Best online poker sites that allow HUDs and tracking software
More and more online poker rooms are focusing on recreational players these days and have forbidden HUDs and poker tracking software to make online poker more appealing to them.
However, we know that a lot of our players at VIP-Grinders are professional poker players and grinders, who want and need to use a HUD.
That’s why we created this page to provide all necessary information on Poker HUDs and tracking software.
The first step is to choose the best HUD-friendly poker sites. As there are big differences between online poker sites when it comes to competition, traffic, software, and especially rakeback deals and poker bonuses.
We have listed the best HUD friendly poker sites that allow HUDs and poker tracking software as well as their respective rakeback deals and poker bonus info below:
View all available Rakeback Deals
What is a Poker HUD?
First we want to explain what a HUD is. The term HUD is short for Heads-Up Display, which is an add-on of your poker tracking software such as Pokertracker of Holdem Manager.
The HUD makes it possible to display the stats from the database of your poker tracking software directly on the poker table(s).
View all Poker Strategy Articles
It reads the hand histories, which are saved on your computer by your poker tracking software, and creates numerous HUD states based on them.
The information is shown directly on the poker table, either above or next to the avatar and name of the player.
Using a HUD gives you a big advantage in online poker
Online poker is getting tougher and edges are getting smaller. That’s why you should exploit every edge to the fullest.
The HUD is one of them as it provides very accurate reads directly on the table, which wouldn’t be possible to make yourself or at least take ages.
When you have a large sample size it gives you very accurate reads on your opponent.
The HUD stats show you exactly how this opponent played in the past in this spot and what tendencies and betting patterns he has.
Using a HUD with the most important stats should therefore be part of your poker strategy and is one of the keys to becoming a successful online poker player.
View the Best Real Money Poker Sites
The most important Poker HUD stats explained
In order to be able to make ready using a poker HUD, you have to know which are the most important HUD stats and how to interpret them.
That’s why we introduce and explain the most important poker HUD stats below:
VPIP
VPIP stands for Voluntary Put Money In Pot and displays the percentage of hands this opponent plays.
VPIP is probably the most important stat on our HUD as it tells you if the player is a rock, TAG or a complete fish depending on the number. A good VPIP percentage at a Full Ring table is around 15%, while a good VPIP percentage at a 6-max table is around 21%
The higher the VPIP, the fishier the player. Everything above 30% and especially above 40%-50% VPIP is way too loose and tells you that it is a recreational player or fish.
PFR
PFR stands for Preflop Raise means how often a player raises preflop. This stat is very important as it shows the tendencies of the opponent and what type of player he is: Tight-aggressive, Tight-passive, Loose-aggressive, Loose-passive.
Good players raise most of the hands they play preflop, while a large gap between VPIP and PFR implies that a player is more passive and he might even be a calling station or fish.
3Bet/Fold to 3Bet
3Bet tells us how often a player reraises and also indicates if he is aggressive or passive. Against a player with a high 3Bet Pre percentage, it is not a good idea to steal a lot from late position as he will be defending his blinds frequently and aggressively.
Fold to 3Bet is as important as if a player has a high fold to 3Bet percentage, then you should 3Bet him more often, especially when in position, as well as defend your blinds aggressively against late position raises and potential steals.
Flop CBet/Fold to Flop Cbet CB/FOLD VS FLOP CB
As the name implies, Flop Cbet tells you how often your opponent makes a continuation bet. A high Flop Cbet implies that he will CBet the majority of his range, which gives you the chance to float or raise his Cbet more often, while a low Flop Cbet percentage indicates that he is only continuing with his stronger hands or when he has equity. Whereas a low one implies he’s only CBetting with a stronger range of hands.
If the opponent has a high fold to Cbet percentage, then you should basically Cbet your entire range or at least more and in spots where you might have otherwise checked as you are priniting money with your Cbets.
How to set up your HUD?
Once you have purchased a poker tracking software, we recommend Poketracker 4 or Holdem Manager 3, then it’s time to setup your poker HUD.
Now that you know, which are the most important HUD stats, setting up your Heads-Up Display is very straightforward and takes only 5 minutes.
Nevertheless, we want to provide a guide on how to set up your poker HUD that explains step by step the setting up process.
Configuring the HUD in Poketracker or Holdem Manager
Click on configure HUD in the menu of PokerTracker or Holdem Manager. Then the following window opens:
The window on the right contains the stats that are available for use on the HUD. The stats on the left are those that are currently included on the main HUD.
Select the most important HUD stats from above and make use of the “new line” and “new panel” buttons in the centre of the two windows.
Splitting the HUD into several panels gives more flexibility when compared to having one solid rectangle, which cannot be separated.
That’s it! Now that your HUD is correctly configured, head over to the poker tables and try it out. If necessary, add a couple of stats or re-arrange them, and once you have found out, which stats work best for you, it will significantly improve your online poker results.
In case you should have any questions or problems, we also included poker videos that explain everything you need to know and go step-by-step through the HUD setup process:
Best HUD Friendly Poker Sites Conclusion
- Using a HUDs is very important to become a successful online poker player
- Choose the most important poker HUD stats from above
- Pick extra HUD stats that fit your playing style best
- HUD stats that are correlating to each other. Explore how to use this to your advantage.
- Choose one of the best HUD friendly poker sites from the above widget
Good Luck at the tables!
