Once your game is a good example, experts recommend to setup extra software to monitor your wins/loses. Hold 'Em Manager will track the amount you win and lose, at what stakes, etc. You can use it to locate areas of your game which can be weak. It also has a Heads Up Display put right on top of the poker table. This will show how aggressive players are, along with present they play hands, how much they've raised, etc. It will help your game immensely.
There are instructions for inatallation on websites.
OK so that you've downloaded and installed Hold Em Manager. Once you starting playing at a table, the HUD should show up. I was pretty overwhelmed by it initially. There are tons of numbers, and quite a few of which don't make sense. I'll break them down here for the default settings
First Line:
VPIP — This is how often a player volunteers to put take advantage the pot which is a good measure of looseness. For six max under 10 is incredibly nitty, 20 means they get away with stuff occasionally which is fairly normal, 30 means something such as they are going to play any connector suited or not, and anything over 40 means over fifty percent of the hands are trash.
PFR — Percentage of time they raise pre-flop once they opt to play a hand. This number should be compared to the VPIP to acquire useful information. If someone carries a PFR of 20 but a VPIP of 60 almost all of the pots they enter they don't raise, as well as a raise probably indicates something that isn't total trash. If someone includes a PFR of 20 but a VPIP of 20 meaning they always raise and are aware of aggression and probably position. If (PFR/VPIP) is 1/4 they're very passive and more often than not limp. 1/2 usually means that they limp using their worst hands and raise using best hands. 3/4 is pretty normal and means they raise almost all of the time, and can limp behind sometimes hoping that low pocket pairs or connectors hit hard before they start jamming take advantage. 4/4 means they always raise and also you can't get useful information off their holdings based on their raises preflop.
Attempted to Steal — Percentage of times this player raised once the action folded to him when he was in the cutoff or for the button. This must be very high — no less than 70%. If you see something such as 30% you only raises with good hands which is unaware of how profitable stealing is, maybe he's decided that it's the micros and everyone will call anyway why bother but that is a stupid thing to have stuck in your mind — should they call anyway a cbet on the flop will still take it so often that you will need to be stealing frequently. If you're inside blinds this stat may help show you whether you need to fold/call/reraise vs. button action.
3 Bets Preflop % — if someone else raises in front of this player, what percentage of some time does he reraise? 4% means he's only carrying it out with premium hands for value. 8% means he sometimes will reraise for isolation or as he desires to punish a loose raiser and is fairly normal with thinking players. 12% takes exactly the same ideas as with 8% and pushes them further. 20% is quite high, plus a player who reraises that much is depending on website visitors to play poorly postflop against his show of strength to generate a profit.
Second Line:
AF — Aggression factor is a ratio of aggressive POSTFLOP moves to passive ones. So (bet% + raise%) / (check% + call%). 1 is quite very passive, they don't bet with out a set or better the majority of the time, and in many cases then they're probably scared that you'll try to escape whenever they fart in order that they might not bet anyway. 2 remains to be fairly passive, but at the very least they'll drive back draws and bet at loose players who'll call anyway. 3 is quite aggressive, they shall be making a good amount of Cbets without a penny, checkraising dry flops to scare away foes Cbets, etc. 4 is incredibly aggressive but nonetheless for the fringe of reason. Anything over four either means they've gotten lucky on every single flop while you have been watching them or domino99 they must win every pot and definately will bet to do so.
Cbet Flop — Percentage of time they'll bet the flop if they were the aggressor preflop. 30% is quite low and means they just really cbet whenever they hit moobs or offer an overpair that's still good. 60% means that about 50 % of of time they whiffed, but honestly learn about too, would you like to Cbet at least 60% of the time. 80% is very high and translates to they Cbet religiously on all but the grossest of flops — in case a player which has a Cbet stat like this doesn't Cbet with a flop he obviously should (contains an A or K or AA-TT) look out — there is however nothing wrong your Cbet percentage such as this yourself.
Folds to Flop Cbet — Does he understand that individuals will cbet without a penny? If this is at 100% he doesn't, and that he'll only play against aggression when he's flopped the nuts and you must be pounding around the bet button on every flop in places you raised pre. Around 60% is fairly normal here. 30% or less means they read somewhere that Cbets are bluffs, nor respect them ought to be principle or a few stupidity, otherwise that he loves to play chicken for the turn.
Total Hands — This is extremely important, because it makes all the other stats relevant. You need this stat and that means you don't go bonkers when you see someone includes a VPIP of 100% — if he's only played four hands thus far subside and attempt to play normally. Most stats don't begin to matter until at 50-100 hands.
Be specific if you consult stats! Let's say someone raises, you call, the flop come A59, you hold A8, and he bets at you again. You see he features a VPIP of 60% and re-raise him, and he shoves over you and you call because he's bluffing his VPIP is like a zillion, maybe you have just developed a bad decision. What was his PFR? If she has 60% VPIP but 4% PFR which means he only raises while using cream with the crop and is also probably has you dominated with AK-AJ. On the other side from the coin, when someone has 15 for VPIP and raises early, the flop comes low and action is reasonable before river when he starts freaking out you don't come with an autofold.
What's his AF? If it's high he could function as sort of guy who do not like to give up a pot once he's inside it — he doesn't care if his AQ whiffed the flop, he includes a VPIP of 12 and thinks every pot is associated with him. Does his Showdown Percentage confirm our suspicions that he cannot find the fold button? If the AF is low anf the husband's abnormally raising then, he probably features a premium hand, in case it's high as well as the SD% is high so you offer an overpair with similar to 99 you should look him up. Anyway, why could you look at preflop stats once you're thinking about postflop action? Of course, your preflop info is hardly irrelevant, but take a look at the best stat FIRST, then turn to other stats to aid define his range.