Hold'em Manager Discusses New Partnership with PokerStrategy.com
As part of our new partnership with Hold'em Manager, we conducted an interview with Hold'em Manager CEO Jim Varnon. Varnon reveals some interesting details about the upcoming HM2 software, and what players can expect. Find out more here.
Regrettably, the launch of HM2 has been postponed until mid-September.
However, this means you still have the chance to save 18% on your purchase of HM1. HM1 won't be for sale after HM2 launches so grab the opportunity and buy HM1 now.
Don't forget that anyone who purchases HM1 now, or has purchased it since May 1, will receive an upgrade to HM2 for FREE when it is released.
18% savings are now available on the following products:
• Hold'em Manager
• Omaha Manager
• Pro Combo: Hold'em+Omaha
• Hold'em Manager Small Stakes
• Hold'em Manager Upgrade From Small Stakes to Pro Version
• Add Holdem to Omaha Manager Pro Version
• Omaha Manager Small Stakes
• Omaha Manager Upgrade From Small Stakes to Pro Version
• Holdem+Omaha (Small Stakes) to Omaha+Holdem (Pro Version)
• Add Holdem to Omaha Manager Small Stakes Version
• Holdem+Omaha (Small Stakes)
You can find all this information in our previous news on Hold'em Manager here.
Interview with Hold'em Manager
To celebrate our new partnership, we caught up with CEO Jim Varnon.
In the interview, Varnon pledges to listen to the PokerStrategy.com community in order to identify any potential innovations for future HM2 software patches. He also discusses the intricacies behind the new software, and gives his thoughts on MicroGaming's recent introduction of an "auto-fold" feature.
Here is the full transcript:
PokerStrategy.com: Hello, it would be great if we could start by explaining the basics. In a nutshell, what does Hold'em Manager do and provide?
Jim Varnon: Hold'em Manager is used to help you analyse your game and the game of your opponents while away from the tables and also as a tool to improve your decision making while you are playing.
There are two key components to the software:
(i) Dozens of reports that can be used to study your game and also how your opponents play. This is extremely helpful in spotting leaks in your play that you were probably never aware of.
(ii) A Heads Up Display (HUD) that is used while you are playing. The HUD overlays stats and tendencies of your opponents and it does so directly on the tables.
PokerStrategy.com: Let's discuss the new partnership between PokerStrategy.com and Hold'em Manager. What can players expect? How do you think the partnership will benefit players?
Jim Varnon: We are proud of the association with PokerStrategy.com and the designation that Hold'em Manager has earned as the official poker software of PokerStrategy.com. There are two primary reasons that we believe this partnership is something that the PokerStrategy.com community will significantly benefit from:
(i) We expect to work closely with the PokerStrategy.com management team in getting feedback from the community which we will use in defining our evolving list of new features and innovations that are incorporated into periodic Hold'em Manager updates.
(ii) The PokerStrategy.com team will also be instrumental in increasing product awareness in international markets that we previously have not had the resources to focus on. Their wide network of international offices and dedicated resources in these markets is something that we are really excited about.
PokerStrategy.com: Let's talk specifically about Hold'em Manager 2 / (Beta). It pledges to set a new poker software standard. Could you explain this?
Jim Varnon: Hold'em Manager 2 ("HM2") has been under development for over 15 months and is now in Beta.The initial release provides several new tools for improving your online play such as automated note taking and several remarkable enhancements to the HUD such as "vs. Hero" stats that shows how an opponent plays against just you.
PokerStrategy.com: With Hold'em Manager 2, players can upload their hand histories to an iPhone, iPad, iTouch, and shortly, to an Android device. This seems like a pretty cool, innovative feature. What inspired you to follow this step?
Jim Varnon: The reason we expanded the HM2 footprint to these other devices was for two reasons:
(i) We wanted HM2 to be relevant to how technology is evolving and being used. By delivering the last 100,000 hands of your HM2 database to these devices, it allows users to replay, study and analyse sessions wherever they are.
(ii) Social Media. It was a great way to allow customers to share and discuss hands through their own Private Groups or even Public Channels which they can create which are open to anyone to participate in. Also by using the Hold'em Manager mobile app, you can also easily Tweet any hand and very soon you will be able to post the hand to Facebook.
PokerStrategy.com: Are there any other features unique to Hold'em Manager 2 that players should be aware of? Is it safe to say you have stolen a march on other poker tracking software?
Jim Varnon: I already briefly mentioned NoteCaddy which is the new automated note taking program that is built into HM2. I have been involved in this project from Day 1 and I am still amazed by the power of the NoteCaddy feature every time I use it.
We have also included a very powerful line analysis tool in HM2. Want to know what range of hands your opponent has shown when he donk bets on the turn? Want to know what specific hands an opponent has shown down when he limp re-raises before the flop? The new line analysis tools lets you easily determine both and countless other hand ranges for specific lines your opponents might have taken.
There is a new Sessions tab built into HM2 and it was specifically designed to put in a single place all the HM2 tools that are most helpful for you while actually playing. Think of it as your War Room while multi-tabling.
Another feature that we built into HM2 is an optional HM Sync service. In the past, users that played from more than one computer (a desktop and a laptop for example) had to go through a tedious process to get hands from both computers into a single database. HM Sync now does that for you automatically.
The next big project we are focusing on post HM2 is a version for the Mac. We have some really cool ideas for some things we want to do there and that project is definitely next on the list.
PokerStrategy.com: Microgaming skin Unibet have just incorporated an extensive, auto-fold option into their software. Do you think this is good or bad for poker?
Jim Varnon: We don't believe decisions in online poker should be automated. Every decision should be made by an actual opponent and they should be subject to the same imperfections that all of us are as human beings. While Hold'em Manager offers an incredible amount of information to help you improve your online poker results, at the end of the day it isn't playing for you and it isn't making any decisions for you.
It seems like a slippery slope once poker sites allow players to automate routine decisions.
PokerStrategy.com: Thank you for your time. Do you have any final words on the new Hold'em Manager / PokerStrategy.com partnership?
Jim Varnon: Just that we are honoured to have the opportunity to work with PokerStrategy.com and, as a result of the relationship, become more integrated into your community.
