What's in Your HUD with Sir_Kale

Third-party poker software can help you perform at a higher level while playing online poker.  To prove this point, we sat down with 888 Poker player "Sir_Kale" to learn about how he uses third-party poker software along with his thoughts on these tools in general.
 
PokerSoftware: How did you come up with your unique 888 Poker screenname "Sir_Kale"?
 
Sir_Kale: English-speaking natives might think it has something to do with a certain vegetable, but that's not the case. Kale also can mean "Baldy," a nickname I've been rocking even before I actually got bald, although my hair was thinning at an early age. I added the Sir to look more sophisticated and maybe get more folds to three and four-bets.
 
PokerSoftware: What poker software are you using while playing or studying?
 
Sir_Kale: I'm currently using Hold'em Manager 2 for both studying and playing. I also have the NoteCaddy add-on, but I'm not using it to its full potential.
 
PokerSoftware: How important is your HUD while playing?
 
Sir_Kale: For me, it's imperative to play with a HUD. As an avid multi-tabler, it's impossible for me to keep track of the antics of players on 10 or more tables at a time. I've adapted to using HUDs back in 2007 when I started going pro and haven't looked back since.

I hate having to make uneducated guesses in marginal spots. It's why I'm so used to playing with a HUD. Actually, I literally can't and won't play without it anymore. Sites that ban HUDs such as PartyPoker are not in my schedule, and if a bigger site would ban HUDs in the future I'd stop playing there as well.
 
PokerSoftware: What are the most important stats in your HUD? Can you give an example of how your HUD can help for decision-making?
 
Sir_Kale: Important stats are obviously the well-known ones, such as VPIP and PFR. I also use three-bet and fold to three-bet a lot, which are important when it comes to MTTs, my bread and butter. I've recently split the three-bet stat to three-bet IP and three-bet OOP and loving it, as it tells you if villains are more inclined to re-raise you from late position or from the blinds.
 
I can give a lot of examples, but let's use that split three-bet stat I just mentioned. Let's say we're opening king-queen offsuit from the cutoff and the button three-bets. If he has a tight three-bet stat overall, both in and out of position, say around ~4, I'd be inclined to fold. If his three-bet IP is 14 and OOP is 4, for example, it clearly shows he has a weaker range when re-raising in position. This is a spot I'd put in a four-bet often, especially with the king and queen blocker.

It can also be applied when facing re-raises from the small or big blind. There is a certain part of the population that never does this light, and then there's a group that does this a ton light. The split three-bet stat gives you information about these tendencies and tells you how to act accordingly.
 
PokerSoftware: You mentioned that you own NoteCaddy Premium, but aren't really using it to its potential. How are you currently using it and how do you plan to use this add-on in the future?
 
Sir_Kale:  NoteCaddy tells me if a villain attacked relatively dry boards with, besides the strong hands, hands that include gutshots, middle or bottom pairs, or total air. Hold'em Manager 2 by itself would just give me a check-raise percentage.
 
Honestly, I should be putting the work in to use it more effectively. I'm currently just glancing at my HUD when NoteCaddy pops up, but I'm definitely not using it to its maximum effectiveness. I want to use this add-on to figure out more specific tendencies of villains in certain spots than I already am doing.

PokerSoftware: How are you using Hold'em Manager 2 as a study tool?
 
Sir_Kale: Once again, I should definitely be studying more, as I'm not using HM to its full potential. I use it mostly to look at my own stats, compare them with other (big) winners and check which areas need work and what I'm doing right. I then look at hands that are relevant to the areas I want to improve, run them with better players, and ask how they would tackle certain spots.
 
For example, my river play was one of the areas that needed work. I called too much in spots where I should've been either raising (turning showdown value into a bluff) or folding more. I've been working on that by flagging hands in my database where I lost a lot of chips on the river. Having all of your hand histories in one place and being able to quickly dissect information from that is a huge asset in becoming a better poker player.

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