Independent work in software is an effective way to learn poker. Experienced players consider hand analysis to be a turning point on the way from amateur to professional. At the start of a career, poker calculators will bring the greatest benefit. In the article we will discuss Equilab and Flopzilla.

Why do I need equity calculators?

Poker calculators (aka equity calculators) are used in hand analysis. The player reproduces the hand played in the software and looks for errors. It is more convenient to analyze in a calculator than in a poker tracker. There is a wider set of tools and more visibility. In the calculator you can:

  • specify your hand or range;
  • specify the opponent’s range;
  • evaluate your own and others’ equity of a preflop, flop, turn or river;
  • narrow down the opponent’s set of hands after each action or street;
  • see all the combinatorics of the distribution;
  • analyze the strength of each individual arm of the range;
  • see how the equity of the hand changes depending on the turn or river cards.

An additional argument in favor of calculators is the ability to save the range. It allows you to create charts for any situation. Learning renji in Flopzilla or Equilab is more convenient than writing it down in a text document or printing it out on A4 sheets. Libra makes it clear that the opponents play the same hands in different ways.

matrix of starting hands boths calculators Play1pay

All the work in Flopzilla is built in one field. In Equilab you will have to switch between windows

Constant work in the calculator will teach poker combinatorics. You will understand in a second how many draws or top pairs your opponent has on any board structure. When making a decision, you will not represent disparate hands, but a full-fledged matrix.

What are the advantages of Flopzilla?

First version Flopzilla it was released in 2009. For 14 years, the calculator has been developed and regularly updated, because FZ is considered the best software for beginners.

Flopzilla Pro main window Play1pay

With the advent of Flopzilla Pro, players have the opportunity to analyze multipots

The program provides unique analysis tools:

  • TheHit—missdiagram. Shows how many combinations of the range got into the board and made up a ready hand.
  • Equity chart. Clearly shows the distribution of equity depending on the particular hand of the range.
  • The equity matrix. Displays the equity of specific hands directly on the matrix.
  • Хотнесс (Hotness). Demonstrates as a percentage the effect of runouts (turn and river cards) on the equity of the range. Working with hotness will teach you how to choose the right cards for bluffing.
dark mode flopzilla Play1pay

A dark theme will come in handy in the evening

Many have criticized Flopzilla for interface flaws. The lack of scaling and small fonts got the most. It was inconvenient to analyze the game on modern monitors. The exit solved the problems Flopzilla Pro. In the new version of the software, fonts have been enlarged and the program window has been made elastic. Added support for three languages: Russian, Chinese, Spanish. Previously, only English was available. A nice addition was the dark theme. The developer sells Flopzilla Pro along with the old version of the software for $ 25. Regular Flopzilla users can get a key for free onFZ Pro.

How is Equilab superior to Flopzilla?

The main advantage of Equilab is that it is free. It was developed by the PokerStrategy poker school. The first mentions of the software date back to 2009.

Equilab main window Play1pay

Many novice players underestimate Equilab and believe that it is able to show only equity ranges

Equilab is capable of:

  • compare equity ranges on a given board;
  • show in percentages or combinations how the range got into a particular board;
  • output the matrix of starting hands;
  • save ranges;
  • calculate a set of hands with minimal equity against the range;
  • analyze the impact of the ranouts on the situation in the distribution.

Many features of Flopzilla are also available in the free Equilab, but in a simplified form. For example, the script analyzer resembles a hotspot. The Equilab shows the influence of the turn and river cards for a particular player’s hand, and the Flopzilla for the entire range. The tangible disadvantage of a free calculator is visibility. Compare how the same data is presented by Flopzilla and Equilab:

hand strange distribution flopzilla Play1pay
hand strange distribution equilab Play1pay

An advanced version of the calculator solved some of the problems — Power-Equilab.

Equilab и Power-Equilab — what’s the difference?

Power-Equilab — a more powerful version of Equilab. It surpasses its free predecessor in everything:

  • knows how to set the weight of the hands;
  • displays a heat map (Heatmap);
  • imports data from other programs and the hand history of most poker rooms;
  • shows the equity graph on any of the streets;
  • distributes sets of hands into groups, which simplifies working with ranges;
  • colors the renji on the matrix of the starting hands;
  • calculates the bank’s chances and the necessary fold equity for automatic profit;
  • shows the playability of the hands on a color scale.
power equilab Play1pay

The Power-Equilab interface and toolset have made a big step forward in comparison with conventional Equilab

The developer provides a free version of Power-Equilab for 2 weeks. Go to the official website and download the calculator. They distribute Power-Equilab by subscription. An annual subscription costs $42.

Which calculator is still better?

For absolute beginners, Equilab is ideal. The calculator has a wide range of tools, which are enough at the start. The software is suitable for saving charts and basic parsing. Regular classes in Equilab will allow you to outplay opponents from low limits and earn your first money.

hotness Play1pay
Scenario Analyser Play1pay

Here the visibility is in favor of Equilab

After a while, we recommend spending money and taking Flopzilla. Why FZ and not Power-Equilab? A lifetime license for Flopzilla costs $ 25, which is disproportionately cheaper than an annual subscription to Power-Equilab. Flopzilla surpasses its competitor in terms of a set of tools and an interface. Deserves respect and the opportunity to change the language. Equilab is only available in English.

Why is it profitable to buy on Play1Pay?

There are 2 factors in favor of our store:

1. Bonus points. We charge bonuses for the purchase of any product from the catalog. Spend them on the next orders and save. For exact information on products and the number of points, see the page with the loyalty program.

2. Free software. We have a special offer for some programs. Buy some programs and get others — for free. For example, we give a lifetime license to Flopzilla for the purchase Holdem Manager 3 or PokerTracker 4.

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