FAQ's on Poker Calculators and Software

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FAQ Section - Odds and Poker Calculators.

Q: Okay I know what EV is. And I know the EV of a hand increase as you get closer to late position. However I have noticed that it will still vary from the same position. Does anybody know why that is?

A: If the hand is suited or unsuited and the amount of players (reducing) in the hand are two variables that effect EV.

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Q: Anyone have a key for translating the TI symbols (die, eagle, phone) into Marty's symbols (elephant, lion, mouse). Sometimes the translation can be confusing depending on the circumstances.

A:  Loose/Aggressive means high VPIP/high AF means jackal
Tight/Passive means low VPIP/low AF means mouse
Loose/Passive means high VPIP/low AF means elephant
Tight/Aggressive means low VPIP/high AF means lion

Tight/Neutral means low VPIP/medium AF means eagle this one knows how to read the board and his opponents. So where is the monkey? I look at the WSDW%. They will normally have a red die or telephone icon and a very low WSDW%. The monkey is the player who calls to the river with a 56o when the flop showed two aces and a king. Trust me, I've seen it. LOL. The icons are just a guide. The thing I try to watch is when the opponent suddenly changes his style. For example, when the mouse raises or when the jackal suddenly gets quite.

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Q: I can't find a description of the PFR% (pre-flop raise percentage) Does it mean total percentage of hands that a player raised? ...or does it mean percentage of hands voluntarily putting money into the pot that the player raised? (So 25% could be 25% of 25% which would be 6% total hands)

A: PFR = % of time player RAISES preflop if he enters the hand. It is a percent of their hands not tied to anything other than hand count. The higher the PFR the more aggressive the player across their range.
A player can have VP and PFR the same as in 10 and 10 means they raise everytime they enter. But that low a VP pretty much they only enter with group 1 or 2.

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Q: I got tournament indicator recently and am having trouble understanding the pot odds. Math was always a headache. Is there a simple way to understanding the percentages for the pot odds with this program? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! 

A: In settings set the odds indicator to ratios not percents. As in 4:1 is what it will show for example which is 25% pot odds. It is easier to understand and you know that for every chip you put in if the pot odds are 4 to 1 you get 4 back and if 3 to 1 you get three back. You you have odds of 1:3 to hit your flush and pot odds of 5:1 to call then you have GREAT odds to make the call.

Also, you can look at the bar chard in TI, if the green on the left is higher than the one on the right make the call usually because it means your win odds are higher than the pot odds cost so most of the time it's the right call.

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Q: Just wondering, is TI just HI with the Mzone calculator added? I'm thinking of investing of one of the two so wanted to get a handle on the differences.

A: They are similar in appearance but have some key differences. HI works with both cash and tournament games, but is better for cash games. Tournament Indicator has some different profiling features specific to tournaments : MZone Colors, Balance and Streak Indicators, and MatchCards. To me, if you play both cash AND tournaments, you need both HI and TI.

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Q: What is a tournament Q mean? I saw Marty talk about this once but was not sure what it meant.

A: Your tournament Q is your stack size in relation to the AVERAGE stack size of all REMAINING opponents in a poker tournament.If you have 1,500 chips left and the average stack size is 3,000 then your Q is .5 = 1,500/3,000. When you start a tournament, you have a Q of 1, meaning you have not particular stack size advantage over the average player. When you loose a big pot you have a Q of say 0.5. Now you have less equity than the average player.

Q: Marty I signed up for the MZone Video series and only have one so far. Where are the rest and how many are there?

A: These come on a scheduled basis and you can expect a new one between 1 and 3 days apart. That series has 15 or 16 videos now I believe.

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Q: Why isn't there a poker calculator for Omaha Hi-LO?

A: Omaha Indicator was released in June of 08. Where the hell were you?

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Q: This might seem like a newbie question but ive seen people talking about Tag And lag type of play ive never heard of these terms could someone explain what this is for me.

A:  Tight Aggressive = TAG, Loose Aggressive = LAG. Please make sure to sign up for the M-zone videos as there is one about profiling. There is also a page on profiling on Marty's website. Very informative.

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Q: Does anyone know if Marty has a MTT video series. I have completed the SNG series, and the Mzone Strategy series. However in one of the series he talks about the MTT series.

A: Mzone Video Series is kinda the MTT, it is all related to MTT play. There is a set of videos called the MTT5pak. You have to pay for it, it is a hand by hand play of 5 tourneys Marty plays.

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Q: Hey Guys, can some one please explain the inf. in the AF stats for me.? Do the stats include each round of betting too ?? 

A: It means post flop aggression is "INFINITE"

That means the player never calls post flop, they fold, check, check fold, bet, raise or check-raise. But they have never just called (so far in the game being tracked).

this is useful in knowing if:
1) You want to bet but not sure how they may react, you already know there will be no call most likely. It will be a fold or raise back.
2) You have a nice draw and feel you have the odds to call or might even be ahead. Is his bet a sign of strength or just habit? (you have to put this in context with all else you know to decide if it is a cBet, semi-bluff, or he has a good hand).
3) You are to the point you are combining stats and their meanings in unison when profiling players and getting your "read" on their action. For example you look at their profile icon, their pfr, VP AF and WSD% combining them all to determine if they are a Alpah or Beta type player and Tight or Loose. You would look at the streak & balance for a "tilt factor" or you might look at VP/PFR/AF/WSD% to determine cBet propensity.

Hope this helps.

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Q: I was wondering if anyone could tell me the percentage/odds that you'd hit a flush once the flop is on the board. Player, holds two (for argument sake) diamonds. On the board two diamonds, and a spade.. How often are they likely to hit? 

A: If it was on Full tilt I'd think even money 50/50 but seriously, I always figure 1 in 3 for 4 to a flush.

Rule of 4-2: 9 outs x 4 = 36% chance of hitting in the next two cards about 1 in 3.
On the turn, 9 x 2 = 18% chance of hitting the next card. 1 in 5 almost

The rule of 4-2 is extremely close to actual math odds without the complicated equations. It is simple to follow, take your outs on the flop and multiply by 4. Then on the turn, take your outs at that time and multiply by 2.

Often you have to consider they have more outs such as a str8 draw also or if you only held a pair, they have overcards so add in those outs to best your pair.

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How do Poker Odds Calculators read cards, bets and player actions?
I am considering writing a real time poker odds calculator. I've got everything figured out, except for how to read the table action. I don't believe they're reading the pixels directly. I suspect they're intercepting the text in the status box, but I'm not sure... What mechanism are real time Poker Odds Calculators using to read cards, bets and player actions? Can you direct me to samples/examples of source code?

How does holdem inspector / poker odds calculators work?

How do poker odds calculators like the holdem inspector work i.e how do they intercept your cards and follow the bets, game play etc? Why are they only compatible with some sites? Please advise. thanks

I am a developer and IMHO all actions are going in and out of your PC (when you run the client). So it's a simple matter of parsing the XML files that are stored locally on you pc. I had a look a while ago out of interest and they are publicly available.