Suggestion on PC Poker Game for Practice

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Bharat

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Hi All,

I am looking for a PC based poker game that can be useful for practice and improving my poker game. I have listed some of the desired features. Hopefully all of this will be available in one s/w if not please feel free to suggest multiple games.

Thank you for your time and suggestion.
  1. Good AI. So that the other players response is not predictable and mimic human beings.
  2. Good AI. So that the game level increase with my skills. Hopefully it can rank my level from novice to expert or 1 - 10.
  3. Offer suggestion on Pot Odds / Implied Odds / Equity (Turn On / OFF option)
  4. Offer odds for hands in play (Turn On / OFF option)
  5. Offer varieties of players (loose, tight, aggressive etc) and offer options to choose one or more types of players.
  6. Offer limit, no limit and tournaments options.
  7. Analyze hands played and offer an analysis/critique on my style.
  8. Identify my betting patterns so that i can modify my betting style to reduce predictability.
  9. Help me improving hand reading skills (betting pattern etc).
 
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Bharat

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Hi Stu,

Thanks for the suggestion. I downloaded "Poker Academy Pro & Prospector" demos and playing with them.
  1. Good AI. So that the other players response is not predictable and mimic human beings. => No comments yet.
  2. Good AI. So that the game level increase with my skills. Hopefully it can rank my level from novice to expert or 1 - 10. => Could not find this feature. But i have read that its AI improves performance based on my hand history.
  3. Offer suggestion on Pot Odds / Implied Odds / Equity (Turn On / OFF option) => I see the pot odds, but nothing on Implied Odds and Equity.
  4. Offer odds for hands in play (Turn On / OFF option)
  5. Offer varieties of players (loose, tight, aggressive etc) and offer options to choose one or more types of players. => Available.
  6. Offer limit, no limit and tournaments options. => Available.
  7. Analyze hands played and offer an analysis/critique on my style. => I can use reports to understand my betting pattern and aggression at various stages. However it does not show the analysis of my fold (better hand folded etc) or the profile (e.g. VPI$P) of other players.
  8. Identify my betting patterns so that i can modify my betting style to reduce predictability. => I think this is available in the report.
  9. Help me improving hand reading skills (betting pattern etc). => I am not sure if the tool offers any help on this.
I think this is the best game i have seen yet. Are there any other games which are more comprehensive or cover other aspects of Hold'em?

Again thank you for your time and recommendations.
 
absoluthamm

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I would say your best bet would be to play on a poker site with play money and track it with one of the tracking programs(I believe some of them let you use it for free when using it for play money, but don't quote me)

The reason I say this is because you progress through the stages of players just like you would with real money. When you start out, you are going to face a lot of idiots that have NO clue how to play and will call just about anything, so you have to pick your spots wisely and you can easily double up, gaining you access to the next level, which the people know a little bit more about poker, but still value face cards and Ax too much. Once you get up to the higher limits of play money, you will actually find some players that are pretty good(surprising, I know, you would think they would want to actually win something) and have some knowledge and skill of some good cash game players(I have heard that a lot of them are younger and can't legally play with real money yet).

You will learn a lot by playing this way, and you actually have a challenge, unlike when you are playing a simulation game, I feel like there is no real challenge. I have played some of the simulators to see what was to them and I got bored very easily(Everything from Poker Academy to wsop and Stacked on PS2).

I would try that and see what you get out of it. Good luck.
 
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brendonius

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I tried Poker Academy for a short stint...

It was okay, but i found that it was a little bit to slow in terms of tracking your progress and finding leaks. Some things don't show up for 20k+ hands and in a program like that, it would take years to start successfully finding your leaks.

It does have a lot of neat features that could help though. Pot odds, percent to win, etc. I couldn't see myself committing time to a program like that though, because of ONE..it was way to slow paced for my liking. (Coming from a multitabling perspective) And two, you could be playing in 2NL and learning while making money at the same time.

There are so many great articles on CC alone that could improve your game immensely. Spend some time in the Golden Archives. I'm so grateful for all the knowledge and generosity of CC members, browsing around these forums can do wonders for your game.

Either way, Poker Academy was okay, but i think spending some time reading, learning how to calculate odds and outs, and putting it to practice in a poker room will do much more for you.
 
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Bharat

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Hi absoluthamm,

Thanks for your advice on playing against real people with play money. This seems to be a decent compromise (better than playing against computer and worse than playing with real money).

Do you have any recommendations on the sites where i can try this? I have played poker on Yahoo.com, i am looking for better quality of tracking s/w and hopefully better quality of players.


I would say your best bet would be to play on a poker site with play money and track it with one of the tracking programs(I believe some of them let you use it for free when using it for play money, but don't quote me)

The reason I say this is because you progress through the stages of players just like you would with Real Money. When you start out, you are going to face a lot of idiots that have NO clue how to play and will call just about anything, so you have to pick your spots wisely and you can easily double up, gaining you access to the next level, which the people know a little bit more about poker, but still value face cards and Ax too much. Once you get up to the higher limits of play money, you will actually find some players that are pretty good(surprising, I know, you would think they would want to actually win something) and have some knowledge and skill of some good cash game players(I have heard that a lot of them are younger and can't legally play with real money yet).

You will learn a lot by playing this way, and you actually have a challenge, unlike when you are playing a simulation game, I feel like there is no real challenge. I have played some of the simulators to see what was to them and I got bored very easily(Everything from Poker Academy to WSOP and Stacked on PS2).

I would try that and see what you get out of it. Good luck.
 
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Bharat

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Hi brendonius,

I am reading various beginner's article on CC as well going through Phil Gordon's book on poker. I agree that if i can properly apply the knowledge from books/articles than it would improve my game immensely. However, i find that i need to practice to internalize the knowledge.

I play live poker with my friends on a regular basis, but the social aspect of the event hinders the poker game. That is why i am looking for s/w or online poker rooms where i can apply the knowledge and practice my game with decent players.

Thank you for your feedback on the s/w and advice.

I tried Poker Academy for a short stint...

It was okay, but i found that it was a little bit to slow in terms of tracking your progress and finding leaks. Some things don't show up for 20k+ hands and in a program like that, it would take years to start successfully finding your leaks.

It does have a lot of neat features that could help though. Pot odds, percent to win, etc. I couldn't see myself committing time to a program like that though, because of ONE..it was way to slow paced for my liking. (Coming from a multitabling perspective) And two, you could be playing in 2NL and learning while making money at the same time.

There are so many great articles on CC alone that could improve your game immensely. Spend some time in the Golden Archives. I'm so grateful for all the knowledge and generosity of CC members, browsing around these forums can do wonders for your game.

Either way, Poker Academy was okay, but i think spending some time reading, learning how to calculate odds and outs, and putting it to practice in a poker room will do much more for you.
 
Stu_Ungar

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TBH Play money is pointless.

Its OK if you just want to get a feel of online poker.. get used to pressing the buttons and looking at the cards. However people just dont play with play money like its real. It isnt real .. its made up money and so people dont respect it. You cannot put someone to the test if the worst that will happen is they have to click the reload play money button if they loose
 
absoluthamm

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@Bharat, you can go to any real poker site to find/learn these games. pokerstars.net, Fulltilt.com, Ultimatebet.com, Bodoglife.com, etc. Download their software and there you have your play money games. When it comes to play money, I wouldn't really say that any site is better than any other, but you might want to find a site with a bunch of freerolls as well, that way you will still be playing many of the beginners, but have a small chance of possibly winning something real.

@Stu. I agree that play money is pointless, because it isn't real(obviously). But for someone that is new at online poker, that is what they need if they don't want to be throwing money away while learning. I agree that the play money tables that allow people with the smaller "bankrolls" to buy-in are terrible because of the Reload Theory, but once you make a higher play money bankroll and can buy-in to some of the larger tables, 50-100+, you get people playing a lot more serious. I would personally never waste time on play-money, but that is because I am advanced enough to play real. I know some people play seriously just because it is a game and they want to win, some play seriously because they want to get a certain amount of play money chips that they can sell(yes, you can sell your play money chips for real money, somewhere). For someone at the extreme beginning level, this is where they should start.
 
buckster436

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dont buy a poker CD software game, you`ll be wasting your money, there made for you to win,, play freerolls or play, playmoney games at any site, its more of a learning experiance than buying software,, the sites have learners tourneys and just watching poker on tv is better than a software game,,, buck:)
 
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Bharat

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buckster436, absoluthamm, Stu_Ungar

Thanks for the advice. I am convinced on playing live/online games at poker sites.

I will do some more research and find out the best possible site (freerolls, good s/w, players etc).
 
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brendonius

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Here is a link that could help you out in finding the best for what you are looking for... Make sure to use the links to sign up as well.

https://www.cardschat.com/poker-site-reviews.php


+1

Also, If you /can/ afford to min-deposit, it would be infinitely better to play at ultra-micro stakes (ie nano stakes, 2NL, 5NL) rather than just playing for play money. It will also give you a chance to practice the fundementals of Bankroll Management.

Getting the BARE basics down with play money would work to. Just dont expect to actually learn concepts from players with play money...unless, as previous posters have said, you can build it up to 100k+ and play the higher stakes where the waters are a little more stagnant of fish.

Anyways, Good luck with whatever your choice happens to be.

Take care.
 
lektrikguy

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You can cut your teeth on micro stakes, like .02/.05 or even .01/.02. Go with pot limit so you aren't faced with an all in that takes your stack. I would even recommend a 6 man table rather than a 9 man-fewer people and less stress. Stay out of the deep stacked tables so the buy in max is $5 on the .05 table and $2 on the .02 table.
 
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Bharat

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Here is a link that could help you out in finding the best for what you are looking for... Make sure to use the links to sign up as well.

https://www.cardschat.com/poker-site-reviews.php

This link is currently recommending following sites for US players.
  • Sportsbook Poker
  • Players Only Poker
  • PartyPoker
  • FullTilt
I am a newbie and will play cash games at micro stakes 1/2, 2/5c. Can you guys make recommendations based on
  • ease of making deposits
  • players availability during off working hours (East coast) and weekends
 
suit2please

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I would recommend Full Tilt. Players only doesn't have 1/2c tables (I don't think), I don't believe party poker accepts US players anymore (strange it would be recommended). Full Tilt will always have enough players for any type of HE game at the micro stakes you could want.
 
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Bharat

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I would recommend Full Tilt. Players only doesn't have 1/2c tables (I don't think), I don't believe Party Poker accepts US players anymore (strange it would be recommended). Full Tilt will always have enough players for any type of HE game at the micro stakes you could want.

Thanks S2P, I joined FTP today. Pretty easy to deposit and start to play. Now if only poker was that easy :)
 
Dreams of Tragedy

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cardrunners.com is a good place but as far as pc poker games i don't use them to the they are sometime fix or set up to make you lose. it really not a real players type
 
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