Playing poker is a constant mathematical problem, and you need to be able to use anything you can to gain an advantage to beat your opponents. Many players make the most of poker statistics to come up with solutions during the game. You can use stats to adjust your strategy, spot patterns in your opponent’s behavior, and work out the best value decisions. Considering poker is a game of probability and math, it makes sense to pay close attention to any statistics you can.
Poker software tools such as databases can provide you with a wealth of information and statistics. However, you need to know how to infer conclusions from this data. Without understanding the stats, they’re just numbers on a screen. Here are some of the most important poker stats and how to use them.
Pre-flop Stats
Pre-flop stats are those that only occur before the flop and are the most important stats to consider as they’ll be coming up more often. These are some of the most common:
Voluntarily Put Money in Pot (VPIP)
This is a fairly basic stat that doesn’t say much on its own, but it can reveal more about a player’s tendencies when compared to other stats. It’s a statistic that shows how many times you willingly put money into the pot to play a hand. In other words, the times you committed chips outside of being the small or big blind. In general, successful players have a VPIP rating of around 20-30%.
3bet
This stat is a measure of how many times re-raises when facing a raise before the flop. Re-raising is generally an aggressive tactic, so this statistic will tell you how aggressive you or your opponent is. Generally, successful players 3bet 3-6% of the time. However, higher stakes games tend to have a slightly higher 3bet percentage as aggressive play is more common.
Fold to 3bet
This stat shows you how often someone folds to a 3bet, which tells you a lot about how susceptible they are to aggression. Folding too often to 3bets is a common mistake, and you can check this stat to see your own weaknesses or to take advantage of your opponent’s. If you are often folding to 3bet, you can play tighter or call when in a stronger position.
Post-flop Stats
Post-flop statistics could be the subject of the same kind of analysis. However, once the flop is revealed, things become much more complicated, but you still need to master the fundamentals.
Continuation Bet
A continuation bet or c-bet is a bet made by a player who made the last aggressive action on the previous street. So, in this case, if someone raised pre-flop, they would also raise post-flop. Against weaker players, this can be a viable strategy, but you should be careful not to c-bet too often. Stick to around 45-60% for your c-bet flop statistic. A similar percentage should also be maintained on the turn.
Fold to Continuation Bet
As with the fold to 3bet, this statistic reveals how weak a player is to aggressive play. Good players typically make continuation bets with a wide range of hands on the flop, so it’s important not to fold to them too often. Adjust your strategy to ensure that your fold-to-c-bet stat isn’t any higher than 60%. Players can still bluff with low stakes, and it’s likely that you still have a good chance of winning when you call a c-bet post-flop.
Won Money at Showdown (W$SD)
The W$SD stat reveals how often a player has won money when going to showdown. In poker, this is where the remaining players left in the pot at the end of the river reveal their hands. A high W$SD stat shows a strong player, while a low number could be a less talented player who bluffs too often. Successful players tend to have a W$SD rate of 52% or above, meaning they win money around half the time they go to showdown.
