What's in Your HUD with NutttNuttt

Today, we have had the privilege of interviewing Dublin poker enthusiast Dara “NutttNuttt” FitzGerald regarding his HUD.  NutttNuttt is primarily a multi-table tournament player on PokerStars, where he has logged over $166,000 in total cashes with an impressive 41% ROI in over 8,000 MTTs.  

PokerSoftware: What HUD do you currently use while playing poker and what others have you tried using in the past?

Dara FitzGerald: I am currently using Holdem Manager 2 and before that I was using the original version of Holdem Manager.

PokerSoftware: What are your general thoughts on Holdem Manager 2 compared to the original version?

Dara FitzGerald: I felt while using Holdem Manager 1, it provided everything I needed and desired.  However, I absolutely love Holdem Manager 2.

One huge improvement is the new custom HUDs.  There are more layout options with an extra list of things to add to your HUD and it also has color-coding.  The new color-coding option really helps highlight the types of styles or holes that opposing players have.

PokerSoftware: How is your HUD configured?

Dara FitzGerald: Line 1: Number of Hands/VPIP/RFI. Line 2: Limp%/Call%/PFR/Steal%. Line 3: Raise vs Limpers%/3bet%/BigBlinds%

PokerSoftware: It looks like you have your HUD set up pretty differently than the standard set on HM2. What do you find are the most useful stats you have?

Dara FitzGerald: I feel all of the stats I have in the HUD are very important.  Different stats are very important for different players and different situations.  I feel that by looking at this distribution of statistics altogether, it paints a good picture of what type of player you are dealing with.

PokerSoftware: What minimum sample size are you looking for when relying on your HUD to assist with your decision-making?

Dara FitzGerald: I feel this is an important topic, as many players can over-rely on their HUD without having a sufficient sample size of hands to reliably do so.  I feel certain stats you can use straight away, while many other statistics could be a big mistake to use over a small sample.

As an example, 3bet% and 4bet% can be misleading without a meaningful sample size.  It is easy to pick up three decent 3betting hands in a short span of time, so if you use just this sample size on a player you have just started playing with, it could portray him as a maniac when he actually just happened to pick up A-K, J-J, and A-Q in spots where it is totally standard to 3bet.

Also, if a player is short stacked, their 3bet% should naturally go up, as they are forced to get their chips in.  This also does not mean they would be aggressive normally.  There are plenty of stats where this happens as well, but I am just using 3bet% and 4bet% as examples.

As far as total numbers go, depending on the stats and player, I like to see 100 hands, but often start relying on some of the information after 50 hands.  There are some players you can get a good read on after 10 hands as well.

PokerSoftware: In which situations do you use the Holdem Manager HUD pop-ups?

Dara FitzGerald: I use the pop-ups in most hands with marginal spots and for checking how they play versus a 3bet or their Post-Flop cbet%, etc.  I should be using the post-flop pop-ups more often than I am.

PokerSoftware: Do you use Holdem Manager as a review tool after play?

Dara FitzGerald: Yes, I mark certain hands for review and check stuff like which seats and hand groups I am losing or making money in.  Using Holdem Manager as a review tool has helped me plug some leaks in my game.

PokerSoftware: How do you feel when you are stuck playing without a HUD?

Dara FitzGerald: The experience is very different.  I do not play mobile poker like some of my friends do, but have played recently on computers without my HM2 running.  At the end of the day, it is obviously still poker, so I do not need a HUD to play well, but it is a huge advantage to have hard facts to help me with my decision-making.

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