Poker: Odds Calculators and Analysers.

 

From the off, you need to know that these calculators and analysers are not going to be too much help to you if you are planning on winning the World Series of Poker! However, if you are just a beginner or are in a phase of complete doubt, you can use odds calculators to rectify your game- this type of software can be very helpful in honing your poker skills. In any event, they are interesting pieces of software to test and can offer you insights into the game of poker.

How does poker analysing software work?
Once installed on your computer, these assistants start automatically at the moment you join your chosen poker site. Their interface generally adheres to the window that is posting the poker game. There are two main types of software:
1. The Analysers: these analyse in real time, the game that you are playing, in order to; calculate your chances of winning, the size of the pot, potential card combinations, etc. The data that they provide is objective, even if they are accompanied with advice or evaluations of other players game techniques.
2. The Trackers: they are connected to a database of the history of the hands of the players who you are competing against. They will give you statistical calculations and will also offer you their own conclusions as to the style of the particular player.

Is it cheating?
No way! None of these assistants can reveal to you the cards of your opponents, or make the site deal you certain cards...and good job too! On the other hand, certain software models will reveal to you the hidden cards of your opponents who are out of the game at the showdown. And trackers are, in their own way, professional spies, against which some sites, especially the more serious ones, are beginning to object to. Therefore, if it is not cheating, it is still not a very noble thing to use, are you really that much of a poor player? At the beginning, the answer is probably yes.

The Analysers.

Texas Calculatem:
This is one of the most technically serious pieces of software operating as a poker assistant. The way it makes posts, which you can mould around the screen you are playing on, has an exemplary clear quality to it; it is not very complicated, does not use many graphs, but just simply shows you the most relevant information you need to make good decisions, thus it allows you to play in a swift manner. It has a beginners mode which is easy to use and very effctive. The accuracies of the calculations are very good, the evaluation of the strength of hands relative to the particular game, is excellent. The advice it therefore gives you is highly relevant. It is especially good because you can tailor it to the type of game you are wanting to play, so you can instruct it to give you advice in reference to your preferred play e.g. you can chose to play tight before the flop, aggressive after the flop, and the advice will reflect this wish. On the other hand, the module that posts all the cards, and tells you which ones are in play, is actually irrelevant to the calculation of odds. This is only a small criticism, however, and overall it is a very good piece of software. Texas Calculatem is easy to use and can cater for all skill levels, from beginners to professional.

Sit & Go Shark:
Sit & Go tournaments generally have a very high turnover of players, the prime places are many and getting into one is relatively easy. This structure, therefore, implies its own rules, like knowing how to change quickly, and often radically, your attitude to playing. Sit & Go Shark claims to be able to provide you with the information needed in order to always obtain one of the winning spaces in the tournament. It is therefore a very precise and specialised piece of software: it is 90% text! No drawings or graphs, and they are very well presented and good pieces of text "as if it were talking directly to you", the text is posted in a side window. Moreover, the relevance to the advice, relative to the structure of sit & go is largely drowned out by the more pertinent advice relating to strength of hands, etc.

 

 

Hold'EM Indicator:
This piece of software is, without a doubt the most popular one, and the best appreciated. It should be recognised that it contains the best advantages of any of the software packages. The graphics are well located, to the side of the game you are playing, and they are very readable and well presented, and very clearly organised. To the left, a graph indicates in real time you potential for obtaining different hand combinations, whether this is for you or your opponents. In the middle, the software gives you the probabilities of winning and the value of the pot- both in percentages; the evaluations of the game are instant. To the right, are the table and your hand, and the highest combinations possible and actual. The software also provides a profile of your opponents techniques, determined by their hands played throughout the game. For this purpose, it is very reliable and honest, with no indications as to whether the players have bet too little or too less with the strength of their hands. The software will also build up a profile of your own particular playing profile and is compatible with most analysers, such as Poker Tracker. The tables it presents to you are fairly technical and complex, it is therefore very close to the perfect piece of software, with one restriction: the option that allows you to see the hands "Muckies" is a little dishonest and against the spirit of the game.

Hold'EM Genius:
The Genius is as good as the Indicator. However, its interface can be extremely invasive: not content with encircling the window of play, it embeds itself as a kind of decision maker, suggesting the best course of action, and is placed right in the middle of the poker table. Given this, you would expect exceptional legibility...however, most of the information is textual, and at times it can be overloaded with colours and codes that make it hard to read. The software is at an advantage in that it does not provide doubtful player profiles, does not reveal cards, and does not suggest unfavourable strategies. It is therefore a good, solid, honest and serious piece of software.

 

 

Tournament Indicator:
Very similar to Hold'EM indicator, the Tournament takes the design of an interface, with various graphics and philosophies: giving all the information in real time, it is simple and readable. It is a really good piece of software, all the more because it has some extra bonuses. Targeted towards tournaments, it uses the celebrated theory of M by Dan Harrington, player and author of several remarkable books. M is the relationship between your stack and the blinds and antes. In tournaments, this ratio should define and modify your strategies of play. This software puts in to practice by permanently informing you of your M and your M zone (see below links for information on this theory): you will have constant control over the position of your stack and the amounts by which you should raise or bet. On the other hand, the ‘Tilt Monitoring' is a little more dubious, it claims to evaluate the chances of your adversaries going into tilt (again see links re: types of player). However, the statistics relating to your opponents last blows are exemplary, detailed and complex- allowing you to really understand their game play and psychology. This is an excellent piece of software and highly recommended, but remember it is only for tournament play!!!

The Trackers.

Poker Crusher:
The Crusher is based on a huge international database, in order to indicate to you the profile of your opponents. The analysis is based upon their playing history and the game they are currently playing. The software enables you to find, from the lobby, the tables that are "hard play" or "soft play". In short, it allows you to easily seek out opponents against which you will have a good chance of winning. Our opinion is quite reserved. Firstly, the software does not cover all poker websites, and they are particularly lacking when it comes to the big sites, this is a bit annoying, but overall this is a very useful piece of software. The depiction of the graphs and tables is very readable, because it integrates into the window you are playing, in the form of text. Secondly, the profiles are very brief and succinct, this allows for a swift evaluation and fast play.

 

 

Card Analyzer
Very similar to Crusher, the Analyzer has the advantage of needing only minimal loading; analyses and interpretation is done directly online from a central server. What is not very reassuring is that your own history of play is stored and shared with other players. The profiles they give you are very brief. The number of compatible sites is not very many. All in all, the Crusher is better.

Poker Sherlock:
This is not the kind of software that we prefer, but it presents its results honestly and, at times, with humour. Based on a players database, like all the trackers, Sherlock begins to work once you are inside the lobby of an affiliated site. When you chose a table, it will show you the profile of all the participants, from the Fish, to the Barracuda, to the Shark, and it uses amusing icons to represent them. You will thus be informed, fairly reasonably, as to which table you should be playing at. The software becomes more serous, offering you statistics on players and some tips on strategies to counter their playing tactics. Sherlock can be a very useful piece of software if you are willing to work with it.

Odds Calculators.

Odds Calculator:
This free poker software and is our recommendation. It is practical, because there is no need for download, and its calculations of odds of the hands are really good.

Probability Calculators.

Poker Academy:
This is in fact actually a piece of poker software that allows you to hone your skills at Texas Hold'EM with a number of different options available.

Click here to learn how to play poker. understanding winning hand combinations in poker Understanding variations of poker Understanding the importance of play position in poker. Understanding your opponents. Understanding advanced strategies for poker. Understand going All-In. Mastering your game. Understand the approriate kind of poker play for you. Understanding real world poker. Understand chipleading. Dealing with a small stack. Understand the relationship between poker and psychology. Understanding tournaments.

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