What's in Your HUD with Chris Conley (ChristaBorg)

We sat down with Canada's Chris "ChristaBorg" Conley to get his thoughts on third-party poker software.  Conley has been playing online poker for over a decade and has over $1.4 million in online poker tournament cashes according to PocketFives.com.
 
PokerSoftware: Tell us how you got involved in poker and when you started using a HUD.

ChristaBorg: I started first talking about poker on a forum called FlopTurnRiver back in 2004. I didn't have any money, but started posting my two cents in strategy posts and integrating myself into the community. One of the members noticed I seem to have a knack for the game, so he staked me for some low stakes sit and gos and MTTs. I got lucky straight off the bat and the rest was history. When I moved to PokerStars to play, I was told about Hold'em Manager and all the benefits it had. So I decided to use nearly half of my bankroll to buy it in mid- to late 2005.
 
PokerSoftware: What do you like best about Hold'em Manager 2?  Do you always use the software while playing?  Do you also use it as a study tool?
 
ChristaBorg: I like the simple things about the software the best. Just the fact that it can record everyone's stats and give me general ideas on players and it lets me play more tables without being overwhelmed. I use HM2 whenever I play unless it's on a site that doesn't support it. I also find a great way to use HM2 after my sessions is to review all of my biggest hands along with my wins and losses to make sure I'm still playing well.
 
PokerSoftware: What stats do you have in your HUD?
 
ChristaBorg: The stats I use include number of hands, VPIP, PFR, steal, 3-bet, fold to 3-bet, c-bet, fold to c-bet, and tournament M.  I also have some game-specific things in my HUD popup for stats such as 3-bet/fold and delayed c-bet.
 
PokerSoftware: When do you typically use your popups?
 
ChristaBorg: Mostly just when I need to.  For example, if I raise and get 3-bet, I want to know how often he respects 4-bets and how often he 3-bets from his positions. If I c-bet and get called, I like to know his fold to turn c-bet and if I should be betting in the first place.
 
PokerSoftware: What do you think about PartyPoker's decision to ban HUDs?  Will you still play there despite this?  Do you think this is good for the game?
 
ChristaBorg: I do think PartyPoker's decision is good for the game despite the fact that I rely heavily on my HUD. I think the mark of being a winning player is to adjust to factors faster than other people can and having no HUD is something to adjust to. I do question how they can be sure nobody's using some kind of pirated or makeshift HUD, but assuming they aren't, it makes PartyPoker a much fairer place to play for recreational players.

If it were totally enforceable, I wish PokerStars would institute a similar policy. I wouldn't be able to play as many tables, but the player pool would be much easier, as mediocre regs who fail to adjust would become losing players.
 
PokerSoftware: Do you ever play mobile poker?  If so, what sites have you tried it on and how was your experience?
 
ChristaBorg: I have tried two different mobile versions of clients: PokerStars and 888 Poker. My PokerStars experience was great. I'm able to play four tables and understand the action at a glance. My 888 Poker experience was pretty bad. Their mobile client doesn't tell you that you can only be on one table at a time. So, if you register for more than one game, the mobile client doesn't know which table to bring up and so it brings up neither of tHEM. Subsequently, there's no way to go through the tournament lobby to bring a table up.

I spent about $70 in two MTTs and timed out of them because I couldn't play. However, to 888 Poker's credit, after I emailed them, they said they would work on it and refunded me my buy-ins.
 
PokerSoftware: I understand that you use HM2 and ICMIZER to study.  Can you share with us how you use both pieces of software as study tools?
 
ChristaBorg: I use HM2 mostly for direct review, where I get a tournament hand history and put it into a replayer. I usually just use it for general review of my overall game. If a specific hand is really interesting or really close, I'll dissect it with ICMIZER, putting in the villain's ranges and really figuring out the exact equity of a close spot so I know for similar spots next time. HM2 is good for my overall game and ICMIZER covers really close and/or interesting specific range-versus-range spots.

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