At a glance
- On the HUD
- PFR
- Formula
hands with a preflop raise / hands with a preflop decision- Typical range
12–26%
- Where it shows
- Every badge: the second number of the pill.
- 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
PFR counts the hands a player played by raising: opens, raises over limpers, 3-bets, 4-bets, 5-bets and limp-reraises. Size and number don’t matter. A min-raise and an all-in count the same, and a hand with three raises in it counts once.
That makes PFR the aggressive part of VPIP. Every hand in PFR is also in VPIP, so PFR can never be the higher number, and the distance between the two is how often a player puts chips in by just calling.
Two narrower stats get confused with it. Raise first in is limited to unopened pots and asks how often they open; PFR mixes opens with every other kind of raise and divides by all hands, including the many where someone else raised first. 3-bet looks only at spots facing one raise. A normal PFR can come from tight opens plus lots of 3-bets, or from wide opens and almost no 3-bets, and those are different opponents.
How it’s calculated
PFR uses the same chances as VPIP: any hand where the player took at least one preflop action (fold, check, call or raise). A walk in the big blind isn’t a chance.
- Counts: any preflop raise. An open, an iso-raise, a 3-bet, 4-bet or 5-bet, and a limp-raise all count.
- Once per hand: a player who opens, gets 3-bet and then 4-bets has one PFR hand, not two.
- Doesn’t count: limping, completing the small blind, calling an open or a 3-bet, or checking the big blind.
The formula is hands with a preflop raise ÷ hands with a preflop decision. Like VPIP, it’s kept by position.
Example: Dev has a preflop decision in 120 hands. He opens 15 times, raises over limpers 4 times and 3-bets 3 times, and in one of the hands he opened he also 4-bets. That’s 22 raising hands, since the 4-bet hand already counts as an open, so his PFR is 22 ÷ 120 = 18.3%. He limps or calls without raising in 14 more hands, so his VPIP is 36 ÷ 120 = 30%. The 11.7-point gap is exactly those 14 calling hands (14 ÷ 120). His pill reads 30/18.
Why it matters
PFR measures initiative. The preflop raiser usually gets to c-bet the flop, wins more pots without a showdown and decides how big the pot gets. A player who mostly calls hands that initiative to someone else, and for most players the calling range is the weaker part, since the best hands get raised.
The most useful number is the ratio of PFR to VPIP: of the hands they play, how many they raise. A 20/17 player raises 85% of them (17 ÷ 20); a 38/9 player raises 24% (9 ÷ 38). The HUD’s player types draw the line at 55%: TAG and LAG need PFR at least 55% of VPIP, while Rock, Fish and Whale are the players under it. The line is exact: 36/20 is a LAG and 36/19 is a Fish, because 55% of 36 is 19.8 (Station, checked first, can override both).
The mix of raises changes by seat. In early position nearly all of PFR is opens; on the button it adds steals and raises over limpers; in the big blind it’s almost all 3-bets and raises over limpers, so a low big-blind PFR is normal. In limp-heavy PokerNow games fewer pots are unopened, so a good player’s PFR leans more on iso-raises than on opens, and bigger open sizes don’t change the count at all.
Too low, about right, too high
Too low: under 12%
What it says
Under 12%, the player rarely raises, and two very different players land here. A 10/8 Nit raises little because they play little. A 40/8 Fish raises little because they call with almost everything. Either way, a raise from them usually means a strong hand. For the Fish, limps and calls carry most of the range; for the Nit, folds do.
How to exploit it
- Believe their raises. Against a sub-12% player’s open or 3-bet, fold hands like AJo, KQo and small pairs out of position, and 4-bet only the very top of your range.
- If their VPIP is low too, steal their blinds and fold to their aggression after the flop without a strong hand.
- If their VPIP is high, raise their limps from late position with a wide value range and plan to bet again: they call too much to bluff, so bet your pairs and good draws for value and check back air.
- Expect to be the one with the betting lead. They rarely c-bet because they rarely raise first, so pots against them are yours to steer.
About right: 12–26%
What it says
Most players fall here, and inside the range the number matters less than its ratio to VPIP. A 16% PFR is tight-aggressive at 19% VPIP and passive at 35%. Where the raises come from matters too: the same PFR can be wide opens and almost no 3-bets, or tight opens and frequent 3-bets.
How to exploit it
- Split it with raise first in and 3-bet. Wide opens with few 3-bets: open wider in front of them and 3-bet their late-position opens. Tight opens with frequent 3-bets: open less in front of them, 4-bet bluff more and call their 3-bets wider in position.
- Against a solid TAG, don’t force preflop edges. Look at postflop stats like fold to c-bet instead, or pick on weaker players at the table.
Too high: over 26%
What it says
Over 26%, the player raises more than one hand in four. If VPIP isn’t much higher, they play raise-or-fold: usually a LAG, or a Maniac once VPIP reaches 40%. A range that wide is full of suited gappers, weak aces and offsuit broadways, because there aren’t enough strong hands to raise that often. In a home game this is the player who opens nearly every unopened pot and raises most limpers.
How to exploit it
- Widen your value 3-bets: AJs, KQs, TT and AQo all play well against someone raising this often.
- From the big blind, call their raises with more suited and connected hands; in position, flat more pairs and suited broadways.
- Check their 4-bet before 3-bet bluffing. A wide raiser who also 4-bets often punishes light 3-bets; one who rarely 4-bets folds or calls.
- Expect c-bets in most pots they raised. If their c-bet is high too, call flops wider in position and raise some of your draws.
When it’s your own number
The HUD has no read for PFR on its own, so your badge won’t flag it, but observant players see your pill. A PFR well under half your VPIP tells them your limps and calls are the weak part of your range, so they raise behind you and bet into you after the flop. A PFR over 26% tells them you raise light, so expect more 3-bets and wider defense.
To check yours, compare the two numbers rather than chasing a target. If most of the gap is big-blind calls, that’s normal. If it’s limps and cold calls from early and middle seats, replace them with raises or folds.
Using it on the HUD
PokerNow HUD Advanced puts PFR second on the pill of every badge, right after VPIP. It turns gold above 26% and blue under 12%, and fades below 12 chances, which it passes as fast as VPIP since the chances are the same.
There’s no read hint for PFR, so you won’t see a read sentence from it; its job on the badge is to sit next to VPIP and drive the player type, which needs 30 hands to show and 60 to stop being faded. The engine also keeps it by position.
Sample size works like any percentage: at 10%, the error is about ±5.5 points over 30 hands and ±3 over 100; at 20%, √(0.2 × 0.8 ÷ 100) gives ±4 over 100. So a PFR of 8% against 14% after 30 hands isn’t a real difference yet. Read it with VPIP first, then raise first in by seat and 3-bet to see where the raises come from.
Questions
What is a good PFR in poker?
The HUD treats 12–26% as typical. A good PFR sits close to your VPIP, because solid players raise most of the hands they play: 22% VPIP with 18% PFR is healthier than 22% with 8%. The exact number depends on table size and how often pots reach you unopened, so compare it with your VPIP rather than chasing a fixed figure.
What is a good VPIP to PFR ratio?
The HUD’s line is 55%: a player whose PFR is at least 55% of their VPIP counts as aggressive for player types. A 25/14 player qualifies, since 55% of 25 is 13.75; a 25/13 player doesn’t. Solid players usually sit well above the line. A ratio far below it means most of their hands are played by limping or calling.
Does a 3-bet count as PFR?
Yes. Any preflop raise counts: opens, iso-raises, 3-bets, 4-bets, 5-bets and limp-raises. Each hand counts once, so opening and then 4-betting is one PFR hand. That’s also why PFR can’t tell you how often someone 3-bets. Use the 3-bet stat for that.
PFR vs raise first in: what’s the difference?
Raise first in is limited to unopened pots, where everyone before the player folded, and asks how often they opened. PFR counts every kind of raise but divides by every hand with a preflop decision, including all the hands where someone else acted first. For most players PFR is the smaller number, and RFI is the better guide to an opening range.