Interpreting HUD Stats 101: VPIP

Welcome to part one of our series on statistics and how get the most from your tracking software and heads-up display (HUD). We'll start off with something simple - Voluntarily Put Money into the Pot, known as VPIP, VP$IP, or simply VP.

VP is the most common stat out there. Nearly every HUD setup I've ever seen includes it and almost all of them have it as the very first stat. This is because it's important, easy to understand, and it doesn't need a large sample size in order to be useful. We'll start off with a simple explanation of how VP is calculated. In all of the articles in this series, we'll assume that you are using either PokerTracker or Holdem Manager. Both programs calculate most of the stats in the same way.

VP is incremented every time a player puts any money into the pot other than a post or blinds. If the whole table limps and the small blinds limps in as well, it counts as money he or she voluntarily put in the pot. If the big blind raises and the small blind eventually folds, the program still treats it as a hand where the small blind voluntarily put money in the pot. If the big blind checks after a limper pre-flop, or folds to a raise, then their VP does not increase because the money they put in the pot was not voluntary, it was just the required blind. Whether a player raises or calls, any money that goes into the pot is counted for his VP.

Now we know how VP is determined, but what do different VP numbers mean and how do we use them? That really depends on the game. Let's use nine-handed No Limit Hold’em as an example before we look at stats for each game.

The winning players in full ring No Limit games tend to have a VPIP between 15% and 20%, although there are a few winners as low as 12% and as high as 23%. In my experience working with students, those who decide they will be one of the exceptions at 21% almost always fail. Stats can give you a recipe for winning and you really need to be a great chef to throw out the recipe and try to make it on your own.

A player who is tighter than 13% is a rock in my book, and also in my auto-rate icons, which we will talk about in another article in this series. Tighter than 13% means that this player really has a hand when they are in the pot and if they are re-raising, they usually have a big hand.

A player with a VP between 23% and 30% is too loose, but fairly typical. I see a lot of losing players who play fairly well otherwise, but lose money because they are in this VP range.

A VP of over 30% at a full nine or ten-handed table is a fish; there is no way around it. There is no way to make money playing this many hands and these players lose a ton of money. They are whales in my auto-rate icon system and they are definitely worth adding to the fish list on whatever buddy program you use.  Making money at the poker tables is all about finding these guys and playing with as many of them as possible.

The stats above are fairly accurate in Fixed Limit games as well, although you may want to be a little tighter in games where there is no possibility of stealing the blinds.

The correct VP for short-handed games is often argued on forums, with most winning players campaigning for anywhere from 27% to 35%. The looser players will argue that their styles are the best, while the tighter players say that their style wins at a similar clip with less variance. Somewhere in the middle seems to be correct.

In heads-up play, solid players will have a VP of between 65% and 85%, but style and the quality of opponent can change these numbers. If you find an opponent with a VP from the big blind of less than 60%, it will be profitable to raise every hand from the button, while an opponent with a VP of over 85% is defending too much and you'll have to tighten up your raising range slightly.

While VP is one of the most important stats in your HUD, it's important not to take your adjustments too far. Remember that players who see too many flops get a lot of practice playing on later streets. What looks like a loose fish may in fact be a good loose-aggressive player who simply plays a few too many hands in late position. This tendency to play too many hands against loose players, especially out of position, is the most common mistake made by players who are new to using an HUD. Make small adjustments to your game based on your opponent's stats

Once you have a sample size of 50 hands on an opponent, you should have an idea of how tight or loose they are, especially if their stats are way off to one side of correct. For players who are closer to the correct range, 50 hands don’t tell you as much about their game. By the time you get 200 hands on an opponent, you should be within 5% of the correct VP. If you have a loose player at your table who has a VP of 32% after 200 hands, you can be fairly certain that he isn't just running good; he is actually quite loose. His long-term VP might be 28% or 36%, but either way, he is too loose; you know that playing a few extra hands with him will be profitable.

In the next installment, we'll talk about the companion stat to VP, Pre-Flop Raise. These two stats together give you a good feel for how your opponent plays pre-flop.