Q&A #123: Sticking It To Light 3-Bettors

SBruno,

I don’t know if it’s “correct” or not, but the term “3-Betting” is used frequently in online no-limit discussions.

The 26/23 indicates two stats calculated by a tracking program such as Hold’em Manager or PokerTracker 3. The 26 is the Voluntarily Put Money In The Pot stat, and indicates that the player puts extra (i.e., not blind) money in the pot on 26% of all his preflop hands. In a 6-max game, this is a slightly loose number, but well within the range of how good players play.

The 23 is the Preflop Raise percentage. Since the number is very close to the 26 VP$IP, it indicates that this player almost always raises when he puts money in the pot preflop, rarely calling. Again, this is typical of good players, though some players do more cold-calling and would have stats that look more like 26/20 or 26/21.

In other words, a 26/23 player plays a slightly loose and aggressive game preflop, and often will continue to play aggressively after the flop.