Let's take a minute to recap a little what a HUD is and tell me if you agree or not.
A HUD is most of the time a tool provided by a poker tracker. A tracker is a software used to monitor your own results and provide data you can use to improve your game. By digesting your hand histories the software will also track your opponents results when they were sitting at your table, but unless you're playing heads up, the hands sample for deep analysis on them is just too small to be usable.
Now the HUD in itself will provide live information at the poker table in the form of stats displayed next to your oppenents. Theorically you can display any stats you wish, and I've seen some ridiculous HUD with multiple stats displayed for every action on every street. Why ridiculous you may ask ? Well simply because the sample of hand will almost always be waaay to small for these information the be relevant. So usually the stats being displayed will be simply: VP$IP (volontary put $ in pot) / PFR (preflop raise) and maybe a couple of other basic preflop stats.
Now why bother displaying just these stats when you can just look at what the players are doing ? Because it will allow you to multitable more effectively, as the hud will provide basic information about the players you're against. Is it as effective as playing one table and paying attention at every hand played ? Hell no! Numbers don't say it all. The thing is when multitabling you will simply rarely pay attention to hands you're not part of and will miss most of your opponents showdowns, wich is arguably the most valuable information you can get a table. Exemple: on a 6 handed CG table you're looking at A4ss, UTG opens and it folds to you. You're in a good spot to 3bet bluff with this holding BUT you see on your HUD he plays 15/12 and decide not to 3bet. Problem is you're multitabling and you've not been paying attention at a earlier hand where he went to showdown UTG with a loose open. You think he's a 15/12 player because that's what the hud says, truth is way looser but went through a run of bad cards during the 300 hands sample you got on him.
I'll give you that I came off like by saying "making my life easier." The thing is I don't believe it will at all. Because I tried my best to define a HUD but what is it really ?
A HUD is a relic of exploitative game theories wich have been wich have been rendered obsolete by GTO poker.
Please tell me, or anyone reading this tell me how, by what witchcraft you can turn informations provided by a HUD into such a massive advantage. I mean that's quite the analogy here. Because I don't know the answer. If you're willing to ban me from your hypotetical club you should be able to answer this question.
Talking about GTO. There is no doubt it is superior to exploitative theories. Because the computer is right and there is no debate there. I remember a post Phil Galfond made years ago where, if I remember correctly, he asked a bunch of top level pro what to do with KJo on the CO to a MP open. Most of them had a diffrent answer. Now it settled I guess, just ask the computer. Similar thing happened to chess; before computers you could fill a room with Grandmsters arguing about wich is the better defense against e5 opening : Kings Indian or Sicilian ? well now the computer clearly says Kings indian is losing. No one can argue about this.
What troubles me here is that I noticed in this thread:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/pocket-10s-utg-am-i-a-nitty-nit.75277/
you're are using a solver to analyse the opening.
Let's go hypotetical here: a player from your private room tells you he prepared his opening ranges using a solver. Would you consider that cheating ? obviously not. How about he printed the ranges he came up with on spread sheets he's using during the tournaments. Cheating ? I assume a theory book openend on his desk would be ok so I don't think so no. Yet I believe all of this is closer to:
"why not let a computer do some of the legwork for you, right?"
So now tell me what kind of crazy advantage displaying VPIP PFR can I gain over my opponents compared to my hypotetical exemple ? Because if a hud is "grenades in the fish pond" a printed opening range prepared on a solver is stuffing the tuna with a nuke for me.
Why use a HUD then ? I'll admit my original reason sounded shady. I just like it, I think it's fun because I used it all the time back then. Because I thought I was a genius for over 3betting a villain with a high fold to t3bet stat not thinking a second it made my range completely unbalanced. But really it's just fun looking at stats. That's it. Now you may believe I full of s*** and that I really just finding excuse for cheating, but that would be beside the point.
I certainly don't want to have bad blood with anyone around here and I hope I did not come across as agressif or shady here. Post is a tad TLDR but it sucks being called a cheater (a first)! I've been cheated on online once and I wish that on nobody.
EDIT: Another question I would like to ask you. You're asking me if I'm willing to tell everyone I'm using a hud when the vast majority of them have no clue what it is. It certainly not fair and you know it. Even if we agree that it is not cheating there certainly will be blowback. Justified ? well think about it: would you tell the members of your recrationnal club that you're using a solver to generate the most effective PF handrange against a loose crowd ? you know some of them will immediatly assimilate this as cheating. That beeing said I'll try to talk about it during the next live event.
