best poker software to dl?

I am wondering what is the best type of software to purchase if you want to play poker part-time and make a decent supplementary income. I downloaded the trial version of Pokertracker 3 ( don't know exactly how to use it, I'm a little lost right now). But i am also interested in Holdem Genius. What do you guys recommend buying? What is worth it and will legitimately help me out at the tables?

Nobody has any suggestions? I thought such software was legal...

You need to give us a little background 1st. What games you play, limits etc. Then we will be able to give you relevant advice.

Ok, i play at pokerstars and i only play NL holdem Sng's tourneys $5-$10 range.

Well as your playing sng's you may want to look at Tourney Manager. I've never used it but I know a lot of the sng guys do. Obviously PT3 and Holdem Manager are worth considering. I have recently transferred from PT3 to Holdem Manager, but I play solely cash games.

I hear SnGWiz is great for SnG's (hence the name), but ive never tried it personally. Also any kind of tracker with a HUD is extremley useful if you tend to play more then two tables at a time.

Nah, i don't play more than two at a time. Played three at the time once, and i think i only broke even playing $5 sng's or made a small profit. I want the type of software that gives you the pot odds of your hand versus the flop real time and percentages. Anyone have experience using Holdem Genius? Maybe a type of software that gives me my opponent's stats so i can ascertain the type of player he is (lag, tag, aggro...good...poor etc.) and possibly show me the best tables to sit down at (fish-heavy).

You are looking for a calculator rather than a tracker ? Try Calculatem Pro, probably the best of them.

Don`t believe the wild hype from some of the publishers that just following a real-time calculator`s advice and playing the odds will make you a big winner. It will save you from stupid errors and can be a good training aid for beginners, but it will make you 100% predictable and easy meat for any experienced player unless you engage your brain and mix up your play.

Thanks, egon. I just suck at calculating pot odds and whether i should call or not if i got a good hand but not the nuts or a drawing hand and whether i should call bet X and see if i can hit. Was never great at math, and especially cannot convert ratios into percentages, atleast not quick enough during a game. Wouldn't say i am a beginner, more intermediate. Just want to take advantage of any advantages that sharks employ regularly. I use sharkscope before a tourney begins to check out my opponent's earnings per game, average buy-in, and profit margins. But that's about it right now.

Yep SnGwiz or SNGPT, are definitely tools to consider. These hone in on your bubble play skills using ICM theory, which by the way, if you wanna succeed at SnG's in the long run you really need a good understanding of. Google is your friend there btw.

ICM theory hmmm. I am googling but so far just finding forum posts mentioning ICM theory. No actual poker article teaching it.

Try this for starters

Seriously there's loads of sites that can provide you with this information, unfortunately some of them are rival sites to this so I'm not allowed to post, as I say Google is your friend.

Jagsti, can you let me no how Holdem Manager helps your cash games and what stats it gives you, also how much does it cost, thanks.

DD poker demo is okay for the odds calculator and works in the demo version. I didn't see anything else about of much value. There is also neat tool pokerbility for calculating odds. Both of these are like pokerstove, I guess. Then there is Poker Tracker.

Like he said I dont recommend using these tools while playing: it'll just mess with your natural playing abilities. But looking at the odds is useful post-analysis to see if you made the right move.

Chk this thread out.

It cost $80 but well worth it if you can afford it. If you need any more help pm me.

thanks for the link Jagsti, unfortunately it says the page cannot be found

I read in another thread that using PokerTracker 3 and data mining on pokerstars is illegal there...is this true? What type of software can i use on pokerstars?

Nobody can answer my question?

On the Pokerstars site there is a link that shows allowed and forbidden programs that can anwer your question. Pokertracker is allowed as far as all the information that I have ever seen.

Thanks, steve. Will check it out!

I may be wrong, but I think pokerstars only allows Poker Tracker use on the tables that you're playing on. You can't use it to data mine on other tables.

Edit...I think this is the thread Jagsti was refering to Hold'em Manager

Thank you kcanuck, i googled holdem manager, but dont think it will work on william hill

Holdem Manager definitely does work on William Hill. I used it there yesterday.

Great, it did not mention will hill on the sites that Holdem manager works on, Thanks Egon.

The problem with Holdem Manager is that it doesn't fully support tournament (or SNG) play at all. So DO NOT buy that one ... yet (it is otherwise a fantastic program). PT3 is so buggy it went back from release into beta. Yikes.

Maybe get that SNG wizard program a try ... double check its legallity.

Egon, can i ask your user name at william hill?

It is Birdbandit. You will rarely see me there, though. Last night was the first time in months. I was playing in a special game for subscribers of Poker Player magazine.

What do you think of will hill?

Nothing wrong with it. Software works reliably, has the usual features.

I am mostly an MTT player, and I feel the tourney structure is a bit too fast. That`s the main reason I prefer other sites.

Having said that, I did cash in last night`s tourney, in a field of Poker magazine subscribers, who obv can play a bit, so I don`t hate it that much.

For real-time odds calculations, I like Holdem Indicator alright. It doesn't have a HUD per-se but it does attach to the bottom of your table window and tracks players and their stats there.

Here's a video review of an older version by Poker Calculator Report:

YouTube - Holdem Indicator

The latest version has side tabs on the left side to either show the player stats in the main window, or to break them out into an undocked, separate window as shown in the video.

I got it "free" by signing up to SportsBook through them and playing 200 raked hands (until then it's locked to the room you signed up for). In fact I'm not even sure they sell it otherwise, at least I don't remember seeing an outright price for it.