Is an HUD an absolute necessity ?

I read a lot about HUD on forums and I was wondering, is it necessary in order to make money at the tables ? (I play micros NL4 on Party) I know it boosts income (If you use it well) but is it still possible to build a bankroll without using one ?

TIA,

ARU

I'm pretty sure my winrate was about the same before using a hud at micros...but I'm only playing a few tables against mostly decent to awful players. I'd say the difference it makes increases with the number of tables and skill level of the competition. There will be more borderline decisions as you move up that a hud can help with rather than maniacs just handing you money.

If your only playing one table then no i dont think a HUD is a neeeded(i obvs. wount hurt thou) but if you gonna play more then one table then i beleive its a most.
There is no question u can build a bankroll without a HUD,its just a tool to help your game.

You do know that both Holdem manager and PokerTracker have free 15 and 60 day trials? So u can just try them both and see if they make a difrence.
Also if u dont whant to buy a HUD you can google RealTime HUD, its a free HUD that works just fine but doesnt have the same post play analysis fetures PT3 and HEM have.

Thanks, I guess I'm just kinda ****ed by the fact that I try my best to win... playing only TAG but I keep getting destacked... I suppose it's what they call variance :S

Gotta do with it

Uh yeah, I know HEM but I used the "trial offer" once... as for PT3 I used it but the HUD isn't free I think, table tracker is something you must pay for ?

Well apparently I am a fish about things like this - I am assuming that a HUD is something you buy or free trial that you can use to do analysis of your playing? I have loaded something called cardshark that is for play money tables and have not attempted to use it yet since I am not thrilled about doing play money but in order to see what it can do guess I will have to try it. Thanks for the other info though posted here about free trials of other tools. Might give one of them a try and see how I do.
I play at the most 2 tables at a time. Not as adept at doing that as some of you that probably have lots of tables up at a time making great decisions one right after the other - lol- Lordy I should be so good lol
dynodonna

Hey you guys that use these tools - can you tell me which ones you personally use that you find most helpful? Both free trial ones and purchase ones. Thanks!
dynodonna

You can definitely do well without one, but that just depends on how good of a player you are. If you are a seasoned poker player and are able to keep track in your mind everything that is going on at all of your tables, then you probably don't need a HUD. But if you are a newer or average player, and you are playing a bunch of tables, then it would probably help quite a bit for you since it takes some of the dirty work out of the game for you to make a quicker decision.

No no, still playing on two tables, the pace is too slow at one table and I have TOO much time to think about other things

Holdem Manager is the favourite among CC regulars, although Poker Tracker 3 also has its followers.

Holdem Indicator is less sophisticated than either of those but works effectively and may be easier for beginners to get to grips with. It is purely an in-game aid, with none of the post-session review features that the others have.

Poker Office recently upgraded to version 5 and has had good reviews, but I don`t know anyone here who has used it yet.

The HUD is Free, Table tracker is not the HUD it rates tables based how loose they are etc. I am not sure if Table Tracker is even allowed at certain sites.

i play strictly heads-up and never use a HUD.

Looks like I get to retry HEM for 15 days, let's see if it helps a bit... at least determining if i'm facing a loose or tight player, that's vp$ip right ?

And thanks again for your advice sindri

Here's the free (voluntary donation) hud sindri mentioned, donna. The yellow block pops up when you click on someone's name. I only have two of those stats on the table for each player but you can add more. As sindri said, this is all there is...there are many more features, filters, analysis available with the trackers for sale.

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definitely not. I know most high-stakes guys don't use a HUD at all, but I guess that's because they play the same people over and over. It definitely helps though at lower stakes but I forget who said it in a video something like "HUDs are good at giving generalities, but they can't give the range someone has when they 4-bet me from the CO to my button 3-bet after I've 3-bet them the last 2 times in this spot and recently showed down a bluff a few hands ago against another opponent but have been playing pretty tight recently"

For me personally I use it for unknowns and to get a general sense, but I definitely don't use it much when I'm dealing with a solid reg. Obviously it's still up but it's more important the general history and how we've played in the past than the stats in the HUD.

Nicely put Zach.

HUD's are more effective against people who play their cards rather than playing the player. The more capable a person is at adapting, the less value a HUD will be to predict their holdings.
Also, the higher you go in limits the more regulars you run into which (like Zach said) means you get to know their play and don't need the HUD.

HUD's do provide you with extra information though, and it's reliable/unbiased information so it will always have some value, even if that value is to just confirm what you already know.

HUD's are more effective the less you can concentrate on a table. For example, if you are playing eight tables full of unknowns, the HUD will give you a synopsis of action you missed seeing. And it'll give you specific information on scenarios that are hard to remember. For example you might see that Player-X is betting all the time on table #8, but if he three-bets you you can see if this is standard for him, or if he only three bets when he has the goods.

I concur.

For what it`s worth, I wrote some stuff about the value or otherwise of an HUD to a tournament player in another thread yesterday.

Hey this is a lot of information to take in but I appreciate the comments very much. I know that there is also something - cant recall the name so I can use it - a tool where it shows a person's ROI - anyone know what this is - apparently you enter someone's table id and it comes up with info on them. It has been well over a year since someone told me about it and I used it that day but never again - would like to check it out again. I know that it is free - anyone know the name?
dyndonna
ps please tell me what you did for a klondike bar - I cant help but ask LOL

officialpokerrankings.com and sharkscope.com are two such tracking sites.

also tableratings for cash games. It's not very accurate and missing a lot fo hands for now, but I think they will be a good site in the future.

Generally the higher the stakes, the more accurate it is. Also it's only for 100nl+.

So on the HUD topic..... what are some of the stats that you guys use on the table display (without the pop-up when clicking on the user)?

I haven't used a HUD before and it might well sharpen my edge.
I'll try RealTime HUD from tomorrow on.

with the HUD, its an added advantage. Nevertheless, do not be too dependent on the HUD. Certain big decisions will be based on your analysis of the hand and your reads. HUD may make certain decisions easier, but in the end it can only help you that much.

You wont be having a HUD when playing live, so train yourself to be the HUD.