Online Poker Software

Aside from simply playing online poker as it is, you can use poker software to help you improve your game and your overall playing experience.

Have a read over the Texas Hold'em poker software FAQ below to find out more about the basic information behind using online poker software whilst you play.

Below the FAQ you can then find detailed information on the most popular types of poker software and how they can be used to help your game.

Poker tracking software.
Poker odds calculators.
Exclusive PokerBank tools.
Other poker software.

PokerStove
AutoHotKey

Poker software FAQ.

What exactly is poker software?

A number of companies have developed programs that will help you to improve your online poker game. There are a variety of different programs that help you in different ways, ranging from software that will track your progress to help you find leaks to others that will help you make the best decisions at the table whilst you play.

Is poker software legal?

The vast majority of poker software is legal (all of the popular ones I know of are anyway). All of the software recommendations on this site are perfectly legal, so you should have no worries about getting into trouble if you use them.

Is it fair to use poker software?

Poker software doesn't do anything extraordinary to help you win money. Each program simply uses the information that is freely available at the tables to help you improve your game. You could do this by working things out in your head or by recording data by hand - the software just makes this easier by doing the leg work for you.

It is fair to say that players who do not use programs such as PokerTracker are at a disadvantage to those that do, however, this software is available to anyone that wants to buy it and use it. I am very comfortable with using PokerTracker to help me improve my game and I do not see it as being unfair in any way.

Can I use poker software at any online poker room?

Most poker software tends to work with all of the big name poker rooms. The software may not be able to work with smaller networks or rooms due to compatibility issues, but if you stick to the most popular rooms you should be fine.

Programs that work off a central database of player information (such as PokerEdge) are often banned by major online poker rooms (see PokerStars prohibited software list for example). However, none of the other software listed on this page works in this way and so the poker rooms are more than happy for players to use them.

Which poker software should I use?

There are two main types of software:

Tracking software that tracks your every play and provides stats for you to work with.
In game odds calculators that help you make the best decisions based on the odds.

Tracking software like PokerTracker is almost essential for any regular online player, so it would be fitting for beginner, intermediate and most definitely advanced players.

In-game odds calculators like Texas Calculatem help you to make strong basic decisions, but they will only be helpful at the lower stakes games. This software is going to be most useful for beginner players.

Poker tracking software.

Poker tracking software is highly recommended for regular players who want to be able to plug leaks in their game. If you do not use this software, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage at the table - it's a simple as that.

This software will record every play you are your opponents make and display the data back to you in useful tables and graphs, highlighting key statistics about your game. The top 3 poker tracking programs are:

Which tracking software is best?

PokerTracker, closely followed by Holdem Manager.

The current top two tracking programs are PokerTracker and Holdem Manager. PokerOffice does a very good job, but has been surpassed by the greater number of features and usability of the other two pieces of software.

My personal favourite is PokerTracker, as it has a very polished interface and makes everything very easy to use. Holdem Manager is just as good (if not offering slightly more in the way of features), but I am not such a big fan of its current design. Overall, I would rate each piece of software as follows:

PokerTracker - 9/10
Holdem Manager - 9/10
PokerOffice - 7.5/10

I would recommend that you give both PokerTracker and Holdem Manager a try with their free trials and see which one you prefer. You definitely need to be using software like this if you are a regular player, and fortunately you can't go wrong with either of them. Use the one you enjoy using the most and feel comfortable with.

If you're just getting started with tracking software, you may be interested in taking a look at poker datamining options to help give you stats on your opponents right from the start.

In-game odds calculators.

In-game odds calculators have been created for the beginner/intermediate players who could do with a helping hand when making decisions at the tables.

These calculators evaluate the situation based on your cards, the size of the pot, the size of bets, the size of your opponents' stacks and more. They will then give you detailed odds of each situation and recommendations on how to play the hand, whether it be to check, bet, raise or fold.

The most popular odds calculators are:

Which odds calculator is the best?

Texas Calculatem for cash games, Sit and Go Shark for SnG tournaments.

Texas Calculatem has had the top spot for best in-game odds calculator for a very long time. There are definitely some great rival programs out there like Pokerbility, but Texas Calculatem is a solid program that does its job very well (and at a good price too). It's a great piece of software for anyone looking to develop a solid fundamental strategy.

If you're a Sit and Go player, Sit and Go Shark is your best option. This is like a sister program to the Texas Calculatem, except that this program has been designed specifically for Sit and Go tournaments.

My ratings for each piece of odds calculator software are:

Texas Calculatem - 8.5/10
Sit and Go Shark - 8.5/10
Pokerbility - 8/10

Exclusive PokerBank tools.

SPOC - A Simple Pot Odds Calculator
hoRatio - A ratio odds to percentage odds converter and vice versa. What's 5:1 as a percentage?
Fergulator - A bankroll management tool that helps you work out which stakes you can safely play at.
CHIMP - A downloadable ICM calculator. What is ICM?

All 4 of these programs are really lightweight and quick. Even though they are quite simple, they are still pretty handy for help during play and for when working with math-related strategy.

Other poker software.

PokerStove - A free equity calculator (immensely handy).
AutoHotKey (AHK) - A free open-source program that allows you to tweak poker rooms.

PokerStove.

I rave about the little PokerStove program all the time. It is basically like an offline odds calculator that will calculate your equity in a hand based on your cards and your opponents cards (or range). Every player should use this tool.

AutoHotKey.

This program allows you to automate stuff and create hotkey shortcuts. It wasn't designed specifically for online poker players, but the durability of the program means that it works very well with online poker clients and can really help you to improve your overall playing experience. It comes in most useful for multi-tabling.

Using AutoHotKey you can do handy things like:

Automatically rebuy for the maximum at cash tables when your stack drops below the max.
Use keyboard shortcuts to play or a gamepad controller.
Automatically click on the "time bank" when you are running out of time.
Lots of other handy stuff.

You can find a list of all these scripts at this AHK poker scripts page. Some are a little outdated, but there are still a number of gems there if you browse around. Highlights of AHK scripts include:

PokerStars urgent table script
Bet pot script
Party planner and PokerStars planner
Full Tilt shortcuts - (you have to pay $30 for this one).

All you have to do to get these scripts working is download AutoHotKey and load up the scripts. It really is very straightforward. It is also possible to create your own scripts, but it will take a bit of time to learn how to code them properly and get them working.

Table Ninja.

Table Ninja is a very good script/program for PokerStars that gives you a lot of control over bet sizing and loads of other stuff. It works in the same way as the AHK scripts, but it doesn't require the use of AutoHotKey as it runs by itself. This one costs $25, but it is a very useful script that can really help speed up the time it takes for you to bet.

Just check out the TableNinja site for a nice video of how it works and the big list of features.

Go back to the handy Texas Hold'em tools.