Content:
- Excellent applications for mastering poker skills.
- Varieties of applications designed to teach the game of poker.
- How to decide on poker software.
Poker — not the easiest card game. Studying poker is a difficult task that requires not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical experience to consolidate basic skills. Registration in the poker room and participation in games for “candy wrappers” are not mandatory. A more effective approach may be to use special applications for learning how to play poker, which will provide a beginner with comprehensive training.
Excellent applications for mastering poker skills.
Our game specialists have tested well-known programs designed for poker training. The evaluation was carried out according to various parameters, such as usability, supported functionality, options for users, availability of a trial version, and others. This process allowed us to select the best software.
Equilab
The software is focused on those who have already mastered the rules and combinations of poker, software such as Equilab provides an opportunity to master the calculation of hand equity and more accurately determine the ranges of opponents. This contributes to making informed decisions both pre-flop and post-flop.
Equilab is suitable for performing equity calculations in Hold’em and Omaha.
The program allows you to export the history of games for a thorough analysis. If the user has not yet participated in hands or tournaments, he has the opportunity to simulate various scenarios. There are functions for choosing your own starting hands, determining the range of opponents and laying out cards on the table.
Main features Equilab:
- The built-in simulator provides players with various tasks in order to improve their skills in calculating equity and determining the range of cards from opponents.
- Representation of data in the form of graphs, tables and diagrams.
- A scenario analysis tool that allows you to calculate equity on a post-flop based on data from the preflop.
The software is provided free of charge for users, and there is also a premium version — Power Equilab. It includes advanced functionality, and its cost starts from $3.49 per month.
Power Equilab application Interface
Poker Combinations
The application is intended for those who face difficulties in memorizing combinations, determining their type and rank in the context of game situations. With the use of this software, these skills can be quickly improved. Interactive training and practical mini-lessons are provided, in which random sets of cards are provided. The user must make a combination in the shortest possible time and determine its rank.
Application functionality:
- Complete theoretical material on poker combinations.
- Tables with visual representations of card layouts.
- A training mode that provides practical exercises for skills in poker combinations.
- Quiz “Guess the combination”, which promotes interactive and effective memorization of poker hands.
Simple GTO Trainer
The application is designed to teach the game of poker in accordance with the optimal strategy — Game Theory Optimal, based on the Nash equilibrium. This ensures the formation of a balanced set of actions, which helps to achieve positive results in the long term, regardless of the decisions made and the playing styles of opponents.
Main features Simple GTO Trainer include:
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GTO Strategy Training: Allows players to learn and train according to the optimal GTO strategy.
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Nash equilibrium calculations: Provides calculations and game scenarios based on Nash equilibrium to create balanced strategies.
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Analysis of game situations: Provides an opportunity to analyze game situations and optimize their actions.
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Interactive learning: It offers interactive lessons, allowing players to effectively learn theory and apply it in practice.
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Knowledge testing: Includes testing functions to test players’ understanding of concepts and strategies.
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Adaptation to the style of rivals: Helps to adapt strategies to different playing styles of opponents.
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Lots of game options: Provides various scenarios and situations for training to improve your gaming skills.
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Tracking progress: Allows players to track their progress and improvement in poker.
Simple GTO Trainer provides a free version with two training modes and detailed analytics on sessions and exercises performed. The paid version offers advanced functionality. The purchase price is $99 for three months, $149 for six months and $199 for a year.
Simple GTO Trainer Interface
Varieties of applications designed to teach the game of poker.
Developers provide various types of programs aimed at learning how to play poker. These programs can be classified into several main categories.
– Equity calculators
Programs of this type help to estimate the probability of winning a certain hand or a full range of cards in comparison with specific initial cards or a spectrum. This ensures that mathematically sound decisions are made in the hands and long-term achievement of positive results.
For example, a player got a pair of aces (hearts and clubs), and different cards came out on the table: 3-8-J of different suits. The opponent announces an all-in for $100, which is a similar amount in the bank. Based on the odds of winning in the pot, it is necessary to have 33.3% equity in order for the return bet to be justified.
To carry out the corresponding calculations, it is necessary to specify the expected range of the opponent’s hands in the calculator. Probably, these can be sets, a top pair of Q-J and higher, as well as two-sided straight draws (OESD).
The expected range of the opponent’s cards
The calculator indicates the expected range of the opponent’s cards, then the parameters of the cards on the table and the player’s starting hand are set. After performing the calculations, the program outputs the equity indicator, which in this case is 65.32%. This indicates a favorable game situation for solving on a stake.
There are many equity calculators, from simple programs with basic functions, often provided for free, to more advanced software with additional options and auxiliary tools.
Below is a list of popular equity calculators.
| Title | Price |
| PokerStove | Is free |
| Flopzilla | $25 |
| Equilab | Is free |
| Holdem Resources Calculator | From $14.99 to $39.99 |
| PokerRanger | From $12.99 to $49.99 |
Trackers
Poker Trackers – they are highly efficient, but quite difficult to use software. This is due to the presence of many functions and indicators, as well as limited support for the Russian-language interface. They are widely used by experienced players who earn income from their poker activities.
Tracker features include:
- Online collection of game statistics in real time, covering not only information about the cards and the decisions made by the player, but also data about his rivals.
- Displaying statistics on opponents in a special window that is located on top of the game program. The user can customize the interface, hiding unnecessary indicators, using a personalized HUD.
- Tools for analyzing the hands played, identifying leaks and identifying weaknesses of the player’s strategy.
Due to the complex software structure of trackers, their developers do not make them freely available. Some of them offer trial versions with a limited period of use, usually within 2-4 weeks, but with limited functionality.
Below are a few popular trackers.
| Title | Price |
| Poker Tracker 4 | $64.99-$159.99 |
| Holdem Manager 3 | $60-$160 |
| DriveHUD2 | $29 |
| Hand2Note | $29.90 |
| Poker Copilot | $99 |
Solvers
Solvers are programs designed to study the GTO strategy. One example of such software is Simple GTO Trainer. However, there are a number of other varieties of such programs offered by developers.
All of them support manual data entry for self-modeling situations, as well as databases with game statistics for training.
Most solvers are paid, however, as a rule, they provide trial versions or simplified versions with limited functionality that can be used for free. Below is a list of known solvers presented in the table.
| Title | Price |
| Deepsolver | $69 |
| GTO Wizard | $49 to $1548 |
| Simple GTO Trainer | $99-$199 |
| GTO+ | $75 |
Simulators
Independent mastering of the poker game “from scratch” with the help of applications of this category is a simple task. The simulators provide the necessary functionality for mastering skills in tournament and cash poker, even without sitting down at the table in the online room. The player can acquire basic skills and gradually increase their level using such software.
The list of well-known simulators is presented in the table.
| Title | Price |
| GTOBASE | $75 |
| PostflopHero | $119 |
| SIMPLE 3-WAY | $224 |
| Simple Postflop | $299 |
How to decide on poker software.
When choosing auxiliary software, it is important to pay attention to its functionality. To avoid errors, it is recommended to determine in advance what specific tasks this software should solve. This is the basis for evaluating its capabilities.
Other significant criteria include a clear interface, low requirements for the technical characteristics of the device, as well as the ability to install a trial or free version of the program.
