Poker Tracker Auto-Rate Rules and Player Types--Part One

First, I'd like to start my first showing my PokerTracker Auto-Rate Rules:

Autorate Rules Begin
Aggression:N
ARI_3 1 Extra Loose
1 5 50.01 99.00 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is between 50.01 and 99.00
ARI_12 2 Calling Station
15 5 0.01 1.25 Aggression Factor - Total is between 0.01 and 1.25
3 5 34.00 99.00 Went To Showdown % is between 34.00 and 99.00
1 1 21.01 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is greater than 21.01
ARI_4 3 Showdown Muppet
4 5 1.25 29.00 Won $ At Showdown % is between 1.25 and 29.00
3 1 15.00 Went To Showdown % is greater than 15.00
ARI_7 4 Ultra-Aggressor
15 2 2.00 Aggression Factor - Total is greater than or equal to 2.00
17 2 1.75 Aggression Factor - Turn is greater than or equal to 1.75
18 2 1.75 Aggression Factor - River is greater than or equal to 1.75
ARI_6 5 Bad Weak Tight
3 5 1.25 18.00 Went To Showdown % is between 1.25 and 18.00
4 4 33.00 Won $ At Showdown % is less than or equal to 33.00
ARI_8 6 Semi-Loose Aggressive
1 5 21.00 35.00 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is between 21.00 and 35.00
15 1 1.50 Aggression Factor - Total is greater than 1.50
17 2 1.25 Aggression Factor - Turn is greater than or equal to 1.25
18 2 1.25 Aggression Factor - River is greater than or equal to 1.25
ARI_10 7 Loose Aggressive
1 5 35.00 99.00 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is between 35.00 and 99.00
15 1 1.50 Aggression Factor - Total is greater than 1.50
17 2 1.25 Aggression Factor - Turn is greater than or equal to 1.25
18 2 1.25 Aggression Factor - River is greater than or equal to 1.25
ARI_15 8 Tight Aggressive
1 3 21.00 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is less than 21.00
15 1 1.50 Aggression Factor - Total is greater than 1.50
17 2 1.25 Aggression Factor - Turn is greater than or equal to 1.25
18 2 1.25 Aggression Factor - River is greater than or equal to 1.25
ARI_2 9 Loose Passive (Fish)
1 5 35.00 99.00 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is between 35.00 and 99.00
15 5 0.01 1.25 Aggression Factor - Total is between 0.01 and 1.25
17 3 1.00 Aggression Factor - Turn is less than 1.00
18 3 1.00 Aggression Factor - River is less than 1.00
ARI_9 10 Tight Passive (Rock)
1 3 21.00 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is less than 21.00
15 5 0.01 1.25 Aggression Factor - Total is between 0.01 and 1.25
17 3 1.00 Aggression Factor - Turn is less than 1.00
18 3 1.00 Aggression Factor - River is less than 1.00
ARI_13 11 Semi-Loose Passive
15 5 0.01 1.25 Aggression Factor - Total is between 0.01 and 1.25
1 5 21.00 35.00 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is between 21.00 and 35.00
17 3 1.00 Aggression Factor - Turn is less than 1.00
18 3 1.00 Aggression Factor - River is less than 1.00
ARI_5 0 Tight Neutral/Unknown
1 3 21.00 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is less than 21.00
ARI_11 0 Semi-Loose Neutral/Unknown
1 5 21.00 35.00 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is between 21.00 and 35.00
ARI_14 0 Loose Neutral/Unknown
1 5 35.00 99.00 Vol. Put Money In Pot % is between 35.00 and 99.00
Autorate Rules End

The first thing that you'll notice after you import these into PokerTracker is that there are 5 "priority" categories. The purpose behind these categories is that they highlight players you should be aware of, whether positively or negatively. In part one of this series, I'm going to examine a few of these player types, tell you about them, and tell you effective ways to beat them.

Extra Loose:

The first priority player is the "Extra Loose" player type. This player has a VP$IP of 50% or higher. (Note: This refers to full-ring games, NOT 6-max) This player is truly bad. In my research (millions of observed hands) this player is the single biggest loser of all the player types. This is the kind of player who watches the WSOP on TV, and watches Josh Arieh go all-in with 42o and win and says, "I can do that, too." Position doesn't matter, chip stack doesn't matter. Pretty much nothing matters to them, and they play that way. For the most part, the only way they beat you is by playing tons of hands and getting lucky. Beating them? Take your premium hands and ram them down their throats. You will make money off them with AQ vs. A2 and will have them drawing thin or dead frequently. Don't try to bluff them, because most players like this will just call you down. When dealing with a player like this, check their aggression factors. Some will have AF-T's under 1, which make them players that you want to follow around like a puppy. They will donk off money to you so eagerly, it's almost like you signed a backing deal with them. Others are considered "maniacs," who are extra loose and extra aggressive (AF-T over 2). They will be dealt with in another player type, and have to be carefully watched, but if played properly, can be just as profitable for you.

Calling Station:

Another extremely profitable opponent. This player never saw a bet he wouldn't call. He nearly calls more than he bets and raises combined. This is the weakest player you will play against, and yet they can be so frustrating. Instead of the phone icon, there should be a blinking sign over their name that says, "Don't Bluff Me!" These players will make what a solid player knows is just a stupid, stupid call and will hit just often enough to make them think they're right. This player will just call, call, call, so make your plays with them when you have a solid hand that is relatively protected from draws. If you flop a set on a rainbow flop against one of these lovelies, and they call your pot-sized bet, then call another on the turn, then lead the river, then it's very likely they drew out on you--call only with a read and at your own risk.

Also, since these players are generally so passive, and at least "semi-loose," when they decide to wake up and be aggressive, watch out--they usually have the goods. These players will go to showdown more than normal, so if you have a quality hand, oblige them and take their money, but the best advice against this player again is--Don't Bluff. They won't believe you and will call you down with a pair of two and bust your aggressively played AK in a heartbeat.

Showdown Muppet:

Another VERY preferred and truly bad opponent. These players go to showdown with the losing hand so often you'd think they were playing Razz. When you find one, take advantage, because they won't be around very long. This player likes to go to showdown and will do so with virtually anything. They're the kind of player to say, "Hey, look, I have a pair, let's rock!" And they won't let them go. Again, don't bluff them, because they'll go to showdown with anything--a pair, two pair, a draw, ace-high--and expect fully to win. Disappoint them, and thank me later.

More player types in Part Two.

PokerTracker and the Player Types

PokerTracker not only allows you to analyze your own play, including parameters like hand selection, winrate, and the ability to replay hands in hindsight to see where you went wrong, it allows you to do the thing that playing online (i.e., not live) does not allow you to do: gain reads on your opponents.

I pride myself on being able to read players and their hands far better than the average amateur player. Playing live, I'm usuallly very good at guessing players' hole cards (or at least a range they could be playing) based upon their reactions, their betting patterns, and their other various tells. I've actually laid down a flopped set of 9's because I read that an opponent had flopped a well-disguised straight. I called across the table to ask him if he "had 75 suited..." as I tossed my hand into the muck. He then rolled over 75 of spades for the straight.

Online, you can't do that as easily. You don't have people's reactions, their tells, their little facial nuances that allow you to see through them into their soul. You need something else to compensate for the lack of information online poker gives you. That's where PokerTracker and PokerAce HUD come into play.

Using PokerTracker and the auto-rate rules available through the links below, and PokerAceHUD, you can track players' trends and tendencies, and see a general picture of how they play--a read of sorts--and you can respond accordingly.

This makes these programs very valuable, in fact, indispensable, for the winning online player. These programs are, IMHO, essential to maximize your profitability in the online poker world.

In the next series of articles, I will go over the auto-rate rules for both Limit Holdem and No-Limit Holdem (since they were both based on the same set of rules developed by Bet-the-Pot's excession--I just modified them for LHE), and discuss the different player types and optimal strategy against the players. Hopefully these articles will help you become more profitable players!

Limit Holdem Auto-Rate Rules

Excession's No-Limit Holdem Auto-Rate Rules

Discuss this post in the VPP Forums!

Using VP$IP and PFR to Put An Opponent on a Range of Hands

I didn't want to do the same things I've done in the past, insofar as what I've posted on other media, but I felt that this was very important to our discussions, so I'm reposting the article here, in it's entirety. It also provides the foundation for the discussion of how to play each player type. Enjoy...
I'm also creating a topic in the PT and Analysis Forum to discuss this topic, so please utilize the forum rather than the comments section.
____________________________________________________________________


Frequently, players use Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) to display PokerTracker stats on their opponents in real-time. Some HUD programs available include PlayerView, GameTime Plus, and PokerAceHUD. However, many players utilize displaying stats like VP$IP and PFR in addition to auto-rate data to get a "read" on opponents.

Many players, however, don't have the slightest idea of how to interpret this data into anything useful. This article hopes to change this.

My auto-rate rules for Limit Holdem utilize a few different classes of players, including "tight," "semi-loose," "loose," and "extra-loose." But how does this specifically help you assign a player to a range of hands? The classifications alone don't really do much to help, since these classes utilize ranges of VP$IP's to place players into these categories. A tight player, for example, is any player with a VP$IP < 21%. Semi-Loose players are those with VP$IP's between 21-34.99%. This is likely the least useful classification, as so many different players fall into the category. We will examine these ranges of VP$IPs in terms of Sklansky's hand groupings to more accurately estimate the quest for knowledge contained in the second level of poker thought--"What does my opponent have?"

There are 1,326 unique combinations of 2 cards possible to make a 2 card Holdem hand. Actually, there are 2,652, but I am considering Ah-Ac to be the same hand as Ac-Ah, as we all should, as the order the cards are dealt has no bearing on the hand. To continue with the methodology, there are 6 ways to make a pocket pair, 4 ways to make a suited hand, and 12 ways to make an offsuit hand. Now, on to Sklansky's groups:

Group 1 Hands: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, and AKs. There are 28 ways to make these 5 hands, 2.11% of the possible hands.
Group 2 Hands: TT, AQs, AJs, KQs, and AK. There are 30 ways to make these 5 hands, 2.26% of the possible hands.
Group 3 Hands: 99, JTs, QJs, KJs, ATs, and AQ. There are 34 ways to make these 6 hands, 2.56% of the possible hands.
Group 4 Hands: T9s, KQ, 88, QTs, 98s, J9s, AJ, and KTs. There are 50 ways to make these 8 hands, 3.77% of the possible hands.
Group 5 Hands: 77, 87s, Q9s, T8s, KJ, QJ, JT, 76s, 97s, Axs, and 65s. There are 98 ways to make these 18 hands, 7.39% of the possible hands.
Group 6 Hands: 66, AT, 55, 86s, KT, QT, 54s, K9s, J8s, and 75s. There are 68 ways to make these 10 hands, 5.13% of the possible hands.
Group 7 Hands: 44, J9, 64s, T9, 53s, 33, 98, 43s, 22, Kxs, T7s, and Q8s. There are 106 ways to make these 20 hands, 7.99% of the possible hands.
Group 8 Hands: 87, A9, Q9, 76, 42s, 32s, 96s, 85s, J8, J7s, 65, 54, 74s, K9, and T8. There are 132 ways to make these 15 hands, 9.95% of possible hands.

Taking these percentages not alone, but cumulatively, yields a different perspective on the whole VP$IP argument. Remembering that in a full ring game, between 2-5% must be added to the derived percentage to obtain a true idea of VP$IP (to compensate for looser calls from the blinds), and in a 6-max game, between 6-10% needs to be added. We'll take the mid-range for the sake of argument and use +3.5% for full ring and +8% for shorthanded tables.

A Player Plays Hands Up to	Full Ring VP$IP	6-max VP$IP	Classification
Group 1	4.11-7.11%	8.11-12.11%	Very Tight
Group 2	6.37-9.37%	10.37%-14.37%	Very Tight
Group 3	8.93-11.93%	12.93-16.93%	Tight
Group 4	12.7-15.7%	16.7-20.7%	Tight
Group 5	20.09-23.09%	24.09-28.09%	Tight/Semi-Loose
Group 6	25.22-28.22%	29.22-33.22%	Semi-Loose
Group 7	33.21-36.21%	37.21-41.21%	Semi-Loose/Loose
Group 8	43.16-46.16%	47.16-51.16%	Loose
Any Two Suited or Worse	>47%	>55%	Extra Loose

As you notice, this is by far not exact, in that ranges overlap, and that players do not have the solid cutoffs as displayed in the Sklansky groupings. This should give you a good idea, however, of hands you can expect a player to be proceeding with based on their VP$IP.

Utilizing Pre-Flop Raise Statistics

The statistic that I've felt has been overlooked by many PokerTracker and HUD users is actually not PFR, but a statistic that is not immediately visible, unless it is calculated. For example, a player with a VP$IP of 16%, and a PFR of 8% has a raising frequency of 50%. To me, the overall PFR number tells you a great deal about how aggressive a player is pre-flop, and about how to proceed with a weaker holding with this player to your left. The raising frequency statistic (which can be calculated quickly while looking at a player's stats) tells more about what hands this player will actually execute a raise with.

The difference: A player to your right has a VP$IP of 27%, and a PFR of 1%. You are dealt 55 in MP. Should you call here? Yes. You are unlikely to be raised by this player, and if you are, you know that this player likely holds a premium hand. This tells you that this hand should likely be even more of a "set it or forget it" proposition. The VP$IP tells you that this player is playing hands down to Group 6, but only raising with his monster hands (the top 1%), Unless you hit a 5 on the flop, you need to be folding. You're likely beaten, especially if an Ace or a King hits the flop.

Now, on the other hand, this player has a VP$IP of 27%, and a PFR of 18%, Same hand, 55 in MP. Calling here and putting the action on him is telling you that since this player raises 2/3 of the hands he plays, you are very possibly going to have to call another bet if you call the first one. However, it is also a signal that you are not necessarily beaten without a set. He may be raising with QJs, or even less.

Raising frequency just puts another idea into your head as far as playing a hand properly goes. Much of this information becomes less useful as players become trickier, but this information, and understanding how to use it, can go a long way into providing "reads" on players whose faces you can never see, and into getting the most from your PokerTracker license.

Welcome All!

Well, well, well. I see you've stumbled upon my newest blog, Ramblings of a Semi-Pro, here at VegasPokerPro.com. What I'd like to do with this blog is support my forum at VPP with a more article-based spin. I have some ambitious articles that I plan to post over the coming weeks and months, and this will be the place you'll find them.

My hope is that the articles and posts I make here will generate discussion in the PokerTracker and Analysis forum, and that all my readership will learn from what I post here, and hey, you never know, maybe I can learn a little along the way too.

If you'd like a certain topic touched upon in a post, don't hesitate to post in the forum, PM me, or email me at Tiburon41@gmail.com

In the meantime, sit back and enjoy.