What is VPIP in poker?
The percentage of hands in which a player voluntarily puts money into the pot before the flop. The letters stand for exactly that: voluntarily put money in pot. If a player calls or raises in 25 of every 100 hands dealt to them, their VPIP is 25%.
It is the first number any tracking software or HUD shows next to a player’s name, because it answers the most basic question you can ask about an opponent: how many hands do they play?
What counts toward VPIP?
Anything you choose to put in before the flop, and nothing you are forced to.
| Counts | Does not count |
|---|---|
| Raising first into the pot | Posting the small or big blind |
| Calling a raise | Checking your option in the big blind |
| Limping (calling the big blind) | Folding |
| Completing the small blind | Any action after the flop |
| Re-raising |
The formula is hands where you voluntarily put money in, divided by hands dealt. So a player who raises once, calls once and folds eight times in ten hands has a VPIP of 20%. Trackers differ on whether a hand where everyone folds to your big blind counts, since you never had a choice; it barely moves the number.
What is a good VPIP?
For 6-max cash games, somewhere around 20% to 27%. For full ring, lower, roughly the mid teens, because more players are left to act behind every raise.
We can put a sharper number on it. We ran the solver’s own preflop strategy for all six seats through a simulation of 400,000 dealt hands, using the same exported 6-max ranges at 100 big blinds that our charts use, and measured each seat the way a tracker would:
| Seat | VPIP | PFR |
|---|---|---|
| Under the gun | 17.5% | 17.5% |
| Hijack | 19.2% | 19.0% |
| Cutoff | 22.1% | 21.4% |
| Button | 26.8% | 23.9% |
| Small blind | 23.7% | 13.9% |
| Big blind | about 30% | 9.1% |
| Whole table | about 23% | about 18% |
Played with the 6-max solver ranges PlusEV drills, a whole table comes out at a VPIP of about 23%. A few rare branches, mostly the big blind facing a small-blind limp, have no exported strategy; counting them as all folds or all plays still keeps the table-wide figure between 22.6% and 24.2%.
One number in that table is worth a second look. The button opens 40.5% of hands when everyone folds to it, yet its VPIP is only 26.8%, because most of the time someone has already raised before the action gets there. A HUD number and a chart number measure different things: the chart tells you what to open when folded to, the HUD tells you what you ended up playing.
What is the difference between VPIP and PFR?
PFR, preflop raise, counts only the hands where you raised. VPIP counts raises and calls. So PFR can never be higher than VPIP, and the gap between the two tells you how often a player calls rather than raises.
In the simulation, the solver’s gap is about 5 points (23% against 18%), and almost all of it comes from the blinds: the big blind calls a lot of raises because it already has money in, and the small blind completes some hands instead of raising. Everywhere else the two numbers stay within about 3 points, because the solver rarely just calls when it could raise.
That is the useful rule. A player with VPIP 22 and PFR 18 plays a normal, aggressive game. A player with VPIP 35 and PFR 8 calls far too much, and calling ranges are where preflop money goes to die. The 3-bet guide covers the next stat down the same line.
What does VPIP tell you about a player?
Their style, before you have seen a single showdown. The bands below are common rules of thumb for 6-max games, not our data:
| VPIP / PFR | Usually | How to play them |
|---|---|---|
| Under 15 / close behind | Nit: very tight | Steal their blinds; fold to their raises without a strong hand |
| 18-26 / close behind | Tight-aggressive regular | Play solid poker; the baseline |
| 27-35 / close behind | Loose-aggressive | Re-raise them lighter; call down wider |
| 35+ / far below | Loose-passive, often the weakest player | Value bet relentlessly; bluff less |
Read VPIP next to PFR, never alone. A 30% VPIP from a player who raises almost all of it is a dangerous regular; the same 30% from a player who mostly calls is the player you want to be in pots with.
A worked example. Your HUD shows two players after about 300 hands each. The first reads 21/18: tight, raises almost everything they play, a regular. When they open from early position, give them credit for a strong range. The second reads 44/7: they play close to half their hands and raise one in six of them. When they limp or call, their range is wide and weak, so you raise more hands for value against them, and you rarely bluff them, because a player who calls this much preflop tends to call after the flop too.
How many hands before VPIP means anything?
Fewer than most stats, because it is measured on every hand. Treating it as a simple percentage, a player with a true 23% VPIP will typically show a number within about 4 points of that after 100 hands, about 2 after 500 and about 1 after 1,000. Stats that only come up in specific spots, like 3-bet or fold to 3-bet, need many times more hands before they settle.
Can you track VPIP without a HUD?
Yes, roughly, and in live poker it is the only way. Count how many hands a player enters per orbit. At a nine-handed table, a player who plays one hand an orbit is around 11%, two hands is around 22%, and three or more is over 30%. At six-handed, one hand an orbit is already about 17%.
That is enough to sort a live table into nits, regulars and the players you want to play pots with, within the first hour.
Does a good VPIP change in live games or tournaments?
Yes, and in predictable directions. This part is general poker strategy rather than our data:
- Full ring. With nine or ten players, a solid VPIP drops to the mid or high teens. Early positions face more players behind them, so every seat plays tighter.
- Live low stakes. Tables are looser and pots more often multiway. The regulars’ numbers run a little higher than online, and it is common to see several players above 40%.
- Tournaments. VPIP tends to fall as stacks get shorter, because there is less money behind to win with speculative hands, then rise again late when antes make stealing profitable.
- Heads-up and short-handed. The fewer players, the higher the number. Heads up, playing well over half your hands is normal.
Whatever the format, compare players against the table they are at. A 25% VPIP is tight at a loose live game and loose at a nine-handed online table.
How should you use VPIP in your own game?
Check where your VPIP comes from. The size alone says little. A 25% VPIP built from tight early positions and a wide button is healthy. The same 25% built from calling raises out of position is a leak, and position is where it shows: under the gun should be your tightest seat and the button your widest. Our poker positions guide and the best starting hands explain which hands belong in each seat.
Knowing your target VPIP is the easy part. Hitting it seat by seat, without drifting looser after a few folds in a row, is a habit, and habits come from repetition. That is what the PlusEV preflop trainer drills, one decision at a time.
A number from a solver, about 23% for a 6-max table, is also a baseline rather than a rule. Against a table of passive callers, playing a few more hands in position makes money; against aggressive regulars, playing fewer does. Deviate on purpose, for a reason you can name.
Quick answers
What does VPIP stand for?
Voluntarily put money in pot. It is the percentage of hands in which a player chose to put chips in before the flop, by calling or raising.
What is a good VPIP in poker?
For 6-max cash games, roughly 20% to 27%. Our simulation of a solver's preflop strategy lands at about 23%. Full-ring games run lower, around the mid teens, because more players are left to act behind every raise.
Does posting the big blind count toward VPIP?
No. Blinds are forced, so they are not voluntary. Checking your option in the big blind does not count either. Calling a raise from the big blind, or completing the small blind, does.
What is the difference between VPIP and PFR?
VPIP counts every hand you call or raise before the flop; PFR counts only the raises. PFR can never be higher than VPIP, and the gap between them measures how often you call instead of raising.
How many hands do you need for VPIP to be reliable?
It settles quickly. After 100 hands a player's VPIP is typically within about 4 points of their real number; after 1,000 hands, within about 1 point.
Is a low VPIP always good?
No. The 6-max solver ranges PlusEV drills play about 23% of hands across the table, so a VPIP far below that means folding hands that make money, most of all on the button. Opponents also notice and stop paying you when you do play.
What does a VPIP of 50% mean?
A very loose player who plays half the hands dealt. Unless the game is short-handed or they are a strong aggressive player, it usually marks the weakest player at the table.