Field Notebook Protocol: No-HUD Hand Analysis (2026)

A HUD is a live telemetry feed taped to your windshield. No-HUD platforms removed the feed—not your right to write field notes after the hike. GGPoker, parts of the GG Network, and tightening PokerStars policy all draw the same line: nothing that reads the table in real time; your own hand histories after disconnect are fair game.

World Poker Deals, DeepFold's 2026 GGPoker guide, and GGPoker's official PokerCraft documentation converge: Smart HUD covers basic live stats; deep review happens in PokerCraft or offline importers (PT4, HM3). This is a field notebook protocol—boundary markers, specimen collection (HH export), lab-bench options, annotation layers for street review, seasonal census without overlays, and a five-hand notebook drill. No FAQ block. No fake solver lines.

Boundary Markers (What's Banned vs Allowed)

Action	GGPoker / GG Network	PokerStars (2026 trend)	Risk if violated
Third-party HUD overlay during play	❌ Banned	Restricted—register tools; advanced pattern HUD features cut	Ban, fund seizure
RTA / live solver advice	❌ Banned	❌ Banned	Same
Built-in Smart HUD (VPIP etc.)	✅ Allowed equally for all	N/A on GG	None
Download your own HH after session	✅ Allowed	✅ Own hands only (2026: no observer HH)	None
Import HH into PT4/HM3 offline	✅ Allowed	✅ With registered, compliant tools	Low if client closed
Post-session replayer / AI review	✅ Allowed	✅ Allowed offline	None

Golden rule: analysis starts after you leave the table and close the client. DeepFold and DeucesCracked both note: open trackers or solvers only when the poker client is not running—integrity teams flag simultaneous processes.

Specimen Collection (Hand History Export)

GGPoker path:

1. Settings → History → Enable Hand History Download (tournament players: enable Tournament Summary too).
2. Default folder: Documents/GGPoker/HandHistory/ on desktop.
3. PokerCraft → Game History → filter session → Install/Download for last 90 days of exportable hands (official blog).

PokerCraft stores every hand automatically—you are not starting from zero. But exported .txt files unlock offline tools PokerCraft does not replicate: positional BB/100 splits, custom filters, and multi-month trend lines.

Hygiene: after each session, confirm new files landed. An empty folder means a week of unlabeled specimens lost.

Lab Bench Options (PokerCraft vs Offline)

Tool	Cost	Strength	Limit
PokerCraft	Free, built-in	Session dashboard, positional stats, replayer, Hand Moments	Rake excluded from profit display; luck/EV needs 1,000+ hands and showdown-only EV
PT4 / HM3	~$60–100+/yr	Deep postflop stats, custom reports, long DB	GG HH is anonymized—you analyze your lines, not opponent nicknames
Manual replayer + notes	Free	Forces reasoning; no stat distraction	Slow; needs discipline

GGPoker official ranges for self-check (6-max, your own stats in PokerCraft):

Stat	Healthy band	Warning
VPIP	22–28%	<18% or >35%
PFR	18–24%	Large VPIP−PFR gap → passive
3-Bet	6–10%	<4% → under-defending
ATS (attempt to steal)	35–50%	<30% → missing steals

Rake reminder: PokerCraft net profit excludes rake—your true win rate is lower than the dashboard shows. Do not celebrate a +3 bb/100 that becomes +1 after rake.

Annotation Layers (Street Review Without Live Stats)

HUD players glance at fold-to-c-bet mid-hand. Notebook players reconstruct three layers after the fact:

Layer 1 — Preflop story

• Who opened, who cold-called, stack depths, antes?
• Write pot type tag: SRP / 3-bet / limped multiway.
• No stat needed—HH header has the cast list.

Layer 2 — Range sketch (yours and theirs)

Without opponent HUD history on anonymized GG tables, sketch archetypes from line speed and sizing:

• Snap call pre → capped range.
• Large 3-bet → polar or premium-heavy.
• Delay on turn → often medium strength or draw.

One sentence per villain beats fifty unknown stats.

Layer 3 — Decision arithmetic

For the flagged street, write pot odds and required equity by hand:

• Call $X into $Y → need X/(Y+X).
• Compare to outs × rule-of-2/4 on current street.
• Label: price call, implied call, or fold.

Example review spot: river pot-sized bet into $120, hero holds second pair, call $120 → need 120/360 = 33%. Without villain HUD stats, the notebook question is: does their line include enough bluffs to justify 33%? Polarized overbet lines need fewer bluff combos than triple-barrel small sizes.

Seasonal Census (Session Stats Without Overlay)

PokerCraft weekly rhythm (official blog):

Cadence	Time	Task
Daily	5 min	Glance session P/L; flag unusual length or stake jump
Weekly	30 min	Replay 5–10 flagged hands; check positional win rates
Monthly	1–2 hr	Compare VPIP/PFR/3-bet to prior month; pick one leak

Leak priority without HUD opponent data:

1. Blind defense — BB fold-to-steal >70% or defend >50% both cost money; filter BB hands in PokerCraft.
2. Positional BB/100 — negative button is a five-alarm note.
3. Session variance — 10-buy-in swings often trace to table count, hours, or tilt—not runbad alone.

Luck indicator (clover levels): needs 1,000+ hands minimum; EV line uses showdown hands only. Non-showdown pots won't appear—do not treat a lucky clover as proof your folds were wrong.

Three Field Notes (Worked Spots)

Note 1 — Biggest loser filter

PokerCraft: sort Game History by biggest losses. Open replayer.

• Hand: BTN opens, BB defends, flop check-check, turn bet-call, river overbet, hero calls with top pair weak kicker.
• Notebook layer 3: river call $90 into $180 → need 33%. Villain line = polar. Without HUD, ask: did turn check signal trap or weakness? If check-call turn then overbet river, range is often value-heavy—fold may be correct even without a stat.

Note 2 — Won pot, bad logic

Filter winning pots >30bb. Won does not mean well-played.

• Hero c-bets multiway dry board with air, both fold—positive result, negative process (see multiway review guides).
• Tag: result ≠ process. These hands teach more than coolers because ego won't block the edit.

Note 3 — Export to offline lab

Download 10k-hand chunk from PokerCraft → import PT4/HM3.

• Run positional VPIP/PFR split—overall 26/22 can hide EP 14/12 and BTN 42/36.
• GG anonymization means opponent reports are thin; your positional leaks still surface.

Three Trail Mistakes

1. Reviewing with client open + tracker running — Integrity risk. Close GG; then open lab tools.

2. Treating Smart HUD VPIP as opponent profile — One number near avatar ≠ history. Smart HUD is session-scoped basics, not PT4's 50k-hand database.

3. Skipping export because PokerCraft exists — Built-in tools cover 80% of needs; offline DB matters when you want custom filters across months.

Five-Hand Notebook Drill

After each session (15 minutes):

1. Export or confirm HH saved.
2. Open PokerCraft → three biggest losing pots.
3. For each: write pot-type tag + one-sentence range sketch + pot-odds math on the decision street.
4. Star one hand for weekly deep dive (full street annotation).
5. Check one self-stat in PokerCraft (e.g., BB defend frequency)—compare to last month, not to generic charts.

Field Notes

No-HUD rooms banned the windshield overlay, not the notebook. Collect specimens after disconnect, annotate streets with arithmetic instead of live fold-to-c-bet, census your own stats in PokerCraft or PT4/HM3, and fix one leak per month.

The best field researchers never confuse live telemetry with post-hike analysis. Write the notes when the table is empty.

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Sources consulted: GGPoker PokerCraft official blog, World Poker Deals Smart HUD/PokerCraft reviews, DeepFold GGPoker alternatives 2026, DeucesCracked PokerStars anti-cheating 2026.