An Overview of Online Poker Tools and Software
Anyone who has ever worked with poker software will know that usage of these is crucial in order to become a better player and advance as one. We are looking to give you some sound advice, when it comes to the best poker software. You’ll find some of them listed in the right-hand sidebar. These are excellent tools and are paid for the most part, however there is also some free poker software in the market, which could be of help. Click on the tool you’re interested in to see a review.
If you weren’t aware, online poker tools have become really powerful in the recent years. If you combine several of them, it’s possible to analyse and understand your opponents better and that’s exactly what you are looking to do. These programs are also known as poker tracking software and they allow you to create huge databases of previously played hands as well as visualise and show statistics in real time, when you are playing at a poker table. The options are literally endless and you can customise specific statistics for each player. We’ll go over individual tools later in this article as well as divide them into specific categories.
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PokerTracker 4 is an industry leading poker tracking tool with improved performance and functionality, when compared to its old version. It runs using a MYSQL database, which is used all over the Internet, just like most poker software. You can get an official licence free of charge, but we will dwell more on that in the review of this software. We’d just like to add that this is one of the tools we can honestly recommend to all players, as it provides valuable information and will pay back for itself in no time.
How Different Poker Tools Can Help You Win More While Playing Poker
Here’s a really brief introduction to several poker tools, each of which has been created to fulfill a specific task and help while playing a certain poker game or type.
Tracking
These are the most important tools for any poker player, they are also the most advanced ones. By using a tracking software you’ll be able to collect statistical data about your opponents and store it locally. There’s also a chance to view real-time data directly at the table you are playing at. The most popular and advanced programs in this category are PokerTracker 4, Holdem Manager 2, Poker Office 5 and Poker Crusher. All of them collect hand histories in huge databases, stored on your computer’s hard drive, except Poker Crusher, which operates using an online database.Try PokerTracker 4 free for 30 days!
Odds Calculator
Odds calculators are fit for beginners who have just started to play poker, as they will help them calculate such things as Pot Odds and Outs. You will then be able to concentrate on making decisions, instead of spending the time calculating them yourself. The most notable ones in this category are Magic Holdem, Poker Calculator Pro and Holdem Genius. The first one is also a partner of Titan Poker Guru.Click here to try Magic Holdem odds calculator!
Hand History
These are divided into pure hand history providers, who will just sell you the histories, with the rest entirely up to you, and tools like Table Shark, which offers a large amount of information that is obtained by connecting to their online databases. You’ll also be able to view results of a particular player, and so this is a great table selection tool. The most popular service providers in this category are HH Dealer, Poker Hand Scout and HQ. Poker Table Ratings, which offers a collection of the best poker software and tools also has hand history in their offering.Find the worst online players with Table Shark!
Table Selection
Table selection applications will definitely help you find the most lucrative tables in your poker client. These are professional programs designed to choose tables and they will allow you to locate the worst players. This way, you will be able to maximise your winnings in all your playing sessions. In addition to that, Table Selection Tools are a great combination with PokerTracker 4 and Hold’em Manager 2.Locate the most suitable table for you now!
Professional Tracking Tools
Software differs between the type of stats offered as well as the interface, however all of them are based on the same principle of collecting a large amount of previously played hands and visualising data. There are several ways to collect this data – you can collect as you go (by playing), purchase hand histories or use a tool utilising some online database. The latter allows you to have a large amount of data to calculate & determine statistics. There is also the benefit of not having to maintain a database yourself, which can sometimes cause your computer to be slow.
While there are several upsides to using a poker tracking tool that offers an online database, such as speed, instant availability and large amount of hands always available, there are also some downsides. The most important one is legality – most poker sites do not allow players to use any information that is provided by a third party and has not been obtained by yourself. This is a good thing in hindsight, as it protects recreational players, but it’s quite annoying to you as a player.
On the other hand, usage of a tracking tool such as Poker Tracker is completely legal and allowed by all rooms. As long as you use data that has been obtained by yourself, there will never be any issues.
Click here to download Poker Tracker and try it out free for 30 days!
Table Selection Tools
Table Selection Tools & Software is closely related to tracking tools, as these also use the information about previous play – hand histories. These programs judge whether the table is good to play at or not, based on the players’ win/loss ratio as well as some statistics. As the saying goes: ‘The tenth best player in the world would still lose, if he’d play at a table with the other nine’. Professional players have relatively small edge over one another, which is not the case when playing against inexperienced, recreational players – the so-called fish. If you constantly search and select the best tables to play at, you’ll add a significant amount to your win-rate and more importantly, to your bankroll. Given how easy it is to use a Poker Table Selection Software, we can only wonder why so many people do not use one. Chances are that they’ve never heard of software like this and that’s exactly the purpose of this article.
As it was already mentioned, table selection tools are based on a database of hands. This can either be your private one that has been bought or acquired over a period of time or alternatively, you can use an online one. Tools using the latter could be considered more powerful, mainly due to the fact that they automatically add all the hands played at the tables, even if you don’t participate in the hand. This isn’t the case, if you’re building a database on your own. However, be cautious when using these tools, as some poker sites do not allow them. The best way to understand whether a particular tool is allowed is to ask the site directly or check their terms & conditions.
SNG/MTT Poker Software
For the reasons outlined above, Tournament Software features and shows data different from other types. Therefore these tools concentrate on statistics such as the aggression factor and the success rate playing for determining the skill level of a player. Even though there’s a wide variety of specific tools for this poker type, big industry players such as Poker Tracker 4 have became really advanced and now are of great usage for these, too. More than a dozen stats categories have been added to please SNG/MTT players.
However, there still are various tools that are web based, meaning that they hold a huge database of hands online and offer you to use statistics from these. Be cautious, when using tools like this as many online poker sites do not allow these. Make sure to check terms & conditions of a particular site, before you start.
Furthermore, having a sound, math-based strategy is of utmost importance, when playing poker tournaments. That is the exact reason for several ICM tools being developed. These will help you learn the proper ranges for calling and going all in as well as learn about the required equity needed in certain spots. A great tool for doing all these calculations is the SNG Wizard. It allows you to upload hand histories from all the major poker rooms and analyse them. There’s a whole lot of setting that can be adjusted and a set of games already preloaded, such as 180man SNG Tournaments from PokerStars with the exact same structure and payouts. Using this tool you’ll hugely increase your knowledge about how to play in certain spots.
Click here to download the best ICM Poker Tool – SNG Wizard!
Data Mining
The aspect of data mining is also closely related to Poker Tracking Software, as this is exactly what’s done in order to expand databases and gain more information about your opponents. The more hands you’ve got on your opponent, the better readings you can get. A solid sample size is around 1,000 hands. When closing to this mark, stats are already of significant value and hard decisions can be made by partially relying on them. This doesn’t relate to all the stats, though. In order to gain some in-depth reads about post flop play, you’ll need the amount of hands outlined above, but if you’re looking for the most basic pre-flop statistics, such as VPIP/PFR, a couple of hundred hands are generally enough.
Data Mining for expanding your database can be done in two ways – by using Datamining Software or by purchasing Hand Histories when you simply upload them to your tracking software. This tool works in a way of scanning active tables and gathering the hands played. The speed of acquiring hands depend on your internet connection as well as the computer performance, however, by running a mining tool at 16 tables for a month, you could gather around a million hand histories. A tool like this pays for itself quite fast, when compared to purchasing histories from a site like HH Dealer.
Poker Odds Calculators
Most Odds Calculators can be easily obtained by joining a poker room and making a first deposit. Sometimes you’ll also have to collect a certain number of player points and the software will be yours to keep! For more in-depth information visit our Software Reviews section.
As mentioned before, the rather simple concept of Odds is often overlooked. The only way to learn effectively is by using Odds & Outs as side information or knowledge. Take position, playing behaviour of your opponents, your own and their table image as well status of a poker tournament or cash game into account. A great tool for tournaments is SNG Shark, which offers advice on whether you should call or fold in a particular situation as well as a more in-depth analysis of the situation. It is designed for single table tournaments, though. However, you should be able to apply the knowledge you’ll get to other poker variations as well.
Poker Software Recommendation
There isn’t any magical software that could be considered the Best Poker Software out there, as all depends on the player type as well as several other aspects. However, what we can do is advise you some a handful of the greatest Poker Tools, basing our decision on you skill level and experience.
Poker Software for Beginners
However, you should also think longterm and look into the future – PokerTracker 3 is also a relatively simple to use poker software. The best part about it is the 60 day free trial, meaning you won’t have to pay a dime for two months. Definitely take up this chance. If you think this is too complex for you, there’s also a more basic alternative – Poker Crusher, which is a poker tracking tool with its own, online database.
Poker Software for Advanced Players
If you count yourself into this category, chances are that you’re either a semi-pro or professional player, thus you are serious about poker. You should get the very best Poker Tools, which will gain you the maximum amount of edge and help to find bad players. An all-in-one solution is great for this, as its hassle-free and easy to use. PokerTracker 4 offers exactly this – there’s a built in HUD, which runs on its own database that is hosted on your hard drive. Then there’s also an advanced table selection tool, which will help you to find the best tables with the worst players. If you’re a SNG/MTT player, PokerTracker 4 also offers a tool for ICM analysis. Basically it’s a great tool, which has several add-ons available to fit every type of player.