Probably no one needs to explain why poker software is needed. Of course, not many people like to study all these numbers and understand the indicators, settings, and so on. But in any case, you need to understand this topic if poker is a serious activity for you.
Our days the market is full of offers. Some poker programs were created a long time ago, some appeared recently. Today we will talk about the best poker software: paid and free poker programs. It is important to understand that without the use of additional tools, you will be the underdog unless you are a genius.
Why do you need poker software?
Nowadays, online poker players use several different types of poker tools. You need to understand that none of them is a magic pill that will suddenly turn you into the best player on the planet overnight. However, they can make the gameplay easier and more understandable, and allow you to play better and with more profit.
Currently, online professionals use 3 main types of poker tools: trackers, calculators, and solvers. These are the basic poker programs you need to study your hands, correct mistakes, improve your game, and teach math and equity analysis. It is possible to make money at poker without them, but you put yourself at a disadvantage by refusing to use the software while your opponents are using it.
The main types of poker programs
Among the many poker programs, it will be easy for a beginner to get confused. Therefore, for convenience, all poker software can be divided into three large categories:
- trackers;
- equity calculators;
- solvers or simulators.
Let’s analyze each type of poker software in more detail.
Poker trackers
The most popular examples of this category are Holdem Manager 3, and Poker Tracker 4.
Whether you’re playing cash games or tournaments, analyzing both your own and your opponents’ play is an important part of player improvement. Tracking software allows you to get a clear picture of what is happening at the tables through statistical analysis. Poker players are people of habit, and once you’ve played a few hands with someone, the heads-up display (HUD) will give you a really accurate picture of what they usually do at the table.
Equity calculators
The most popular examples of this category are Flopzilla and Equilab.
These are relatively simple poker programs, but using them is a very useful and fundamental advantage for playing at the tables.
With an equity calculator, you can find out how much equity a particular hand (or an entire range, i.e. a group of hands) has against another hand (or range of hands). Hands or ranges can be compared preflop (eg AQo vs. 66) or on a specific board (flop).
Solvers or simulators
The most popular examples of this category are PioSolver and GTO+.
Solvers are the best way to learn Game Theory Optimal (GTO) poker strategy. PioSolver is considered the first such software, it was released in 2015 to a wide audience and even now it is called the most popular. Their existence radically changed the understanding of poker strategy.
Top 9 best apps for learning poker
- Holdem Manager
- Poker Tracker
- ICMIZER
- Flopzilla
- Hand2Note
- Simple Postflop
- Equilab
- PokerSnowie
- GTO+
Prohibited and permitted programs
Each poker room sets rules regarding the use of poker software. In some rooms, trackers are allowed, while others strictly prohibit any software. There are also poker sites that oppose the usual programs, but instead, offer users their own unique software. An example of such a room is GGPoker, where instead of Hold’em Manager or Poker Tracker, players can use PokerCraft and SmartHAD.
If the room allows you to use poker programs, this does not mean that you can safely install and run any software during a poker session. Consider PokerStars as an example. On the official website, you can find the rules for poker software and all prohibited poker programs.
You can see that PokerStars divides all poker programs into three types:
- allowed at any time (example: Hold’em Manager, GTO+, StarsHelper);
- prohibited at any moment (example: Holdem Spy, Preflop Autofolder, TableScan Turbo);
- allowed, but not when the room’s poker client is open (for example ICMIZER, PokerStove, SNG Solver).
