In the 1990s, as the world was preparing itself for the millennium and a complete freeze on all electrical equipment as the clock struck 00:00, online poker was having its electronic umbilical chord severed. Back in those days life was pretty simple for an online poker player, you logged on took a seat and started to play. You had no idea who anyone was and you needed to observe the game in order to make the best decisions possible.
Over time Betfair online poker became big business and big business attracts entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurs started to think about compiling data on player’s tendencies so it could be sold and used by players in the game. Software sites like Poker Tracker and Hold’em Manager were created and the Heads Up Display (HUD) was born. http://poker.betfair.com/en/download/
Incredibly, some of the world’s greatest pros have never used a HUD and yet there are other players who would be as blind as a bat should it be taken away from them. Everyone can use a HUD and this is what is supposed to create an even playing field – but there is one exception – the recreational player or fish.
Why would someone who is just jumping into the game to have a bit of fun have a HUD? It just isn’t going to happen and so it creates an even wider gap between regulars and fish. As more and more fish learn about the existence of HUD’s more and more will be scared away like the little tiddlers trying in vain to wiggle their way free of the tide of the Whale.
So are HUDs a good thing or a bad thing. As usual in poker the answer is simple – it depends!