Short answer
- VPIP (Voluntarily Put money In Pot) is the percentage of hands where you voluntarily put chips in preflop, by calling, limping or raising.
- PFR (Preflop Raise) is the percentage of hands where you raise at least once preflop.
- 3-bet is how often you re-raise when facing an initial raise and have the opportunity to do so.
What is VPIP?
VPIP measures how many hands you play. Calculate it by dividing hands where you voluntarily put money into the pot by hands where you had a preflop decision.
Forced blinds are not voluntary money. If you are in the big blind, nobody raises and you check, that hand does not count as voluntary investment. A call, limp or raise does count.
What is PFR?
PFR measures how often you enter a hand by raising. It counts any hand where you raise at least once preflop: an open raise, isolation raise, 3-bet, 4-bet and so on. Since every raise also puts money in voluntarily, PFR cannot be higher than VPIP.
What is a 3-bet?
A 3-bet is the next raise after an opening raise: a player opens and you re-raise. The stat is calculated from your opportunities, not from all hands: the times you faced exactly one raise and could re-raise. Those spots occur less often than VPIP opportunities, so 3-bet usually needs a larger sample to become informative.
How to read VPIP and PFR together
The gap between VPIP and PFR shows how much of your preflop participation is passive. If VPIP is much higher, you may be entering many pots by calling or limping rather than raising. If they are close, your style is more raise-or-fold.
| Measure | Value | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Hands with a preflop decision | 2,000 | — |
| Hands with voluntary investment | 460 | VPIP = 460 / 2,000 = 23% |
| Hands with at least one raise | 380 | PFR = 380 / 2,000 = 19% |
| Difference | 4 percentage points | 80 hands played without raising |
Illustrative example only. It is not a real player's data or a recommended target.
There is no universal correct number. Reasonable stats depend on format (MTT, cash or Spins), table size, stack depth and tournament stage. Compare your stats with a reference suited to your format.
Why position matters more than the overall number
An overall VPIP combines very different positions. A wide Button range is normal; the same range from under the gun is not. Review details such as:
- RFI by position (Raise First In): how often you open when no one has entered, split by EP, MP, CO, BTN and SB.
- 3-bet by position and 3-bet versus steals: how your response changes based on the opener.
- Fold to 3-bet: how often you give up after your open is re-raised.
Sample size: why volume matters
Every stat is a proportion, and its uncertainty depends on the number of opportunities. If your observed 3-bet is 10% over 100 opportunities, the standard error is about 3 percentage points (√(0.10 × 0.90 / 100) ≈ 0.03). Over 1,000 opportunities it falls below 1 point. Before changing your strategy, check how many opportunities sit behind the number.
How to use these stats to find possible leaks
- Compare against a format-specific reference. A deviation matters only relative to a reasonable target for MTT, cash or Spins, not a generic number.
- Check the sample. Look at opportunities, not just the percentage.
- Break it down by position. A high VPIP may come from one seat, such as defending the small blind too often.
- Review hands from the spot. Open examples in a hand replayer to see which decisions create the pattern.
- Measure whether the change holds. Compare later periods to separate improvement from variance.
How PokerDataOS uses these stats
PokerDataOS calculates VPIP, PFR, RFI by position, 3-bet, fold to 3-bet and other stats from imported hand histories. When a reference is available for your format, Leak Detector compares your stats with it and prioritizes deviations by evidence, trend and recurrence. Compare WEEK, MONTH and 10K-hand periods; when the sample is too small, the app indicates that instead of labeling a leak.