Doubledunk
Visionary
Silver Level
you can just go for the free trial and test it out if it fits you. most poker HUD has a 1 month free trial, just grab one and try it. i suggest you try DriveHUD, that hud is easy to use.
quick
Legend
Silver Level
Like others here posting, I use my mind and simply paying attention to the action, esp when not in a hand. I have HM2 but don't usually use the HUDs. On sites with user names, I use the built in site software to take small notes on villains and color tags and then update revise these based on playing them over time. I'm aware many players use HUDs and I'm actively aware of changing up my play from time to time to confuse those who only consider HUD stats.
608xperience
Rising Star
Bronze Level
Over a small sample size, HUDs offer little information. As sample sizes increase, however, player tendencies become more obvious and reliable. Poker Copilot also has the advantage of being able to display sharkscope stats right in the HUD display, and retrieval of stats is automated for each user at your table. For MTT players, that can be a very useful advantage.
The in-game play is not where the real value lay, in my opinion. The value of HM2, Poker Copilot or PT4 is that they have hand replayers that enable you to explore any hands you've played to evaluate a spot. During game-play, I often favourite hands for later review. This enables me to not tilt or get stuck on a hand I just played. Quickly clicking to favourite the hand enables me to just move on in the session and worry about potential missteps later.
In addition to a HUD (I use Poker Copilot 6), I have a number of tools that I use (or plan to use) for studying and balanced gameplay:
- PokerCruncher Expert: This is a powerful equity calculator that enables me to generate heat maps for evaluating how to play vs villains' ranges on various board textures. Outstanding product.
- ProPokerTools Odds Oracle: SImilar to PokerCruncher, I use this application for working with equities vs ranges for PLO. Can be coupled with PokerJuice (Odds Oracle is a PokerJuice prereq.) or used standalone.
- ICMIZER 2 (Evaluating): A different slant on equity calculation by working with the value of one's holdings according to ICM (Independent Chip Model) rather than raw equity. Useful for MTT/SNG grinders who want to work out the exact value of their chips to understand the EV of a particular action.
- Random: This is a native OS X application that is a very nicely featured random number generator. I use this for regulating various frequencies during game play. For example, if I want to call in a tough spot 25% of the time, I can generate a random number and if it falls between 0-25, I'll call; otherwise, I'll fold. The app also has a random card generator that is wonderful for generating random hands/flops for evaluating scenarios.
- PokerJuice (TO BE EVALUATED): Builds upon the PPT Odds Oracle software to offer an incredibly powerful GUI for working out PLO equities, push/pull strategies, shove ranges, etc. Looks vaguely simiilar to ICMIZER, but does not deal with ICM. Expensive subscription, so I'll need to be more profitable at PLO to justify this expense.
- SnapShove Pro (iOS): Great little app for studying push/fold ranges in sub-25 big blind stack depths. Uses pure Nash for calculating ranges and expects villains to be playing accordingly. As such, adjust for player tendencies.
- Insta Poker (iOS): Training app that presents hands played by various pros in tournament and cash-game scenarios. Quizzes you on how you would play each street of the hand and coaches you regarding optimal choice according to the pro. Many add-on hand packs available.
- Primed Mind (iOS): This is a mental game training application that offers different categories of guided hypnosis/meditation to help improve focus. Monthly or yearly subscriptions.
- pokermindcoach.com Mental Game MP3s: Elliot Roe is a well-known hypnotherapist who has worked with various pros, including Fedor Holz and Olivier Busquet, to help patch mental leaks, improve focus, de-tilt after a bad beat, etc. Sets are available for online cash, MTTs and "Leak Busters". Highly recommended.
P.S. - If anybody knows of a Mac-native equivalent of Cardrunners EV, please let me know. I'm interested in exploring game trees, but would prefer not to have to run CEV inside a Windows VM.
Cheers.
