Best Heads Up Poker
Posted : admin On 4/8/2022- Best Heads Up Display Poker
- Best Heads Up Poker App
- Best Heads Up Poker Strategy
- Best Heads Up Poker Player 2020
Heads up (HU) poker is considered the King’s discipline of no limit Texas Holdem, and that for a reason. It is the most challenging, action-packed and honoring game format poker has to offer. Heads up poker is comparable to boxing, if you beat your opponents consistently, you become the champ, gain glory and most people would never want to. The Best Heads Up Poker Strategy How to Play Poker The overwhelming majority of the poker you play is going to be against multiple opponents. Even when you’re playing casually with friends, you’re going to seek out a full table because the crowd is just part of Texas Hold’em poker.
If you are interested to get the best rakeback deals and private promotions on poker sites head on to PokerPro website (PS: there are plenty of options to choose from also for the USA players).
If you are a live player or new to poker, youmight not know about the popular variant of Holdem that poker players playonline. It is called heads up. One player against another one. Both are tryingto outplay each other and win money. If you are confused about who posts theblinds and who is the button, then this article will be perfect for you.
If you doubt if heads up poker is beatable, check this article I wrote and keep in mind that the graph in the YouTube video show profits in millions of dollars.
The blinds and button in heads up poker is placed as follows; button will always post the small blind, while the other player will post the big blind. Post flop, the big blind will act first, and the person who posted a small blind (button in our case) will remain in the position. Next hand positions of the blinds and the button will switch. And the player who was big blind before will be small blind and button now.
In Heads Up poker, the button acts first preflop and last postflop. This is quite different from the 6max or full ring tables where small blind will always be first to act postflop, followed by the big blind.
In HU, the player on the button (BTN) will play more hands compared to the button on 6max and full ring games. If we are on the BTN on an HU game, we have already invested half of the blind and can raise to 3 big blinds (bb) total and have a chance to win the pot immediately. Let me remind you that the main goal in poker is to win the pot, and winning only the blinds with a random hand is a great result already. We risk 2.5bb – we already posted 0.5bb as small blind (SB) – to win 1.5bb.
Preflop Heads Up Play
Playing the Button in Heads Up Poker
A simple and straightforward explanation of who is a small blind in heads-up poker – a person who has the dealer button is the small blind. After the hand ends, the other player gets the dealer button and is the small blind. This gets repeated every hand.
A button will be first to act and decidewhether he wants to raise, fold, or call. Usually, you would want to raise ifon the button. Sometimes you might limp a few hands, sometimes none. The veryworst hands, you would go ahead and fold.
Depending on the opponent, you might also develop a different strategy where you limp more or play tighter in general. Especially against maniacs that 3bet you almost every hand, you need to consider opening smaller. You can even consider limping, but generally should be avoided as by limping you cannot win preflop. But against an average player raising most hands should be your priority.
Like I mentioned, the standard raise on the BTN is to make it 3x total preflop. And you should be opening around 70% of hands. Stick to opening that much hands on the button: Later, you can adapt depending on the opponent’s play style.
Now it is on the big blind (BB) to decide if he wants to call or 3bet you preflop. In a game of poker, a position is crucial. If you put up two players with the same skill against each other, they will always win on BTN and loose on BB.
If you are deep, 200bb, and more, then the positional advantage is even more important. Deeper, you are the better it is for the guy that has the position. Now I would be opening almost all if not all hands. If I get 3bet, that’s fine, I can defend wide, as we are deep. Plyer out of position will have a much harder time playing in deep pots.
If you play with shallow stacks of around 50bb, then you should also be opening less. Big cards count even more. Don’t rely on hitting too many sneaky straights as there are not many implied odds to ht your draws. With implied odds, I mean how much we are to win when we hit the draw.
Playing the Big Blind in Heads Up Poker
A simple and straightforward explanation of who is big blind in heads-up poker – a person who doesn’t have the button will be a big blind.
It is very, very hard to win playing out of position in heads up. Primarily we need to consider that we lose 1bb by posting the big blind.
On the BB, we will defend with much fewer hands than we will open on the BTN. The majority of mediocre hands are just folded. With semi playable hands, we can call. With the very best of our range, we will 3bet. In total, I play around 35%-45% of hands on the big blind. This includes my 3bet range. Our 3bet strategy depends a lot, depending on what the opponent calls us with. If we dominate a lot of hands that button defends with, then we can get away with 3betting more. I like to 3bet somewhere in the range of 15% hands.
If you want to know which hands are those, download Equilab from here and put in 15% range of hands. This tool is completely free. Go to Poker Tools and scroll to the bottom. It is under free tools. It is an excellent free software to practice your preflop and postflop ranges.
Postflop Heads Up play
The big blind is first to act post-flop. It sucks to play out of position (OOP). We don’t want to build the pot if we missed the flop. If we have a draw, we have a hard decision again.
I could write a few articles just about out of position strategy when playing HU. In general, you want to stick to play straightforward. And avoid huge pots if you don’t have good hands.
If you are a button, then postflop is your bread and butter. You will play in position the rest of the hand. You can either decide to take the pot down by a continuation bet. You can check to keep the pot small and seeing a free turn card. You can make a delayed continuation bet on the turn after checking back the flop. You can mix up your strategy and keep opponents guessing every time how good hand you have.
If an opponent shows weakness, you can put a lot of pressure on him, if you have a read on him. Weak players will often play very straightforward OOP and will basically tell you when they have a good hand or if they missed the board. But remember it is worse if you choose the wrong hands to try and bluff with than play straightforward.
On low stakes, you can get away with playing straightforward OOP and still make money. Firstly focus instead on the preflop game and your button post play. Once you master those, then you start learning OOP strategies.
Adapting to the opponent in heads up games
One vital thing that many low stakes players disregard is adapting to our opponent. Readless, we will do fine by opening 70% of hands and raising to 3bb preflop. Consider making the following adjustments if your opponent doesn’t play as the majority does:
- If you see opponent folding a lot, then it is time to raise more than 70% of hands on the button
- If the opponent is passive and a calling machine, then value bet our stronger hands bigger. With weak hands. It doesn’t make much sense to bluff him, so check back with weak hands and take free turns and rivers.
- If the villain is 3betting a lot, then start opening less than 3bb preflop. It is a good idea also to fold more preflop. Someone who 3bets a lot is usually also aggressive postflop. Against such guys, you can slowplay your good hands and let them bluff.
- If the opponent plays very straightforward and shows weakness, then bluff more on flops turns and rivers.
Best Heads Up Display Poker
Example 1
Let me demonstrate the following case. Weare up against a maniac, who 3bets almost every hand. With our QT offsuit weare in a range advantage against him preflop. I gave him a range of 75% of hishands. So our QTo is good enough to defend. My preflop adjustments against suchplayer would usually be:
- Tighten my preflop raising range so that I can protect more vs. his 3bets
- Make smaller preflop raises. 2x or 2.5x. This makes it cheaper for us to fold to a 3bet or keeping the pot smaller when we call the 3bet.
- Someone who is a maniac will bluff a lot postflop. Often we could slowplay our stronger hands. In our case, this wasn’t needed as the opponent made It obvious he wants to commit by betting large on the flop.
The action played as follows. He makes a continuation bet on the flop I make a small raise and opponent shoves. His hand? 79o. And we won a nice 202bb pot, and half of the blind went away because of the rake. If we are smart, then we get a big portion of the rake back. That is called Rakeback.
Example 2
Let’s have a look at one more example. Itis a shallow table with 50bb. Here we hold QQ preflop. And the read on ouropponent is that he is passive and a calling station (calls a lot, another termis call machine). We raise to 3x because we want to get value for our goodhand.
Flop is perfect for us. It has quite somedraws, and the opponent could have a draw or a pair here easily. We value betand get called. On the turn, the only draw that completes is 56, but there aremany more that missed. So our decision with pot-sized bet left is easy; weshove all in. Opponent calls and shows A9 of clubs. The river is a king ofdiamonds, and we win a nice pot.
Against calling stations, you should focuson getting value with your good hands. Do not bother bluffing as they don’tfold. If they are passive and they start betting, you can be sure they have hitsomething decent.
Winrate Playing Heads Up
In heads up poker, you can expect to make more money than in 6max or full-ring play. I am a no expert in playing HU, but I am a winner nonetheless. If you are an excellent HU player, then you can expect to make close to a double of my winrate on low stakes.
As you can see from the winnings by position, I am doing good on SB (button) and losing on BB. This is entirely normal and expected. In fact, I should be winning even more on the button. My winrate for the big blind is decent enough.
Just like I told you, I play around 70% of hands on the button. You should cbet a decent amount on flops. I think around 75% is fine if you are not getting check-raised often. My 3bet of 17% is also in the standard range.
How Long Does it Take to Learn Heads Up Poker?
Playing heads up is always beneficial as it helps you understand the game better. You will be a better hand reader if you decide to move to 6max or full ring after.
This answer depends much on your current understanding of the poker game. If you already play professionally, then a month should be enough to beat the games. If you are starting and want to learn heads up, then it takes longer. I would say anywhere from few months up to a year to be able to play professionally. And around 2 to 6 months to be a winning player at lower stakes.
Best Heads Up Poker App
Your time will be reduced dramatically if you find yourself a proven winning heads up poker coach. Instead of losing money at the tables when starting, it makes a lot of sense to join a poker coaching website, like this one. It is not too expensive, and it includes in-depth strategy videos from the guy that has won millions playing heads up poker against the best players (plus it also has some free quality learning material).
Now you have everything, from basicstrategy to links to resources where you can learn this beautiful game indepth. With enough willingness to learn, you can become a great HU player.
Can you Count Cards in Poker?
It is impossible to count cards in poker in a similar way that it is in blackjack. In poker, a deck is shuffled after every hand. In every new hand, you will receive completely random hands.You can, however, count your outs to win the hand.
This means that you roughly know how many percentages you have to win the hand. Let’s say you hold a nut flush draw with no pair on the flop. Your outs are all cards that complete the flush and maybe all of the aces if the opponent has only a pair. So that is 9 outs for the flush and 3 outs for the Ace. This gets you very close to a coin flip. It still depends if the opponent blocks any of your outs. Maybe your opponent has only a 2nd nut flush draw with no pair on the flop. Now you are a big favorite to win the hand.
Those outs might not be always live outs. Let me explain. Let’s say you are holding an open-ended straight draw on the flop (87 on 562 flop). You think you have 8 outs to hit your straight. So about 32% on the flop. If your opponent holds blockers to your hand (pair of nines), then you might have only 6 outs, so you are down to around 24%.
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HUD or “Heads Up Display” is one of the most popular tools that many online poker players use to understand their opponents. It’s a program that players use to collect data from their opponents. You can get many advantages from using HUD, but the question is, which is the best HUD that you can use in 2020?
The best HUD for poker in 2020 is PokerTracker 4. It has the best backend filters that allow you to keep track of your game and your opponents’ strategies. HoldemManager and Hand2Note are two other excellent HUDs that you can use to study and improve your online and live games.
You can use other alternatives to improve your strategies, but these are the ones that work best for us. This article will show you how HUDs work and why it can be useful for your games. Stick around to learn more about them, and soon, you’ll be on your way to making quick profits using a reliable HUD.
How HUDs Help Players to Improve?
When you’re playing poker, the strategies you’re using will, almost always, depend on your opponent. When you’re playing against one, it’s easy to read and remember everything that he does. However, if you’re playing against two or more players, things can get a bit tricky.
Aside from trying to remember every decision that your opponents made, you also need to think of a better strategy against them. Even if you’re playing online poker, it can still be troublesome to keep track of everything happening on the table. That’s why many playersrely on HUDto help them play better online games.
It’s easy to understand how HUDs work—it’s a program that works in the background while playing online poker. It collects data from your games and your opponents, allowing you to have an extensive database of everything that you need to make decisions.
The more data it collects, the more accurate it gets in predicting how a player would react to certain situations.
That’s how most players use HUD, and it can instantly change the way you play online poker games. However, there’s another feature in HUDs that many people don’t fully utilize—the data it collects from you. If you’re going to use it, you’ll be able to find leaks in your gameplay and work on them to formulate better strategies.
How HUDs Work and Is It Effective?
99% of online poker players who make money in micro-stakes tables are using HUD. However, it doesn’t account for those who are only playing casual games because it takes quite some time for HUDs to mine data and produce anything useful.
So, if you’re looking for a HUD that you can use to increase your profits, be sure that you’ll commit to using it long-term. In terms of finances, that’s the only way to get your investment back with HUDs. Besides profitability, using it also has a long-term impact on how you play games.
When you’re using an online poker client such as PokerStars, Party Poker, or other similar platforms, the program will store hand histories as a text file on your computer. These files are easily accessible, but many players won’t really get to use any of it unless they have a HUD.
When you install a HUD on your computer, the first thing it does is collect all the information that game clients created. Once it’s complete, it will record all the games that you’re playing in real-time, and you can use it on the side as a reference when playing against different players. Here are some of the most common statistics that HUDs show:
- VPIP or VP$IP (Voluntarily Put chips/money In the Pot): This is a pre-flop stat that you can use to determine how often a player joins the pot. The lower the VPIP is for a player, the less likely he’s to bluff or gets involved with mid-range hands.
- 3Bet Frequency: This is a stat that refers to the percentage that a player re-raises. If your opponent has a low 3Bet Frequency but re-raises a hand, it’s more likely that he has a strong hand.
- PFR (Pre-Flop Raise): This is a stat that shows the percentage of a player to raise pre-flop. It’ll tell you whether your opponent is usually aggressive based on his previous actions.
- Aggression factor: This is a stat that will show you how aggressive a player is, and will help you understand whether he is unusually aggressive at a particular hand, or whether he’s generally playing aggressively.
- Post-flop decisions: This is a more complicated stat that shows you how a player acts post-flop. It shows you how often a player checks, bets, or raises in every street.
These stats are the most common that you’ll see in HUDs, but others can provide you with more details and allow you to customize the information that you see in your feed. All of the information you choose to see will appear instantaneously, which can be challenging to do without HUDs.
If you combine all of these stats, you’ll have a better idea of how a particular player plays against you. Since you already have the previous information about him, you’ll be able to strategize how you should alter or adapt the strategies that you use to extract value from him.
The more you use HUD, the more accurate it gets. With enough data to work with, you’ll be able to tell whether a particular game will be good for you to play or not, possibly saving your stack from a more experienced player.
What to Look for in a HUD?
One of the most common misconceptions that people have when looking for HUDs is thinking that they’re all the same. There’s some level of truth to it, but unfortunately, most HUDs can only provide you with relevant stats, and that’s where their similarities end.
HUDs differ in how they collect data from you, and how it can improve your game. The HUDs that we’re going to cover in this article are the ones that we find useful for finding leaks and helping you play better, without compromising the main feature that we all want.
Here are some of the essential features that you should be looking for in a HUD:
- Customizability: HUDs can collect so much data that it starts to feel overwhelming as you play with more people. A feature that allows you to configure the stats that you want is something that not many HUDs can do, but it will be useful if you only want to use it for your games. The stats we mentioned above are the most important that you need, and all of them can help you play better games.
- Versatility: Many programs will only allow you to have one application you can use for your games. There’s really nothing wrong with having only one, but if you want to use it to improve your game, it would be best to look for something that you can use for multiple game formats.
- Compatibility: It’s a two-pronged approach—you want something that works on all platforms and game clients. The last thing that you want when using HUD is to realize that it’s not compatible with Mac or the game client that you’re using.
- Upgradability: Many of the features that HUDs offer won’t be beneficial for casual players. If a program doesn’t have an upgradability option, you’ll be paying for the full price and get features that won’t be useful for you.
Of course, there are others that you may want for your program, but we feel that these are the bare essentials for HUDs. These factors are enough to narrow the choices we should consider. Many programs available for poker players won’t even have one or two of the features mentioned above.
Best Overall and for Heavy Grinders: PokerTracker 4
PokerTracker 4 is the HUD that we can recommend for anyone in 2020. It has been our preferred program for the past years, and we have yet to see a HUD that can match what it does with our games. It has all the features you need to play effectively, and the interface isn’t as complicated as other HUDs you’ll find.
Why We Prefer PokerTracker 4
One of the reasons why we prefer PokerTracker 4 is its customizability. It allows you to customize the feed that it presents, making sure that it matches your preference. It’s best for cash games, SNGs, and tournaments (combine PT4 with Sharkscope to be an ultimate tournament player), making it our recommended HUD for heavy grinders.
Best Heads Up Poker Strategy
Studying the game will take countless hours, and often, we are presented with our bias when it comes to finding leaks. That’s why many players find it very hard to improve and suffer a plateau with their progress. PokerTracker 4 makes it easy for anyone to find the leaks in their games, study it, and incorporate it with their strategies.
Most HUDs are focused on what you should do in real-time but do very little when it comes to improving your overall skills. On the other hand, PokerTracker 4 can provide you with real-time adjustments that you need to make while in the game, but records everything for reference.
When you only use HUD for online games as a real-time advisor, you’re not really doing anything to improve your skills, and your progress with live games slows down. By using PokerTracker 4, you’ll find all the weaknesses in your strategies, which slowly makes you a better live games player.
Compatibility isn’t an issue as well because it runs on both Mac and Windows. I’ve been using it for years and never had problems with compatibility.
Another cool feature with PokerTracker 4 is that it comes with a WYSIWYG editor that gives you more customization features for the stats that you collect while playing Hold’em and Omaha.
Pros and Cons of Using PokerTracker 4
With all the features you’ll get from PokerTracker 4, it can be overwhelming and challenging to figure out how it can help you. So here’s a shortlist of everything that a heavy grinder will get from using this HUD:
- Ease of installation and use.
- Customization options to make your feed less cluttered.
- Works on 25 major poker sites.
- Compatibility with Mac and Windows.
- LeakTracker to help you get better with live games.
- Scalability to the table size.
This HUD is far from perfect, though, and there are still a few things that might be a deal-breaker for you. Here are some of the weaknesses that we’ve found while using PokerTracker 4:
- Limited analytical options for more advanced players.
- There are very few add-ons available, which limits the room for growth.
If you’re looking for a useful HUD that can instantly improve your online games, and slowly train you to become better at live games, PokerTracker 4 is our recommended option. It’s far from being a perfect program for every poker player, but its features are enough for most heavy grinders. In fact, it’s so good that we can easily put this HUD on top of every category that we have on this list.
HUD for Casual Players on Windows: Holdem Manager 3
Hold’em Manager has been one of the best HUDs for poker players since 2008! Until now, we still consider it one of the best options for many poker enthusiasts, especially those who are only playing casually.
Whether you’re starting to learn the fundamentals of poker or looking for ways to improve your performance in online poker sites, Holdem Manager 3 will serve you well. It has all the stats that you need, and you can easily customize it to make the feed less cumbersome.
Why We Prefer Holdem Manager 3
Holdem Manager 3 has many features that can make it look cluttered when you see it for the first time. However, it has a hand filter feature that allows you to trim down the information that you’re seeing, making it easier to focus on the stats that really matter for you.
Holdem Manager 3 (HM3) HUD also has a post-game analysis feature that provides you with a set of tools that you can use to help you improve your game and find your leaks.
Although it’s not as in-depth as what you’d get from PokerTracker 4, it’s still more than enough for most casual players.
What We Didn’t Like About Holdem Manager 3
The only real disadvantage you may encounter while using this HUD is that it needs massive resources from your computer to run smoothly. However, if your computer can support the system requirements to run this program, you’ll find it more than capable of providing you with everything that you need to improve your game.
The number of poker platforms that it supports can also be a drawback for some players because Holdem Manager 3 only works with 12 major poker sites. Still, it’s the preferred choice for many players worldwide because it’s one of the few HUDs with multi-language support.
Pros and Cons of Using Holdem Manager 3
Holdem Manager is one of the first HUDs to have ever been released in public, and it remains one of the best programs that you can use. If you’re considering to use this program, here are some of the pros that you will get from it:
- Ease of installation and use.
- Customization options to make your feed less cluttered.
- Multi-language support for non-native English speakers.
- Post Game Analysis that helps you improve your core skills.
- In-depth stat analysis that users can adjust based on skill level.
Holdem Manager 3 is one of the pioneers in HUD, but it doesn’t mean that it’s great for everyone. Here are some of the disadvantages that can force you to consider other programs:
- Incompatibility with Mac.
- Limited poker platforms.
- Limited stats for more advanced players.
- A heavy program that requires massive resources.
- A bit more expensive than PokerTracker 4.
Holdem Manager 3 is an excellent option for poker players looking for HUDs that work well for Windows, multi-language support, and focused on stats that casual players need. It costs slightly more than PokerTracker 4 with fewer features.
However, if you’re only playing casually, you might not even get the chance to use all the stats that other, more in-depth programs can provide you.
New Great Alternative to PT4 and HoldemManager: Hand2Note
Just recently there has been a new HUD that everyone is talking about. It’s called Hand2Note and it has many great features like PT4 and HoldemManager have.
It is very hard to come up with a great HUD, hand tracker combined with good customer support and useful tutorials. The majority of these Hand2Note deals with fabulously, just check the YouTube video below how great Hand2Note is and all the features it gives you.
Good things about Hand2Note
- free 30-day trial
- monthly subscription instead of full buy price: this is a great option if you play poker casually, as you can simply cancel the subscription and will not be charged for months you don’t need to use it for
- visually pleasing
- many options to style the HUD to your liking
- dynamic HUD
- option to automatically exclude reg-vs-fish when calculating statistics: if a regular is playing against a weaker opponent, they greatly adjust their playstyle which doesn’t align with their stats against other players. This means that other villain stats don’t get skewed when we exclude those plays.
What we didn’t like about Hand2Note
- the team at hand2Note could definitely improve their tutorials, as it takes time to create everything to your liking
- monthly subscription: this is bad for you if you play regularly, as then eventually the monthly subscription prices will surpass the full cost of PT4 or HoldemManager
You can get Hand2Note here or click the banner below:
HUD for Casual Players on Mac: Poker Copilot 6
In the early days of Poker Copilot, it was only an alternative for PokerTracker and Holdem Manager. In fact, even the developers were marketing it to people who are looking for other options that they can use other than the two. Aside from that, it was the first HUD ever to support Mac users, giving it quite a headstart when it comes to Mac compatibility.
After years of polishing their program, Poker Copilot 6 has become one of the most competent HUDs that you can use. Now, it’s as capable as PokerTracker and Holdem Manager, and it even runs on Windows and Mac smoothly.
Why We Prefer Poker Copilot 6
One of the pillars of Poker Copilot 6 for its success is the combination of simplicity in design and sophistication with its stats. Even first-time users will find it easy to use, and the customization allows beginners and intermediate players to filter the stats that they’re getting to match their specifications.
You can see everything clearly, and it’s not as cluttered as most HUDs you’ll see in the market. It even helps you keep track of your bankroll with the records of all your wins and losses, making it easy for you to monitor your long-term progress.
Another feature that many people will also find useful with Poker Copilot 6 is the Leak Finder, which allows you to go through your game histories. Whenever you feel like you got in a situation that needs a bit of improvement, you can go through it, and it will present all the information that you need, together with suggested plays.
What We Didn’t Like About Poker Copilot 6
The disadvantage of using Poker Copilot 6 is that it doesn’t have enough room for growth. When you start using a HUD, you’ll be using it to get better with the game, and it should have enough options to keep up with your progress. Unfortunately, it’s not something that you can do with Poker Copilot due to its limited game analysis options.
Pros and Cons of Using Poker Copilot
Poker Copilot 6 had a lot of improvement over the years, and many players consider it one of the top competitors for HUDs. Here are some of the features that you’ll find beneficial as soon as you start using it:
- Ease of use, navigation, and intuitive design.
- Leak Finder to help you improve your core skills.
- Bankroll chart to monitor your progress.
- Compatibility with Mac and Windows.
- Session overview for a quick view of your performance.
Despite all of the improvements that Poker Copilot 6 has made with its core features, there are still a few things that they can do to make their program better. Here are some of the disadvantages that you’ll get from using this HUD:
- Limited compatibility with poker platforms.
- Minimal stats for more advanced players.
- Limited features that still take a lot of resources.
- Slightly more expensive than PokerTracker 4.
Poker Copilot is an excellent option for casual players on Mac. It has minimal analytical features and stats, but it’s more than enough if you’re only playing casually. In fact, if you’re not a heavy grinder who aims to make a lot of money playing online poker, this HUD will provide you with almost everything that you need.
Best for Beginners: DriveHUD
DriveHUD is our recommended program for first-time users. It focuses on speed, interface, and stats that are beneficial for new players.
One of the things that make this HUD stand out is that it doesn’t try to be too many things simultaneously, which can be overwhelming for many players.
Best Heads Up Poker Player 2020
Why We Prefer DriveHUD
One of the problems with many HUDs—even the other three that we have on this list—is despite their efforts to make it intuitive and easy to navigate, it still has a bit of a learning curve. DriveHUD also has a bit of a learning curve, but the developers streamlined everything so well that learning how to use it feels natural.
One thing that separates DriveHUD from others is its design. Instead of bombarding their users with texts that clutter the window, it provides you with color-coded statsand icons that take less space.
The post-game analysis is also easier to navigate and only provides you with the information you need to improve your game. This feature allows you to work on the essentials and not worry about other parts of your strategies. Using this HUD in the long-run can solidify your fundamentals and make you better with live games.
What We Didn’t Like About DriveHUD
If you’re going to use DriveHUD, you’re only stuck with Windows. It also requires a powerful computer to run this program. It requires a minimum of 4GB RAM to work, but the recommended system setup is 8GB. On top of that, you also need to have enough RAM to run other programs simultaneously.
So, to run DriveHUD and play poker smoothly, we recommend using it on a computer with at least 16GB of RAM.
Pros and Cons of Using DriveHUD
DriveHUD is one of the best HUDs that beginners can use because it has a minimalist approach in providing in-game stats. Besides their intuitive design, here are other advantages that you can get from using DriveHUD:
- Leak Detector shows your weaknesses and helps you fix them.
- Badge system to take less space while playing poker.
- Graphs and charts to monitor your long-term progress.
- Pre-defined players stats that automatically categorize your opponents.
- Every information is clean and easy to understand.
DriveHUD is an excellent option for many poker players, but it still needs a lot of improvement to be the best. Here are some of the disadvantages that you’ll encounter when you use DriveHUD for your games:
- Limited compatibility with poker platforms.
- Minimal stats for more advanced players.
- Requires a mid-range computer to work smoothly.
- Not compatible with Mac.
If you’re only starting to take online poker seriously and want to be more profitable, DriveHUD is an excellent option. It has most of the features that you need, and it won’t be too overwhelming for you.
If you won’t mind switching to a more advanced HUD after a few years, and if you prefer an easy to understand interface, this HUD should be on the top of your list!
Conclusion
HUD or Heads Up Display is a program that every online poker player should use. It will help them improve their games instantly and make more educated decisions based on how their opponent plays. However, not all HUDs are created equal, and there are many things that you need to consider when looking for one.
Here are the best HUDs that we can recommend for every player:
- PokerTracker 4 for heavy grinders.
- Holdem Manager 3 for casual players on Windows.
- Hand2Note is a great new alternative to pT4 and HM3, especially if you don’t play every month
- Poker Copilot 6 for casual players on Mac.
- DriveHUD for beginners.
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