LeakBuster

Okay, so HEM comes with this $50 add-on (for small stakes) called LeakBuster. Has anyone used it? Is it worth the $50 for a tournament player? I know it comes with a trial, but right now I have a small amount of hands for it to go off of, but if it's any good I'd like to buy it right now.

If you are a tourney player, you do not need it. TBH, you do not really need to have HEM as a tourney player. Just understand ICM and you should be fine.

Pardon the dumb question, as I'm not a tournament player most of the time, but what exactly is ICM and how does it relate to tournament play?

It sounds pretty important, and I'm sure it's a concept I'm familiar with, just don't know the name for . . .

Independent Chip Model. Sorry it is kinda early for me so I'll just post a link to a definition. If you want further reading, google has some pretty good articles on the front page.

ICM

I've been playing for almost two years now and don't remember ever reading about ICM online or in my 15 or so books. Thanks.

Despite of I'm turney player, I've found Poker Leak Buster very useful for me and recommend it for everyone

Well then you have been reading the wrong books/articles. Having a good understanding of ICM(Independent Chip Modeling) is the key to being a great SnG and tournament(later stages) player. Basically what it does is it assigns each tournament chip a real money value(If there are 10000 chips in play and $10000 in the prize pool, then each chip is worth $1; if there are 10000 chips in play, but only $1000 in the prize pool, each chip is worth $0.10). Once you find out what your stack is worth in comparison to your opponents, ICM knowledge will bring to you the best places of when to push or fold. Any SnG software out there like SnG Wizard, SnG Power Tools, etc. all just run ICM calculations of when it is best for you to push.

Here are a couple links to some free Online ICM Calculators: http://www.holdemresources.net/hr/sn...alculator.html
http://www.icmpoker.com/Calculator.aspx

Also, Tony Guererra has some good ICM articles that would help explain better than I did: http://www.killerev.com/articles/ind...gory&showcat=4

How much does leak buster cost? Im thinkin about investing it but so far my game is going well (+$$).

It costs $50.

what is it like a learning site for poker?

I have no idea what link buster is (I don't use HEM) but if you're a tournament player I would suggest that there are many ways in which one can look for leaks in one's game. Reviewing one's HH's, posting some of them, seeking the advice from experienced winning players... ghosting some tourneys of good players, watching higher buyin MTTs play out online at various stages and reviewing how hands were played (especially (obviously) the better & more experienced players (<< ez enough to check). Watching some poker training videos on MTT play, watching training videos where a coach reviews another's tournament, reading MTT strategy articles (not just your basic article, but more in-depth ones.... ie. Bond18's seris of articles "what it took me awhile to learn about playing MTTs" comes to mind, any of Rizen's articles, & a myriad of other's... there are TONS out there online). And of course reading some decent NLHE Tournament play books to get a decent grounding/understanding of the game (ie. HOH series for starters, Kill Everyone, Winning Poker Tournaments - One Hand At A Time).
I think all of this ^^ stuff would take you further than springing for 'leak buster' in regards to improving as a tournament player.

I don't know what anyone istalking about, all iknow is that u need experience and that iswhat makes agood tournament player, all these programs and models mean nothing unless u get in there and just play and study ur game. trial by error isthe best advice some one can give u.

But errors may cost big money. I think that if you're beginner, its better to buy poker analysis software or ask a professional player to help you.

Nice Link to the ICM Nash Calculator.

Thanks absoluthamm.

No problem. A lot of that stuff will help more if you make up situations or replay situations for away from the table analysis. But they can also help you while playing a little bit, although you don't really have time to update it for every hand when you're down to the final 4 players and you're up to act.

And what the difference between free and paid calculators?

Paid calculators are a waste of money. That's the difference

Why do you think so? I've found some positive reviews of leak buster. Here is one of them:
"I just wanted to say a few positive things about Leak Buster. I have been working with the software for the last few days and have found it to be a great asset. I have been interested in reviewing my database however, I have felt overwhelmed with where to start. Leak Buster has gotten me on track. The software was able to point out my leaks and then provided filters for me to review those leaks so I can start to rid some of these problem areas in my game. I am really excited about this program. Thanks a ton!" Its from leak buster thread on this forum: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/45...buster-639960/

Leakbuster is not a calculator, neither is Holdem Manager or PokerTracker.

A poker calculator is a program that only tells you how many outs you have, what hands you can make and the odds that you will make that hand. Poker Calculators are: Holdem Indicator, Tournament Indicator, Poker Indicator, Texas Calculatem, PokerSpy, etc...

Anything a poker calculator can do, you can do in your head in about 5 seconds.

Yes, I know that Leak Buster is not simple calculator, it has other functions. And It will be nice to read objective reviews if this tool, not only praice.

It isn't that LeakBuster isn't a simple calculator...it isn't a calculator at all, whatsoever, nada, 100% NOT a calculator.

It is for hand analysis away from the table(meaning that you are going over your own and opponents stats when you are not playing to try to discover leaks and flaws in the play), and it really won't give you any information while you are playing, unless you are using the provided LeakBuster HUD(which you could make yourself provided you knew all of the stats that they include), and that really isn't even LeakBuster, that is still Holdem Manager.

Leak Buster is a statistical analysis program that analyzes key stats in your database, scores how your stats are as they relate to the most optimal winrates in poker, and then lets you know where your biggest leaks are.

I'm one of the first people that purchased it, so I've worked with the developer a lot since it was released (because I liked the program so much), so I kind of laughed and had to respond to this thread. It always seems like people who haven't used it, and don't even know what it does have some opinion about it.

I was playing fairly break even 25nl, but I've moved up and I'm doing quite well at 50nl now since I've used Leak Buster, and I can honestly say Leak Buster is the largest reason that's occurred.

The biggest thing for me is that Leak Buster helped give me confidence in my game. I've watched lots of training videos, and I've been a member on a lot of training sites, but didn't always understand how much to do some play, or not do some play. For example, how much should I really be squeezing in most spots ideally? How much is too much? I have a good understanding of this now.

I would also say the training material is often over looked, but it's really helped me a lot.

Just wanted to give me 2 cents because I thought this thread was full of bad information.

I also have it, and I'm just wondering how I didn't say in my post that it was for analysis.... in my last post it was stated straight up..."It is for hand analysis"

absoluthamm, I just wandered around the demo and was favorably impressed. You said you have it - is it worth it?

It's not really for hand analysis though, it's for statistical analysis. There is a difference.

One thing that really helped my game a lot was step 4. When I visually saw how I was losing my money w/ 22-55 and my unsuited connectors, my game made big leaps forward. Also, some of the step 6 filters were big eye openers for me.

I'm going to run a step 2 and 3 analysis on my next 50k hands, which should be in the next couple of days. I'm expecting to see big improvements in my scores because my winrate has definitely increased.

It totally sucks. I would not get it. It's kind of one of those tools you almost don't want too many people to know about.

I've been using it since the first week it was released. I posted a short review on the Hm forums. I'm only a 50nl player, but I would say that it's helped my game more than anything else I've done... training sites, books, and coaching (although I didn't like my coach).

Chip, thanks for the endorsement and your thoughts, very useful!

You're welcome. A few of my poker skype "buddies" joke that we should post around on all the poker forums bad reviews about it. Don't want too many people to know about it. I like the developers too much though, they're good people, so I could never do that. But... I've thought about it.

I've recently read "do not buy leak buster" thread at hm forums and now I wish to purchase this software I've also found that Ace Poker (Leak buster developers) inflated prices on this program.

Are calculators like Texas Calculatem allowed to be used while playing on pokerstars and full tilt?

I see this...
""1. Programs that provide specific recommendations or assistance for betting decisions during live play:
Programs that suggest betting actions (i.e. fold, call or raise) in current situations and software that provides assistance in making this type of decision cannot be used during play. For example, poker calculators that automatically extract the current situation from a live game and compute hand probabilities and odds are not permitted. ""


Would those be considered that?^ I was wondering cuz I wouldn't mind trying a free one, but only if they are allowed. I do have pokerstove, which is a little different right? And I have used pokerstove while FTP is open, that is not against the rules is it?

Texas Calculatem and PokerStove are on PS's list of "allowed" software, FT pretty much follows the same list - see here: http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/room/prohibited/

I don't think so. It's the same price as it's been.

Anyone interested in a Leak Buster study group? I'm working out some of the step 3 and step 6 filters, but want to compare some information with others.

Yes, I'm interested, pm me in a couple of days so we can see if anyone else is interested. I'm still wandering through steps 1-3, haven't really done anything substantial beyond that.

Sorry about taking a while on the reply sly. It is a very good piece of software, but I would only suggest you should buy it if you're really going to dive into it, because that's really the only way that you will get anything out of it(obvious, I know...). I don't think you're one of these people at all, but you get people on here all of the time asking if they should buy some software and then they are pissed when it doesn't make them better, but at the same time they just opened it twice and just glanced at it and expected to miraculously become better without putting anything into it. From what I know of you sly, I think you would absolutely benefit from it.

Tks! I ended up buying it, and you're absolutely right, if you're not willing to invest a ton of time in it, it's not worth it.

However, if you are willing to invest the time... I've already started making changes in my game based on the analysis - another 20k-30k hands, and I'll be able to start evaluating the changes (2 - 3 weeks for me) - but I can already see some dramatic differences that are having an impact (now if I could just stop running so far below Ev in all in pots... ).