Poker Basics - PFR

We explain another key HUD stat and what it tells us, for new players whether they use tracking software or not.

In a previous article we introduced the topic of HUD stats with the most foundational stat VPIP. Today we continue with the next most significant, which when used with VPIP tells you a lot about a player. 

PFR stands for Pre Flop Raise and as the name suggests it measures how often a player opens the action with a raise, rather than limping. 

It is a measure of aggression, as obviously raising preflop is an aggressive act. In the modern game most players open the action with a raise, even with weak or speculative hands. In a way the most notable thing about PFR is when it is low, in other words when a player limps a lot. That tells us more about them as a player because we expect preflop raising. 

So if preflop raising is commonplace, why is PFR such an important statistic?

The gap between VPIP and PFR

PFR really becomes useful when you compare it to VPIP. What you are looking for is how big a divergence there is between the two. 

You will hear people refer to a player's stats as being 23/22, meaning a VPIP of 23 and a PFR of 22. This means that, on average, they play 23% of hands voluntarily and raise with 22% of them when they are first to act. VPIP will always, by default, be higher than PFR. 

If, over a large sample, a player is 16/16 it means they don't play many hands but always raise when they open a hand by default. This is a tight aggressive player. If a player is 22/12 it means they are limping a lot of hands, meaning they are quite a passive player. 

When a player has a huge divergence, for example 36/11 then you are almost certainly up against a typical calling station player. This is somebody who is playing a lot of hands and trying to see flops cheaply. A player could be 36/35 and that would mean they are very loose and aggressive. 

The reliable information here is the gap between VPIP and PFR. Whether a player is 16/16 or 36/35 they are raising most of their opens, which means they are a balanced player whom you should not assume is bad by default. Whether they are 38/12 or 18/06, the bigger the gap the more likely they are to be a weak, exploitable player. 

If you do play on a site that uses a HUD and you are interested in using one, we recommend PokerTracker 4 which you can try for free right here.  

Related Resources