What is a Good VPIP in Poker? (The Proven Data)

What is a Good VPIP in Poker?


People often ask me what is a good VPIP in poker. This depends tremendously on what poker tables you play at.

Do you play in 9 person games? 6 person games? Is your name Mike Postle? (if so, you should just play 100 VPIP).

Seriously though, here are some rough guidelines to follow:

A good VPIP percentage in a 9 person poker game is around 15%. A good VPIP percentage in a 6 person poker game is around 21%. The optimal VPIP percentage for you though is going to be the one that fits your play style the best.

Let's dig into these VPIP numbers a bit deeper.


What is VPIP in Poker?


First off though, what even is VPIP in poker? VPIP stands for voluntarily put in pot and it is essentially the percentage of hands that you decide to play.

This poker term originally comes from online poker tracking software such as PokerTracker where this is one of the key stats that you put on your poker HUD.

A HUD by the way stands for heads up display and these are the statistical numbers that you can get for your opponents in online poker and put them right on your screen.

The reason why VPIP is important in poker is because it tells you so much about what type of poker player you are up against.

For example, somebody with a VPIP of 80 is extremely loose no matter what type of poker game they are playing in.

And somebody with a VPIP of 5 is extremely tight no matter what type of poker game they are playing in.

This helps you tremendously in determining what type of hand they might have if you get involved in a pot with them.


What is a Good VPIP for 6max Hold'em Games?


Alright, so let's talk about 6max games which are currently the most popular online.

As I said above I believe an ideal VPIP for 6max is about 21. From my PokerTracker database of millions and millions of hands, I have noticed that most of the biggest winners gravitate around this number.

However, this doesn't mean that somebody who plays a VPIP of 15 or 27 can't win at 6max. It just means that I would try to have your 6max VPIP somewhere in this neighbourhood.

You need to always adjust for your play style. If you tend to be on the tighter side, then it is ok to play a VPIP as low as perhaps 15 in 6max and still win.

And if you tend to play looser then you could probably get away with a VPIP in 6max as high as 27. I think you catch my drift.

By the way, you need to always make sure that your preflop bet sizing is correct when you choose to play a hand.

Check out this 6max poker hand where an incorrect bet sizing was used (and what bet size to use instead).



What is a Good VPIP for 9max Full Ring Hold'em Games?


How about 9max full ring? What is a good VPIP for full ring?

Well, like I said above, I think somewhere around 15 is going to be an ideal VPIP for full ring. And the reason why a good VPIP for full ring is lower than in 6max, is because there are more players at the table.

When there are more players at the poker table it simply means that there is a better chance that somebody has been dealt a premium hand preflop such as:
  • AA
  • KK
  • QQ
  • JJ
  • AK

So this is why you need to be a bit more selective when you are playing full ring and have a lower VPIP overall.

This will allow you to enter the pot with a stronger hand (or range as we call it) on average. And this will then help you beat all the full ring nits.

A "nit" by the way is an extremely tight poker player, commonly found in full ring. I just wrote the ultimate guide to beating nits by the way.

So if you have trouble crushing the nits in poker, click here to go read it now.


My Free Poker Cheat Sheet Teaches You the Strategy to Make $1k Per Month Playing Poker


Are you having trouble beating low stakes poker games? Are you looking to make a consistent part time income playing these games?

Blackrain79 free book
That is why I wrote this free little 50 page poker cheat sheet to give you the exact strategies to start consistently making $1000 (or more) in low stakes poker games right now.

These are the exact poker strategies that I have used as a 10+ year poker pro. And I lay them all out for you step by step in this free guide.

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









What is a Good VPIP for Zoom Poker Games?


Alright, let's talk about Zoom poker games next. What is a good VPIP for Zoom poker? Well, this one is actually easy. It's basically the exact same as what I just listed above.

Many people get Zoom poker and other fast fold games confused and believe that they require an entirely new strategy to beat them. This simply isn't the case.

If you play 6max Zoom then a good VPIP is somewhere around 21. And if you play full ring Zoom games then a good VPIP is somewhere around 15.

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

Nothing changes in terms of what HUD stats are ideal for Zoom poker. You just need to make a few adjustments in terms of how you play against unknown opponents.

Here is a crazy Zoom poker hand by the way that I reviewed recently. Would you fold a straight here in Zoom poker?


You can also get away with a few more bluffs in Zoom poker by the way. You need to know exactly when is the best time to bluff in Zoom though.

I have also written the ultimate guide to Zoom poker strategy which you can find right here.


What is a High VPIP in Poker?


Lastly, let's talk about what is a high VPIP in poker. And honestly, this is really the biggest reason why I use this HUD stat a lot.

In fact VPIP is so important to me as a professional poker player that it is the very first stat that I include on my Custom PokerTracker HUD.

This is because a high VPIP tells you right away who the recreational player (also commonly referred to as "the fish") is. It is literally a dead tell.

This is extremely important in both online poker and live poker because you will make the vast majority of your profits in poker from the weaker players like this.

So basically a high VPIP "fish" in poker for me is anybody with a VPIP that is over 40.

Why 40 you might ask? This is because I believe that a VPIP above 40 is too high to consistently win in either 6max games or full ring games.

In my experience, when you encounter somebody with a VPIP above 40 they are almost always a long term losing poker player.

So it is very important that you are looking for people with a VPIP of 40 and above when you play poker. Make sure you identify them and play as much poker as you can with them.

Because playing against high VPIP players like this consistently is honestly going to be one of the biggest keys to your success at the poker tables.

You don't even need to study any advanced poker strategy in order to beat these players. They are already making so many big mistakes by playing all these bad poker hands.


Final Thoughts


So what is a good VPIP in poker?

Well, for the most part you should aim for about a 21 VPIP in a 6 person poker game and a 15 VPIP in a 9 person poker game.

However, the truth is that as long as your are somewhere around these numbers, then you can win. There are many people for example that do just fine in 6max playing a VPIP of 15 or 27.

The best VPIP ultimately boils down to what fits your play style the best. Do you tend to be a tighter poker player or are you more on the loose side?

Lastly, if you play Zoom poker then the best VPIP is pretty much the same. You don't have to make any big adjustments just because you play a fast fold type of poker game like this.

If you want to learn how to consistently make $1k+ per month in low stakes poker games, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.

---

What is your VPIP in poker? What do you think a good VPIP is?

What is a Good VPIP in Poker?

3 comments:

  1. Hello, mate.

    I'm a 24/21/9 (9 = 3bet) kind of guy. As you said, there's nothing wrong with that, etc... But my question is: for a player a little bit loose as I'm, do you think we should still open 3bb for everyposition? Nowadays I open 2.5 bb from everyposition, and 2.2 bb from BTN. Any thoughts about that?

    Oh, and there's another question to you (this is a tricky one): you are on the BTN and there're fishes on the blinds. Do you think we should open wider than normal because they're terrible and we're in position, or do you think we should open tighter because there's no fold equity preflop and we want to play better hands against them?

    Best regards, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Giovanni,

      It all depends on what games you are playing in and what types of players are at the tables. I don't think there are many "one size fits alls" answers in poker. I change my preflop bet sizing all the time depending on the table conditions.

      Delete
  2. Some times better players have higher vpip and pfr stats.On first glance,one may classify them as stations or maniacs but the call more often since they have a big edge postflop.So guys,observe a bit before you colorcode someone hastly.

    ReplyDelete