Source Lichess
White wins at least 12.2 more of every 100 games than it loses
how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident
At All Ratings, Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation, Pollock Gambit keeps White's wins running +12.2% ahead of its losses at worst, 90% confident, from 810 Lichess games. This gambit is effective. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
| Rating | Edge at worst | White Win | Draw | White Loss | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | −18.8% | 50.5% | 2.9% | 46.7% | 51 |
| 1000-1199 | +10.5% | 62.2% | 4.9% | 32.9% | 70 |
| 1200-1399 | +1.7% | 57.5% | 2.3% | 40.3% | 109 |
| 1400-1599 | +13.8% | 62.3% | 2.4% | 35.4% | 147 |
| 1600-1799 | +5.0% | 58.2% | 1.6% | 40.2% | 154 |
| 1800-1999 | −4.4% | 53.6% | 2.7% | 43.7% | 130 |
| 2000-2199 | +5.4% | 59.3% | 4.0% | 36.7% | 87 |
| 2200-2499 | −12.8% | 49.6% | 9.6% | 40.9% | 56 |
At some ratings. White comes out ahead at 1000-1799 and 2000-2199; at the other ratings we can see, the games do not show it paying.
White wins 57.6% of Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation, Pollock Gambit games, draws 2.8% and loses 39.6%. That rests on 810 games from Lichess.
1400-1599. There White wins at least 13.8 more of every 100 games than it loses (90% confident), its highest Edge at worst.
Rapid. For White, the Edge at worst — how far wins run ahead of losses, 90% confident — is +3.9% in Blitz (382 games) and +21.3% in Rapid (137 games).
Of Bullet, Blitz, Rapid and Classical, only Blitz has enough games to read by rating. The first rating where the games do not show White coming out ahead is 1200-1399 in Blitz.
The Vienna Game: Paulsen Variation, Pollock Gambit is extremely sharp: 2.8% of its games are drawn, so 97.2% end with a winner.
At 1000-1799 and 2000-2199, where White comes out ahead. At the other ratings we can see, the games do not show it paying.
As Black, take the material, then develop fast, castle early, and trade pieces. Give the material back when doing so kills the attack. At 1000-1799 and 2000-2199, White still comes out ahead in these games; at the other ratings we can see, the games do not show the gambit paying.
This rests on 810 games from Lichess. Every figure carries the range it is in, 90% confident, and the table above shows how many games sit behind each rating and each clock — the fewer there are, the wider that range.