What defense do you use against D4?

Sometimes my openents push their D pawn to D4. I am not very well versed in anything to counter that. I like the E pawns alot more but i would like to get to know the D pawn openings. So what defense do you guys use so i can get some idea's on what to study with. I did use the game explorer and everything seems solid for white because white has a better win percentage but none commonly played ones that have a good pecentage for black. 

Here is the most common game from the games explorer. Even though its the most common it has a 28% win rate for black.

That said can you guys post the first few moves of what you would do with the name of the opening, it would be of great help.
    

That isn't the most common response to 1. d4 in Game Explorer.

2. ... e6

Not

2. ... e5?!

Do you know of any commonly played opening where, at Master level, black has better winning chances than white? I don't believe there is one. Game Explorer tells me the Sicilian Defence against e4 is the closest, but even there white has a 5% edge.

I suggest you calculate black wins + draws together (or do 100% - White wins) rather than just looking at White wins. In this case (2. ... e6), you get 64%. So 64% of the time, White does not win.

I am 1600, and my draw percentage is about 4%. For both of us, our games will be mainly decided on who makes the least mistakes, us or our opponent. Provided your opening is solid, it doesn't matter whether white has a 5% advantage at GM level: either you or he/she is gonna mess up the middle-game or ending! :)

For a player at your level, I'd just suggest the Queen's Pawn defense. 

1.d4 d5!

It will likely lead into an opening called the Queen's Gambit

1.d4 d5 2.c4

but don't be fooled by this apparent free pawn! Simply respond with e6 and develop as normal. 

The Queen's Gambit is the second most popular response to 1.d4, and although the particluar variation I just showed you isn't the most popular, it's easy to play for someone at your level.

I wouldnt recommend the classical queens gambit declined with e6. As a beginner it is very difficult to win thr game. You need an ambitious opening. Thr slav defense or your Budapester gambit. In Tournaments game I have won every game when my opponent anserws with 2. e6. At this time I was a beginner an my opponents, too. so dont play 2. e6

I do slav

Play ala Fischer and Kasparov. The kings indian defense is lively and counter attacking. It would only take some time to get the feel of it.

I play the Nimzo-Indian.

Two words.

Nimzo

Indian

I play the Queens Gambit Declined (with e6) and I have little trouble generating winning chances  with black. 

Why would I play an opening people call passive and boring ? Good question. The opening is not where a game is won or lost. A game is won or lost in the middlegame or even the endgame. The advantage of the QGD is that i can get my pieces out and to squares i actually understand (instead of memorize in openings like the nimzo indian) and i like to play moves  I understand. It helps me understand the plans in the middlegame or even the endgame. 

I also check out the current candidates tournament. If the queensgambit declined is good enough for them it is good enough for me :)

In order to understand moves .. please check http://exeterchessclub.org.uk/content/ten-rules-opening

What's so much more complex about the Nimzo? The setups seem logical enough..

Why does White play a4 on move 5?

@lolurspammed: 

Probably the most important reason is that you do consede your bisshoppair to white. In many cases the bishoppair is an advantage in some cases it is not. Playing the Nimzo Indian requires you to have a really good understanding of how to fight the bisshoppair. Understanding what structure to go for and what structure requires very complex strategic choice. Making a mistake can lead to a worse position without actually knowing where you went wrong.

@Paul_in_NJ

Because black is treathing b5 making it rather hard for white to get the pawn back. If white gets his pawn back at all he does not have any advantage left. 

Nimzo is My Fav because the pawn structure is not symmetrical also there are a lot of possibilities and good game for black.

1 d4 c5 2 d5 Nf6 3 c4 Ne4! 4 Qc2 Qa5+! 5 Nd2! Nd6! 6 e4!? g6! 7 Bd3 Bg7 8 Ngf3 b5! , Qc7 , Na6 - Nb4 , f5, etc

Your incorrect. 

to prevent b5

There are plenty of great responses. The Slav is simple to learn (there is a great book by Lakwalda - excuse the spelling). The Dutch looks great and the various Indian defences too. Pick one and have fun.