Raise size (RSz)

What it measures

Raise size tracks how big a player raises after the flop. Each full raise is measured as the total they raised to, divided by the bet they raised: a raise from 10 to 30 is 3.0x, a min-raise to 20 is 2.0x, a shove to 100 over a bet of 10 is 10.0x.

It covers every kind of postflop raise: raising a c-bet in position, check-raising, raising a donk bet and re-raising a raise. Bets don’t count; their size is in bet size, as a percent of the pot.

A multiple is not a pot fraction, and that trips players up. A 3x raise of a 33% bet puts in about 74% of the pot in front of the raiser (3 × 33 ÷ 133), while a 3x raise of a pot-sized bet puts in 150% (3 × 100 ÷ 200). The same multiple can be a modest raise or an overbet. Raise size tells you the habit; how often they raise is in raise and check-raise.

How it’s calculated

Every full raise a player makes on a street adds one sample: the total they raised to, divided by the bet (or raise) they were facing. Raise size is the average of those samples, kept per street.

• Full raises only. A short all-in that doesn’t reach a full raise isn’t counted. An all-in that is a full raise is, so shoves count.
• Re-raises count against the raise they faced. Raising a 30 raise to 75 is 2.5x, and a min re-raise can come out under 2.0x: after a bet of 10 and a raise to 30, the smallest re-raise is to 50, which is 1.67x.
• Check-raises count the same as any other raise.
• Kept as a single average for each street, with nothing narrower.

Example: Omar raises three times on the flop over a session: 4 to 12 (3.0x), 6 to 18 (3.0x) and a shove for 60 over a bet of 6 (10.0x). His flop raise size is (3 + 3 + 10) ÷ 3 = 5.3x. The shove dominates the average; without it he’s a steady 3x raiser. With only three samples the number shows faded, and mostly tells you he has shoved at least once.

Why it matters

Raise size sets the price on both sides. With 10 in the pot, raising a pot-sized bet of 10 to 30 risks 30 to win 20, so as a bluff it needs 60% folds (30 ÷ 50); the bettor then calls 20 more into 50, needing 28.6% equity (20 ÷ 70). Raise a 33% bet of 3.3 to 10 instead and the bluff needs only 42.9% folds (10 ÷ 23.3), while the bettor needs 22.3% equity to call (6.7 ÷ 30).

The sizing tells are strong because raises are rare and loaded. Big raises are polarized: the nuts, or a draw that wants to end the hand now. Small raises and min-raises are a mixed bag. In theory they go with wider ranges, but in many home games a min-raise on the turn or river is a very strong hand trying to get paid. The badge shows the raiser’s average next to the raise they just made, so you see when a player has stepped out of habit.

It also tells you what a raise will cost you when you bet. Against a player who raises to 4x or shoves, thin value bets and bluffs that can’t continue lose more when raised, which argues for smaller bets with those hands. Raise vs bet tells you how often that happens at each size.

Too low, about right, too high

The HUD shows raise size with no typical range and no color. These bands are our own: a min-raise is 2.0x, a raise to around three times the bet is the common middle, and anything well beyond 4x is usually a shove or a deliberately huge raise.

On the flop, turn and river

Flop: raise size

RSz not colored on the HUD

Flop raises are the most common postflop raises. Players raise c-bets with draws, two pair and sets, and the multiple often reflects the bet size: because players think in pot terms, a raise of a 33% c-bet tends to be a bigger multiple than a raise of a pot-sized bet. A flop average of 3.5x can be ordinary at a table that c-bets small.

Check-raises out of position tend to be bigger multiples than raises in position, since the raiser wants to charge draws and deny a cheap call. The HUD averages both together, so a player who check-raises a lot can show a higher flop number than one who mostly raises in position.

Flop exploit: against a player who min-raises the flop often, call in position with a wide range; you need only 20% equity against a min-raise of a pot-sized bet, and you see the turn with position.

Turn: raise size

RSz not colored on the HUD

Turn raises are rarer and stronger. With one card to come draws have less equity, so most turn raises are two pair, sets and better, with some draws that want fold equity. A 3x turn raise is a big share of most stacks, and few players make it without a hand they’re willing to get all-in with.

An average under 2.5x on the turn is a loud signal in many home games: min-raises of turn bets from passive players usually mean the nuts or close to it. A big average usually means shoves, so the number says as much about stack depth as about style.

Turn exploit: fold one-pair hands to a turn min-raise from a player who rarely raises; continue against a big turn raise only with hands that can call a river shove.

River: raise size

RSz not colored on the HUD

River raises are the rarest and most polarized. Nothing is left to draw to, so a river raise is the nuts or close to it, or a bluff, and in most home games bluff-raises on the river are uncommon. River raises are often shoves, so an average far above 4x here is usually just stack depth.

A river min-raise asks you to call a small amount into a big pot. With 30 in the pot, you bet 20 and get min-raised to 40: you call 20 more to win 90 (30 + 20 + 40), needing 18.2% equity (20 ÷ 110). The price is tempting, which is exactly why players min-raise their best hands.

River exploit: against a player whose river raises have only shown strong hands, fold everything but the top of your range whatever the size; a good price doesn’t help if they never bluff.

When it’s your own number

No read is printed about your raise size, but anyone looking at your badge after you raise sees your average. If you min-raise only the nuts, they’ll fold to it; if you raise big only with draws, they’ll call with top pair.

Use one or two raise sizes per spot for both value and semi-bluffs: around 3x on the flop, a turn size that leaves a sensible shove behind, and often all-in on the river. If your turn and river averages are under 2.5x and those raises are mostly the nuts, size them up or add bluffs; a cheap price only pays if worse hands call it.

Using it on the HUD

Raise size shows on the badge of the raiser, so when you face a raise or a check-raise you see that player’s average raise for the street next to the one they just made. It has no typical range and no color, it’s faded with fewer than 12 raises behind it, and there are no narrower versions, one average per street. All three streets are on the player database page.

Raises are rare, so this fills slowly, especially on the turn and river, and a single shove can move a short average by several x. Check how many raises sit behind the number in the tooltip before trusting it. Read it with raise and check-raise for how often they raise, and with fold to raise for how the bettors they raise respond.

Questions