GGpoker Smart HUD explained

Author: Vargoso Published: 05.06.22

Currently, a very few poker rooms have a HUD built into the poker client. The most advanced of them is Smart HUD at GGPoker. In this article, you will learn what stats it collects on players in different poker variants and why the poker room needed such functionality.

What is Smart HUD?

GG Poker Smart Heads-up display

Smart HUD is a feature built into the GGPoker client that shows real-time stats and is available to all players. It was launched in 2018 and has been updated several times since then. The number of available stats has increased significantly over this time.

GGPoker is the only poker site on the market with a fully-functional built-in HUD (heads-up display).

However, any third-party poker software is prohibited, including trackers. It is only allowed to download anonymized hand history, upload it to HM3, PT4, or H2N and analyze your own game away from tables.

Smart HUD collects data only for the current session and separately for each table. Visually, it appears in the form of a number near the players' avatar that displays the value of the VPIP stat. If a player recently won a big pot, the number is surrounded by flames; if lost - covered with ice.

In different poker variants, the proposed stats are slightly different.

Cash games

GG Poker Smart HUD for cash games

By hovering over the SmartHUD icon, you can see more stats: the number of hands played, profit, PFR, ATS (blind stealing frequency from CO, BTN, and SB positions), and 3Bet. The VPIP icon reveals a pop-up window with more detailed information broken down by street (flop, turn, and river). In addition to the above, the following stats are shown:

CB and FCB (Continuation Bet and Fold to Continuation Bet);
CCB and RCB (Call Continuation Bet and Raise Continuation Bet);
WT and WSD (Went to Showdown and Won Money at Showdown);
TAF (Total Aggression Frequency).

Also, you can see your biggest pots won and lost vs. this player.

МТТ tournaments

GGpoker Smart HUD for MTT

For tournaments, a graph with the results of your last 5 MTTs and the total profit is shown after the 4 primary stats.

AoF

SmartHUD for AOF games

At GGpoker All-in or Fold push-fold tables, the Smart HUD popup is slightly different. You can see the following 4 main stats: All-in (actually, it’s the same VPIP), ATS, Fold, and FTA (Fold To Aggression). The information about your jackpot winnings and a diagram showing the percentage distribution of your showdown hands is located below.

How to make player notes in Smart HUD?

Regardless of the poker variant, you can make a separate text note for each player via the HUD window:

Click the SmartHUD icon.
At the bottom of the window, write a note within an empty field (max. 1,000 characters) and select the desired color. Each color group of notes (10 in total) can be given its own name (TAG, fish, bluffer, whatever).
Click the "Label" button to save the player notes.

You can identify the tagged opponents by the color frames around their boxes during the game. Player notes can be read by hovering over the Smart HUD icon. You can edit notes via a particular section of PokerCraft.

Built-in HUD vs external HUD

The issue of using poker tracking software to display real-time player stats at the poker tables has become one of the most acute in recent years.

PokerTracker and Holdem Manager use hand histories saved by poker clients as text files, which, once imported, allow the output of HUD. But this divided all the players into two groups: those who use such software and those who play without it. This put them in deliberately unequal conditions.

GGPoker did not want some of its players to have such advantages in having additional information about opponents. They found a “golden mean” in solving this problem: external trackers are not supported, but there’s a built-in Smart HUD instead, which gives all players access to the same stats.

FAQ

✅ Does GGPoker allow HUD?

It is forbidden to use any third-party poker software during the game, including those that allow HUD output (trackers). You can take advantage of the built-in Smart HUD instead.

✅ Do PokerTracker 4 or Holdem Manager 3 work at GGPoker?

No, they don’t - their use is prohibited by the rules. Players can download hand history via PokerCraft and upload it to the trackers. Please consider that HH is anonymized (opponents' nicknames are hidden), so you can only analyze your own game.

✅ What do Smart HUD numbers mean?

These numbers are the values of various stats for you and your opponents during the session. VPIP is visible directly at the table, and additional Smart HUD stats are available via a pop-up window.