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Aleksei Lebedev
Exan13
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All poker software — what programs will help you win

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27.01.22
11 min read
All poker software — what programs will help you win
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Translated with the help of AI. We apologize for any errors and would appreciate your help in correcting them.

Poker software is additional programs that allow players to gain an advantage over their rivals.

Their functionality can be different:

  • Output of statistics on opponents during the game;
  • Viewing the history of hands to identify errors and eliminate them;
  • Comparison of equity combinations or ranges;
  • Search for optimal solutions for a specific distribution, etc.;
  • Simulators for memorization and calculations, etc. 

The answer to this question can be stretched over several pages, since each program has its own purpose. Trackers bring statistics to the table on opponents, EV calculators show equity, etc. In general, additional applications are used to improve their game and, accordingly, increase profits.

Below you will learn about the main types of poker software, effective work with which will allow you to win more:

  • EV calculators.
  • Trackers.
  • Solvers.
  • Simulators.​​​​

Equity calculators are programs that allow you to compare two starting hands or two ranges, determining the chances of each of the opponents to win. There are many free services that are easy to learn, but have quite limited functionality.

Flopzilla is the best poker calculator for players from the middle level and above. I came to replace the good old pokerstove calculator. The application allows you not only to assess the chances of ranges, but also to see the likelihood of hands hitting a particular board or getting amplified to various combinations. And most importantly, flopzilla teaches poker players to think in ranges. This is an indispensable skill for qualitative analysis of the opponent's actions on the post-flop and making the right decisions. You can buy Flopzilla in the store from my partners at the best price - $24.99. For this money, you get a license for two computers for two versions of the program: standard and PRO.

Picture 1

Fig. 1 "Program interface"

Folders with ranges on the left are not part of the program, this information is purchased complete with the preflop course “Optimal preflop range”

A useful program for beginners. Equilab is one of the most popular poker programs that is distributed free of charge. This is the development of the famous PokerStrategy portal in the past. The software provides players for free, there is a lot to analyze various game situations.

Another example of high-quality free software. The main feature of the application is the ability to import real distributions of their databases saved on a computer or cloud. Also, Ace Poker Solutions is able to generate range for opponents depending on the line of the poker player. Aggressive poker players will find benefits in the program thanks to the calculation of bluff equity. This is the frequency of passing bets in a bet as a bluff, which will make them, at a minimum, break-even. Summing up on the equity calculators, I recommend choosing Flopzilla. This is an inexpensive program with powerful functionality that will be useful to every poker player who plans to make money by playing or has already begun to do so!

Poker Trackers

In offline poker, there are much more opportunities to “read” opponents than online, since you play only one table and carefully study your opponents. When playing on the Internet, everything boils down to a number of basic features to analyze: the size of bet, the time of decision-making and activity in the chat and some of your game history with a particular opponent. The rest escapes attention, as professionals have to play from 6 or more tables at the same time. 

Here poker trackers come to the rescue. The capabilities of the programs are not limited to the output of the HUD. They have built-in powerful functionality for analyzing the base of hands using filters and graphs. This allows you to study your game in depth to find all possible weaknesses. True, you need to be able to use this functionality, and know within what limits the optimal values of certain stats are. Here, a training session on base disassembly from an experienced coach will come to the rescue. Analyzing the base is one of the most effective workouts, in just 1.5 hours you can get a huge leap in understanding the growth points of your game strategy. 

You can buy Holdem Manager 3 from $60. 

This tracker is the choice of an experienced Exan13 coach, it is ideal for analyzing your own game, and it is better suited for the learning process than others.

Pros:

  1. Many useful built-in filters for analysis;
  2. Beautiful and comfortable HUD;
  3. Excellent player. 

Cons:

  1. Not suitable for mining;
  2. Not suitable for the analysis of the field game;
  3. Requires computer power. 

Picture 2

P iso. 2  "Holdem Manager 3" 

If you decide to purchase PokerTracker 4, the basic version of the software will cost $64.99. 

About 5-6 years ago, the third version of PokerTracker competed almost on an equal footing with HM2. But in 2022, there is a feeling that PT4 has completely lost the fight. In terms of functionality and features, these are two almost identical applications. However, the holdem Manager is in much greater demand due to its ease of use, intuitive interface and some other trivia. 

Pros:

  1. There is an IOS version of the program. 

Cons:

  1. Not suitable for mining;
  2. It is not suitable for analyzing the game of the field;
  3. It is inferior to HoldemManager3, all other things being equal. 

You can also purchase HUD + Popup for MTT from our website. 

PokerTracker 4 (in terms of the main competitor for Holdem Manager 3) was replaced by Hand2Note. This is a program that has some completely innovative features that high limit players are very fond of. 

Pros:

  1. Deep setting of HUD + Popup;
  2. Innovative tool - Research;
  3. The basic version of the program is free. 

Cons:

  1. Sophisticated interface;
  2. Without the use of mining, it loses its advantages;
  3. Less suitable for parsing own base of hands than XM3.
  4. Difficult Popup 

H2N, unlike other trackers, is very mobile in creating HUD with Popups displayed on the table.  You can set absolutely any stats and any settings for them. But, in turn, this greatly complicated the process of independently creating a HUD for the game, H2N is very difficult in this regard. For this reason, most players prefer to contact special persons who create HUD with Popup for them for a fee. 

This Hand2Note function allows during the game, when you click on the player's statistics, to see the range of hands that participated in the formation of the frequency of this action. And also view the hands played by this player under this stat.

How the edge works 
When you click on 3-bet, all the hands that the 3-bet player has are displayed. When you click on the AK, all hands appear where the player is 3-betyl AK, and they can be viewed directly during the game at the table.

Buy Hand2Note.

Another innovative feature, with the help of which you can perform an almost unlimited number of studies of the players' playing field using the accumulated H2N base of hands.

How the reference works 
Various parameters are set. For example, we want to know how the field plays in the raise of the second barrel on thorns on a dry board with the king. All these parameters are set in special windows, and the program finds all such hands in the base of hands and creates a report in which it shows the number of certain hands in percentage terms.

Picture 3

Fig. 3 "Research"

Another pleasant fact for novice players is that the basic functions of the program (collecting the history of hands and displaying the basic HUD on the table) are free of charge. But if you want to use the EDGE and Research features, you need to buy a subscription. 

  • Monthly - $24.99
  • For 6 months - $179.40
  • For a year - $238.80
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