This is the modern-day that we’re living in where things have changed with everything that once used to be traditional and poker is no exception. Ever since poker has gone online, not only has it witnessed a surge in popularity, but it has also received the admiration of being a complicated game of skill. Numbers and calculations are going to be a staple if you wish to excel at playing the game of cards, and that is where PFR Poker and other similar software come into the frame.
There are several legal tools that you can use to track your performance while playing online poker. This also provides you with stats about your opponents which has a massive impact on your game. All of this could get complicated due to the many numbers involved in poker. However, PFR and VPIP poker tools are beneficial even with minimal technology or mathematical knowledge and can be used to a great extent, especially against amateur players.
VPIP & PFR Poker Meaning
Before we talk about how you can use VPIP and PFR software to upgrade your game and play calculated moves, let us briefly go over these two techniques and how they help in data tracking. Knowing this will help you to apply these stats to the best of your use, especially with PFR poker statistics.
VPIP Poker (Voluntarily Put Money in Pot)
The name fits the description perfectly here. The VPIP stat provides information on how often a player enters the pot with no force. Meaning, how often does your opponent add to the pot when they aren’t in the blind positions. Whether a player raises, calls or lips, their VPIP gets updated. This information could be convenient when you’re looking to predict the natural tendencies of whom you’re up against.
PFR Poker (Preflop Raise)
Simply put, the PFR poker statistic tells you about how often a particular player enters the pot with a raise. This serves as a much more oriented number as it gives you a clearer image about the level of aggression your opponent is used to playing with. VPIP and PFR poker numbers are usually displayed alongside each other.
A point to bear in mind with both these tracking methods is that you cannot judge a player’s behavior based on merely a hand or two’s worth of data. The number of hands used to assess the information makes a major difference here. However, if you have a strong sample size with a couple hundred hands or more, you have a better shot as per accuracy of your judgments through the VPIP and PFR poker data.
Usage of VPIP Poker Stat to Your Advantage
Knowing what VPIP and PFR poker stats are, the next topic to address is how to use them to your advantage. Simply said, both these stats reveal a lot of information about the participants you are playing against, and this knowledge can be mixed with your strategies to exploit them.
If they hold a VPIP stat of over 40% over a considerable sample, you can say that they don’t prefer folding before the flop. Therefore, you can target them and go after them when you hold a big hand. This is because when others might fold to your raises, these players might hold on until the flop. Build a pot as big as you can before the flop against such players while holding strong hands and fold while holding weaker ones.
Usage of PFR Poker Stat to Your Advantage
Coming to the PFR poker stat, this tells you about the aggression of individual players. This is helpful because not everyone with a high VPIP will play the same way. You will see that some of such players will let the others dictate the play and only call. Others could push the action if necessary. So, if you spot a player with stats that say 45/30, then you can be confident that they prefer to play big, get involved in more hands and be in control. If a player shows a VPIP of 50, this translates to them playing 50% of all hands dealt with them.
Knowing this can help you analyze your hands, your stack size, the pot value, and play against each opponent in a way that they are likely to respond. That is where this data comes into much use because you can device individual game plans for specific players based on their habits. So, PFR poker stats and VPIP poker stats provide such information that can be relied on in predicting the players at the table as to what hands they prefer to play. This assists you in the moves you make before the flop and gives you a trusted understanding of how your opponent’s range corresponds with different flop types.
Reading VPIP & PFR Poker Combos
No two poker players are entirely alike. However, you are more than likely to encounter opponents that operate within these given categories of VPIP and PFR poker stats. Going through them will help you understand the nature of opponents you are dealing with based on the numbers you see on screen.
The Maniac (High VPIP, High PFR)
These are known as ‘maniacs’ because they adapt a loose-aggressive playing style. These players make wild raises and bets. They are delighted by playing a large number of hands to win maximum pots. For them, wait for a strong hand and continue calling. For example, 45/40.
The Tag (Mid VPIP, High PFR)
These are known as ‘tags’ because they adopt a tight-aggressive playing style. These players tend to have good pre-flop and post-flop strategies because they are likely to be experienced. They are known to be the ones in control. For example, 20/16.
The Calling Station (High VPIP, Low PFR)
These are known as ‘calling stations’ because they adapt a loose-passive playing style. These players are known to call very often. This gives you an opening to yield more money out of them by value betting with a decent hand. However, attempting a bluff wouldn’t help. For example, 30/4
The Nit (Low VPIP, High PFR)
These are known as ‘nits’ because they adapt an exceptionally tight-aggressive playing style. These players prefer to play only with premium hands which makes them an open target to bluff. However, when they do start playing, things could get tricky. For example, 6/4.
The Ideal VPIP & PFR Poker Numbers to Follow
After knowing about these data trackers, their uses and how they can be of advantage to you by reading them the right way; the next logical question to answer is which one must you follow. Generally, a tag (tight-aggressive) playing style tends to work best. Tag players usually have VPIP and PFR values close to 30/25, which is how they are identified. The numbers you choose to follow depend on the kind of game you’re playing, so there is no right and wrong.
However, the tag approach is regarded as profitable overall. While it is good to learn about these numbers and know how to use them, it is important not to be obsessed with them. Winning poker pots come down to many other factors as well. Having this information gives you an upper hand without a doubt, but you must know how to incorporate it in your style, not rely on it entirely, and be willing to change things at the moment if needed.
If you are someone who’s looking to play online poker regularly and to make a name for yourself, then it is highly suggested that you invest your time learning and understanding VPIP and PFR stats. PFR stats, in particular, will help you identify the aggression you are facing, which is crucial for the strategies you employ in a game. The earlier you implement these, the better it gets. Sign-up to Spartan Poker where you can learn many more of such interesting poker concepts that you can then experiment and use in our many poker tournaments designed as per your choices. So, if you wish to start with poker, register with Spartan Poker right away.
