Jason Koon (jakoon1985) Discusses High-Stakes Poker HUDs

Top-tier online poker player Jason jakoon1985 Koon is a former winner of a PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) event for a colossal $302,000. He has also finished second in the Full Tilt Poker $100 rebuy for $34,000 and was the runner-up in the site’s $75,000 Guaranteed for $25,000. Koon’s tournament resume includes a win in the Full Tilt $1K Monday for $93,000 and a final table in the Sunday Brawl for nearly $60,000. Now, he shares his Heads-Up Display (HUD) philosophy with PokerSoftware.com.

PokerSoftware.com: You mentioned to us that you use PokerTracker and its HUD. Talk about what your key stats are.

Jason Koon: I added a few stats that have helped me a lot in MTTs after I have a large enough sample for the stats not to be skewed like the 3bet pre-flop stat and the attempt to steal stat. I also have how often someone is cbetting and how often opponents play back at cbets.

PokerSoftware.com: Can you break down your use of 3bet stats?

Jason Koon: If you analyze during what stages your opponents are 3betting in tournaments, then you can put them on a range more effectively. If someone is 3betting a ton early in tournaments, then it is clear that they aren’t just 3betting for value. Most MTT regulars aren’t doing this. They are either just 3betting for value or flatting their entire range, so once you have a grasp of what their 3betting tendencies are, you can combat them much more effectively. The bottom line is that most regulars’ 3betting ranges aren’t balanced enough.

You can pull up your PokerTracker, look at what levels they are 3betting, and then review the hands. It’s tedious work, but it’s very useful if you are going to have a lot of play with a person.

PokerSoftware.com: What stats are in your online poker HUD?

Jason Koon: VPIP, PFR, Aggression Factor, and 3bet pre-flop in my main HUD. I don’t want to get my screen too cluttered. I feel like what benefits me more than other people is the work I put in when I’m not playing with my HUD. I also play some heads-up online and stats are incredibly useful in those games. You can really learn what people are checking back flops with. Many opponents are very polarized with their flop check back range, so by reviewing all of these hands in PokerTracker, I can learn how to exploit that.

PokerSoftware.com: Have you found your HUD to be more or less important as you’ve become targeted as a solid online poker player?

Jason Koon: Typically, I find my HUD to be more useful against people I have no reads against. It just gives me something to go on if I have nothing. I basically have been forced to weigh my ranges more towards value than in the past because I am targeted and assumed to be hyper-aggressive.

PokerSoftware.com: What feature could PokerTracker add that would be extremely useful for you?

Jason Koon: They definitely need a better replayer. I feel it’s something that no one really has. It could be a huge difference-maker. They have tried to add features like equity calculators and such, but making a more seamless hand history reviewer that you could watch entire tournaments on and take notes with would be huge.

Visit PokerTracker today and try it for yourself. You can even get PokerTracker for free through PokerSoftware.com.