What Are The Best Poker HUD Stats? [2024]

What Are The Best Poker HUD Stats?
People ask me all the time what are good poker HUD stats to have. Or what are the best poker HUD stats for a winning player.

Here is the short answer:

The best poker HUD stats to have are VPIP, PFR, AF, 3Bet% and ATS. There are many more useful preflop and postflop stats to have such as 4Bet% and flop, turn and river CBet. However these are the 5 best poker HUD stats to have on your table.

Now the next thing you probably want to know are what are the best numbers for all of these poker HUD stats. Well, this is a bit more of a controversial topic.

And this is because there is no one single "correct" way to win at poker. Many different styles of play can be effective.


What Are Good Poker HUD Stats?


However, from my many, many years of playing online poker (and 10+ years as a pro) I think there are some generalizations that can be made about what the best HUD stats to have are.

In other words, some ideal targets to shoot for. Let's put it that way.

So I am going to break it down for you in this article and list good poker HUD stats for both 6max and full ring micro stakes cash games. They will apply to both Zoom and regular tables.

Hopefully this will help you know what to shoot for in your own play and what to look for in your opponents as well.


What is the Best Poker HUD These Days?


But quickly before I get to the actual numbers some people reading this might want to know what the best poker HUD is.

I would assume anyone reading this article already knows what a poker HUD is and the benefits that it has for online poker. But if not, I would recommend reading this article of mine first.

So what is the best poker HUD these days?

Well, as I already mentioned above I use PokerTracker.

That is my affiliate link for the 30 day trial version of the program. You can simply go and test drive it for yourself.

Here is the video I made on how to install PokerTracker and get it up and running at the poker tables in less than 5 minutes as well.


Here are a few other poker HUDs worth checking out as well:
  • Hold'em Manager
  • Jivaro
  • Poker Copilot
For me personally though I have used PokerTracker for close to 10 years now. I think it offers the best poker HUD setup, it is the easiest to use and has the most extensive array of HUD stats.

And nearly every online professional poker player who I know uses PokerTracker as well. So it's the clear winner in my opinion.

Therefore, all of the recommended poker HUD stats listed below will be based upon the terminology used in PokerTracker.


Best Poker HUD Stats for 6max and Full Ring


I am going to break this up into the best poker HUD stats for 6max and Full Ring. Because these games play differently and therefore the best poker HUD stats for each game are sometimes different.

However, both sets of stats listed below will have you playing a solid TAG (tight and aggressive) poker strategy, which is the optimal play style for new poker players in particular.

It is still arguably the most profitable play style to crush the lower stakes as well.

And I also want to be clear about that as well. The recommended poker HUD stats listed below are for small stakes games only. They are not for high stakes poker games.


1. VPIP


This HUD stat stands for voluntarily put money in pot. It tells you what percentage of hands somebody plays. It is the #1 most important poker HUD stat to have.

  • Ideal for 6max - 20
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 15

2. PFR 


This is another absolutely crucial poker HUD stat which stands for preflop raise percentage. This is the percentage of hands that somebody raises before the flop.

  • Ideal for 6max - 17
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 12

3. AF  


Aggression Factor is another extremely useful poker HUD stat based on the mathematical expression in PokerTracker: ( Total Times Bet + Total Times Raised ) / Total Times Called.

  • Ideal for 6max - 3
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 3

4. 3Bet%


The percentage of the time that somebody re-raises an opening raise before the flop. This is an extremely crucial poker HUD stat to have available. I use it very often.

  • Ideal for 6max - 7
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 6

5. Fold to 3Bet 


Just as important as how often they 3Bet is how often they are going to fold when I 3Bet them. Another extremely useful poker HUD stat that you must have.

  • Ideal for 6max - 65
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 70

6. 4Bet Ratio


A mathematical value for how often somebody re-raises a 3Bet. I personally use 4Bet ratio instead of 4Bet percentage because I believe it is a better indicator of their range.

  • Ideal for 6max - 2.5
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 2

7. ATS


Attempt to steal the blinds is another very useful HUD stat that will help you make better decisions at the poker table especially in late position battles.

  • Ideal for 6max - 35
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 30

8. Fold to Steal


And of course just as important as knowing how often they attempt to steal the blinds is how often they fold their blinds to a steal attempt.

  • Ideal for 6max - 70
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 75


My Free Poker Cheat Sheet Teaches You How to Make $1000 Per Month From Poker


Are you struggling to beat the low stakes poker games? Do you want a simple step by step guide to show you exactly how to start winning consistently right now?
Blackrain79 free book
That is why I recently wrote this free little 50 page no BS guide to teach you exactly how to start crushing these games right now.

Enter your details below and I will send my free poker cheat sheet to your email right now.









9. Flop CBet


The percentage of the time that somebody makes a continuation bet on the flop after raising before the flop. All of the following postflop stats are extremely useful in picking the best line to take after the flop.

  • Ideal for 6max - 70
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 70

10. Turn CBet


The percentage of the time that somebody makes a continuation bet on the turn after raising before the flop.

  • Ideal for 6max - 50
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 50

11. River CBet


The percentage of the time that somebody makes a continuation bet on the river after raising before the flop.

  • Ideal for 6max - 50
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 50

12. Fold to Flop CBet


The amount of the time somebody folds to a continuation bet on the flop.

  • Ideal for 6max - 60
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 60

13. Fold to Turn CBet


The amount of the time somebody folds to a continuation bet on the turn.

  • Ideal for 6max - 40
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 40

14. Fold to River CBet


The amount of the time somebody folds to a continuation bet on the river.

  • Ideal for 6max - 40
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 40

15. WTSD%


Went to showdown percentage is a very important poker HUD stat that I use quite often. It is particularly useful when I want to know who I can bluff and who not to bluff.

  • Ideal for 6max - 27
  • Ideal for Full Ring - 25

Poker HUD Stat Sample Sizes - Warning!


One final note is please always remember how important sample size is when interpreting HUD stats and using them to make better decisions at the poker tables.

If you don't understand how sample sizes work with HUD stats then you can actually be doing more harm than good in some cases, especially with 4Bet, turn and river HUD stats. 

Luckily, you don't have to guess about it though. Because I have already written the complete guide to poker HUD stat sample sizes which includes all of the numbers you need to know.

And you can find that right here. 


What Games are These Poker HUD Stats Good For?


The poker HUD stats above are best used in small stakes games online. And by that I mean specifically: NL2, NL5, NL10 and NL25 cash games.

Those are the 1cent/2cent, 2cent/5cent, 5cent/10cent and 10cent/25cent blind games by the way.

These are the games online where many of your opponents will be very basic and even complete beginners in some cases.

The best strategy for success in these games is something that many people now call "exploitative" poker. This is also the strategy that I have been advocating for over 10 years now.

For example, every advanced poker strategy that I discuss in The Micro Stakes Playbook is based on exploitative principles.

What playing exploitative poker really means is that you are finding and taking advantage of the major weaknesses of your opponents.

For instance, they might fold too much before the flop, call too much after the flop or go to showdown too often. There are very clear counters to all of these mistakes which make them pay dearly.

And since most of your opponents at the lower stakes will have massive glaring weaknesses like this in their game, an exploitative approach is absolutely the best way to beat them for the highest winrate.

best poker hud stats 2019
An exploitative poker strategy is how I created results like this, 
among the highest of all-time at the micro stakes

Other approaches like GTO (game theory optimal) poker for instance, which has become popular in recent years, are far less effective against players like this. Because this style of play fails to attack the actual weaknesses of micro stakes poker players.

So that is why some of the HUD stats that I advocate above will be either too weak or too strong for some people. In fact some people will complain that these stats are too "unbalanced."

But that is the entire point!

You don't crush players who have large fundamental leaks in their game by trying to balance all of your ranges in every situation and become totally unexploitable (i.e. what GTO poker tries to do).

That stuff is great to know once you get to mid stakes and it is definitely necessary for high stakes games. However, I am talking about how to beat the beginner level regs and recreational players that you will find at the micros here, NOT solid well balanced professionals.

So yes, some of your HUD stats absolutely should be unbalanced at the micros if maximizing your winnings is the goal.

By the way, I discuss this in much more detail in my new Elite Poker University training. 

Learn EXACTLY how to start crushing small and mid stakes poker games, play semi-pro or even full time pro. Use my proven elite poker strategies to start winning fast.


Get $100 OFF Use Code: Elite100 


A Simple TAG Poker Strategy Crushes the Micros


The other thing about these HUD stats is that they will have you playing a simple TAG (tight and aggressive) style of play that keeps you out of too many difficult situations at the lower stakes.

And the reason why this is a good thing is because most of the people reading this article (and my books and watching my videos) are relative beginners as well.

The best thing that newer poker players can do is keep everything as simple as possible. Avoiding fancy play is also the key to success at the micros in general.

In fact, I just made a new video where I discuss the top 14 biggest mistakes that I see poker beginners making:


Make sure you are subscribed to my YouTube poker channel to get all my latest videos.

You also need to avoid over-thinking and over-analyzing in small stakes games.

So for instance, some of these stats like Fold to 3Bet or Fold to Steal might be a little bit too high in higher stakes games against stronger thinking opponents.

In fact a really solid player might even be able to find ways to exploit these a little bit.

However once again, these HUD stats are meant for playing against the robotic low thinking nits and loose/passive recreational players that you will often encounter at the lower stakes games like NL2, NL5, NL10 and sometimes NL25.

A simple tight/aggressive and positionally aware style of poker is the best way for somebody who is new to the game or currently struggling at these stakes to start having success.


Develop Your Own Style of Play


The last thing that I want to note about these HUD stats is that it is important for you to develop your own style of play. In other words you should never try to copy a bunch of statistics and try to mold your game around them.

Should you try to play roughly about 20% of your hands in 6max and 15% in full ring? Yes, but these are just general guidelines. In fact as I have talked about before I believe there is a higher win-rate ceiling at the micros with a LAG style of play, which would require you to play more hands than this.

Furthermore, some people might do better with a lower 3Bet or a higher 3Bet than suggested above. They might also do better by folding their blinds more often or less often than suggested above.

The bottom line is that you need to develop your own unique style of play and these HUD stats should only be taken as rough rules of thumb to go by. In my experience most winning players at the lower limits roughly fall somewhere within the confines of these stats.

But the key to your success as you move up the stakes will be adjusting your play to each individual opponent and creating the perfect strategy against them in particular. You don't do this by trying to copy a bunch of charts or numbers.


Final Thoughts


So there you have it.

The above are what I consider to be good poker HUD stats in both 6max and full ring at the micro stakes. Some will agree and some will bitterly accuse me of blasphemy!

I know this because I already tried to lay out every "ideal" HUD stat in Modern Small Stakes based off of my own PokerTracker database of millions of hands of the top winners.

And some people still told me how wrong I was. Even though this is not my opinion, this is pure data from the biggest winners!

Anyways, such is life.

The real important point here though is that there is no such thing as "the best poker HUD stats." It really depends on what games you are playing in, who your opponents are, and most importantly of all, what style of play you feel most comfortable playing as well.

Essentially these HUD stat suggestions are just guidelines or parameters to go by. They are not the written word of God!

Furthermore, you actually should switch up your game on a regular basis especially when you start moving up the stakes and encountering stronger thinking opponents.

For example, some days when I am playing higher stakes I will play like a 19/16/3 (VPIP/PFR/AF) Nit in 6max sitting around waiting for the nuts.

And then on some other days I will play like a 27/25/4 LAG (loose and aggressive) bluffing up a storm.

I actually do this on purpose so that my opponents can never get a firm grasp or read on what type of player I am.

The minute they try and take a note on me, it is completely wrong because the next time they play against me I will be a different player once again.

Anyways, I do hope that this article was useful for some of you out there trying to figure out what the right poker HUD stats to have are.

By the way you can download my entire custom HUD for free and use it for yourself at the poker tables right here.

Lastly, if you want to know the exact strategy that I use to consistently make $1000+ a month in low stakes games as a 10 year pro, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.

Thanks for reading guys!


Let me know in the comments what poker HUD stats you use. Do you agree or disagree with the stats posted in this article?

Best poker hud stats

29 comments:

  1. Hey Nathan, I recently started my trial of PT4 and downloaded your lite HUD. However, I've noticed that some players have a total AF of more than 5, or in some cases, it just displays the infinity symbol. What does it mean if a player has a total AF stat of 8, for example? Another thing I've noticed, is that some players have a higher PFR than VPIP - how is this possible?
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Zach,

      This is because you probably have a small sample size on them. Make sure that you have at least 100 hands on someone before using the AF stat. In my experience it is always 5 or less with a decent sample size like this. PFR higher than VPIP, never seen that, could be some weird sample size thing again.

      Delete
    2. Okay, so the AF should be out of 5 then, right? I've read about PFR being higher than VPIP, and while it's very atypical, it isn't a bug. Anyway, thanks Nathan.

      Delete
    3. I rarely see anyone's AF higher than 5 over a legit sample. So ya, you could just score on a 5 and below system.

      Delete
    4. Just wanted to share that I have regularly a PFR higher than VPIP.
      The reason is, that when I play Spin & Go, the sample is small and there will be a lot of all-in situations. In some cases this leads to the possibility to call an all in, while it will be impossible to raise due to stack size.
      In the stats, the VPIP will go down when you don't call, but the PFR will be unaffected (it only changes if you have the possibility to raise). In certain situations, this can lead to the VPIP dropping below the PFR and as result show you a PFR higher than VPIP.
      Hope that clarifies it.

      Delete
    5. Ah ok thanks for clearing that up!

      Delete
  2. Anonymous30 November

    Hi Nathan, maybe a stupid question but how can i see the HUD stats from myself? cheers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is an option within Pokertracker to turn on your HUD stats as well. I always have it disabled personally because I can just see my own stats any time in the program itself.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous01 December

      And where can you see those HUD stats in the program itself exactly?

      Delete
    3. Under the "view stats" and "statistics" tabs. You can also use the "my reports" tab for much more detailed information on you and your opponents.

      Delete
  3. Bro. What about f.e. In Zoom or any Fast-fold tables?. Stats won't work there or can't track enough hands except maybe vpip/pfr/3bet and not so much, and that if is not one of those games that starts every hand on a new table. What you recommend in that cases?.

    ReplyDelete
  4. How do you do in rooms as Zoom or Snap changing every hand of table and villains?. What you use there?.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HUD stats are much harder to gather in fast fold poker games. You can really only get solid information on the regs if you play against them every day for weeks or months.

      Delete
  5. Thanks Nathan, very useful! But if 'ideal'stats are good for us to aim for to play a tag strategy, what are the 'unideal' stats we should look for in opponents in orderto exploit them? That would be a really useful article too!πŸ˜€ x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha good idea Jane, maybe I will write that article one day!

      Delete
  6. Thanks Nathan, I'm just looking for the typical sort of stats to label opponents! I know my stats make me a reasonable 'tag' but some of their weird stats are a bit confusing! Is there a kind of rough framework for the most common player types somewhere on your site or in your books? Cheers, Jane :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Jane,

      Yes, I talk about player types in a lot more depth in all my books including the stats to look for. In Modern Small Stakes for example I break down 9 different player types at the micros.

      Delete
  7. Thank Nathan,I will get that! Happy New YearπŸŽ„πŸΎπŸŽ‰

    ReplyDelete
  8. Are the average numbers for each player type actually in the book? Im interested in buying it! Cheers, Jane

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Jane,

      Yes, in Modern Small Stakes I give the average numbers for 9 different players types for 13 of the most common HUD stats. The numbers all come from my own poker database of millions of hands played at the micro stakes online.

      Delete
  9. I'm confused. Isn't the gap between flop cbet and turn cbet like an invitation to get floated?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think a reasonably high flop cbet of 70% is fine the aim being to get your opponent to fold even when you don't hit. Once they call then it's time to re-assess the situation unless you want to keep bluffing a fair proportion of the time across all streets. I think also even when holding a strong hand a check on the turn is OK to induce bluffs from your opponents.

      Delete
    2. Unknown, I see what you mean. When hero sees non-stop betting until the river, it does seem opportunistic. However, for hero to float and find out might get somewhat spendy. Therefore, it's on you to really know your opponents range to see if it's +ev to continue on a board that could hit him hard. I'd just tighten up against him.
      Iconic Height

      Delete
  10. hey Nathan. Fold to 3Bet stat in this article is PT4 "fold to 3 bet preflop" or "fold to 3bet preflop after raising" (2bet preflop and fold)??? thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I just use the first one you mentioned. I know there is a small difference between the two though.

      Delete
  11. Thanks for breaking these hudstats down. I've been using a hud for a month or so and my results have been through the roof. You can win so much free money with it. Stealing blinds, 3betting light, floating the flop. I play 2nl zoom so there's a sea of nits you can pound all day long. I'm thinking about moving up to nl5 soon when I've got 100k hands under my belt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No problem, glad this article helped you!

      Delete
  12. First off I want to say I value your posts and have bought your book. But, am I the only one who is seeing in your winnings chart that you played over 5 million hands to win just over 40k? If so, how long did it take you to play that many hands and wouldn't moving up much sooner make sense mathematically?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am glad my blog posts and my book help! I have always focused on the micro stakes games as these are the games that I teach as well. Also, keep in mind that those results are only my table winnings, they do not include rakeback, which is significantly more.

      Delete