Here is the short answer:
Yes, you can win at online poker without using a HUD. However, you are putting yourself at a big disadvantage by not using a HUD. Most online professional poker players use a HUD because it helps them get better reads while multi-tabling.
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What Exactly is a Poker HUD?
For anyone who does not know what a HUD (Heads Up Display) is, it is a component of the popular poker tracking programs like Pokertracker 4 or Hold'em Manager 2.
It allows you to display information on your opponents directly beside their name at the poker tables.
This information is extracted by these programs from your own hand histories. Hand histories are small text files that are automatically created by the poker site after every hand and stored on your computer.
So for instance, say that you have played 100 hands of poker with a specific player. And by this I simply mean that you were seated at the same table as them for 100 hands. You probably both folded preflop the majority of the time.
The poker tracking program will find 100 different hand histories where this player showed up and it will then be able to calculate for instance what percentage of those hands that they decided to play.
Playing online poker without using a HUD would be like playing golf with only 2 clubs. There is a reason why most golfers (professional or amateur) usually carry around a dozen or more of them. It just gives them more options when confronted with different scenarios.
Could you still win a round of golf against someone by using just two clubs? Sure, if you played against somebody who is terrible at the game like me then you could probably still manage to get the win on most occasions.
If you take online poker seriously at all then getting a HUD is easily one of the most +EV investments that you can make.
This information is extracted by these programs from your own hand histories. Hand histories are small text files that are automatically created by the poker site after every hand and stored on your computer.
So for instance, say that you have played 100 hands of poker with a specific player. And by this I simply mean that you were seated at the same table as them for 100 hands. You probably both folded preflop the majority of the time.
The poker tracking program will find 100 different hand histories where this player showed up and it will then be able to calculate for instance what percentage of those hands that they decided to play.
You can then display this information (as well as many other stats) next to the person's name at the table if you wish.
So your online poker table with a HUD enabled may look something like this (I blacked out the player names to protect their privacy):
Don't worry about what all of these stats mean right now. I will have more on that later. First let me explain how these HUD stats will help you play better poker.
So your online poker table with a HUD enabled may look something like this (I blacked out the player names to protect their privacy):
Don't worry about what all of these stats mean right now. I will have more on that later. First let me explain how these HUD stats will help you play better poker.
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Using a HUD Simply Gives You More Options
Playing online poker without using a HUD would be like playing golf with only 2 clubs. There is a reason why most golfers (professional or amateur) usually carry around a dozen or more of them. It just gives them more options when confronted with different scenarios.
Could you still win a round of golf against someone by using just two clubs? Sure, if you played against somebody who is terrible at the game like me then you could probably still manage to get the win on most occasions.
But if you were to play against somebody who is equally as skilled then this advantage that they have might be difficult to overcome.
The same goes for online poker. All a HUD really does is give you some extra options (information in this case) at the tables. You don't even have to pay much attention to it if you don't want to.
In fact for people just starting out at the lowest stakes I recommend a very scaled down bare bones HUD so that they focus more on the fundamentals of the game instead. Information is power though even if you only make limited use of it.
Think about how having the following data in front of you might help you make a better decision in a key spot:
The same goes for online poker. All a HUD really does is give you some extra options (information in this case) at the tables. You don't even have to pay much attention to it if you don't want to.
In fact for people just starting out at the lowest stakes I recommend a very scaled down bare bones HUD so that they focus more on the fundamentals of the game instead. Information is power though even if you only make limited use of it.
Think about how having the following data in front of you might help you make a better decision in a key spot:
- Percentage of hands that they play
- Percentage of hands that they raise
- How aggressive or passive they are
- How often they make a 3Bet
- How often they fold to a 3Bet
- How often they make a continuation bet on the flop
- How often they fold to a continuation bet on the flop
By the way, if you want to know all 12 poker HUD stats that I have personally used for nearly a decade as an online poker pro, I recently made a video showing you.
If you want to start using these HUD stats for yourself at the poker table right now, get the free trail version of the poker HUD that I use right here.
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This is a common complaint that I hear from those who are more let's say "old school" about the game or those who come from a live background. Many of these people think that a HUD breaks with the tradition of the game which includes reading your opponent and making gut decisions.
Well I think first off we need to remember that online poker and live poker are in fact two different games. While it is true that the rules are the same just about everything else is different from the pace of the action to the ability to physically interact with your opponent.
There is a huge dimension of the live game including physical tells, appearance and table talk that just really does not exist in the online game.
"Reads" in online poker are much more based on stuff like timing tells and betting patterns. And of course the other main difference is that the online game is played through a powerful computing device like a laptop, pc or tablet.
It is only natural that people are going to try and make use of this technology to their advantage. You must remember though:
All a HUD really does is process data from a bunch of hands that you yourself have already played.
While it might sound a bit ridiculous there is absolutely nothing stopping you in a live game from using some sort of mobile device and compiling data on your opponents in a similar way. So to answer another common complaint, no, there is absolutely nothing about using a HUD that is "cheating" or breaking the rules of the game.
At the end of the day the information that we get from a HUD merely gives us clues to work with. No HUD on earth can tell you what two cards your opponent is actually holding. If you had access to that sort of information then you absolutely would be cheating.
In online poker we still make decisions based on our gut instinct all the time. A HUD simply organizes the information that we already have in a more efficient and useful manner.
I actually scoffed at the idea of using a HUD for a long time myself, for years even. I have still played a slight majority of my 7 million+ hands of online poker without the use of one.
Nearly all of these hands were played several years ago though when the edges were bigger online and it was easier to get away without using a HUD. Also, very few of my opponents were using one at the time either which is certainly NOT the case today.
I eventually smartened up though after realizing how useful the information that they provide could be and how easy they actually were to use. Now when I sit down to play poker on the internet my HUD is always fired up and ready to go with hesitation.
It is not something that I even need to think about. A HUD is simply a key tool that all serious poker players use in today's games. And the reason why is because even with minimal use they pay for themselves very quickly.
For Instance:
You have QQ in an NL5 full ring game. You raise back and forth with a particular opponent and then he shoves all in. What do you do?
Well, if you are using a HUD then you might notice that your opponent is a massive nit who only plays 10% of his hands.
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But Using a HUD Isn't Real Poker!
This is a common complaint that I hear from those who are more let's say "old school" about the game or those who come from a live background. Many of these people think that a HUD breaks with the tradition of the game which includes reading your opponent and making gut decisions.
Well I think first off we need to remember that online poker and live poker are in fact two different games. While it is true that the rules are the same just about everything else is different from the pace of the action to the ability to physically interact with your opponent.
There is a huge dimension of the live game including physical tells, appearance and table talk that just really does not exist in the online game.
"Reads" in online poker are much more based on stuff like timing tells and betting patterns. And of course the other main difference is that the online game is played through a powerful computing device like a laptop, pc or tablet.
It is only natural that people are going to try and make use of this technology to their advantage. You must remember though:
All a HUD really does is process data from a bunch of hands that you yourself have already played.
While it might sound a bit ridiculous there is absolutely nothing stopping you in a live game from using some sort of mobile device and compiling data on your opponents in a similar way. So to answer another common complaint, no, there is absolutely nothing about using a HUD that is "cheating" or breaking the rules of the game.
At the end of the day the information that we get from a HUD merely gives us clues to work with. No HUD on earth can tell you what two cards your opponent is actually holding. If you had access to that sort of information then you absolutely would be cheating.
In online poker we still make decisions based on our gut instinct all the time. A HUD simply organizes the information that we already have in a more efficient and useful manner.
Using a HUD Pays For Itself Quickly
I actually scoffed at the idea of using a HUD for a long time myself, for years even. I have still played a slight majority of my 7 million+ hands of online poker without the use of one.
Nearly all of these hands were played several years ago though when the edges were bigger online and it was easier to get away without using a HUD. Also, very few of my opponents were using one at the time either which is certainly NOT the case today.
I eventually smartened up though after realizing how useful the information that they provide could be and how easy they actually were to use. Now when I sit down to play poker on the internet my HUD is always fired up and ready to go with hesitation.
It is not something that I even need to think about. A HUD is simply a key tool that all serious poker players use in today's games. And the reason why is because even with minimal use they pay for themselves very quickly.
For Instance:
You have QQ in an NL5 full ring game. You raise back and forth with a particular opponent and then he shoves all in. What do you do?
Well, if you are using a HUD then you might notice that your opponent is a massive nit who only plays 10% of his hands.
Most nits are hesitant to get all the money in preflop without the mortal nuts and your HUD might provide you with further evidence to back this up.
So there is probably a pretty good chance then that this player actually does have one of the two hands that beat you. You could probably safely lay down your queens and save yourself $5.
On the other hand, your HUD might tell you that your opponent is a maniac who plays 50% of his hands and raises and re-raises with a large amount of them as well. In this case we should quite literally beat our opponent into the pot.
We will most likely win and stack them for a $5 gain. A very simplistic situation like this will come up often enough that the entire cost of the HUD would be paid for in a short period of time even at extremely low stakes like this.
Now of course one might argue that you could just play a single table or two and watch your opponents closely. But then you would take away from one of the key strengths of online poker which is the ability to multi-table.
This allows you to maximize your hourly, get to the long run faster and collect more rakeback all at the same time.
So there is probably a pretty good chance then that this player actually does have one of the two hands that beat you. You could probably safely lay down your queens and save yourself $5.
On the other hand, your HUD might tell you that your opponent is a maniac who plays 50% of his hands and raises and re-raises with a large amount of them as well. In this case we should quite literally beat our opponent into the pot.
We will most likely win and stack them for a $5 gain. A very simplistic situation like this will come up often enough that the entire cost of the HUD would be paid for in a short period of time even at extremely low stakes like this.
Now of course one might argue that you could just play a single table or two and watch your opponents closely. But then you would take away from one of the key strengths of online poker which is the ability to multi-table.
This allows you to maximize your hourly, get to the long run faster and collect more rakeback all at the same time.
And also, raw numbers (actual data and percentages on your screen) are always going to be more accurate than your memory.
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I also have an entire video showing you the 15 HUD stats that all online pros use, and that you need to include on your HUD as well.
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If You Are Serious About Online Poker, Then Use a HUD
If you take online poker seriously at all then getting a HUD is easily one of the most +EV investments that you can make.
This is not even to mention all of the innumerable benefits of the poker tracking program itself such as the ability to conduct a session review and a database analysis of your game and that of your opponents.
As we already saw, even if you only use your HUD for the most basic scenarios it would already start paying for itself very quickly.
As we already saw, even if you only use your HUD for the most basic scenarios it would already start paying for itself very quickly.
But furthermore, both of the major HUDs that are used these days have a free trial so you can simply test drive them for 30 days at no cost and see for yourself.
I personally use PokerTracker 4 when I play online because of how well designed the interface is, how easy it is to find stats, use filters and setup the HUD.
It is very easy to get started. I made this video in fact which shows you step by step how to get it running in less than 5 minutes.
And lastly, I have written a comprehensive guide on how to optimize your HUD which also happens to be the most popular post in the history of this website.
In it I discuss:
I hope that this blog post has once and for all helped answer the question of whether or not you can win at online poker without using a HUD.
Yes, you definitely can.
If you are a solid player, table select well and keep the tilt to a minimum then you should have no problem beating most levels at the micros.
However it makes no sense to be without the kind of quality information on your opponents that a HUD can provide.
I personally use PokerTracker 4 when I play online because of how well designed the interface is, how easy it is to find stats, use filters and setup the HUD.
It is very easy to get started. I made this video in fact which shows you step by step how to get it running in less than 5 minutes.
And lastly, I have written a comprehensive guide on how to optimize your HUD which also happens to be the most popular post in the history of this website.
In it I discuss:
- What each of the HUD stats mean and the technical abbreviations that are used
- How I sort the stats on my HUD and use them to make poker decisions
- Sample size convergence for various stats
- Complete HUD customization including how to add or remove stats, change fonts, prefixes etc.
- FREE downloads of both the lite and full versions of the custom PT4 HUD profiles that I personally use at the poker tables.
Make sure that you check that the online poker site you play at allows HUDs. Not all of them do but most of the major online poker sites do.
Bottom line, if you take online poker seriously, getting a good HUD is the biggest no brainer decision you can make.
Final Thoughts
I hope that this blog post has once and for all helped answer the question of whether or not you can win at online poker without using a HUD.
Yes, you definitely can.
If you are a solid player, table select well and keep the tilt to a minimum then you should have no problem beating most levels at the micros.
However it makes no sense to be without the kind of quality information on your opponents that a HUD can provide.
This is information by the way that an increasing number of your opponents will have on you as you climb up the stakes.
Using a HUD is not some magic wand that allows you to print money at the tables. However, when used effectively it will help you make better decisions based on the data that you have already gathered.
Using a HUD is not some magic wand that allows you to print money at the tables. However, when used effectively it will help you make better decisions based on the data that you have already gathered.
This will pay off in a big way over the long run.
If you are serious about online poker and you do not use a HUD yet then do yourself a favor and at least try one out. Don't be that anti-HUD hero. You are only hurting your own bottom line at the tables.
A HUD is just one of the resources that I use to improve my poker game by the way. If you want a complete list of all the poker software tools I use, you can find that right here.
Lastly, if you want to know how to start consistently making $1000+ per month in low stakes games, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
Let me know your thoughts on playing online poker with or without a HUD below.
If you are serious about online poker and you do not use a HUD yet then do yourself a favor and at least try one out. Don't be that anti-HUD hero. You are only hurting your own bottom line at the tables.
A HUD is just one of the resources that I use to improve my poker game by the way. If you want a complete list of all the poker software tools I use, you can find that right here.
Lastly, if you want to know how to start consistently making $1000+ per month in low stakes games, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
Let me know your thoughts on playing online poker with or without a HUD below.
