Understanding VPIP/PFR Statistics and Hand Ranges

In poker, When you bet and make decisions the first thing you do is you put your opponent on a hand. If you are using a poker tracking tool like HEM or PT3, you will have a heads up display (HUD) which is displayed next to every player on the table. It displays hundreds of stats, however one of the most useful stats is the pre-flop statistics (VPIP and PFR).

VPIP refers to voluntarily put money in pot, and it is a good indicator for how loose or tight a player is pre-flop. A player with low VPIP is playing only premium hands, and vice versa, a player with a high VPIP is playing less premium hands.

PFR is short for pre flop raise. Good players will not have a big gap between VPIP and PFR because they are open raising with most hands they play, and not limping in. Generally, PFR will be about 75% of the VPIP stat. A large gap between VPIP and PFR is usually a good indicator of a fish/weak player which you can run over.

To give you a very approximate idea for what different VPIP and PFR percentages translate into, here are some potential hand ranges:

5% = 88+,AJs+,KQs,AKo
10% = 77+,A9s+,KTs+,QTs+,AJo+,KQo
15% = 77+,A7s+,K9s+,QTs+,JTs,ATo+,KTo+,QJo
20% = 66+,A4s+,K8s+,Q9s+,J9s+,T9s,A9o+,KTo+,QTo+,JTo
25% = 66+,A2s+,K6s+,Q8s+,J8s+,T8s+,A7o+,K9o+,QTo+,JTo
30% = 55+,A2s+,K5s+,Q7s+,J8s+,T8s+,98s,A7o+,A5o,K9o+,Q9o+,J9o+,T9o
35% = 55+,A2s+,K3s+,Q6s+,J7s+,T7s+,97s+,87s,A4o+,K8o+,Q9o+,J9o+,T9o
40% = 44+,A2s+,K2s+,Q4s+,J7s+,T7s+,97s+,87s,A3o+,K7o+,Q8o+,J8o+,T9o
45% = 44+,A2s+,K2s+,Q4s+,J6s+,T6s+,96s+,86s+,76s,A2o+,K6o+,Q8o+,J8o+,T8o+,98o
50% = 33+,A2s+,K2s+,Q2s+,J4s+,T6s+,96s+,86s+,76s,65s,A2o+,K5o+,Q7o+,J7o+,T7o+,98o

You are probably wondering how these hand ranges were calculated. It was done with Pokerstove (which is a free tool). n a nutshell, it basically calculates equity vs certain ranges. You can input specific hand ranges (or even specific hands to see how they go vs certain ranges). Alternaitvely, you can input different pecentages, which is what I have done here. Simply input a percentage like 10% and it will calculate the range of hands if you were to play 10% of all hands. When using percentages to calculate hand rages to get an idea of what certain types of players are playing, play around with it to paint a clearer picture. For example, some players will raise any pair in every position, so instead of assuming they will only raise a pair which is 77 or better if their PFR is 10%, add all pairs and replace them with other hands so the combination of hands they play remains the same.

One of the common mistakes beginners will make when you are still getting familiar with poker software like HEM which have a HUD, is to assume that loose pre flop stats translates into playing loose post flop. This can be a costly mistake because some players will play a large percentage of hands before the flop, but tighten up dramatically if they don’t make a hand on the flop or later streets. Instead of making incorrect assumptions, observe your opponents play both pre flop and after they flop so you can identify their tendencies.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the VPIP and PFR statistics are “averages” which calculate the hand stats based on every played hand in every position. What this fails to take into account is that the better players are positionally aware and will open up their game in late position. For example, even though you know your opponents PFR is 15%, if you’re playing at a 6-max online table and this player makes a raise from the CO, you know they are more then likely trying to steal the blinds so are open raising with a much wider range due to position. If you only have a mediocre hand which is not good enough to call with, you could consider three betting here because even though they only have a PFR of 15% which is not loose by any means, in this spot they are likely to have a much wider range and will have to fold to a 3bet.

If you are beginning with software like HEM and PT3, this may sound very confusing at first with all these stats you have to deal with. An easy way to understand VPIP and PFR is to think of hand ranges in terms of pairs, suited connectors, broadway cards, etc. It’s easier to think of ranges when you think of it like this.

Hopefully this article gave you some insight into VPIP/PFR and how it can be useful for assigning hand ranges. If you are just getting started with tracking software, don’t let all the statisics confuse you. At the end of the day, they should still only play a secondary role and you should focus on playing a solid technical game.

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