Poker Tools

By Patrick Altoft

Poker tools can be a valuable addition to any poker player's arsenal.
There are a variety of tools available and this article will examine
the different types available to assist players. The most commonly
used poker tools are hand history databases, computer playing
programs, online poker assistants and online poker tools.

Hand History Databases
Most online poker rooms offer players the ability to download the
histories of the hands that they have participated in. These hand
histories are in a text format and while it is possible for a player
to scan and analyse a single hand, it quickly becomes difficult and
tiresome for multiple hands. Hand history databases offer the features
like win rate calculations, opponent analysis, hand replay, analysis
by position and much more. The most popular poker tools of this type
include "Poker Tracker" and "Poker Office".

Computer Playing Programs
Programming computers to play a strong game of poker is extremely
difficult and it is only recently that they have become about the same
strength as an above average player. Compare this to games such as
chess and backgammon, where computers have now surpassed all but the
strongest humans. These programs allow players to practice and improve
their play without having any money at risk. Most also offer advice
and the ability to setup and analyse certain situations. The strongest
playing poker programs available to purchase are "Poker Academy" and
Turbo series of programs produced by Wilson Software.

Online Poker Assistants
With the explosion in popularity of online poker, much software has
been developed to assist players while they are playing. There are a
couple of what are termed "bots" that make all of the decisions for a
player but these are not very strong and if discovered using one of
these programs a player can be banned and lose the money in their
online poker room account. Other types of software that are also
available are programs that overlay tables with statistics summarising
hand odds as well as the playing style of other players (for example
listing how often a certain player raises, calls or folds) in real
time. Examples of these online poker assistants are "Pokerbility" and
"PokerAce HUD".

Online Poker Tools
There are a number of web sites that provide free online poker tools
to their visitors. Some of the tools available are odds calculators
which analyse the probabilities for games such as Texas Hold'em, Omaha
and Seven Card Stud poker, and tournament equity calculators. Whilst
they may not directly assist a player while they are playing they are
great at improving a player's knowledge which then can later be
applied at the table. Websites with a variety of useful online poker
tools include " www.twodimes.net/poker " and "
www.poker-tools-online.com ".