A FIELD GUIDE FOR FOLDING WELL

Most hands are
not invitations.

Winning players are selective before the flop, aggressive with the hands they keep, and very aware of the price they are being offered.

77of 100 hands
not played

23voluntarily
played

19raised
preflop

Start with 100 hands ↓

THE 100-HAND VIEW

Good poker starts with a lot of “no.”

ONE PUBLIC SNAPSHOT

23 / 19

VPIP / PFR

The displayed top-100 winning-player cohort voluntarily entered 23% of hands and raised preflop in 19%. That means roughly 83% of the hands they played included a raise.

This is a descriptive online-player snapshot, not a commandment. Position, stack depth, table size, rake, bet size, and opponents all change correct frequencies.

Denominators matter.

“Folded preflop” uses all dealt hands. “Folded to a continuation bet” only uses the times that exact bet was faced. Those percentages should not be stacked into one survival funnel.

PRE

Preflop

77%not voluntarily played

Fold to a 3-bet: 56%
Raise among played hands: 83%
3-bet when eligible: 8.9%

Flop

46%fold vs. c-bet

Bet or raise frequency: 37%
C-bet after raising pre: 60%
Fold to a raise: spot-specific

Turn

43%fold vs. c-bet

Bet or raise frequency: 33%
C-bet after prior c-bet: 51%
Fold to a raise: spot-specific

River

50%fold vs. c-bet

Bet or raise frequency: 33%
C-bet after two barrels: 53%
Fold to a raise: spot-specific

Snapshot: top-100 winning-player view on Bluffaces’ public MDA page, retrieved August 19, 2026. The page says its aggregate covers the prior 12 months, but does not expose the hand count or every active filter in its readable text. “Afq” combines bets and raises; it is not a raise-only stat.

THE ACTION TREE

A check-raise happens after a bet.

CHECK-RAISE ≠ CHECK

Checking is a zero-chip action when nobody has bet. A check-raise means you first check, an opponent bets, and you then raise. Tracker documentation says most players’ overall check-raise rate is 10% or lower; treat that as a rough population reference, not a target for every board.

ALL 169 STARTING HANDS

Pairs hold up.
Crowds change everything.

StrongestMiddle hand by rankWeakest

The dashed line splits rank 84 from 85—the middle of 169 hand classes, not 50% win probability.

Pair Suited Offsuit Each cell: HU / 10P win %

Q♠Q♥

THE “COIN FLIP” HAS A FAVORITE

QQ ≈ 53%against ace-king suited in a direct all-in matchup

A♣K♣

Raw showdown win rate is not a starting-hand chart.

These figures assume random opposing cards and no one folds. Real decisions depend on position, ranges, stack depth, rake, and how well a hand realizes its equity after the flop. The 10-player values are win percentages from a 1.5-billion-trial simulation in which all ten players reach showdown; ties are reported separately by the source.

OUTS + POT ODDS

Count the cards.
Then price the call.

8♥7♥

A♠6♣5♦??

You have an open-ended straight draw. Any four or nine completes it: four of each rank = 8 outs.

Pot before bet$60 Opponent’s bet$30 Clean outs8

Cards guaranteed to come One card Two cards (all-in)

Your draw17.0%Shortcut: 8 × 2 ≈ 16%

Price to call25.0%$30 ÷ $120 final pot

FOLD on direct oddsYour draw is less likely than the price you must pay.

ONE CARD TO COMEouts × 2

Fast estimate. Eight outs ≈ 16%; exact here is 8 ÷ 47 = 17.0%.

TWO CARDS TO COMEouts × 4

Use only when you are guaranteed to see both cards, such as an all-in call.

REQUIRED EQUITYcall ÷ final pot

Include the old pot, their bet, and your call in the final pot.

“Clean” is doing work. An out may improve your hand but also complete a flush, fill a full house, or leave an opponent with a better straight. Discount doubtful outs. Future betting and implied odds can also change a multi-street decision.

BET-SIZING SHORTCUTS

A bet sets two prices.

CALLER NEEDS25%

minimum equity to break even on an immediate call

PURE BLUFF NEEDS33%

opponent folds this often for the bluff to break even

Half-pot: risk 0.5 pot to win 1 pot. The caller risks 0.5 to contest a final pot of 2.

01 / OPEN

Think in big blinds.

A common online cash baseline is 2–3bb when opening first in. Live games often use 4–5bb. If the table calls too widely, enlarge for value—not from frustration.

02 / POSITION

Late seat, more hands.

Fewer players remain and you act later after the flop. Tighten early; widen late. The same cards can be a fold up front and a raise on the button.

03 / RAISES

Out of position, go bigger.

A larger 3-bet can reduce the positional advantage of the player who will act after you. Stack depth and the original raise still control the exact size.

04 / COMBOS

6 · 4 · 12.

There are 6 combos of a pocket pair, 4 of one suited hand, and 12 offsuit. “They can have AK” is sixteen combinations before blockers.

05 / SETS

A pair flops a set ≈ 1 in 8.

That is about 12%, so calling large raises only to “set mine” needs sufficient stack depth and likely future payoff.

06 / CONTROL

Use one size on purpose.

Choose a size for the range and board, not because your exact hand feels nervous. Randomly betting bigger only with value makes you readable.

THE BEGINNER’S LOOP

POSITION→RANGE→PRICE→PLAN

Before acting, ask four questions: Where am I sitting? What hands can each of us have? What price is this bet offering? What will I do on the next card?

Poker has variance.No chart makes a session safe or profitable. Set a hard entertainment budget and time limit, never chase losses, and do not play with money needed elsewhere. Tournament decisions also require stack, payout, and ICM context that this cash-game primer does not model.

SOURCES + LIMITS

Know where the numbers came from.

This page is educational, not a real-time strategy engine. “Pro” is represented by the source’s top-100 winning-player cohort, not by all professionals everywhere. Starting-hand percentages are raw preflop showdown win rates, not guarantees, solver ranges, or expected profit. Values are rounded for display.

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