Shorthanded Metrics

If you play in shorthanded games frequently, you probably play online, an environment that enables you to track statistics on yourself and your opponents. The following paraphrased excerpt from the soon-to-be-released book Limit Hold'em: Winning Short-handed Strategies, by Terry Borer and Lawrence Mak with Barry Tanenbaum, describes the most important metrics and how to use them.



We will discuss:

• Voluntarily put money into pot (VP$IP)

• Preflop raise percentage (PFR%)

• Aggression factor (AF)



Because games, styles, and luck vary, all metrics have a large acceptable range. Even among excellent players, there is a wide range of values. Remember that these numbers are guidelines and not targets. Yet, if your play is outside the recommended values, your results will suffer.



Voluntarily put money into pot (VP$IP): Generally known as VPIP, this metric describes how often someone puts money into the pot preflop. It doesn't include forced payments such as the big blind or posting. Checking from the big blind doesn't count, but calling a raise or completing the small blind does.



The following chart classifies players. We recommend a VPIP of 23 percent-29 percent for a sixhanded game; slightly higher is reasonable as you get more experienced, but is not recommended for the beginner.



Recommended VPIP Ranges for Middle-Limit Hold'em



We advocate tight preflop starting hands. This metric shows the number of hands you play and says nothing about the quality of hands. If you play only small, unsuited cards from early position, you might have the right percentage of hands, but you will lose all of your money.



The aggression level you encounter will affect your VPIP. In passive games, you'll play your small blinds more and will have to defend your big blinds less.



Evaluating Yourself

If you are outside the recommended ranges (typically, too loose), tighten up immediately. Start folding more hands, particularly from early position. Your results will immediately improve. In the long term, no one can overcome the disadvantage of playing too many hands.



Evaluating Your Opponents

VPIP is the most important metric when determining player quality.



Your ideal opponents are loose, since they will bleed chips. Supertight opponents aren't playing optimally, but you're unlikely to get much money out of them except for a few blinds. However, stealing blinds can be significant if they are tight enough.



Preflop raise percentage (PFR%): Also known as PFR, this is the percentage of the times a player raises preflop. One raise is enough, no matter what else happens (for example, raising and calling a three-bet counts as a raise).



Recommended PFR Ranges for Middle-Limit Hold'em



If you aren't in a blind, you should raise (or three-bet) every time you are in unless there are limpers. This will put your PFR at about two-thirds of your VPIP. If your VPIP is 30 percent, a PFR of 20 percent is excellent.



Your PFR ratio will decrease as your games get more aggressive, since you will be folding more often preflop and calling more in the big blind (versus taking a free big blind).



Evaluating Yourself

A high PFR is critical and easy. If you are not in the aggressive category, get out there and start raising more preflop! Trust us, and every other pro, that raising preflop often is correct poker.



Evaluating Your Opponents

You want passive opponents who love limping in preflop and calling your raises. It's a great table when you can see free flops from the big blind, and players are willing to call your raises with weak cards like A-4 suited. Any player with a high PFR is dangerous, and reduces the softness of the game.



Raises from players with a low PFR (for example, less than 5 percent) must be treated with great respect. They hardly ever raise, so they figure to have a very strong hand. Raises from someone with a high PFR (for example, greater than 20 percent) are potentially weak, especially from late position. Don't take this too far, though, since they raise with their good hands as well as some weaker ones.



PFR in isolation is the least important of the three metrics when determining table toughness. The PRF/VPIP ratio is also important. Most good players' ratio will be between 0.6 and 0.8.



Aggression factor (AF): This is how aggressive someone is. It is defined as the ratio of the number of times a player bets or raises to the number of times he calls (excluding preflop raises). Checking and folding are not considered. Betting and calling a raise is considered a bet and a call.



AF = (number of bets + number of raises) ÷ number of calls



For example, if king_bob22 bet 18 times, raised 12 times, and called 20 times, he would have an AF of 1.5 = (12+18) ÷ 20, which is considered aggressive. That's not good, since you want passive opponents. All aggressive players are dangerous, since their raises may push you off pots, and they force you to make tough decisions.



Recommended AF Ranges for Middle-Limit Hold'em



Evaluating Yourself

You must be aggressive to beat shorthanded games. If your aggression factor is less than 1.4, you are too passive. Increasing this number isn't simply a matter of raising more; it is a matter of raising at the appropriate times. Random raises will only cost you money.



To improve your game, your AF is much different from the other metrics. With VPIP and PFR, you can immediately make proper adjustments. To improve your AF, you have to learn when to bet and raise instead of calling, and when to fold instead of making a loose call. This comes from study and experience.



Good VPIP and PFR metrics will naturally make you more aggressive, since you'll generally be playing strong cards with good position.



Evaluating Your Opponents

Aggressive opponents are trouble. Unless they have an extremely high VPIP, assume that all aggressive opponents are good. Superaggressive opponents are "theoretically" exploitable. We use quotation marks because hardly anyone actually exploits them, especially when they are very good players, too.



Example: These three key metrics are expressed together as (VPIP/ PFR/ AF). If you read, "… then bobfish33 (45/6/0.4) raised, …" this means that bobfish33 plays 45 percent of his hands, raises 6 percent of the time, and has an aggression factor of 0.4. We learn two things: bobfish33 really is a fish (too loose, doesn't raise enough preflop, and too passive), and you need to be extra careful whenever he decides to raise anytime during the hand.



Barry Tanenbaum is the author of Advanced Limit Hold'em Strategy. To learn about his private lessons, please visit his website at www.barrytanenbaum.com.