At a glance
- On the HUD
- Iso
- Formula
raises over limpers / first decisions in an unraised pot with one or more limpers- Typical range
15–45%
- 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
Isolating means raising a limper to play them heads-up, ideally in position and with the betting lead. The iso-raise stat asks how often a player does that when they get the chance: the pot is unraised, at least one player has limped, and it’s their first decision.
Most players have three answers: raise, over-limp or fold. The big blind owes nothing in a limped pot, so it chooses between raising and checking its option. The stat is the share of raises.
It’s different from raise first in, where nobody has limped yet, and from 3-bet, where someone has already raised. How often players limp in the first place is limp and open limp; the limper’s side of this spot is limp-fold, limp-call and limp-raise: what the limper does once the iso-raise comes in.
How it’s calculated
- A chance: the first preflop decision they make in an unraised pot with at least one limper before them.
- Counts: if they raised, of any size.
- A chance without an iso-raise: over-limping, folding or, in the big blind, checking the option.
- The big blind quirk: the big blind gets a chance in every limped pot, including when only the small blind completes. Its checks count against it, so a player’s big-blind iso-raise usually sits far below their button number.
The formula is raises over limpers ÷ first decisions in an unraised pot with one or more limpers. It’s kept by seat, which keeps the big blind apart from the rest.
Example: Ava has 24 chances, 16 from other seats and 8 in the big blind. She raises 7 of the 16 and 1 of the 8. Her overall iso-raise is 8 ÷ 24 = 33%, but by seat it’s 44% outside the big blind (7 ÷ 16) and 12.5% in it (1 ÷ 8). Same player, two very different numbers.
Why it matters
Iso-raise tells you how a player treats limpers, and at PokerNow tables limpers are everywhere. It changes your decisions in two spots.
- When you limp. If the players behind you iso-raise a lot, your limps get raised and weak limps lose money. That includes completing the small blind against a big blind who raises limped pots often.
- When they raise over a limper. A high iso-raiser’s range in that spot is wide, so a 3-bet behind them, from the blinds or the button, attacks their raise plus the limper’s chip. The HUD counts that re-raise as a 3-bet.
The dead money grows with each limper. One limper leaves 2.5 bb in the middle (0.5 + 1 + 1), and a raise to 4 bb shows an instant profit when everyone folds more than 4 ÷ 6.5 = 61.5% of the time. Two limpers leave 3.5 bb, and a raise to 6 bb needs 6 ÷ 9.5 = 63.2%. Each extra limper adds dead money but also one more player who can call, which is why good iso-raisers size up and tighten up as limpers pile in.
Too low, about right, too high
Too low: under 15%
What it says
Under 15%, the player rarely punishes limpers. Behind a limp they over-limp or fold, and in the big blind they check. That fits a passive player who wants cheap flops for themselves, and a tight player who only raises premium hands. Their VPIP tells the two apart: high means a caller, low means a nit. Either way, when they do raise over a limper, expect a strong hand.
How to exploit it
- Respect their iso-raises. Fold medium hands you limped with, and don’t 3-bet bluff them.
- Expect multiway pots when they’re behind a limper. Value-bet more and bluff less in those pots.
- Small-blind completes cost less against a low-iso big blind, since they check far more often than they raise.
- When they over-limp, raise behind them with strong hands: two limpers mean more dead money, and passive over-limpers often fold to a raise.
About right: 15–45%
What it says
Most players fall inside this wide band, and the overall number blends the big blind, where checking is common, with the other seats. A player at 30% overall could raise most limpers from the button and almost never from the big blind. The seat versions in the player database say more than the headline number. In limp-heavy games, iso-raises also make up a big share of a good player’s PFR.
How to exploit it
- Read their iso-raise by seat before you limp in front of them, especially a small-blind complete with them in the big blind.
- Look at what follows the iso. A player who isolates often and then c-bets most flops is betting a wide range: float more flops in position and put in a raise with your better draws.
- Against a limper and a moderate iso-raiser, keep 3-bets behind the iso for strong hands and good suited aces; their range is wide but not reckless.
Too high: over 45%
What it says
Over 45%, the player raises limpers whenever they can, including from the big blind. They know limpers are usually weak and attack them with a wide range: suited hands, broadways, weak aces and any pair. Against habitual limpers that’s often right. Against a player who also limps strong hands, it backfires. If their big-blind number is high too, the small blind gets few cheap flops against them.
How to exploit it
- Don’t limp weak hands when they’re behind you, and that goes for completing the small blind with them in the big blind.
- If you do limp in front of them, mix in strong hands and re-raise when they isolate. A limp-raise can win a big pot against a player who raises every limp.
- 3-bet behind their iso-raises from the blinds or the button with strong hands plus suited aces and broadways.
- After the flop, call their c-bets wider. Their range is wide and often unpaired.
When it’s your own number
The HUD has no read for iso-raise, but players who watch you notice it. If yours is low, limpers in front of you get cheap flops and the pots you join go multiway. If it’s very high, observant limpers start limping strong hands to trap you.
Check yours by seat. Outside the big blind, isolating passive limpers from late position is usually right, so a low number there is the leak to fix. In the big blind, raising the small blind’s completes with hands that play well heads-up can pay too; checking every limped pot leaves money behind.
Using it on the HUD
In PokerNow HUD Advanced, iso-raise is a player-database stat, so it doesn’t appear on the table badges. Look the player up in the player database to see it with its sample, typical range and seat versions. Above 45% it shows gold and under 15% blue; under 12 chances, faded. It has no read hint, so no read sentence comes from it.
At the table you meet the same spot from the other side. When there are limpers and it’s your turn, the panel treats your raise as an iso-raise (just a raise from the big blind) and lists each limper’s limp-fold and limp-raise, so you can see who folds and who traps. For the stat itself, chances come quickly at a limp-heavy table and slowly at an aggressive one. Small samples swing: 30% over 20 chances is about ±10 points, and 50% over 30 is about ±9.
Questions
What is an iso-raise in poker?
An iso-raise, short for isolation raise, is a raise over one or more limpers, made to play the limper heads-up with position and the betting lead. The HUD’s iso-raise stat is the share of a player’s first decisions in a limped, unraised pot where they raised. The typical range is 15–45%.
What is a good iso-raise percentage?
The HUD treats 15–45% as typical overall, but judge it by seat. In late position against passive limpers, a good player raises a large share of the time. In the big blind, where checking is free, the number is naturally much lower. A low iso-raise from the button usually means they let limpers in too cheaply.
How big should an iso-raise be?
Bigger than a normal open, because the limper’s chip is already in and you want them to fold or call out of position into a bigger pot. Size up with each extra limper. Over three limpers the pot is 0.5 + 1 + 3 = 4.5 bb, and a raise to 7 bb wins at once if everyone folds more than 7 ÷ 11.5 = 60.9% of the time; the more limpers, the more likely someone calls.
Does raising from the big blind over limpers count as an iso-raise?
Yes. The big blind gets an iso-raise chance in every limped pot, including when only the small blind completes, and raising counts. Checking the option is a chance without an iso-raise, which is why big-blind iso-raise numbers run much lower than button numbers.