Poker tools

Poker tools are a variety of software or web-based applications that allow the statistical analysis of poker players, games or tournaments.

Hand converters

Poker hand converters allow players to take text-based online poker hand history files from different online cardrooms and convert them into formats more friendly to the eye and suitable for posting on online message boards. Hand converters are often used to show played hands to other players for analysis and discussion. Depending on the converter used, the output may include the pot size per betting round, blind level, seating order, and stack sizes. Most online cardrooms store played hands on the computer of the player, allowing players to analyze and keep track of their own performance or to discuss poker strategy with other players. Most major poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars and PartyPoker provide players with hand history files, while a few such as the Playtech network offer hand histories, but not in a text file format.

In addition to using hand history files to analyze and improve an individual's game, [ [http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/handHistory.php Full Tilt Poker: Hand History] ] they can also be used to gather statistical data about opponents, both those a player has played against and even opponents never faced. [ [http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/ICMLA.2006.23 Explaining Winning Poker: A Data Mining Approach] ] Whether the latter constitutes as cheating depends on the Acceptable Use Policy of the cardroom. Sharing the raw hand history files is generally considered collusion and a violation of the AUP. [ [http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/room/prohibited/ PokerStars: Prohibited Online Poker Software FAQ] ] Even though some sites don't offer a readily available hand history files, you can usually request a transcript by e-mail.

The first hand history converter, PokerStat, was introduced in 2001. Numerous software products and web-based tools now offer similar functionality.

Odds calculators

Numerous programs allow people to run "hot and cold" simulations where two to ten hands are run against each other to show the approximate winning percentage for each. The first such simulator, Poker Probe, was invented by Mike Caro in 1990. [ [http://www.poker1.com/misc/mc_biographies.asp Poker1.com About Mike Caro] ]

Tournament databases

Several commercial websites data mine the results of online poker cardroom tournaments and then offer rankings and return on investment statistics for players who have participated in these events.

Game software

Several commercial companies offer personal game software products where players can play against a table full of programmable robot opponents.

Bots

Pokerbots are computer programs that play online poker disguised as a human opponent. Online poker rooms normally prohibit their use. [ [http://www.partypoker.com/about_us/game_fairness/unfair_advantage.html PartyPoker.com: PartyGaming's Unfair Advantage Policy] ]

Datamining tools

Datamining tools, also known as hand grabbers, record the game play information of online poker games without requiring the user to play in the game. This data is usually stored as a text or XML file in a format which can be parsed by analysis tools.

See also

*List of poker terms
*List of poker related topics
*Poker strategy

Notes

External links

*dmoz|Games/Gambling/Poker/Software_and_Tools|Poker Software and Tools