How to Analyze Your No-Limit Holdem Statistics

Without a doubt, the first thing every poker player should do, is learn to analyze their own statistics. Everyday, as I browse thru many different forums on poker, I come across a plea for help similar to this: “Please Help me analyze my stats, I’m losing and I don’t know why!!” Followed by a list of the often times RANDOM stats that they think are important, as well as their Profit/Loss graphs.

Half the time these posts go unanswered, because no one wants to hold some noob’s hand while they explain things that have, most likely, already been explained ten times over in the same thread they’re seeking help from. So, my first advice is to find out how many of your questions have already been answered. Helping people improve their game is one thing, but no one will help you if they see that you haven’t bothered to do your own due diligence. Second, pay attention to the rules and etiquette of the forum in which you are posting. Otherwise, plan to be ignored. Finely, don’t just go there expecting people to solve all your problems for you, the purpose of the forums is so you can get “Assistance” solving your own problems. That means you must come up with what you think your problems are, what you think you need to do to fix them, as well as reasoning to support your thesis. This is how you get help!

Anyhow, I’ll step off of my soap box so we can get to business. The very first thing you need to learn about your stats, are which ones are most important, and what do they represent. Below you will find a list of what I personally believe are the most important stats for “NEW” players trying to hone their game, as well as an ideal range for “Tight Aggressive (TAG)” play in Full-Ring games.

VPIP – Voluntarily Put Money In Pot: 15-18 %
PFR – PreFlop Raise: 12-15% Usually no more than 3% less than your VPIP
Steal% – Overall Steal Percentage: 32-36%
cBet – Continuation Bet: 65-72%
Turn cBet – Turn Continuation Bet: 40-45%
3Bet – 3 Bet Percentage: 4.5-5.5%
vsCall 3Bet – Call versus 3 Bet: 15-25%
WSD – Went to Showdown: 25-30%
W$SD – Won Money at Showdown: 48-52%

Now again, these are just the stats that I feel are most indicative of the problems that a new player may be facing. There are many many more stats to choose from, but these are what I would consider the fundamentals. If anyone of these stats is out of their suggested range, then it will have a drastic effect on your optimal win rate. Moreover, all of these stats are inter-related, so rarely will you have on stat that is off, while all the others are perfect. If your VPIP is too high, then your PFR may also be high. If your 3Bet is too high, than your cBet may be too high. If your Steal$ is too low, then your VPIP may also be too low.

I’m sure you get the picture by now. The best advice I can give a new poker player is to learn about your stats, and make sure that they are within these suggested ranges. IF your stats are in these ranges and you’re losing money, then you’re most likely playing at a limit to high for your current skill level, move down until you’re able to make money, then work your way back up.