What's in Your HUD with Lesley Amos (Nutbreaker)

There are more female poker players entering the live and online poker worlds every day. I am pleased to be interviewing, Lesley “Nutbreaker” Amos, who had a final table appearance in the 2012 World Series of Poker Ladies Championship Event for over $20,000.

PokerSoftware: What poker software do you use and how do you find it useful?

Lesley Amos: Currently, I use PokerTracker 4. The software helps me identify specific stats about my opponents and myself. I would not be able to keep track of these stats in my head. I don't use Table Ninja, but use the hotkey and bet slider functions on PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.

It is well worth the few seconds it took me to set up my bet slider since it keeps my bet sizes consistent and saves me time while playing. My bet slider configuration is set up pre-flop to 2.1X, 2.3X, and 2.5X. For post-flop action, I have my bet sizes set to 33%, 40%, and 52% of the pot. The time saved allows me to play more tables simultaneously.

PokerSoftware: What stats are in your HUD?

Lesley Amos: These are the stats that paint an overall picture of what type of player I am playing against:

Voluntarily Put Money in the Pot % (VPIP)
Pre-Flop Raise % (PFR)
3Bet %
Steal %

These are the stats that show me what major leaks my opponents have:

Continuation Bet %
Fold to Continuation Bet %
Raise Flop %
Fold to 3Bet %

Besides the aforementioned stats, I also use Aggression Factor in my HUD, which shows me how aggressive or passive an opponent is.

PokerSoftware: What stats do you find most useful in your HUD?

Lesley Amos: 3Bet % and Fold to 3Bet % are the most useful to me. They show me how often I can get away with 3betting and also help me narrow down someone who is 3betting seldom or open up someone who is 3betting often.

PokerSoftware: What stats are the most overrated in your HUD?

Lesley Amos: Fold to Steal % is the most overrated one to me. If my opponents are calling out of position, this stat doesn't really matter. Either you are getting the blind pre-flop or they are folding on the flop to a continuation bet the majority of the time. It is more of a problem if someone 3bets or re-steals.

PokerSoftware: What poker software would you like to try next and why?

Lesley Amos: I would like to try Holdem Manager 2 in order to try NoteCaddy. I hear that software is really well done and I would benefit from the graphs it creates.

PokerSoftware: When you play live, what adjustments do you have to make without your poker software?

Lesley Amos: I’m only playing one table at a time live, so it is a lot easier to form opinions on the other players at the table compared with playing multiple tables simultaneously online. Because I don’t have stats on my opponents, I read their body language. When I am playing a live tournament, I try to take mental notes or mark down hands on my phone that I want to look at later.

PokerSoftware: Do you find playing live easier or more difficult than playing online?

Lesley Amos: Playing live is easier than playing online. Online, players have more experience reading flops and following trends in poker, whereas live play has more of a social aspect to it. I would say that 200nl is equal to 10nl online play-wise. I would have never played a $1K game online, and actually rarely play anything over $55, but live I am comfortable playing $1,000 tournaments.

Having poker software assists me with gaining information I would not have otherwise; however, this doesn’t outweigh the easier fields and reads you can get on your opponents when playing live.

You can listen to Leslie during the Women’s Poker Hour on OnTiltRadio.com on Sundays at 8:00pm ET.