Gritz18
To Cesar, what belongs to Cesar.
Loyaler
I believe that the majority of professional poker players who play online use tools, so when the room allows, but it is not enough to have the tool, they have to know how to use, as in any profession when you have a good tool and know how to use it, you have a better supply.
M1n1GuN777
Enthusiast
Bronze Level
I am categorically against such programs. Actually, that's why I think that live poker is much better, and no online services can replace it. Although in fairness I will say that online also has its advantages.
J
JCSmith
Enthusiast
Silver Level
If you are playing online I find it to be a necessity. Even if you are a live player and used to calculating the pot odds in your head instantly, and being used to tracking players in your head, other people are using them. If you don't then you are putting yourself at a huge disadvantage.
There are many reasons you should be using them. The most important is just that if you are playing multiple tables (which most of us will be), and/or if you are playing faster tournaments (turbos, hyper turbos especially) you are going to be playing so many players and all you have to go by is an image, many of which are stock images that you may see on different players. It's just impossible for you to match a player to their tendencies in the same way that you would be able to if you are playing live. You have less cues to help you remember. And if you are multi-tabling you are often going to need to make decisions more quickly and may not be laser focused on any single table.
Just being able to at a glance see how many hands someone is playing, how often they fold, how often they cbet and then give up on the turn, how often they'll 3bet or fold to a 3bet, ow often they fold to a re-steal. That information is invaluable. And if you are not using a HUD everyone else has that information on you while you are playing with a handicap.
There are many reasons you should be using them. The most important is just that if you are playing multiple tables (which most of us will be), and/or if you are playing faster tournaments (turbos, hyper turbos especially) you are going to be playing so many players and all you have to go by is an image, many of which are stock images that you may see on different players. It's just impossible for you to match a player to their tendencies in the same way that you would be able to if you are playing live. You have less cues to help you remember. And if you are multi-tabling you are often going to need to make decisions more quickly and may not be laser focused on any single table.
Just being able to at a glance see how many hands someone is playing, how often they fold, how often they cbet and then give up on the turn, how often they'll 3bet or fold to a 3bet, ow often they fold to a re-steal. That information is invaluable. And if you are not using a HUD everyone else has that information on you while you are playing with a handicap.
J
jday00m
Enthusiast
Silver Level
If sharkscope counts, yes, only the free for me though.
JeLeuMic
Rock Star
Bronze Level
Hmm, it's complicated but i think they aren't of use because in order for such a program to give you an advantage it would require at least 10.000 hands played with that player or players.
So in the end you would still need to play hands with the other players and go to do a showdown in order to have a strong database.
If you play tournaments it will not help you at all because there are soooo many players and so few hands that go to showdown and that program will not gather enough information in order to give you the best possible result ( check, bet go all in , fold )
If there was such a program it would cost at least 1 million bucks.
It would require a huge database from all the hands played by all the players over a period of time , let's say 1 year.
So in the end it's not worth it. Only if you get such a database.
So in the end you would still need to play hands with the other players and go to do a showdown in order to have a strong database.
If you play tournaments it will not help you at all because there are soooo many players and so few hands that go to showdown and that program will not gather enough information in order to give you the best possible result ( check, bet go all in , fold )
If there was such a program it would cost at least 1 million bucks.
It would require a huge database from all the hands played by all the players over a period of time , let's say 1 year.
So in the end it's not worth it. Only if you get such a database.
Doubledunk
Visionary
Silver Level
Check if the site you want to play is in the drivehud site settings. If the site you want to play is in drop down list. enable and setup DH for the site then apply. After doing that, just reload the poker client and it should work.
Polytarp
Legend
Bronze Level
Of course you should use anything that will help you play a better game. If you can quantify your perceptions better then you may begin to realize how "cause and effect" and "chance" can be addressed statistically. If you don't think I can profile you sufficiently after a certain number of games (maybe vice versa..I don't know your skill set) to determine your card range and anticipate certain plays with Poker Tracker/player notes/experience then you may be surprised. Knowing when you play, what timezone in the world you are, how well you play at certain tables with a certain bankroll..etc... it all adds up.Do you use any additional tools when playing online poker? I remember a few years ago the poker tracker was popular. However, I think that these programs are overrated and even Fedor Holz just marks the opponents with colors and notes.
Just as an edit note, learn PokerStove cold at the very least. It's free and it's useful until you have things memorized. And understand simple things like your "outs" and if your "outs" will give someone else the winning hand..when to fold a straight because you know the other person has a boat. Learn about card location in "bridge and gin". There's lots of stuff but it's got to be fun otherwise it's a grind.
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dreamer13
Legend
Platinum Level
The beauty of online poker is that it allows players to use (quite legally) several tools to help them at the tables when they are making decisions. One of the most powerful tools is undoubtedly the tracker. The tracker will have 2 functions: record all lost poker hands as text files and display this information in real time at the poker tables. I don't use the tracker, but I know that there are players who use the tracker. The beauty of the tracker is that it also has a Heads-Up Display (commonly known as a HUD) that will display player information stored in the database in real time.
John A
Poker Zion Coach
Silver Level
If you play online, a poker database / tracker is a must. If you're not playing with one for some random bad reason, you're missing out for many reasons.
1) Just tracking all of your play alone is SO important to grow as a poker player.
2) The ability to analyze your game, run filters, look and replay hands is key to becoming better.
3) Understanding how to get into advanced meta game play w/ other regulars will improve your game.
I've learned over the years that there are some people who are intimidated by them (I guess they feel overwhelmed), and hence they hate of them. There's some that feign faux integrity claims (this is silly since most sites allow HUDs, as they should), and then there's people that dig in and do the work. <--- these people tend to be winners in poker and life for the exact same reasons.
Drivehud 2 has a free 30 day trial. Drivehud is a long time supporter of cardschat, so any time you have questions, there's localized support here to help as well.
