Play Tracking Tool for Hold 'em Poker

While searching for answers to my Poker problems, I read a couple articles online that suggested using Poker Tracker software to track your play style. It reads the hand histories from many of the online sites to track your play for both Texas Hold 'em and Omaha/8. Once you have a decent history, Poker tracker will help you find leaks in your game.

I quickly discovered that it would also track your opponents. You don't even have to play to build information on your opponents. On Party Poker, for example, you can watch up to ten tables at a time without playing. Over the course of a week (24 hours a day), I built up a huge history of players at my level. When playing, the Game Time window lets you see these stats real-time during the game. When you know the playing style of your opponents, you really get the edge over them.

Once I started using Poker Tracker while playing, I quickly saw the value in the program and bought it. You can get a free trial from their website, but it only tracks 1000 hands. The registered version is $55, but I think it's really worth it.

The articles I read also suggested using PokerAce HUD along with Poker Tracker. This program will put your opponents' stats right on the tables while you play. You can try it for free and use it on one table at a time. If you play more than one table, registration costs $25. I don't have much screen real estate, so I really like using it.

I played for a week or so using these two programs with good results. I thought they would help me in the mini-tournaments as well, so I gave them another try with the same results: I didn't make the money in four attempts. It was during this stretch that I decided that it was time to learn how to play poker instead of just finding a good crutch. I withdrew my money from Party Poker up $40.

posted by Kent @ 8:03 PM