Poker Software High-Stakes HUDs Explained

With the help of tracking programs such as Hold’em Manager and PokerTracker 3 while playing Texas Hold'em, you can overlay Heads-Up Displays (HUD) right on the table, providing you with information that is key when making decisions.  PokerSoftware.com asked three professional online poker players what is in their HUDs to help make your experience a better and more productive one.

zachvac – Full Tilt $200 No Limit and PokerStars $200 No Limit and $400 No Limit Full Ring Pro



HUD Configuration:
Top Line: # of hands
Middle Line: cbet, fold to flop cbet, fold to turn cbet, fold to river cbet
Bottom Line: vpip, pfr, steal, fold BB to steal, 3-bet, fold to 3-bet

HUD Explained:
vpip/pfr - Classification of player, focusing on what range of hands they play when they raise or call pre-flop

att. to steal – I generally use this when I'm on the button or in the blinds and someone in late position raises. If this number is significantly higher than their PFR, I know that they're stealing a lot and I'll be more inclined to call and 3bet them lighter.

fold BB to steal – I use this to know who not to steal from when this number is around 20%.

3-bet - This also helps a bit steal-wise. If they don't fold to a lot of steals, but call a lot of them raising QJs in position, then it’s great. If they don't fold to a lot of steals and 3bet a ton, then it's not so great because, barring me 4betting light, I'm usually just pitching this to a 3bet.

fold to 3-bet - Pretty straightforward. If I see someone who steals a lot, I’ll 3bet to see if they're likely to fold to it. The higher this is, the more likely I’ll 3-bet as a bluff.

cbet – To be honest, I don't use this one that much, but I generally like to see if someone cbets a ton or doesn't cbet much. This number is generally only useful for fish and usually the number is either very close to 100 or very close to 0.

fold to cbet - Another one I don't use a lot, but if I'm on the edge of whether to cbet a flop as a bluff, I'll use this to determine whether or not I should.

fold to turn/river cbet – These are two different stats, but I use both of them in conjunction with fold to cbet. If they very rarely fold to a cbet, but fold to a turn cbet, I'm going to double barrel if his range includes a lot of weak made hands. If he doesn't fold to any of them, I won't bluff, but I can value bet extremely light.

Neither of these appear in my HUD, but are available in the pop-up. I use them sparingly, hence there's no reason to take up space:

AF - Typically by street. Basically, if a villain raises any street, I can see how aggressive they typically are. If they are extremely aggressive, particularly on that street, then they are capable of having a lot of draws. If they are very passive, then they probably hit a big hand.

W$WSF - This is a measure of how aware they are. How much are they making reads and taking away pots when they don't connect? How often do they run multi-street bluffs? The 35% ones are those who may cbet, but don't really run any elaborate bluffs. The 50% ones are the ones who basically try to take down every pot if there's a chance for them to do so. If there's a missed draw and someone with 50% W$WSF bets and I have a bluff-catcher, I'll call a lot of the time.

I took out several extremely specific stats that I don't use much, AF/Agg%. I used to have both in there, but realized I almost never used them and now just have them in the pop-up for occasional use. I also, for a brief time period, used donk bet % until I realized that it's not a very useful stat because it doesn't tell you anything about their range. If you see someone who has a 15% donk bet percentage, how am I supposed to use that information?

Taylor – A PokerStars $200 No Limit and $400 No Limit Six-Max Professional Poker Player



HUD Configuation:
Top Line: vpip, pfr, af, 3bet/fold to 3bet, hands
Middle Line: fold to cbet, cbet, wtsd, fold bb to steal
Bottom Line: limp-call, squeeze, 4bet, fold to 4bet, donk, fold donk to raise

HUD Explained:
I've been shuffling stats lately, but most of them are there because I refer to them frequently. I'm using simple pre-flop stats, a few more complicated 3bet and 4bet game stats, some post-flop stuff, and some newer stats (limp-call % and donk bet numbers) that I find extremely helpful against fish.

I think the ones that I refer to the most would be vpip/pfr and the spread between them, 3bet and fold to 3bet, and cbet stats.

Harlan – Full Tilt $100 No Limit and $200 No Limit Full Ring Part Time Pro



HUD Configuration:
Top Line: hands, WTSD, W$SD
Middle Line: VPIP, PFR, AF
Bottom Line: ATS, FSSB, FSBB, 3bet pre, fold to 3bet pre, cbet flop, fold cbet

HUD Explained:
We gave our assessment of Harlan’s HUD arrangement: Harlan has a very good setup for seeing the stats that full ring players need to make solid reads on players while multi-tabling. The top line shows the number of hands and the number of times the villain has gone to showdown as well as won money at showdown. On the next line are the three major stats for an HUD and the line below that includes the stealing stats. The last line shows 3bet numbers and cbet numbers, so all of the major figures that are really important are nicely organized in this HUD.