What are good VPIP and 3rd street AF numbers for stud, stud-8, and razz in a 6-handed game? My guess is that most winning players have similar numbers for these statistics, seeing as how the consensus is that a LAG style is generally inappropriate for these games. I'm not sure the LC content thread is the appropriate place for this kind of question, but this thread seems to get the most activity so I figured I'd ask here.

The LC thread may have the most traffic, but you'll get more and better responses to your question if it's a separate thread. I'll just offer my usual caveat that if your VPIP is 30%, and someone comes along and convinces you that it should be 25%, there's a very real chance that you'll throw out the wrong 5%, and you'll be playing even further from optimal than you were before.

Are your VPIP figures in stud, stud-8, and razz all basically the same? You seem to address them all with one VPIP figure, but I know my VPIP in stud-8 is wildly different from my VPIP in razz. I'm just curious what reasonable target numbers are for these figures.

I don't keep track myself.

This is the first time I remember seeing you post this caveat, but I quite like it. The question of what the optimal VPIP is for any game can't really be answered without knowing at least the following:

1. The ante structure
2. Format of the game (ring, MTT, SNG)
3. Villains' typical VPIP
4. Hero's skill level
5. Villains' typical skill level

Does the ante structure in online games vary that widely? Also, I was only thinking about ring games when I posed the question. Skill level is what you'd find in low (but not micro) stakes online games. I'm not entirely sure on what the villains' VPIPS typically are, but I'd say they appear to be between 25% and maybe 33%.

Yeah the ante structures vary a lot on stars, not so much on FTP (in terms of the size of the antes relative to the bet sizes). A medium ante size would be about 1/8 of a small bet. With the smallest antes (about 1/15 to 1/12 of a small) you should tighten up, maybe up to 5% on your VPIP. With the largest antes (1/5 of a small bet), I'd add enough hands to increase your VPIP 5%. If you're better than the average villain, it pays to loosen up some because they will usually make more mistakes on later streets than you will (which you can't profit from if you fold). Vice versa if you're a newbie or at a tough table.

So what should a standard VPIP be with a medium sized ante? That's the 24.5% question! In a full 6-max game, you should have the best hand 17% of the time statistically, and you should always play the best hand. Sometimes you won't know you do, but in theory that should be the absolute minimum. There are also a fair number of 2nd best hands with good implied odds that you should be playing, plus the occasional ante steal opportunity when you have junk (remember if you have even a decent hand, it probably was the best or a strong 2nd place if everyone else folded). So 25% is a good default percentage imo. But as Andy warned, make sure it's the right 25%.

Is the difference in your VPIP between higher ante and lower ante games going to mostly come from being more aggressive with your steals as the ante's size relative to a small bet increases, or is it going to mean pushing smaller edges across the board, ie opening or calling with weaker pairs in stud even when the boards of other players are somewhat threatening? Can you give any examples of concrete adjustments you would make going from a 1/8 ante to a 1/5 ante in stud, stud 8, and razz?

In a tight aggressive game, you should be stealing more often and playing more hands vs. possible steals. In a loose passive game you should be finding cheap spots to play hands with good implied odds, like live raggedy 3-flushes in stud or (T3)2 in razz.

Thanks for the responses thus far.

On a similar razz note, suppose that you are the bring-in and you have two wheel cards in the hole. Suppose further that it's folded around to the last guy, showing a 6, who raises, and that he's a competent player. How low does you upcard need to be to call here in a 1/8 ante game? How about in a 1/5 ante game? Suppose all of the other upcards out had been high cards. Would it make a difference in your calling standards here if one paired your upcard or not?

All very good questions, except the last one (pair cards to anything T or higher are really irrelevant). In the extreme case, with a 1/5 SB ante and a full ring, you could profitably call with any upcard here vs. anyone. Adjust from there.