The skill level of the average poker player has risen over the last few years - we have no doubt about that. Many newcomers to the game might find it discouraging; if everybody is improving, winning money at the poker table should be harder, right? That's true, but at the same time, there's a silver lining - becoming a versatile poker player is easier than ever!
Nowadays, there is so much online poker content that finding time to consume it is the most challenging part of learning. Many players fall prey to the belief that they will study more once they achieve a certain level of bankroll or a personal goal. They are, more often than not, lying to themselves.
Unless you are an absolute beginner learning the dynamics and overall flow of the game, you should start studying poker theory as soon as possible. The sooner you devote quality time to improving your skills outside the poker tables, the faster you develop as a player.
Sooner or later, poker software will become a must for your development
Watching poker videos, reading articles and books, and reviewing hand histories can all increase your knowledge of the game. However, you can get only so far without trying out how theory and math translate to actual decisions at the poker table. Don't worry; "math" does not mean advanced math concepts. In fact, we believe that you may become an above-average poker player even if math is not your thing.
Working on your poker game with dedicated tools will help you develop intuition and a sort of "muscle memory", aiding you in automating the most trivial decisions and saving your mental energy for the more demanding spots.
Poker study: what tools are best for a start?
Before you continue, we invite you to read the article about the best poker software - you'll find the most commonly used online poker tools listed there, along with an introduction to their basic functionalities.
Whatever your poker format of choice is (multi-table tournaments, cash games or spin and go's), the first poker tool you should familiarize yourself with is an equity calculator (like PokerStrategy Equilab, a great free poker tool or Flopzilla).
The equity (next to the pot odds) is one of the most important poker concepts you should understand and learn how to apply. In poker, equity is often defined as your share of the pot (expressed in percentages). For example, if you go all-in preflop while having Aces and your opponent will call you with Kings, you'll have around 82% equity. Assuming you both put 100 chips into the pot, on average, you'll have 164 chips after the hand (82% of the pot of 200). Of course, you'll either have 0 or 200 (minus potential rake), but after averaging the results from all possible board textures, you'd end up with 164.
The hand vs. hand (like a pair vs. a lower pair or AK vs. a pair) examples are easy to memorize. But what about estimating a hand equity vs. a range equity or even range vs. range equity? That's where the equity calculators come in handy. They are also beneficial if you play in tournaments or similar formats. The deeper you are in the tournament, the more likely you'll enter the push-or-fold phase (meaning you either go all-in yourself or call someone else's shove).
The knowledge of how much equity is necessary in such cases for your decisions to win chips and what hands meet these criteria is essential for MTT players. Nowadays, it's a basic skill both for online poker players, as well as for people playing live. Of course, there are countless possible preflop scenarios, including multiple all-ins, an open raise followed by a few cold calls, all-ins, etc. You can't prepare for every possible scenario, but the equity calculators will help you develop a basic preflop poker strategy.
A preflop solver is the next level of online poker tools
As soon as you get a grasp of how the most common spots in preflop poker work, you'll be ready to move to the next step: a preflop poker solver. The two most popular poker software in this category are Holdem Resources Calculator and ICMizer.
Both apps allow you to run complex preflop calculations with high accuracy. What's even better, they also can take the Independent Chip Model influence into consideration (commonly referred to as ICM), which makes them a must-have choice for every tournament player.
How can you incorporate these into your study routine? With a little effort, you might investigate every preflop decision, which consisted of either shoving or calling a shove (of course, not while you are playing, as it's against the TOS of every respectable poker site).
Preflop solvers allow you to determine the optimal strategy. Simply save the hand history from the poker platform or tracking software (we'll tackle that category in the next paragraph) and paste the data into the solver to see which hands prefer specific actions.
With the help of HRC (or ICMizer), you'll quickly find patterns in the most common spots (like shoving at several big blinds depth from a particular position or calling shoves). You'll also discover the optimal ranges for calling more than one shove or how the bounty factor should influence your decisions.
With the help of the preflop poker solvers, you can prepare for the most common preflop spot with high accuracy and confidence.
If you play online poker, consider investing in tracking software
Tracking software, namely, Poker Tracker and Holdem Manager, are among the most popular poker tools ever created. However, they do not give you any guidelines on how to win in your poker games, nor do they serve you the game theory.
Instead, they aggregate all of the poker hands you've played into databases, which can serve you to pick up the tendencies of the player pool you play against and even your own. The output of the tracking software is invaluable. With enough data, you might find whether poker players at your stakes overfold to 3bets, continuation bet with correct frequencies, or 4bet anything else than the nuts.
At the same time, you can find your own leaks by analyzing the hands you have played. Analyzing and comparing your stats to other players can often be a great reference point for your poker game's direction.
This software also allows you to use HUD, a small box that displays the statistics of players you are against at a poker table. While it might sound like an unfair advantage, it is not. No poker room penalizes its users for using tracking software; some do not share real-time hand histories, making HUDs useless. However, if your platform allows using tracking software, there's no valid reason not to.
If you are considering becoming a serious poker player, getting Holdem Manager, Poker Tracker, or any similar poker tool is a must. While poker HUD is not essential to being a winning poker player, the ability to store, share and analyze hand histories from different poker sites will save you a lot of time and make studying streamlined and more enjoyable.
Pokers solvers - crème de la crème of poker software
Solvers are among the best poker tools ever made; there's no doubt about that, and hopefully, we don't have to convince you about the importance of Game Theory Optimal in poker. Since poker's rise to popularity, solvers are the first software that has allowed you to design efficient strategies on the spot with so many editable variables and such accuracy.
For years, their biggest drawback was a need for a lot of computing power. The emergence of the new generation of solvers, like Deepsolver, has removed this inconvenience. Nowadays, this type of software often works as web-based apps that provide desired solutions in seconds.
And what is the poker solver's practical application? This poker tool will teach you how to act on certain board textures. With solver help, you'll be able to deconstruct almost any spot. When to be aggressive (e.g. how often and how big you can cbet?), and when to be passive (some boards require you to check a lot). When can you go triple barrel bluffs, and what hand to check-raise on the river? Thanks to the poker solvers ' detailed output, you'll find answers to these and many other questions.
So, when you, as a poker player should start to work with solvers? As soon as you feel ready to do so. We won't deny that solvers aren't the simplest poker tools ever made, but their power is worth the time needed to learn how to use them.
Unlike the preflop solvers, Deepsolver is the best poker software to study cash games and more complex MTT scenarios. Since most of your hands will be heads-up play, you can solve almost any situation, from the lowest to very high SPRs.
On our blog, you'll find a list of materials about how to use solvers and analyze their input:
Also, visit our YouTube channel, where you'll learn how we use Deepsolver to analyze the popular hands from the biggest poker stages.
So, how should you organize the learning process?
To be a successful poker player, you must use the right tools at the right time.
In summary, we advise you to study poker strategy in an order.
Start with understanding how the equity in Texas Hold'em works. How do certain hands perform in specific situations and against other hands and ranges of hands?
If online poker is your thing, invest in tracking software. It will help you to learn what other poker players tend to do. It also will track your winnings, save your hand histories and allow you to find the areas which may need your attention.
Whether you're playing MTTs, SNGs or Spin & Go's, the preflop solvers will improve your preflop game tremendously. All-in decisions preflop are less complex than postflop ones, but knowing what to do before the flop improves your overall win rate and allows you to gather bigger stacks in later stages of the tournaments. And when you have the big stack, the time for your postflop skill to shine comes.
Whenever you feel ready, Deepsolver will take your postflop game (where the biggest edges in poker lie) to the next level. Don't wait too long; your poker rivals are already training.
Start the journey to the higher stakes today; check out the Deepsolver's free trial.