Building Custom Poker Drills in Lucid

<div class="lucid-article"> <h2 id="how-it-works">How It Works</h2> <p>Custom Drills let you isolate any spot in Lucid's solver library and run repeated reps against it. Instead of practicing whatever the app serves next, you define the scenario: your position, your opponent's position, stack depth, action type, and how far through the hand the drill runs.</p> <p>Each time the drill resets, a new board runs through your configured scenario. The core variables stay fixed. Only the cards change. This makes Custom Drills useful for building reps on a specific spot type without starting from scratch each session.</p> <div class="lucid-callout" style="background:rgba(59,130,246,0.08); border-color:#3B82F6;"> <div class="lucid-callout-title" style="color:#3B82F6;">ℹ Good to know</div> <p>Custom Drills are a <strong>Pro feature</strong>. Free (Basic) accounts have access to preset drills and the Daily Cardle. Upgrade to Pro to unlock unlimited custom drill creation.</p> </div> <h2 id="step-by-step">Setting Up a Custom Drill</h2> <p>Here is how to configure and launch a Custom Drill, step by step.</p> <ol class="lucid-steps"> <li> <h4>Open Drills and select Custom</h4> <p>Navigate to <strong>Drills</strong> from the home screen or bottom navigation. Choose <strong>Custom Drill</strong> to open the setup screen.</p> </li> <li> <h4>Set your stack depth</h4> <p>Use the <strong>Stack (bb)</strong> setting to define the effective stack size. Enter the big blind depth you want to practice at.</p> </li> <li> <h4>Choose your street</h4> <p>Select <strong>Preflop</strong> or <strong>Postflop</strong>. Postflop drills place you in a configured situation starting at the flop.</p> </li> <li> <h4>Pick your action type</h4> <p>Choose from a limped pot, ISO, single-raised pot (SRP), 3-bet pot (3BP), or 4-bet pot (4BP). Select <strong>Custom</strong> from this menu to configure a specific action sequence using the node navigator.</p> </li> <li> <h4>Select your positions</h4> <p>Set your seat using <strong>Hero position</strong> and your opponent's seat using <strong>Villain position</strong>.</p> </li> <li> <h4>Set drill length</h4> <p>Use <strong>Ends after</strong> to control whether the drill stops after your first decision, after one street, or plays through the whole hand.</p> </li> <li> <h4>Start the drill</h4> <p>Tap the green <strong>Start Drill</strong> button. The drill begins immediately.</p> </li> </ol> <div class="lucid-callout lucid-callout-tip"> <div class="lucid-callout-title">💡 Pro tip</div> <p><strong>Set "Ends after" to one street</strong> when building reps on flop decisions. This keeps the feedback loop tight and lets you move through hands quickly.</p> </div> <h2 id="during-the-drill">What Happens During a Drill</h2> <p>Once the drill is running, you will see the exact situation you configured. The board changes on each hand, but your positional setup and the action sequence stay the same.</p> <p>After each decision, Lucid shows the solver-recommended action in the corner of the screen. If you made a significant EV error, a separate feedback screen appears with detail on what went wrong.</p> <div class="lucid-callout lucid-callout-strategy"> <div class="lucid-callout-title">🎯 Example</div> <p><strong>BTN vs LJ, single-raised pot:</strong> You are on the Button after calling a Lojack open. The board runs Q-Q-9 rainbow and the Lojack bets 2.1bb. Lucid calls here 99% of the time. Your call scores correctly, and the drill resets to a new board immediately.</p> </div> <h2 id="node-navigator">Using the Node Navigator</h2> <p>Selecting <strong>Custom</strong> from the Action menu opens the node navigator. This lets you define a specific action sequence rather than using a preset spot type.</p> <p>The node navigator walks through the action tree step by step. You select each player's action in sequence until you reach the exact node you want to drill from. Once configured, every hand in the drill starts from that node.</p> <div class="lucid-callout lucid-callout-strategy"> <div class="lucid-callout-title">🎯 Example</div> <p><strong>Drilling a specific bet size:</strong> In a BTN vs LJ SRP, you want practice against a large flop bet. In the node navigator, set the LJ to open 2.2bb, BTN calls, then select Bet 4.83bb for the LJ's flop action. Now every hand in the drill starts with that bet size facing you.</p> </div> <div class="lucid-callout" style="background:rgba(249,115,22,0.08); border-color:#F97316;"> <div class="lucid-callout-title" style="color:#F97316;">⚠ Heads up</div> <p><strong>Not every action sequence is in the solver tree.</strong> If you configure a line that does not exist, the drill will not launch. Use the preset action types as a starting point if you are unsure which node paths are available.</p> </div> <h2 id="flop-filters">Using Flop Filters</h2> <p>After configuring your drill, tap <strong>Filter Flops</strong> next to the Start Drill button to control which boards the drill serves you.</p> <h3>What you can filter</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Board texture:</strong> Monotone, two-tone, or rainbow</li> <li><strong>High card:</strong> Filter by the highest card on the flop</li> <li><strong>Connectivity:</strong> Connected, gapped, or disconnected boards</li> <li><strong>Pairing:</strong> Paired or unpaired boards</li> </ul> <div class="lucid-callout lucid-callout-tip"> <div class="lucid-callout-title">💡 Pro tip</div> <p><strong>Use flop filters to close a specific leak.</strong> If you are struggling on monotone boards, filter for monotone flops and run 20 to 30 focused reps. Narrow texture repetition tends to produce faster improvement than random board variety.</p> </div> <h2 id="common-issues">Common Issues</h2> <h3>The drill will not start after I configure it</h3> <p>This usually means the node configuration does not match a valid line in the solver tree. Try switching to a preset action type (SRP, 3BP, etc.) first to confirm the drill launches, then return to <strong>Custom</strong> and adjust your node path.</p> <h3>The EV error screen keeps appearing</h3> <p>That screen only appears for large EV mistakes. It is working as intended. Review the feedback shown and apply it to the next hand. If it appears frequently, consider starting with a simpler preset drill to build foundational reps before going back to the custom configuration.</p> <h3>I want to clear my flop filters and return to random boards</h3> <p>Open the <strong>Filter Flops</strong> screen and clear your selections. The drill will return to serving random boards that match your action configuration.</p> <div class="lucid-article-end-cta"> <div class="lucid-article-end-cta-eyebrow">Try it now</div> <h3>Build your first Custom Drill.</h3> <p>Pick the spot that costs you the most. Set your positions, stack depth, and action type. Run 10 focused reps. Your next session will feel different.</p> <a href="https://app.lucidpoker.com" class="lucid-article-end-cta-btn"> Open Lucid <svg width="14" height="14" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor"><path d="M8.59 16.59L13.17 12 8.59 7.41 10 6l6 6-6 6z"></path></svg> </a> </div> </div>