Playing poker is all about premium hands and the odds. Learning poker stats will help you make better decisions in online and live play. Keep reading to learn more about essential poker statistics that can help you play better.
PREFLOP POKER STATS
The pre-flop is the section of the game before the flop. At this point, you’ll only be able to see the cards in your hand. Let’s take a look at some preflop stats.
VPIP
The Voluntarily Put Money In Pot poker stat relates to any time you play your hand by putting money in the pot. It’s one of the most basic stats and it won’t tell you too much, but you can start understanding how others at the table act to improve your preflop play.
Your VPIP increases whenever you limp along, raise, or call someone else’s preflop raise. Note that blinds are considered mandatory bets, as you can’t skip them and continue playing. As such, they don’t affect this statistic.
There isn’t a specific number for VPIP that’s considered correct because it varies based on playing style. TAG (Tight Aggressive) poker players generally have lower VPIPs, while looser poker players tend to be higher. Most successful poker players have a VPIP somewhere between 20% and 30%.
RFI
The Raise First In poker stat measures how often the first player into the pot raises (after everyone else has folded). This is calculated based on how many chances you had to be the first to raise preflop, so it doesn’t apply to every hand.
It relates to the VPIP because winning players often raise or fold the majority of their starting hands. While this is common, it’s not always the case. You my still need to begin calling against a 3Bet or start defending against the blinds in some games. Because of this, RFI always comes out lower than VPIP.
Winning players tend to have an RFI between 20% and 30%. Anything lower generally indicates you’re probably not raising as much as you should when you have the chance. Higher than this is typically considered too aggressive.
3BET
This poker stat can show you how aggressive other players are. It measures how often a player comes over the top (re-raises) when facing a raise preflop.
Like other poker statistics, this isn’t calculated based on the number of hands played by a player, but the opportunities they’ve had to re-raise. A player with a 3Bet of 10% is one that re-raises one in every 10 times another player raises, and it’s folded to them (rather than folding or calling).
This statistic often sits between 4.9% and 8.9% in short-handed games while the stakes are relatively low. The 3Bet stats tend to increase slightly in higher-stakes games as poker players are often more aggressive. The most successful poker players typically have a 3Bet of around 3% to 6%.
FOLD TO 3BET
When you’re facing a raise, you might not feel confident with your starting hands. You may choose to fold, which is what the Fold to 3Bet statistic relates to.
While it may seem like a simple decision, this is an area where many players make mistakes. Folding can sometimes be the right move, but you won’t ever be able to win if you keep folding. Learning how to play postflop is essential, and being defensive can help with this.
You want to ensure your Fold to 3Bet statistic isn’t higher than about 60%. If you fold too often, people will notice, and you’ll become more vulnerable to the more aggressive poker players at the table.
You might start to notice yourself folding against re-raises too often. If so, you can bring things back by reducing your opening hands or call/4bet more when facing a 3Bet. This can be very beneficial if you have a position on your competitors.
FOLD TO STEAL
In many cases, your winnings won’t come from having the best hand but from stealing blinds with antes and uncontested pots. This is generally called ‘stealing’, but despite the potentially negative association of the word, this is still considered a perfectly acceptable and reasonable strategy.
A steal is done in late positions when a poker player raises in an unopened pot. These are the small blind, button, and cut-off. Any time the player in the big blind folds to these steal attempts, it increases their Fold to Steal stat.
This isn’t something that will help you make profits, but it will help you defend against more aggressive players.
Steals can be daunting, so you might fold to them sometimes, but you don’t want to let this stat go above about 70%. In modern games, people don’t usually make large raises, so you may want to play more defensively when someone attempts a steal. This might put you in difficult positions sometimes, but it will help you more than folding too often.
OTHER VARIOUS POKER STATISTICS
The above are the most important poker stats when it comes to the pre-flop game, but several others can also help you play better. Some of these include:
- BB 3bet vs SB open
- BB call vs SB open
- BB call vs BTN open
If you’re in the small blind or big blind position, you’re forced to play every hand to some degree. In any other position, you can fold straight away without loss, but as the blinds already have to invest, it’s one of the most important areas to focus on to prevent losing money as you play. Figuring out your mistakes as either of the blinds can be incredibly helpful.
As your knowledge develops, you can look into more advanced skills. This includes things like isolating limpers, squeezing, and more.
POSTFLOP ESSENTIAL POKER STATISTICS
How you play after the flop will have some similarities, but it’s typically a lot more complicated. With three cards on the table, you have a lot more to think about, so you must understand the basics so that your opponents won’t have the edge over you.
CBET FLOP
C-betting (placing a continuation bet) is a very aggressive and effective strategy. It’s when a poker player who raised pre-flop raises again post-flop, making them come across as very confident in their hand.
The CBet Flop statistic relates to players that engage in c-betting and then fold when they check. This is a bad strategy, so it’s something you want to avoid doing.
Now and then, you should check even when you have strong hands. Balancing your ranges with a reasonable amount of bluffs will make it harder for other players to read you, giving you more control. A good range to keep your CBet Flop stat is between 45% and 60% — or lower for a full ring game.
Being aggressive here is typically the best strategy. Weaker players tend to fold more often, and you can exploit this in lower-stakes games by increasing your CBet Flop frequency.
FOLD TO CBET
A skilled player will balance their ranges while CBetting on the flop. When other players do this, you’ll want to adapt. You shouldn’t fold too often on their continuation bets, as you want to be defensive. This statistic tracks how often a player folds when facing a CBet.
Weaker players will constantly call when they’ve got a good hand and fold when they’ve got a bad one. It’s essential to try to call sometimes, even if your hand isn’t particularly strong. Depending on your opponent’s bets, you won’t have to win every hand.
If they bet 1/2 pot on the river, for example, winning 1/4 of the hands will result in you breaking even. If you’re winning more often than this, then this strategy will result in profits.
Some players may claim that others aren’t bluffing and are simply folding every time they get a bad hand. It’s crucial to pick your spots — ranging your bluffs and trusting the poker statistics will lead to success.
An ideal range for your CBet Flop statistic is around 40% to 60%. For each hand, your decision should depend on the opponent’s bet. On bigger bets, you may be better off if you fold.
In general, you want to fold less when playing against more aggressive players. You can fold more often if you’re against players with lower CBet percentages and VPIP stats. These players are more likely to stay in when they have a stronger hand, so they’ll keep playing when they have a good chance of winning.
CBET TURN
This is another stat that’s higher amongst aggressive players. It measures how often a player who was the last to raise before the flops continues their aggression by betting on the turn.
In most cases, someone will do this if they think they’ve got a good idea of how strong their opponent’s hand is. This often happens when a player calls the CBet on the flop and stays in the game, then continues to bet.
This statistic is generally relatively high among winning players, usually between 45% and 65%.
It’s worth noting that even players who typically aren’t too aggressive sometimes choose to stay in at this point. Once they’ve already bet a sizable amount, they may want to simply see how the hand pans out. This can help weed out the weakest players at a table.
WTSD
Went to Showdown measures how often a player gets to the showdown after the flop.
All remaining players then need to show their hands, starting with the last player that took aggressive action. Players folding too often will have a low WTSD statistic, and players that don’t fold often enough will have a high statistic as they bet on hands they should fold on.
For the record, hands like suited connectors (two suited cards that are consecutive), two overcards, and two cards that may form a royal flush should not be folded. Pocket pairs (a pair made from two hole cards) are also promising as they may lead you to flopping a set in the postflop. However, a lower pair with different suits, a high card and a low card, and other lower-valued hands should likely be folded.
Most successful players winning the pot have a WTSD statistic of about 21% to 32.5%. If yours is higher than this, you’re likely playing hands that you should fold.
You can decrease your WTSD by lowering your VPIP and RFI stats, which essentially means playing fewer hands. You can also try to maintain a tighter river calling range or fold more often when you get hands you’re not confident with.
W$SD
When you reach the showdown, and everyone shows their hand, there will be one clear winner. If you’re making it to the showdown and winning money, it will increase your Won Money at Showdown (W$SD) statistic.
It’s worth noting that the amount you win doesn’t need to be a net positive. Your total winnings may be less than the amount you put into the pot — as long as you win some money at the end, this statistic will increase.
You have to win to increase this stat, so a player with a higher W$SD statistic is more than likely competent and strong. Naturally, a player with a low W$SD stat is likely lacking in skill, bluffs too often, or makes too many light calls. Most winning players tend to have a W$SD stat between 52% and 66%.
Anything below 50% indicates more losses than wins at the showdown, so you want to keep this number above 50%. You can increase this by trying a range of strategies.
One thing to try is bluffing less so that you don’t reach the end of the hand with poor cards. On the river, you may also benefit from calling with tighter ranges. Paying attention to other players can give you a better understanding of their ranges, and you’ll then be less likely to call off lightly.
AGGRESSION % BY STREET
Aggression is quite a common trait in stronger players, but not everyone can maintain their aggression and play well throughout the entire hand. Many players find it easier to keep up pre-flop and even on the flop, but the turn and the river can put more pressure on them, causing them to fold.
This statistic measures a player’s aggression based on each street individually, so if a player folds too often on the later streets, this stat will drop. As such, you want to try to keep playing aggressively and keep this stat above around 30% for every street.
It’s easy for this stat to be too low, so if this is the case for you, you’ll want to work to improve it. Rather than just calling or checking, you may want to raise more often and take a more aggressive stance overall.
RIVER CALL EFFICIENCY
Calling on the river can be crucial, and this statistic measures how often you’re effectively doing it. You want to keep this stat somewhere between one and two.
Anything less than one indicates you might be calling too often on the river when you have a weak hand. Conversely, anything above two means you’re probably folding on good hands when you should be calling.
If you’re using tracking software, filtering out this spot can help you get this statistic to where you want it to be. Consider the spots on the river where you make a call while holding a weak hand and try to make more folds. You could also try not to fold when facing bets on the river and make more calls instead.
HOW TO USE POKER STATISTICS
Everyone has heard the phrase, “It’s not the cards you’re dealt, it’s how you play them,” but many people don’t realise how true this is. Keeping track of your stats can help you change your play to improve your overall game.
ODDS OF HITTING A HAND
You can determine how often a specific hand is likely to hit by knowing the number of ‘outs’ that are left. For example, a flush draw on the flop has about a 36% chance of hitting by the river. It’s worth noting that calculating poker statistics like this can be difficult in-game, so you’ll likely be thinking about probability rather than poker stats.
Many players memorise important values rather than trying to make calculations mid-game. Some typical examples are:
- A flopped flush draw hitting by the river — 35.00%
- An open-ended straight draw hitting by the river — 31.50%
- A flopped gunshot hitting by the river — 16.50%
- A set flopping after playing with a pocket pair before the flop — 11.80%
There are a lot of these poker statistics to remember. As you continue to play, you’ll be able to memorise more of them, helping you improve your game.
POT ODDS AND BREAK-EVEN POINTS
Pot odds (also known as ‘the pot equity required to call’) are the percentage of the pot you invest on a call. Pot odds/ pot equity describe the same value you would need to break even at the end of that action.
The break-even point is the buff frequency needed to become profitable when taking down the pot. You can calculate values mid-hand, but again, many experienced players memorise them instead.
DB ANALYSIS
Poker tracking software can record every hand you play and use it to present valuable data to you. Some examples of what it can present are how often you:
- Play a CBet on each street.
- Fold to a CBet on each street.
- Place a 3Bet before the flop.
- Fold to a 3Bet before the flop.
- Raise the flop.
You can often set custom poker statistics to track, and these can help you improve your own game. You can use them to improve things like your VPIP, PFR, pre-flop 3Bet, and more.
VILLAIN ANALYSIS
This is about analyzing your opponents’ data rather than your own. By doing so, you can find and exploit their weaknesses. Some of the most important stats to monitor are:
- Fold to CBet
- Fold to 3Bet
- Fold to Steal
- Raise vs Flop CBet
You can use software to do this and display it in real time. Note that some players have bad opinions of this, as the players who use a HUD to display poker stats have an advantage over those that don’t. Many people consider them fair, however, as everyone has the option to use one.
POPULATION ANALYSIS
This involves poker statistics based on every player in an online poker room, limit, or network. It has similarities to villain analysis, except it doesn’t look at your opponents but the population as a whole.
This can give you an insight into what the average player does. You can use this to help you when playing against new opponents by assuming they’ll make the most common mistakes.
Sometimes you might play anonymous games so you can’t see your opponents. This strategy is ideal for such situations.
GTO PLAY
Game theory optimal play refers to a (theoretical) perfect poker game. This is one of the most complex strategies, and it’s believed that only a machine could fully understand it.
There’s a vast amount of data involved. Various poker theory solver tools can use the GTO strategy to make certain approximations. This can then be presented as a database that players can use to their advantage.
You can look into the fundamental concepts of GTO strategy, some of which include:
- Game Tree
- Mix Strategy
- Range Advantage
- Pre-Flop Solve
These can help you understand the poker odds with pairs and suited cards. You can review the various aspects regularly to help get a better idea of how they all work and how you can use them.
OTHER STATISTICS IN POKER
This involves the broadest poker statistics, which can give you an idea of what to expect when playing online poker. While these poker stats often won’t match up accurately to specific networks, they can prepare you to play in various environments.
General poker statistics involve things like:
- Basic maths
- Probabilities
- Permutations and combinations
This is a great area to start when first entering the world of online poker — especially if you plan on playing on different platforms to find the one that’s right for you.
PLAY ONLINE POKER AND LIVE POKER AT ENERGYCASINO
If you want to get started, having a good understanding of how statistics in poker work will help you significantly. Focus on learning only what’s relevant to improving your own game, and dive into more complex strategies once you’ve amped up your skills and knowledge. This will help you get a significant edge on your opponents, especially if they’re not educating themselves in poker statistics as thoroughly.
Poker stats knowledge can help you win games, especially when playing online poker or live poker at EnergyCasino — what better place to play poker than at one of the fastest-growing online betting hubs in the industry?
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