Best Poker Training Software 2020

Best Poker Training Software 2020 Average ratng: 7,6/10 8812 reviews
Technology has advanced considerably in the recent years, and as always we would like to take advantage of the latest innovations to help us improve our game. Many of us have smart-phones in today’s world. Many of us also find that day to day living can be hectic, so being able to make strategic improvements to our game while on the go can be a huge advantage. There are 3 different types of app that can help us, so let's go over the best poker training apps:

SNG training software allows you to practice the critical situations that arise during single table tournaments over and over again so that when you are actually playing and encounter such a situation your action will be the correct one. One such piece of SNG training software is the Prego Poker Bubble Trainer. The most critical part of any SNG. Being a leading poker software developer, our mission is to provide the best poker software for the lowest price to help our customers to achieve higher winning expectation. Our company was opened in early 1999. We have been in the poker software business for five years and our customer's satisfactory rate is over 99%.

1. Non Poker Apps

Ok, this might seem a little surprising at first. Aren’t we here to talk about poker apps? Well, we are, but an app doesn’t necessarily need to be specifically for poker in order to help us work on our game.
Note Taking App – For example Evernote and One-note. These are note taking apps which allow us to sync notes across various internet capable devices.
One way we can use this is to make note of strategic concepts on our computer which we can review later on our mobile phone when not home. It is even possible to copy and paste screenshots of various ranges, or links to hand histories for later viewing.
Video Player – It should be somewhat obvious that even a generic video player app which will often come included with our phone will allow us to watch training videos that we have downloaded previously. In most cases it will also be possible to stream such videos straight from the internet without need for a download. Naturally it will save on data costs if we pre-download however.
.pdf Reader – Again seems really obvious, but there is a wealth of information out there stored in poker books. Getting our favourite books in .pdf format can be great for long journeys or other time-wasting events.

2. Poker Site Apps


So here we are referring specifically to apps that are offered by the poker sites themselves. Most of the big poker sites now have a mobile version of their poker client which allows users to play poker hands while on the move.

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One of the best ways to improve our poker game is simply to play poker. The following are some of the networks which offer poker apps for android, iphones, and others.
888 Poker

The list is by no means exhaustive, but having a mobile app is becoming a must-have feature of many online poker sites.Software
Playing on a mobile app cannot be compared to playing on a computer. Playing on a big screen will always provide a better experience.
It’s worth keeping in mind that multi-tabling via a mobile app is difficult at best, and not even supported in many cases. We will also lose access to certain additional features such as being able to see HUD stats on our opponents. Having said that, if it’s a case of doing nothing on a long train journey or being able to single table fast-format poker without a HUD, we’d probably choose to play anyway.

3. The Best Poker Training Apps

It's difficult to talk about specific apps because the available apps will naturally depend on which operating system we have on our phone. Here are a few that were in the google play store for Android devices.
Pokerstove – If we don’t know what pokerstove does then we have probably had our head under a rock for the last ten years. Pokerstove was the original equity calculator for poker players before newer more complex equity calculators were released.
In truth, while pokerstove was the original app, it doesn’t mean it’s currently the best. The mobile app is lacking compared to the original piece of software. The availability of equity calculators as mobile apps has exploded in recent times, and a quick search of the google play store for an equity calculator will yield many results to choose from.
The best thing is to check the ratings and try out each app that seems to be rated highly. A higher rated and seemingly better equity calculator is named “Equity App Free (Poker Odds)”.
Equity Battle – There are now an increasing number of apps that act as a poker coach. One of these appsis known as “equity battle” and is essentially an equity calculator turned into a game. Players proceed through levels estimating the equity of various holdings. Great for killing time and improving our equity estimates in the process.
Insta Poker Coach – Some apps take it a step further and attempt to give us a more thorough coaching experience. With creation assisted by professional players Insta Poker Coachallows us to play simulated hands where we are awarded points for the quality of our decisions. We will then be given advice on what is the best play and why. In some ways it’s like reading a strategy book on poker except the experience is much more interactive.
At this stage most other apps will be variations of the above. We have yet to see a very strong equity calculator with the current capabilities of computer software such as power-equilab or flopzilla, but more than likely it will only be a matter of time.Software
There are countless other ways to consider using our mobile to learn poker. Many of the activities we can do on a computer we can do on a phone. For example we can watch scenes from poker shows on youtube or even download the pokerstars.tv app. Perhaps we are even reading this article on our mobile phone.
Best poker training software 2020 onlineIf we don’t like the idea of playing for real money on our mobile, it’s also possible to find a number of play-money apps, either against human players or against bots. One of the largest play-money poker networks is known as Zynga poker, and it has a mobile app.
Also remember that avenues such as posting on forumsand chatting on skype are still available even from a mobile phone. So while we don’t get the full range of software that is available to us on a desktop or laptop, using our smartphone to help us train is a great idea for those times when we are on the move.

Improve on the Move

The possibilities are vast even at these early stages of mobile phone development. So it's completely up to us what we do with it. We know as poker players that one of the most important things we strive for is to maximise our efficiency. So if it's the difference between a long car journey where we do nothing, and a long car journey where we pick up several new poker concepts, then the latter has to be the smarter thing to do if we are serious about our game - and that includes using the best poker training apps available!

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You might have heard of game theory optimal (GTO) or GTO poker solvers before. You might have also heard that you shouldn't try to play GTO, that you should only play an ABC poker strategy - a simple yet effective that should beat your incompetent opponents. However you would be wrong.

GTO solvers are basically a super calculator for poker which allows players to set-up a hand scenario and find the optimal solution to that situation. You basically ask the solver a question and it gives you the GTO answer.

Has poker been solved and turned into a game like Tic Tac Toe?

There are still limitations to what GTO solvers can do.

For example, they currently only solve for heads-up confrontations. But there’s a lot of benefits to using a GTO solver. They aren’t cheap. And often the learning curve deters people.

This article we’ll weigh up the benefits and pitfalls of using a GTO poker solver. And reveal how to get the most out of using a GTO solver.

Is GTO the best poker strategy?

When it comes to beating poker, the term ‘GTO’ often gets thrown around like it’s the ultimate strategy. The idea of pure game theory optimal solutions (i.e. equilibria) works most effectively when players are playing perfect strategy. However, that isn’t often the case.

I HAVEN’T studied Tic Tac Toe, but I’m confident as the player going first, selecting the middle box as the first move would be optimal.

I HAVE studied poker for years, and sometimes I’m still not sure of the best play in a certain situation!

Poker is a complex game. As human players, we don’t consistently make optimal decisions. Some rarely do!

So what good is an equilibrium strategy when our opponent is deviating far from using an optimal game plan? After all, the importance of adjusting to your opponent and the mantra of ‘play the man’ has been at the crux of winning poker strategy since Cowboys on tilt were drawing pistols in saloons.

Here's a short video that addresses the role GTO plays in the poker world.

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The power of GTO poker solvers

Well firstly, there are still certain takeaways from observing a GTO solver work its magic and plot an equilibrium solution. And secondly, solvers do allow you to set parameters so you can calculate an optimal strategy when playing a non-perfect player.

Benefits from eyeballing equilibrium play

Being able to eyeball a perfect strategy is a useful learning aid. It’s not always practical for the specific game type and opponents a player encounters in their regular games. But seeing a perfect strategy being modeled can be very thought provoking.

Especially when a players style of play differs in spots from the GTO mold. Players in a sense are forced to reflect on their own play and question why they exhibit certain tendencies.

Are they exploiting a certain opponent weakness or population tendency? Or is it a bad habit that’s developed that their opponents can capitalize on?

GTO Poker Solver Example

Let’s take cbetting small pairs on the flop as an example. Solvers like to bet very small pairs in a lot of instances on the flop. These marginal holdings benefit greatly from taking the pot down on the early street. They have few outs to improve, and so the board texture usually develops unfavourably for them.

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It makes sense to protect them in a lot of situations. But some players might frequently check back the flop rather than cbet figuring they just want to try to showdown with a weak hand.

Identifying these types of smart strategical patterns helps players modify and improve their own play. Here’ a few more examples;

  • How is middle pair played?
  • Should BB check-raise low boards a lot on the flop?
  • What’s the role blockers play in spots?
  • Backdoor flush draw play
  • When do solvers over-bet the river?
  • Should ace high cbet dry flops?

Some of which might be instantly beneficial if incorporated into a players game

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Benefits from locking opponent strategies

Frequently as we observe opponent play we notice tendencies they have. Additionally using a HUD or poker tracking software online will sometimes expose bad habits.

Once you’ve locked on to what you believe to be an opponent weakness, you can configure the poker solver to plot a new optimal strategy based on this information.

This approach of analyzing a GTO strategy for the specific opponent you’re playing against is a powerful tool solver's offer and is usually referred to as ‘locking a strategy’ or ‘setting a strategy’.

It’s the best feature for most solver users because it allows for relevant, specific hand analysis based on the real situations you encounter regularly. And you can gain insight into how a solver goes about adjusting to take advantage of deviations from equilibria.

GTO Solver Example #1 : Video

For example, take the passive opponent that rarely check raises us on the flop. Since we'll get to realize our equity more often, we can cbet at a high frequency. Taking advantage of the fact we rarely get blown off our hand on the flop. Which was the situation a student asked me about recently, as discussed in the video below.

GTO Solver Example #2: Check Raising

Or perhaps you’ve spent some time playing with an opponent and he seems to be cbetting 100% on the flop, poker solvers allow you to input this tendency and work out the best response.

Whilst it might be obvious to some that check-raising a player over cbetting is likely to be a good strategy, solvers provide more than just an ideal fold percentage, call percentage and raise percentage.

Additional insights such as; what parts of your range fit best as fold/call/raise, what raise sizing is best, your equity and EV for the situation, how you should proceed on various turn and river outcomes, and all the while what your opponent’s responses should be to your moves. In fact, the extensive amount of data presented can be a little overwhelming to a first time user.

Players modifying solvers to better represent their opponent’s behavior, frequently express overall improvements in their game from the knowledge they gain.

Seeing how a solver adjusts to different situations prepares players for the next time they encounter a similar situation.

Moreover, solver users tend to get a better handle on how they should be playing their range of hands as opposed to a specific hand. Which makes any player more savvy on the felt. As well as players expressing how they start to see the game more in depth, by being able to visualize a hands decision points as branches on a game tree.

This often assists with recognizing opponent leaks and identifying opportunities to exploit. And serves to place importance on strategy as a whole. Where ultimately, consistently making better decisions than your opponents over time, leads to winning results.

Limitations Of Poker Solvers

Locking strategies requires a little more than the basic knowledge of using the solver and if not executed correctly, it could lead to unreliable results.

Use of this feature requires you to be able to fairly accurately gauge your opponent’s tendencies. And this is where a considerable ‘human element’ still remains. In fact, from the get go when you are selecting hands to include in your opponents range, and setting bet sizes, the more accurately you can set the parameters in the solver to reflect the game situation the more reliable the calculations will be.

Unfortunately, this often brings about another limitation solvers have, the time it can take to compute. Especially when setting multiple bet and raise sizes. As the game tree gets larger, so does processing time. Whilst simpler solutions might only take a minute or 2, having several betting and raising sizes, as well as the option to lead bet, might take the better part of an hour to process. And that’s presuming your PC is relatively up to date.

For extremely complex calculations, such as running scripts or doing heavy preflop work, people sometimes rent servers or use cloud computing. Or you could let the computer run over night.

To speed up regular hand calculations, compromises can be made. For small concessions in accuracy, considerable time can often be saved. With results still acceptably accurate.

So solvers can provide GTO solutions to the heads-up scenarios you encounter at the table. Calculations that are extremely accurate, and fast enough to be usable.

So which GTO poker software is right for me?

The three most competitive solvers, with positive reviews, are;

  • GTO Range Builder- More graphical/visual. Web version only. Lots of educational material (though the content is reported to be quite overwhelming for beginners).
  • SimplePostflop- More tabular. Standalone version. Can start the analysis preflop.
  • PioSOLVER- More tabular. Standalone version. Preferred by most players for its less complicated operation and functionality.

A discussion comparing the best poker solvers, PioSOLVER and GTORB, can be found in this post and responses on Two Plus Two.

Players new to solvers often have good things to say about GTO Range Builder. It has a web interface and is quite fast whilst some also consider it to be moderately easy to use.

However, my recommendation would be PioSOLVER. It’s operation and functionality consistently gets good reviews. And for some of the more difficult capabilities, there’s always tutorials and videos available, all backed by excellent support. There’s even a Skype group new customers can join.

See how to simulate a hand, analyze the data, and take-aways from using a GTO solver with Acesup from our 26 minute premium content video below:

The price point is also competitive for solvers, with the basic version coming in at $249.

There’s also a pro version for $475 (which offers 2 installs, and scripting capability), as well as an edge version for $1,099. Pricey because it includes a preflop solver.

Can it really help me? Will it be worth it?

If you don’t do study away from the tables and are hoping for a wonder toy calculator that will make things easy for you. It’s unlikely you’ll get anything out of owning a solver. As has always been the case with poker, the more effort you put in the more you’ll get out of it.

And to be able to get a lot out of a solver, you do need to put the work in. From learning the functions and using them properly to interpreting results and implementing positive changes to your game. The onus is on you.

If you’re willing to put in the work, the rewards are definitely there. For cash game players, MTT’ers or SNG players. If you’re a serious player trying to move up in stakes. If you’re focused on winning. The opportunity to expand your knowledge of the game and implement strong winning strategies is attainable.

Use of poker GTO solvers is on the rise but certainly isn’t a ‘main stream’ application to have. In the future, with better technology solvers might be simple add-ons to a lot of the programs most players have become accustomed to using. Like a basic poker equity calculator, such as equilab.

For now, they are still sophisticated applications only a limited number of players have embraced. Getting in sooner rather than later might provide you with an edge over your rivals.

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Get the most out of your poker solver

Along with the specific makers having youtube channels with tutorials, most poker training sites also have videos where GTO solvers are used. Coaches often use the popular PioSOLVER to gain more insight when analyzing situations at the table. There are several videos at sites like RunItOnce and several tutorials are part of the PokerNerve library.

Here’s a glimpse at a PokerNerve tutorial. This video demonstrates one of the ways people are benefitting from using PioSOLVER for study.

Conclusion

Despite solvers having their limitations;

  • Somewhat cumbersome to learn and use
  • Calculations are slow to process
  • Pricey for the lower limit player
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GTO poker solvers provide studious players with a powerful learning tool;

  • Ability to work out GTO solutions
  • Calculate optimal strategic responses to situations encountered at the table

Examining GTO solutions allows players to identify and learn strong strategical concepts. Such as how often to cbet, what size, and with what types of hands. How often to check-raise in spots. What cards to barrel on, and so forth.

General takeaways that can help a player improve their overall game plan, and gain a better understanding of what their opponents might be doing as well.

Furthermore, by using the lock strategy feature you can calculate optimal strategic responses to opponent tendencies you’ve discovered.

Exploring specific solutions to situations you encounter against opponents from your regular games. So you can see how to take action and exploit them.

It’s not a quick magical solution. But if you’re willing to put in the effort to learn and get accustomed to using a solver. The reward is having a powerful poker computing device that will help you improve your poker skill. Giving you an edge at the tables.

One of the quickest way to improve your poker game is to take on a course or join a poker training site; if that is something that interests you be sure to check out the PokerNerve Road to Success Course.

Last updated: 07/01/20

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