Holdem Manager Review

Holdem Manager (HEM) has been released some years ago as competitor of the then market leading software Pokertracker 2. This changed quickly, as Holdem Manager offered far more statistics in a clear way. Nowadays HEM 1.07 is the latest version and this review discusses this program and its features.

Stats, stats and more stats

Holdem Manager offers a wide spectrum of statistics. Besides the well known VPIP, PFR, AF, HEM also shows 3bet statistics, 4bet statistics and ranges, accumulated steal and continuation bet and fold continuation bet percentages. All of these statistics are very useful and even crucial in current online poker in my opinion. Moreover, since many opponents (on mid and high stakes) do use statistical software, they have a strategic advantage over you if you don’t use it. The big advantage of HEM is that is also shows statistics for each position. This is relevant, because position is important in nowadays poker. For instance, a player might have a 3bet percentage of 2% in middle position and 10% on the button. If you only have an average 3bet percentage, you might misinterpret the 3bet behavior of this specific player.

HUD

The standard HUD is small, but clear and orderly. In a rectangular area the statistics VPIP, PFR, Steal %, 3bet %, AF, Continuation Bet %, Fold to Continuation Bet % and the number of hands of each player are shown. If you click on each of these statistics a pop up screen appears with more extensive data for each of these statistics. For instance, if you click on 3bet %, a pop up with this percentage for each position, 4bet % and 4bet range appears. It is also possible to get a total overview of a player’s statistics with one mouse click. A player once called playing with HEM felt like cheating, because there was just so much data available on his opponents. A useful stat is how much a player has won or lost during the last 5,10 and 20 minutes and the entire session. This gives an indication how good or bad a player is running, which could influence his game. You must however not take this stat too serious, because it only incorporates the results of the tables you are playing or that you have opened.

The HUD can be moved easily by using the mouse and you can also customize your HUD by adding or deleting statistics. It is also possible to make player notes in HEM. Holdem Manager replays de last hand too, such that you can see quickly what happened and check mucked hands. The hand history is also retrieved with one mouse click in HEM. Very convenient in these hand histories is that the expected value for each street is calculated, such that you can check whether you have made the correct decision.

Game Analysis

Holdem Manager offers comprehensive tools to analyze your own game, both for cash games and tournaments. You can view your results (and of other players) per session. Moreover, HEM offer reports in which your game is compared to other players. It’s also possible to replay played hands and to graph your results, such that you can check your showdown and non showdown results. HEM also calculates your EV in all in pots, which can be graphed as well. Many players use this graph to show how bad they are running (OMG, I run so bad, look at my EV graph!), but in my opinion it is only a nice gimmick.

Hem also offers articles, so called leak finders, which you can use to analyze your own game on strengths and more importantly on weaknesses. I advise everyone who uses HEM to read these articles. For instance, there is one article, in which the author has researched empirically correlations between preflop statistics and profitability. He also tries to reason these correlations and gives advice for your own game. You can also load algorithms, which research the results of specific plays, e.g. your results in the situations where your flop bet is raised. With these articles and algorithms you can analyze your own game and check whether adjustments to your game result to a higher winrate. You can do this for other players too, for instance for a player who crushes the game, such that you can “find” his edge. A condition for these “leak finders” is that you have a representative sample (a minimum 50.000 hands is advised by the author), because otherwise variance may influence your results too much. I think that these leak finder articles are an added value for many players.

Holdem Manager and the future

For this review I downloaded the latest beta version (1.08) en this included some nice extra features. HEM has added the option to import Omaha hands, although this option will not be free anymore when HEM Omaha is officially released. HEM is also developing a table scanner, which you can use to find juicy tables. My experience is that the producers of HEM listen well to the poker market and therefore I expect more valuable updates in the future.

Price

HEM is offered in 2 versions: the small stakes and pro version. The first one functions up to 50NL, 0.50-1.00 Limit and tournaments up to a buy in of $22. The pro version works of course for all stakes. The small stakes costs $55 and the pro version $80. It is also possible to upgrade from the small stakes to the pro version for $25. HEM offers a 15 trial, such that you try whether you want to buy the program.

Judgment

I think that Holdem Manager is the best statistical program for online Holdem at the moment. It offers many statistics which are valuable and in my opinion even crucial (at least for cash games). Even if you play micro or low stakes I advise to by this program, because it will earns its money back. HEM supports most poker sites, but you can check their website for information on your poker site. Finally, support is excellent and it offers a support forum, on which questions are answered quickly and accurately.