Check out our brand new Local Poker Communities! Get updates and interact with poker players in your area.
Visit the United States Poker Community | Visit the California Poker Community | Read more about the Launch of P5s Local

is poker tracking software a must?

Reply to Thread
  1. Veteran In Love Veteran In Love is offline

    VA
    United States

    Posts: 171
    Joined: May 07

    Jul 23rd, 2009 (7/23/2009 11:07pm)

    whenever I read a strategy book or read posts on strategy here, it seems like most people seem to have a good idea of whether the table is "passive" or "aggressive" or who's being more aggressive than usual, etc.

    Now obviously keeping track of this is made easier through notes or really solid observation, but honestly I don't see how some folks seem to have everyone's style pegged to a T while playing 8 or more tables without some sort of help along the way.

    This makes me wonder whether things like poker tracking software are vital to success in today's game, and just how specific do these things get?

    EDIT: Also, which ones are best overall ? I play on Cake/FTP/Bodog/UB. so one that covers all or most of these is what i would be looking for>
     
  2. d7o1d1s0 d7o1d1s0 is offline

    United Kingdom

    Posts: 465
    Joined: Feb 09

    Jul 24th, 2009 (7/24/2009 12:43am) in reply to Veteran In Love

    Bump.

    Have been thinking about getting some poker software, pokertracker/tournament indicator or something like that and really want to know whether these things give an ROI. Just now i'm doing pretty well playing 4 tables of 6-max SnGs, but can't play more without losing vital info on opponents that is critical esp 3 handed and headsup. Are these kinds of programmes more useful for stuff like 180s? Would enough info be gathered over the course of 100 hands or so that it could be substituted for observation?
  3. bluffslv bluffslv is offline

    Las Vegas, NV
    United States

    Posts: 967
    Joined: Dec 08

    Jul 24th, 2009 (7/24/2009 12:50am) in reply to Veteran In Love

    It has definitely helped me when multitabling. If I open with 1010 and get 3bet by a guy who has played 0/30 hands it's a completely different scenario then if I get 3bet by someone who is 40/25 over 100 hands with a high 3bet %. These things would go unseen normally playing 8 tables so the software is definately worth the cost. Try the pokertracker 90 day trial, it will probably pay for itself during that time.
  4. frostymember frostymember is offline

    Evansville, IN
    United States

    Posts: 157
    Joined: Jul 07

    Jul 24th, 2009 (7/24/2009 12:52am) in reply to d7o1d1s0

    IMO they are a must no matter what you play tourney or cash- for a few reasons
    1. keeping perfect track of your bankroll and where you won and lost it- checking particular hands also
    2. you can play more tables and still know who to keep an eye on always-still observation is key
    3. even in 180's you get one hundred hands on a guy and it says hes plays 40% of them- then start watching him closely hes probably playing way to much-
    4. you can keep an eye on yourself in any particular tourney or sesion and know how many hands your playing- sometimes i get a little tilty and look down and realize ive played way to many hands in the session and i step back and slow down

    be aware when your playing heads up or even 3 handed the numbers will be skewed becuase hu or very short handed you play way more hands and way more aggro style- so it will throw the numbers off considerably unless you have alot of data on the particular guys
  5. d7o1d1s0 d7o1d1s0 is offline

    United Kingdom

    Posts: 465
    Joined: Feb 09

    Jul 24th, 2009 (7/24/2009 1:06am) in reply to frostymember

     
    Originally Posted by frostymember View Post

    be aware when your playing heads up or even 3 handed the numbers will be skewed becuase hu or very short handed you play way more hands and way more aggro style- so it will throw the numbers off considerably unless you have alot of data on the particular guys

    This was sort of what i was thinking. Quite often its the case that in these tourneys you'll find urself short handed with the same folk (the goof folk) over and over, which means that when i open up a tourney and find i'm sitting with someone who's seen 50% of flops, doesn't really tell me anything. Still can't see any reason not to give it the trial. Thanks for the advice guys.
  6. nyy486 nyy486 is offline

    Uniondale, NY
    United States

    Posts: 2,123
    Joined: Aug 08

    Jul 24th, 2009 (7/24/2009 1:09am) in reply to d7o1d1s0

    A must for cash games without a doubt but for tourneys I wouldn't call it a must. Stats on a player (unless way out of line) aren't going to help too much because the sample sizes rarely get big enough to make real conclusions. Plus you don't want to be looking at stats from the first 50-100 hands of a tournament when it is late, blinds are high, shallow stacks, short handed, etc. With that said I still use it for tourneys, taken for what it's worth it can't hurt.
     
  7. YoshiYashiki YoshiYashiki is offline

    United Kingdom

    Posts: 1,083
    Joined: Jan 06

    Jul 24th, 2009 (7/24/2009 2:29am) in reply to d7o1d1s0

     
    Originally Posted by d7o1d1s0 View Post

     
    Originally Posted by frostymember View Post

    be aware when your playing heads up or even 3 handed the numbers will be skewed becuase hu or very short handed you play way more hands and way more aggro style- so it will throw the numbers off considerably unless you have alot of data on the particular guys

    This was sort of what i was thinking. Quite often its the case that in these tourneys you'll find urself short handed with the same folk (the goof folk) over and over, which means that when i open up a tourney and find i'm sitting with someone who's seen 50% of flops, doesn't really tell me anything. Still can't see any reason not to give it the trial. Thanks for the advice guys.

    HEM & PT both have filters that deal with this issue. You can customise how you have it but I have it set up for 3 different settings: 2-3 players, 4-6 players & 7+. Once this is set up the software will only show stats played with that many players at the table and so heads up/shorthanded stats would not be included when there are 7 players + etc. Hope I explained that clearly enough.
Reply to Thread

Similar Threads