PokerStars SuperNova Discusses Software and HUDs

One of the biggest rewards in the online poker world is achieving the status of SuperNova Elite on PokerStars. To reach this level, an online player must accumulate one million Frequent Player Points (FPPs) on the site within a year of play and maintain a monthly balance as well. James Hutton is a player on the verge of meeting this goal.

"As of the beginning of this month, I have 953,275 points. I should reach the one million mark sometime here in December, at which point I will take a little bit of a vacation from playing," Hutton said with a laugh. To be able to rack up this many FPPs, Hutton has had to play sometimes over a dozen tables at the $1/$2 No Limit level on PokerStars. Thus, the poker software that Hutton chooses is critical to his success on the felt.

"I use Hold‘em Manager as my tracking program," Hutton stated in our discussion of software and HUDs. "The program is amazing for keeping track of my play and reviewing hands and sessions I've played."

"I also use various AutoHotKey scripts that help me with virtually anything at the tables," he continued. "I can automatically re-size and rearrange my tables in the way I like, the program can buy me in, and it can highlight the table that most urgently needs my attention. Another AutoHotKey script helps me with bet sizing and allows me to size my bets in relation to pot with a few mouse clicks. These are all very useful when playing 12 or more tables."

When the conversation turned to HUDs, Hutton offered some great advice on how to use them: "Hold'em Manager's HUD allows me to review my play as well as provides quick access to the information I have on my opponents," he said. "It also is an incredible time saver when I can look at the information and make my decisions."

As far as the dangers that are present in HUDs, Hutton warned about being too dependent on them: "Always playing with the tracker HUD running with stats on opponents could actually hinder your playing ability," he related. "You have to be careful not to rely on the stats completely. It is very easy for a player to turn into an HUD bot, basing all of their play on the stats on the screen. It's important to play sometimes without an HUD at all and make sure you are actually thinking about the game and how your opponents are playing in the moment."

Hutton also stated that newcomers to the game would see a significant improvement in their games through using software and HUDs: "I would definitely get a tracker program, even if I was just starting out. The two most popular ones are PokerTracker and Hold'em Manager and, while I personally prefer the latter, they basically perform the same basic tasks and serve the same basic purposes. A tracker is a necessity for keeping track of your results and reviewing your play."

As you can see, players that make a living playing professionally online and reach the upper echelons of achievement depend on their software and their HUDs. Even if a player doesn't use a tracking program or HUD, the information that is stored is critical for record keeping and analysis of your play.

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