Player pool

The players you meet at a given stake and site, taken together as one population.

Last updated October 16, 2026

What it means: The player pool is everyone you are likely to face at your stakes. It has tendencies of its own, such as folding too often to 3-bets or bluffing too little on the river, which show up across many different opponents.
How it is calculated: Pool tendencies come from large databases of hands. The exploits page states them as approximate ranges and deals a value from that range; they are not measured from your own games. The cash table and tournaments seat their bots from named pools, such as live low stakes (many limp-callers and calling stations) or online micro stakes (many nits and fit-or-fold regulars), with a share of each player type.
Worked example: If the pool folds 70% to a 3-bet and a light 3-bet to 7.5bb over a 2.5bb open needs only 65% folds, every light 3-bet against an unknown player shows a profit before the flop.
Why it matters: Against unknown opponents the pool's tendencies are your best read. Adjusting to them wins more at low stakes than playing perfectly balanced poker.