So you’ve heard all this stuff about Holdem Manager (HEM), or maybe you’ve even had it for 6 months and you have all those funny numbers that you’re not really sure how to use, but you know you’re supposed to need it.

Now what?

In this series we’re going to take a look at some of the many functions of Holdem Manager and figure out what they do and what it means to you, the poker player (in most cases Poker Tracker3 has the same functions).

In this article we’ll look at:

HUDs -Understanding the numbers, customizing, color coding.

Tip: Get software like this free with PTP Rake Rewards.

Using Your HUD in Real Time

Most players with these tracking programs already understand what vpip/pfr and other such stats are on these Head up Displays (HUD’s). But many don’t fully understand how they apply to the game at hand in the heat of the moment when a decision needs to be made, let alone how we converge the above numbers along with other stats into well thought out decisions.

Let’s look at two examples. The only difference between them is their preflop raise percentage (Pfr). Villain 1 has a Pfr of 18, whilst villain 2 has a Pfr of 4.

In hand 1, our villain has a vpip of 34 (full ring NLHE) and a pfr of 18, is in MP1 and with a 100bb stack raises 3.5x the big blind. We are on the btn, also with 100bb.

In hand 2, our next villain has a vpip of 34 and a pfr of 4, is in MP1 and with a 100bb stack raises 3.5x the big blind. We are on the button, also with 100bb.

While it may be long term profitable to play a hand such as KQs in both cases vs these villains, do we want to raise it in either case? If so which one? Why? Well villain 2 rarely if ever raises even though he plays everything. So we’re probably better off not re-raising him as we are likely behind often and we really don’t want to get 4 bet or turn this into a bloated pot with a mediocre hand.

So, what about Villain 1? It would seem this is a highly profitable spot to 3-bet and take the initiative. Or is it? We are likely ahead of his 18% PFR range. But how does he play post flop? Does he fold to 3 bets often? How often does he Continuation bet (Cbet). What about the turn? Does he Cbet the turn often also? If our HUD tells us he Cbets 80% flops, but folds to 80% of 3 bets preflop, and folds to 80% of his Cbets that get raised, we suddenly see a reason to call profitably with intention to raise nearly any flop and collect two bets when he folds to our raise. Or we can choose to 3 bet him preflop, most often taking the pot right there.

So with Villain 1 we used the following stats just to come up with two ways we can look at playing our hand in our preflop decision process alone:

vpip

pfr

Agr factor

fold to 3 bet

four bet %

flop Cbet %

flop Cbet fold to raise %

turn Cbet %

We looked at 8 statistics and came up with a 1 street, 2 street, or possibly even a 3 street plan. We can do this in a matter of 3 to 6 seconds in the heat of the moment with a properly configured HUD. Even when we have 24 tables going!

Full HUD vs Lite HUD

Lets take a look at two screenshots of the same hand/players with two different HUDS. We’ll call the first one “full” since it’s packed with stats, and the second one “lite” since it’s a bit sparser:

“Full” HUD:



“Lite” HUD:



In our top photo we see a vast array of numbers. These can be overwhelming at first. But it isn’t as daunting as it seems. What is important about this hand is that because I had all these numbers up, I was quickly able to see our villain had a somewhat looser, and much more aggressive play style . Calling his 3 bet was the question.

“Full” HUD Closeup



He has a 3.8 aggression factor (3rd stat top line), coupled with a high 5.9 3 bet % (1st stat 4th line), and a 76% flop Cbet (2nd stat 2nd line), 50% turn Cbet % (3rd stat 2nd line). This made it easy with 150bb stacks to know that if I hit my hand I have a reasonably high likelihood to stack him. Notice that many of these stats are color coded red/green. This means “stop/go” .

“Lite” HUD Closeup



In the bottom shot of the same hand we have the same stats, without color coding, and no numbers for turn Cbet, fold to 3 bet (used for determining if he lets go), fold to 4 bet, and numerous other stats that can be used to determine his level of aggression, allowing us to predict if we can get him to “fire off” with a hand that missed when he wouldn’t have called.

Which, by the way, is exactly what he did: Miss the flop and “Fire, fire, fire, Tora! Tora! Tora! (for you 1970 movie buffs).

How to Get All Those Pretty Colors

To get the numbers you desire on your HUD, in HEM just go to “HUD Options”,

“Player Preferences”, and look around. On the left side of the page is a plethora of statistics and sub-categories available. Just click “New Config”, name it, expand a main stat, highlight a statistic you want to use, click “add” in the middle, then move it up or down to wherever you want it.

Once you have the stat you have chosen on the right side, you can color code the statistic. To do so, highlight the stat, then click the down arrow below the “color ranges” box. This will give you a variety of color choices to choose. Simply click the desired color. Now, to the right of this color we type in the “less than” number we want for our chosen color. I like to use red = stop, green = go, yellow = caution as my general rulings, and white = avg.

When I see a combination of colors in key stats this gives me basic ideas very quickly and makes it easier to notice and start to “plan my hand”. We can also mouse over a specific number in our hud and a small yellow pop up shows us a bit more detailed info regarding the stat.

HUDs: Final Thoughts

Once you get the hang of it, it becomes quite simple. After you have the stats you want, go to the “Use for” tab and go through the selections. This allows you to design for different sites, tournaments, cash games, limit or no limit, head up, 6 max, and full ring. You could literally have 9 or 10 different HUDs all working at the same time based on what you were playing. That would be a bit scary. But you can do it. Don’t forget to hit “apply”!

In the early stages of using your new hud I suggest creating a legend on a stick note and stick it to your monitor. This legend should tell you what each stat is by position. This makes it much easier to get used to which numbers are which and requires very little eye/head/neck movement (fatigue) when multi-tabling and decisions soon become easier and faster. I suggest running a few less tables than normal as well, until you are comfortable with all the new numbers.

In future articles we’ll look at

Optimization for fastest response and least strain on computer resources

Database management (closely related to above)

Hand history playback and review

Leak finding (yours or your opponents)

Want more HEM tips? Check our ABigfish’s HEM tutorial service.

Don’t Forget: Software and other tools like this are available free via PTP Rake Rewards.