What Poker Downloads Will Improve My Game?

You already know that the Internet and poker are a perfect marriage. You may already be playing online on a regular basis. But the Internet is more than just a tool for playing online. There are also websites that discuss and provide valuable information about the game of poker, such as http://www.cardplayer.com and http://www.pokerpages.com. In addition, there are some sites where you can download some key poker tools.

Visit http://www.poker-academy.com and you will be given the opportunity to download a free demo of their Poker Academy software. The Poker Academy software allows you to play against opponents of different strengths and styles and then analyzes those games for you to study later. It also gives you in-game advice and compiles data on how your actions affected your bankroll. It can be a useful way to gain experience and information before sitting down at a real money game. The demo is free, but to use the program extensively, you'll need to order the software.

Another very popular download is the Poker Tracker, at http://www.pokertracker.com. Poker Tracker, for Windows, allows you to analyze your actual play on various online poker sites. Most sites allow you an option where you can download hand histories of the games you've played. Simply input the hand history information into Poker Tracker and the software will calculate a vast array of information that can help you in your games. It can tell you how often you see the flop, how often you bet and how much you typically win or lose. More importantly, it can compile similar information on your opponents, so that the next time you face them you will be armed with information they cannot imagine you have. Poker Tracker allows you to input 1,000 hands for free, if you want more than that, you'll have to pay $55 for a registration code.

Poker tracking software and Poker game demos as listed above are among the most popular kind of poker downloads and these two are among the best in those groups. Another online poker resource you should take advantage of is http://www.twodimes.net. Twodimes.net is a poker odds calculator that you can use to tell you the likelihood of a particular hand winning against another particular hand. There are fields for the game you are playing, the cards out on the board and the cards you and your opponent are holding. There's even a field for dead cards that aren't in play. A sample hands link will show you how to input the information if you aren't clear. This program takes all the guesswork out of whether you should have played your flush draw when you knew your opponent had a set, or whether the pot odds justify you calling with pocket eights. You can even use it to practice, see if you can guess how certain hands do against each other, then let Two Dimes figure it out for you.

As you can see, the internet can do more for your poker game than just give you a place to play. Make full use of your internet resources and your bankroll will thank you in the long run.

Rick “Stone Face” Ellers started playing poker while he was a paratrooper stationed in Fort Bragg, NC. He currently writes part time for PokerListings.com where you can read about Poker Chips and the exciting World Series of Poker.