What's in Your HUD with Jamie Douglas (JDoug)

We sat down with online tournament specialist Jamie "JDoug" Douglas to get his thoughts on poker software.  JDoug is currently ranked in 7th place in the PocketFives Rankings for Northern Ireland and first place out of 25 players in the city of Omagh.
 
PokerSoftware: What poker software do you use while playing or for studying?
 
Jamie Douglas: I currently use Poker Tracker 4 while playing and while reviewing my game I'll use an equity calculator. Those are my two main tools.
 
PokerSoftware: How long have you been using PokerTracker 4 for?  What do you like the best about the software?
 
Jamie Douglas: I've only been using PokerTracker 4 for around 18 months. All of my largest scores came before I started using a HUD. I like having a way to personalize it and have it display whatever stats I want in game. I also like the pop-up when you need all stats.  It is also nice having a built-in equity and ICM calculator.
 
PokerSoftware: Please share with us what stats you have in your HUD and which ones you find most important.
 
Jamie Douglas: I have pretty basic stats like VPIP, PFR, 3B%, continuation bet, and the number of hands I have on an opponent. I don't like to play on autopilot, so I will usually try to have a decision in mind before looking at my stats and see if they back up or change my mind. I think VPIP and PFR are two of the most important stats, as they give us a general overview of a player's playing style. Also, it's good to look at certain stats according to an opponent's position at the table.
 
PokerSoftware: Can you give us an instance where you might refer to the HUD pop-ups and how they are helpful to you?
 
Jamie Douglas: If I'm playing multiple tables on a Sunday, for example, I might not be paying enough attention at some tables. This means I can better assign ranges by using my HUD to get an overview of how they play, how passive or aggressive they might be in certain areas, and so on. It also helps when trying to exploit others, for example, by attacking a passive player with a high VPIP compared to their PFR% and a high fold to c-bet%
 
PokerSoftware: How are you using the software's study tools, specifically the equity and ICM calculator you previously mentioned?
 
Jamie Douglas: In-game, I think it is difficult to do certain calculations because you just don't have time.  So when reviewing my hand histories, I'll take spots where I might have been faced with an all-in and use a calculator to work out exactly what pot odds I was getting to see if my hand has enough equity versus an opponent's range to profitably call.

I think ICM is probably one thing a lot of players slip on, so I think it's good to go over ICM spots to see if you're playing correctly. I don't use the calculator nearly as much as I should considering how important ICM is in increasing the money you make.
 
PokerSoftware: Earlier you mentioned using an equity calculator for study.  Are there other tools you use?
 
Jamie Douglas: For a long time, I used GTO Range Builder when working with ranges, but my license has since expired, so I just use the calculator built into PokerTracker 4. I started working with a mentor who uses PokerStrategy Equilab, so hopefully I will get more familiar with that.  It seems like a great tool.
 
PokerSoftware: Can you tell us what GTO Range Builder and PokerStrategy Equilab do?
 
Jamie Douglas: GTO Range Builder lets you take post-flop scenarios and computes approximate GTO strategies. It's good because it lets you look at deep-stacked spots with multiple rounds of betting.
 
Similarly, PokerStrategy Equilab gives you a way to analyze the equity we have in certain scenarios versus both a specific hand and assigned ranges. It also shows you the range an opponent is likely to hold in a certain scenario and gives you different equity figures to aid you in making more profitable decisions.
 
PokerSoftware: What do you think of mobile poker?  Have you tried it, and, if so, how was your experience?
 
Jamie Douglas: I have only played a couple of times, and that was when my Mac was playing up. I don't really like it, as it feels very cluttered to me. I do however like seeing opponents with the little mobile symbol, as they generally seem to be more recreational players.

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