At a glance
- On the HUD
- All streets AFq·Flop AFq·Turn AFq·River AFq
- Formula
(bets + raises) / (bets + raises + calls + folds), postflop- Typical range
- All streets 30–50%
- Flop 28–52%
- Turn 28–52%
- River 28–52%
- Where it shows
- In the player database, where you can see every stat for a player (not on the table badges).
- Trust it after
- 12 chances. Below that the number is faded; reads need 12 chances and a number at least one standard error outside the typical range.
What it measures
AFq answers a plain question: when this player does something other than check after the flop, how often is it a bet or a raise? Every postflop bet, raise, call and fold goes into the count. A 40% AFq means four in every ten of those actions were aggressive and the other six were calls or folds.
It exists to cover the blind spot in aggression factor (AF). AF divides bets and raises by calls and never sees folds, so a player who folds to most bets but bets their good hands can look aggressive. AFq counts the folds, and that player’s number drops where it belongs. AF describes how a player puts money in; AFq describes how often they take the lead instead of calling or giving up.
AFq still ignores checks. A player who checks behind on every flop they miss, without ever facing a bet, adds nothing to it. For how often someone bets when they could, use the spot stats: c-bet as the preflop raiser, bet when checked to, and bet unopened for any first bet on a street. AFq is the summary; those are the detail.
How it’s calculated
The HUD counts every postflop action a player makes, not one per street:
- Aggressive: each bet and each raise on the flop, turn or river, all-ins included.
- Also in the total: each call and each fold.
- Not counted: checks, and streets where only one player still had chips behind.
AFq = (bets + raises) / (bets + raises + calls + folds)
It’s kept for the three postflop streets together (typical 30–50%) and for each street on its own (typical 28–52%). The sample behind it is the whole total, so AFq always rests on at least as many actions as AF, which leaves folds out.
Example: Leo made 18 bets and 4 raises after the flop, called 15 times and folded 13 times. That’s 50 counted actions, 22 of them aggressive: AFq = 22 / 50 = 44%. His AF is 22 / 15, shown as 1.5. The 35 times he checked appear in neither number.
Both stats use the same bets, raises and calls, so together they tell you how much of a player’s action is folding: fold share = 100% − AFq − AFq / AF. For Leo: 100% − 44% − 44% / 1.5 ≈ 27%, close to his actual 13 folds in 50 (26%); the gap is rounding.
Why it matters
AFq tells you whether a player drives the action or reacts to it. A high number means that when they act, they mostly bet or raise; a low number means they mostly call or fold. That shapes how often your bluffs work, how thin you can value-bet and how far to trust their aggression.
Its real value is next to AF, because together they split a player’s actions into aggression, calls and folds:
| AF | AFq | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| High | High | Constant pressure: bets and raises, rarely calls or folds. Call down lighter. |
| High | Low | Bet-or-fold: bets good hands, folds the rest, rarely calls. Bluff and raise them. |
| Low | Low | Passive: use the fold share to see whether they mostly call (a station) or mostly fold (weak-tight). |
| Low | High | Rare: AF under 1.5 with AFq over 50% leaves folds under about 17% of their actions. Don’t bluff. |
The fold share is a pointer, not a fold-to-bet rate, because their own bets sit in the same total. Confirm with fold vs bet, which counts how often they fold when they first face a bet on a street. A 33% pot bet needs folds 24.8% of the time to break even and a 66% bet needs 39.8%.
Too low, about right, too high
The HUD colors AFq gold above 50% and blue below 30% (28–52% for each street). AFq has no read hint, so it never becomes a read sentence; it’s a number to combine with AF and WTSD.
Too low: under 30%
What it says
Fewer than three in ten of their non-check actions are bets or raises: they react far more than they act. That’s normal for recreational players in passive home games. The question is what they react with. If AF is low too and WTSD is high, they mostly call: a station. If the fold share is high and WTSD low, they mostly fold: a weak-tight player who gives up when they miss. Either way, their bets and raises are rare enough to take seriously.
How to exploit it
- If they mostly fold: c-bet small, around 33% of the pot, on most flops. It needs folds only 24.8% of the time. Bet the turn again when they call the flop and check to you.
- If they mostly call: value-bet three streets with top pair and better, size up to 66–75% of the pot, and cut bluffs to almost nothing.
- Either way, respect their raises. A turn or river raise from a 20% AFq player is rarely a bluff; fold one pair.
- Bet medium hands for value when they check to you. Low-AFq players rarely raise, so you seldom get pushed off your equity.
About right: 30–50%
What it says
A mix of betting, calling and folding that fits most players with a sound plan: they bet when they’re the aggressor or have a hand, call with some draws and medium hands, and fold what can’t continue. Like AF, a middle number can hide extremes on different streets, such as a player who bets most flops and folds most turns.
How to exploit it
No shortcut here, so look for edges in the detail:
- Compare the street numbers. A sharp drop from flop to turn points to a one-and-done player; barrel the turn against them.
- Work out the fold share. At 40% AFq, a player with AF 0.9 folds about 16% of their actions (100% − 40% − 44%) and one with AF 2.7 about 45% (100% − 40% − 15%). Bluff the second.
- Check fold vs bet by size (under 40%, 40–80%, 80–110% and over 110% of the pot) to choose how much to bet.
Too high: over 50%
What it says
More than half of their non-check actions are bets or raises: when they act, they mostly take the lead. In a passive home game that marks either a strong, aggressive regular or a maniac. Their VPIP and PFR tell the two apart; the HUD’s Maniac type is VPIP 40%+ with PFR 26%+. Either way, they rarely just call or fold, so expect your bets to be raised more than usual and your checks to be bet into.
How to exploit it
- Give them room: check your medium-strength hands and call, since they bet whenever they get the chance.
- On the river, call lighter when River bluff (shown) is high and keep folding marginal hands when it’s low. AFq says how often they bet, not what with.
- Trap more with strong hands: check-raise the turn rather than leading into them.
- Don’t try to push them off hands with small flop bluffs when their fold share is low. Save bluffs for players who fold.
On the flop, turn and river
Flop: aggression frequency
The flop is where ranges are widest, so it usually collects the most folds: players who missed fold to c-bets and to bets into multiway pots. Flop AFq is shaped by role too. As the preflop raiser, a player’s flop actions are mostly c-bets, plus folds or calls when raised. As a caller, they’re mostly calls and folds against someone else’s bet, so read flop AFq next to fold to c-bet.
A flop AFq under 28% from a player who mostly folds is a c-bet target: bet small with your whole range on dry boards. Under 28% from a player who mostly calls is a value target: bet your pairs and give up your air. Over 52% means they bet or raise more than half the times they act on the flop, usually a frequent c-bettor or flop raiser.
The flop play: against a high flop AFq with a much lower turn AFq, call the flop in position and take the pot when they check the turn.
Turn: aggression frequency
By the turn, ranges are narrower and the pot is bigger. Turn folds come mostly from players who called the flop and didn’t improve; turn bets come from players willing to put in a second, bigger bet. Comparing turn AFq with flop AFq tells you who keeps going.
A turn AFq well below the flop number, with lots of folds, is a player who calls once and lets go: double barrel them, especially on cards that change the board. A turn AFq that holds steady or rises means they keep betting draws and made hands, so your turn bluffs get raised or called more often. Under 28% with few folds is a turn caller: bet your value hands bigger.
The turn play: check their turn fold vs bet by size and use the size they fold to most for your second barrel.
River: aggression frequency
The river is final. A bet is value or a bluff, a call is a bluff-catch and a fold is giving up, which makes river AFq the most direct look at how a player ends hands.
Low river AFq made up mostly of calls means you’re facing a bluff-catcher: value-bet thin, size up and don’t bluff. Low river AFq with mostly folds means they give up on rivers when their draws miss, so a 66% river bluff, which needs 39.8% folds, has room to work. High river AFq means they bet rivers whenever they can; whether those bets are value or bluffs is a question for River bluff (shown) and W$SD.
River samples build slowest, since many hands end earlier. Wait until the count is well past 12 before you build a river bluffing plan on it.
When it’s your own number
AFq isn’t on the table badges, but anyone running the HUD can open your page in the player database. Under 30% says you mostly call or fold after the flop: if it’s mostly folding, observant players will bet into you light, and if it’s mostly calling, they’ll value-bet you thin. Over 50% says you take the lead a lot, which is fine as long as your won at showdown stays healthy.
To review yours, work out your fold share with AF. If folding is a large part of your flop actions, defend more against small c-bets by calling or raising. If your river AFq is very low, you’re probably checking hands that could bet for value.
Using it on the HUD
AFq lives in the player database only; its partner AF is the one on the table badges. It’s shown as a whole percentage, gold above 50% and blue below 30%, with 28–52% for the flop, turn and river versions. It stays faded until 12 bets, raises, calls and folds stand behind it, and hovering it shows the counts. With no read hint, it never turns into a read sentence.
Sample size works like any percentage. A 50% AFq over 30 actions is ±9 points; over 100 actions, ±5. The street versions fill more slowly than the overall number, the river slowest. Read it with AF, WTSD and fold vs bet, all listed on the full stats reference.
Questions
What is a normal aggression frequency in poker?
Between 30% and 50% overall is the HUD’s typical range, with 28–52% on each street. Below 30% the player mostly calls or folds after the flop; above 50% they bet or raise more often than they call and fold combined. Role moves it: players who raise a lot preflop c-bet often and run higher than players who mostly call preflop.
Why doesn’t aggression frequency count checks?
Leaving checks out keeps the number about what a player does when they bet, raise, call or fold. Many checks say little about style: players out of position usually check to the preflop raiser whatever they hold. To see how often someone checks when they could bet, use c-bet, bet when checked to and bet unopened.
Is aggression frequency better than aggression factor?
Neither is better; they answer different questions and work best together. AF compares bets and raises with calls, so it can’t see a player who folds a lot. AFq adds folds, so it’s harder to fool, but on its own it can’t tell calling from folding. With both, you can split a player’s actions into aggression, calls and folds.
How do I work out fold percentage from AF and AFq?
Fold share = 100% − AFq − AFq / AF. With AFq 40% and AF 2.0, folds are 100% − 40% − 20% = 40% of their non-check actions. It works because both stats share the same bets, raises and calls. It isn’t the same as how often they fold to a bet, since their own bets are in the total, but it quickly shows whether a passive player is a caller or a folder.
How many actions does AFq need to be reliable?
The HUD fades it until 12 bets, raises, calls and folds. After that, normal sampling error applies: a 50% AFq over 30 actions is ±9 points, and over 100 actions ±5. Active players reach 100 counted actions quickly; tight ones take far longer. The street versions need more hands than the overall number, and the river the most, because fewer hands get there.