How to use Hold’em Manager to Maximize your Profits
Last week, we wrote about the
advantages of tracking software and HUDs, 🧲 and I recommended Hold’em Manager as the
software of choice.
This week, we go further in depth regarding how to use 🧲 Hold’em
Manager to improve your play and maximize your profits.
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The Reports Tab
The “Reports” Tab 🧲 is your home for reviewing your own play.
From here, you can generate a results graph and a variety of 🧲 reports for your play.
In
your reports tab, you will want several key pieces of information about your results:
Winnings, Winrate, 🧲 Rake, and Rake in bb/100.
For gameplay stats, you’ll want VPIP, PFR,
3Bet, Fold to 3bet, Aggression Factor, Open Raise %, 🧲 Cbet % and Fold to Cbet % at the
minimum.
WWSF (won when saw flop) and WTSD (went to showdown) percentages 🧲 can be useful
as well. Do some research on your own to find the normal ranges for these values so 🧲 you
can understand what’s high, what’s low and what’s optimal.
In the image below, you’ll
see the tab is sorted by 🧲 stake. This allows you to track your results and gameplay at
each individual limit.
Also note the filters (Date Range, Game 🧲 Type) at the upper right
position of the window. Explore these.
There are a massive number of filters you can
use 🧲 to study your play under even the most specific conditions.
For example, you can
study how you play suited connectors OOP 🧲 after flatting a preflop raise and
check-raising the flop against two opponents.
Hold’em Manager’s Reports Tab sorted by
stake.
Another very useful 🧲 strategy is to sort by position, so you can study your
winnings at each position to identify areas of strength 🧲 and weakness.
You’ll also
notice the “HUD Settings” box. We could write an entire series on optimal HUD
configuration.
For now, you 🧲 want it to display Player Name, Hands Played, VPIP, PFR,
3bet, Fold to 3bet, Aggression Factor, Cbet and Fold to 🧲 Cbet. That’s it.
Get
comfortable with just those stats for now, and keep in mind that you should never make
judgments 🧲 based on stats like Cbet and 3bet until you have several hundred hands
against a player.
Hold’em Manager’s Report Tab sorted 🧲 by position
Hold’em Manager also
generates excellent graphs that allow you to share your results with others or
visualize your progress. 🧲 These graphs can be customized to show specific information
based on your filters.
Hold’em Manager’s Results Graph
The Opponents Tab
The real fun
🧲 is learning how to use Hold’em Manager to exploit your opponents. The “Opponent’s” tab
lets you study your opponents to 🧲 find leaks.
The Summaries Portion of the Opponents
Tab
This is what the Opponents Tab looks like when set to “Summaries”. You 🧲 receive a
detailed summary of the people you’ve played against. Use this to quickly scan for
players with irregular stats.
The 🧲 graph in the bottom left allows you to see how that
player compares to all of the players in your 🧲 database. From here, you can get an idea
if people are playing too aggressive, or too tight.
The “Player Analysis” section 🧲 puts
a focused lens on any opponent. You can sort with a variety of filters to find a
massive variety 🧲 of information on any opponent. You can find your opponents’ hands in
specific situations to study their gameplan in detail.
The 🧲 Player Analysis section of
the Opponent’s Tab
Conclusion
Hold’em Manager is a tremendously useful tool that every
grinder should be using in 🧲 their play.
In this article, we have outlined broad ideas
behind how you should be using Hold’em Manager to keep track 🧲 of your own play,
configure your HUD and find your opponents’ leaks.
