easily play 500 hands per hour.
• Con: you are playing against players who are just as sharp and fast. Beating them is harder, so your net win at the table will be lower — around $3 ($1.50 per 100 hands at NL50).
• Overall: to earn the same $2,000-$2,500, you will need to keep up the pace and play at least 100,000-120,000 hands per month. This is for people with iron discipline and strong nerves.

Option 3: Club poker apps (PPPoker, ClubGG)

This is the most popular trend among Ukrainian players in 2026. Instead of large public sites, you play in closed clubs where wealthy recreational players (fish) from America and Asia gather. They play on their phones while relaxing and part with their money very easily.

• Your winrate: because the opponents play very poorly, your winrate can jump to 10-12 bb/100 (that is about $5 per 100 hands at NL50).
• The math is simple: to earn the desired $2,500, you only need to play 35,000-40,000 hands per month (because every hand you play is much more profitable!).

⏱ How many hours is that?

Playing comfortably at 4 tables from a computer through ClubOK, you can reach that volume in only 130-140 hours per month. That is a standard 5-day workweek of 4-5 hours per day. At the same time, you do not get exhausted, you receive huge rakeback from our club, and you are completely protected from risks.

If you want to make poker your profession in Ukraine and earn from 50,000 UAH per month, your benchmark is this:

• In regular poker rooms: be ready to work hard — from 80,000 to 120,000 hands per month, while keeping many tables open.
• In club apps (through ClubOK): you can play less and better — only 35,000-50,000 hands per month, because the money from weaker players basically comes to you on its own.

The key is not the number of hours, but who you are sitting against at the table. Choose the right places to play, control your emotions, and treat poker like a business.