Poker Stats Explained: What's a Good VPIP, PFR, 3-Bet %, AF & WTSD?
For 6-max online cash, the healthy guideline bands are: VPIP 20–28%, PFR 15–24%, 3-bet 5–10%, flop c-bet 50–75%, WTSD 22–30%, and W$SD 48–56%. These are population guidelines for winning players at micro-stakes — not solver output — and the preflop ones aren't arbitrary: they fall out of sound positional ranges, as derived below.
Every tracker and HUD reduces poker to a handful of frequencies. This guide explains each one — what it counts, what a good number is, and crucially where the benchmark comes from. Where a band can be derived from the positional ranges that power this site's charts and trainer, we show the derivation; where it can't, it's labeled as the guideline it is.
The benchmark table
These are the exact bands our leak report applies when it analyzes uploaded hand histories:
| Stat | Healthy band | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| VPIP | 20–28% | Voluntarily put money in preflop (calls/raises; blind posts and BB checks excluded) |
| PFR | 15–24% | Raised preflop at least once |
| VPIP−PFR gap | 2–8 | Percentage-point gap; a wide gap means lots of passive calling |
| 3-bet | 5–10% | Re-raised when facing exactly one raise preflop |
| Fold to 3-bet | 45–65% | Open-raised, faced a 3-bet, folded |
| Limp | 0–5% | First voluntary action was a flat call of the big blind in an unraised pot |
| Flop c-bet | 50–75% | Bet the flop as the last preflop aggressor when checked to / first to act |
| Fold vs flop c-bet | 35–60% | Called preflop, then folded to the aggressor's flop c-bet |
| WTSD | 22–30% | Went to showdown after seeing the flop |
| W$SD | 48–56% | Won money at showdown |
Basis: Guideline bands from commonly published winning-player ranges for 6-max online micro-stakes cash (tracker population norms, NL2–NL25). Not solver output; short samples are noisy.
VPIP — what is a good VPIP?
VPIP (Voluntarily Put $ In Pot) is the share of hands where a player chose to call or raise preflop — blind posts don't count. Guideline band: 20–28% at 6-max.
Derivation. VPIP is just the output of your ranges. The positional ranges behind our preflop pages open 13% from UTG, 17% from MP, 28% from CO, 45% from BTN and 35% from SB when the pot is unopened — an unweighted average of (13 + 17 + 28 + 45 + 35) ÷ 5 = 27.6%. Add wide big-blind defends (~50% vs late opens) but subtract all the hands where someone raised in front of you and you correctly continued with only a fraction of an open range, and a full-game VPIP settles in the low-to-mid 20s — exactly the guideline band. Deep dives: what is VPIP and what is a good VPIP.
PFR — what is a good PFR?
PFR (Preflop Raise) is the share of hands where a player raised preflop at least once. Guideline band: 15–24%, sitting a few points under VPIP.
Derivation. If you raise (never limp) every hand you open and 3-bet your continues against opens, your raises are the 27.6% unopened-pot average above, diluted by the spots where you face a raise and mostly call (blind defends, set-mining) or fold. That's why PFR lands a step below VPIP — and why the VPIP−PFR gap has its own band of 2–8 points. A wide gap is the single most reliable losing indicator: it means passive calling. Related: open-limping (winning guideline 0–5%) is the gap's ugliest form.
3-bet % — what is a good 3-bet percentage?
3-bet % counts how often a player re-raises when facing exactly one raise. Guideline band: 5–10% overall.
Derivation. The overall number is an average over very different spots, and our curated 3-bet ranges show the spread combo by combo. Versus a tight UTG open we 3-bet 34 of 1,326 combos = 2.6%(pure value). Versus a cutoff open it's 64 combos = 4.8% (value plus suited blocker bluffs), and versus a wide button open 110 combos = 8.3%. Since most 3-bet opportunities come against the frequent late-position opens, the weighted average lands inside the 5–10% band. The mirror stat, fold to 3-bet, has a guideline band of 45–65%— folding much more means your opens are exploitable, much less means you're paying off with dominated hands.
AF — what is a good aggression factor?
Aggression Factor = (bets + raises) ÷ calls, usually measured postflop. Guideline only — no derivation from ranges is possible, because AF is a ratio of actions, not a frequency with a denominator of opportunities. The commonly used reading: below 1 = passive, calls dominate; 1–3 = balanced, with most winning regs around 2–3 postflop; above 3–4 = very aggressive, often over-bluffing at low stakes. Prefer per-street frequencies over one lifetime number, and give it thousands of hands before trusting it. Full definition: aggression factor.
WTSD & W$SD — what is a good showdown profile?
WTSD (Went To Showdown) is the share of flops seen that reach showdown — guideline band 22–30%. W$SD (Won $ at Showdown) is how often those showdowns win money — guideline band 48–56%. They only make sense as a pair, because they sit on a seesaw:
- • High WTSD + low W$SD (say 34/44): calling down too light and paying off value bets — the calling-station signature.
- • Low WTSD + very high W$SD (say 19/60): only reaching showdown with the goods, which sounds great but means over-folding the middle of your range on earlier streets.
- • Both in band: you're contesting the right pots and winning your fair share of them. Glossary: WTSD.
C-bet % — what is a good continuation bet frequency?
Flop c-bet % counts how often the preflop raiser follows up with a flop bet. Guideline band: 50–75% — a labeled guideline, since correct frequency swings enormously with board texture: dry ace-high boards get c-bet near always with small sizing, wet multiway boards much less. The defensive mirror, fold vs flop c-bet, carries a 35–60% band — and an opponent outside it is directly exploitable: above ~65%, bluff them relentlessly; below ~50%, value bet and stop bluffing. See the c-bet guide and the fold-to-c-bet glossary entry.
VPIP/PFR stabilize within about a thousand hands because every hand produces a data point. 3-bet, c-bet, and showdown stats only tick when their situation occurs, so they need several thousand hands. And bb/100 — the number everyone actually wants — needs tens of thousands. A stat outside its band on a small sample is a prompt to look, not a verdict.
Where these numbers come from
- • Benchmark bands: Guideline bands from commonly published winning-player ranges for 6-max online micro-stakes cash (tracker population norms, NL2–NL25). Not solver output; short samples are noisy. They are the same bands used by our leak report tool.
- • Derived numbers: positional open percentages come from the range set in our preflop library (UTG 13%, MP 17%, CO 28%, BTN 45%, SB 35%); 3-bet percentages are exact combo counts over 1,326 total combos from our curated 3-bet ranges. The derivations are arithmetic over house ranges, not solver solutions.
- • Everything else (AF bands, texture-dependent c-bet advice) is labeled as the guideline it is.
Common questions
What is a good VPIP in poker?
Roughly 20–28% for 6-max online cash — a guideline band from commonly published winning-player norms, and consistent with what falls out of sound positional ranges: our range library opens 13% from UTG, 17% from MP, 28% from CO, 45% from BTN, 35% from SB, which averages 27.6% when folded to, and lands in the low-to-mid twenties once you account for the many hands where someone has already raised and you continue with far fewer hands.
What do stats like 24/19 mean?
It's shorthand for VPIP/PFR — this player voluntarily plays 24% of hands and raises preflop with 19%. The pair matters more than either number alone: a small gap (2-8 points) means most entries are raises, the winning pattern; a huge gap like 35/8 means constant passive calling, the classic losing profile.
What is a good 3-bet percentage?
Around 5–10% overall at 6-max (guideline band). It should vary hugely by opener: our curated ranges 3-bet only 2.6% of hands against a tight UTG open but 8.3% against a wide button open — the same logic that says your overall number is an average across very different situations.
What is the most important poker stat?
The VPIP/PFR pair, because it's readable in the smallest sample and diagnoses the biggest leaks (too loose, too passive) in one glance. After that, fold-to-c-bet and WTSD reveal how someone plays after the flop. Win rate (bb/100) is the stat everyone cares about — and the least meaningful in any sample under tens of thousands of hands.
How many hands do I need before my stats mean anything?
It depends on how often the stat gets an opportunity. VPIP and PFR happen every hand and stabilize usefully within roughly a thousand hands. 3-bet % needs an opponent to raise first, c-bet stats need you to be the raiser and see a flop, and showdown stats need showdowns — those need several thousand hands. Treat every small-sample stat as a hint, not a verdict.
What stats identify a weak player?
The recurring fish signature in database reviews: VPIP far above the 20–28% band with PFR far below it (say 40/6), limping often (winning guideline 0–5%), WTSD above 30%, and W$SD below 48% — together they describe someone who plays too many hands, rarely takes initiative, and calls down too light. Value bet them relentlessly and stop bluffing them.
Measure, don't guess
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