Best HUD Free Poker Sites
Since the advent of poker tracking software in the early 2000s, the use of HUDs (Heads Up Displays) became widespread. Pros and recreational poker players alike elected to use third-party programs to aid their online poker game.
However, recently some major rooms, such as partypoker, that have previously allowed HUDs to be used have decided to disallow it – and many players welcomed this decision.
Why would they welcome a poker site prohibiting them from using a tool that gives them ample extra information about their opponents?
The answer is simple – it had quite a few drawbacks as well.
The number one disadvantage is the lack of security. Allowing third-party software to access hand histories real-time carries major hazards. In August 2019, for example, a major hacking scandal rocked PokerTracker4.
The widespread usage of HUDs may be behind the online cash game bot problem that we so often hear complaints about. Now that many poker sites decided to ban it, the online cash game scene became much safer.
But there are plenty of other reasons in favor of HUD-free poker sites. Now losing recreational players, who may not even know what HUD is, have a fighting chance and thus are much more likely to stick around and give their money to the winning players.
In addition, some players reported on online poker forums that since they’ve been barred from using HUDs on a site, their focus has been sharper.
They no longer rely on a computer program to give them reads on the other players – they have to pay attention and do it themselves. This could even serve as useful training for your live poker sessions.
HUD-free poker sites are preferred over sites that allow HUD by many online poker players. If you’re looking for the best HUD-free poker sites, look no further than our website.
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What is a HUD?
HUD stands for heads-up display. It’s an add-on of poker tracking software such as PokerTracker or Holdem Manager, which shows you your opponents’ playing stats in real-time.
The most common stats poker players look for are their opponent’s VPIP and PFR. VPIP stands for Voluntarily Put Money in the Pot – it gives you the percentage of the time the player either called a raise or made a raise preflop.
PFR stands for Pre-Flop Raise – evidently, it tells you the percentage of the time the player raised pre-flop.
From these two pieces of information, you can get a general picture of your opponent’s play style. More importantly, you can identify players who are either too loose, too tight, or loose but passive.
What is the best Poker Tracking Software?
PokerTracker is a common choice. Its latest version, PokerTracker 4 was released in August 2012.
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Evidently, the HUD is not its only feature. It allows you to track your results and provides important statistics about your strategy as well. Here’s a glimpse of what its user interface looks like.
The other widely used poker tracking software is Holdem Manager. Holdem Manager 3 was released in October 2019 – you can read the review we did about it here.
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GGPoker Rakeback Deal
GGPoker uses the same smart HUD Natural8 does.
Here’s a tidbit for you to show how well it works in the client. When one of the most successful poker players of all time, Daniel Negreanu joined GGPoker as an ambassador, he emphasized his love for the software as the main reason for joining in his announcement video.
If you join GGPoker through us today, you can take part in our private poker races, in addition to receiving a 100% First Deposit Bonus up to $600 and up to 50% rakeback.
Natural8 Rakeback Deal
Natural8 is not one of the completely HUD Free Poker Sites. They decided to go a new, original route in the HUD-No HUD question: they developed their own proprietary Smart Heads-Up Display.
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It comes completely free with the freely downloadable poker client – no need to pay anything for a 3rd party software that is banned on this site.
Natural8’s Smart HUD only gives the most essential information about your opponent’s game. Their VPIP’s are visible at all times in a small circle in the bottom left corner of their avatars.
You can also tell from certain graphics if someone is running hot (above EV) or bad (below EV) if someone’s up in a cash game session by a lot (reloads included), or their won/lost cash game sessions ratio.
There’s plenty of more features you can discover if you sign up at Natural8 through us.
What are the advantages of HUD Free Poker Sites?
- HUD Free Poker Sites are safer. They block third-party software from getting hand histories in real-time, thus making it a lot harder for bot rings to operate.
- If you don’t want to play with HUDs or can’t afford to buy the tracking software, other players can’t have an advantage over you since everyone is barred from playing with HUDs. In other words, other players can’t pay for extra help.
- It makes the playing experience more similar to live poker. You can hone your observational skills a lot better without HUDs, and that will be beneficial for your live poker sessions as well.
- HUD Free Poker Sites improve the experience for recreational players considerably. They may not even know about HUDs, so if no one can use them, they’re not playing with an unfair disadvantage. This can make losing players stick around the site a lot longer, which is good for the good, winning regs as well.
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What are the disadvantages of HUD Free Poker Sites?
- The software can’t let you know important information about your opponents’ tendencies.
- If you are multi tabling, paying attention to your opponents’ tendencies is a lot harder without a HUD.
- Playing without a HUD may be a less stimulating experience for more data-oriented players.
