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Over the last 2 years, I have tested in real game action every poker calculator on the market. When such products are launched I get to try them and post reviews on my website. Most of these products have at least something going for them, but a few are simply a waste of time and
should clearly be avoided.Now there are three types of poker calculators and you need to know the difference between the two most popular kinds which are empirical poker calculators and mathematical poker calculators. The other one, called operative poker calculator is actually the kind that will get you banned from a poker site and your funds confiscated.
Mathematical – Generally speaking, all poker calculators have the fundamental ability to calculate the bets and pot size while measuring that against your position, hole card strength and drawing potential. These basic reading functions, extracted right from your poker window automatically, are essentially why poker calculators exist in the first place. They quickly decipher the exact math and probabilities and offer a raise, call, check or fold recommendation. Not too many of these are sold any more because they do not assist in player profiling.
Empirical – In addition to the above features, these Poker Calculators monitor and record the behavior of your opponents. In effect, they can help profile your comptetion, just as you would at a live table.Based on this added information, such a Poker Calculator can help support or contradict your impression of a certain opponent's grid factor, but more likely, set the framework for an hypothesis all on its' own. These are the most popular types and include Holdem Indicator and Holdem Pirate as the market leaders. (Unfortunately, Pirate has been banned by Poker Stars for allegedly mining player stats for it's database.)
Poker Calculator Report: Hold'em Indicator, A New Standard
If you have ever read my review of Poker Indicator, you will know that I thought it had great potential, save for a few important draw backs that kept it from competing with the market leaders in this category. Holdem Indicator now succeeds Poker Indicator and not only that, has zoomed to the top of the class of empirical poker calculators market wide.
With a lot of new calculator software being introduced rapidly, I have tested virtually all of them only to find numerous programming quirks that had to be noted so that I knew which one would work with which site, and on which computer! Poker Indicator always worked smoothly and never suffered from over-programming. Holdem Indicator does just that as well, seamlessly flowing into every poker site I tried it on. New in this software is a mini view option that just squeaks under your site window if you just want the basic information in a handy spot. Why can't all poker calculators be this flawless?
When using Holdem Indicator you get the distinct notion that the software designers actually play poker and understand layout and design, as much as odds in the game itself. Especially valuable in this software is the odds 
display that shows two vital things - your odds of winning the pot, and your pot odds when a bet is put to you. If you have ever had trouble laying down hands, this feature alone will save you the cost of this calculator in one .25/.50 cent session at Full Tilt Poker. Seriously. You can change the odds display to percentage or ratio whatever your preference, but for poker ratio is the way to go as it easily compares your pot odds. When a bet is put to you, and one of these indicators is significantly larger than the other, take a closer look before your next move. For example if your pot odds are a decent 4 to 1, but your odds to win are 22 to 1, then your juicy pot odds don’t really matter, and you should muck.
There has also been a great design improvement in the visibility of your hole card display versus the flop. No need for color decks any more. This is as clear as graphics can be. And when you hole cards do show, they are accompanied by a convenient “out” window showing cards you will need to hit, and the familiar Sklansky hand rank system showing what groups your hole cards fall into further enforcing playing with cards of strength. Hey, there is a reason ten-deuce off suit is group 9.
Empirical means that this poker calculator can help you keep track of your opponents, even if you are not. You can actually monitor a table before you sit at it, or keep track of players while you sit out for a period. The opponent stats window will indicate a player's profile based on several calculations including VPIP, aggression, and show downs wins. After collecting 50 hands of data, Hold’em Indicator will assign a graphic image to you and your opponents. Some interesting icons include a time bomb, eagle, elephant, fish and yield sign. While the software is collecting this, it is also summing the table as a whole giving you a snap shot of the action.
Holdem Indicator is the new standard in Empirical Poker Calculators and works with all of the best sites including Full Tilt Poker.
When to Know You Need a Poker Calculator.
With the growth of online poker odds calculators, it has become apparent that many of us actually need one. Why else would those poker programmers keep designing them as fast as online players can buy them? At least two companies have even renamed virtually identical poker calculators just to cover different angles of this fast growing market.
Poker Calculators and The Slansky Group Hand Rankings
You may have noticed that while using your poker calculator it displays your hand odds while also using terminology like “hand rank”, “group”, or “group rank” all of which in some way or another refer to author David Slansky’s Group Hand ranking for hold’em poker. Originally described in the classic book, "Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players", Slansky rated all the starting hands and put them in groups according to their similar win rate.
The Psychology of Poker Calculators - Part 1
You're down fifty-six bucks. It's only been 40 minutes at a 2/4 hold'em, online table where you were determined from the start to play smart, aggressive poker. It's Friday night and you know the competition is going to solid. You have been watching all the players and now have 4 of them pegged, while two others have just joined, and the other 3 are have been mixing it up good, playing a lot of pots.
Using a Poker Calculator to Win Sit and Go Poker Tournaments.
You may know already that sit and go action is where a good, solid poker bankroll can be built. You get to choose your maximum risk, and play against a variety of talent giving you plenty of value for your buy-in, unfortunately, most poker calculators are not designed for sit and go poker. They calculate odds based on pot size, position, draws, and betting - but only for cash games. If you're like me and play mostly sit and go poker, you have to make moves counter to your poker calculator recommendations to be in the money consistently. These situations will occur when you are short stacked, when you are playing against a maniac, when you are chip leader, when you are heads up, and when you are 3rd place of 3 left.