Cool Features Of Poker Online Tracking Software
Probably the most basic (and important) feature offered by any worthwhile online poker tracking software will be the ability to actually load and save all of your hand histories into their data banks. In most cases, the software will be designed specifically to work with many of the best and top rated real cash online poker sites. Tracking system use meaning it is easy, and almost automatic, to have all of this information recorded. Some online poker rooms (again, usually only the best websites) will even advertise the fact that they allow easy use of and downloading of hand histories into various poker tracking software.
From here, you will be able to generate all types of reports and perform various analysis regarding your play at the various online poker sites you frequent. Essentially, the software takes all of the raw data and saves it, storing this into a very powerful database. The numbers can then be crunched and displayed, according to the specific functionality allowed by your particular poker online tracking software. In most cases, the data even displays for your opponents, so you can see what type of play against you is more effective, and draw a number of other detailed conclusions.
The heads up display (HUD) is another very cool feature used by poker site tracking software. Online poker sites may allow this type of integration, and you would be able to display many, if not all, of your chosen statistics directly on the screen and poker table while you are playing. This makes it much easier and practical for applying the information to your actual game decisions.
How to Use Online Poker Site Tracking Software To Improve Your Game
This leads to their being several different ways and methods for using tracking software in order to improve your game at online poker sites. The first method was already discussed above: simply use the HUD while playing directly at your chosen poker rooms. Of course, this might take some getting used to since it does tend to take up some extra space and the display itself might seem distracting at first.
Another way to use this information in helping decisions made at online poker rooms is to actually look over the data and the reports while offline. Yes, take some time away from your online games and look over these statistics. This is why the reports are here; you should absolutely use them. With most poker site tracking software programs, there are a number of different reports that can show you everything from the percentage of flops seen to win rates and positional statistics. There will be tables, graphs, and charts of various kinds. Studying this and learning from them can help you to see what areas need improvement.
Along these same lines, you can also specially mark particular hands you played at your poker rooms. This is sort of like putting a note on the hand itself. After play is finished, go to those hands and try to work through them again, without the time pressure and other stress of online poker room play. This will also help for making better decisions in the future.
It is also advisable to take your statistics and compare them to known winning players. This will let you see if your numbers look more or less 'normal' while you have been playing at online poker sites. Also bear in mind there can be a lot of variability, especially when you are just getting started. It is also certainly true that many different playing styles can be effective (and eventually you will have to develop one that is comfortable and works for you). However, seeing where you deviate from other winning players can give you some good ideas and places to work on your game.
How to Track Your Hands
In most cases, this will be the easiest part of the situation. Actually, the specific method for tracking your hands and getting the data into your poker online tracking software will depend on the software itself and your online poker sites. In some cases, just opening and loading up the tracking software and opening up the software for your chosen poker sites' will be enough to start the connection; from there every hand played is recorded, tracked, and downloaded automatically.
Other times, there might not be this direct of a connection between your favorite online poker rooms and your chosen online poker site tracking software. If the site does support your software, then there should be a method for downloading the hand histories into your program. However, you should definitely consult the software manual and maybe even the help pages for your poker room. In either case, the process will be very simple and easy to do.
Typical Cost / Investment for Poker Online Tracking Software
Just as any other software or product, you will find a range of investments and prices needed in order to start using your poker tracking software at online websites. While there are some free and very low cost software versions, most of those will really not be worth using with real money poker rooms due to their extremely limited feature set.
The best, most widely recognized and used poker tracking software programs tend to fall into the $60 to $100 price range. Both of the top recommended programs, Hold’em Manager and PokerTracker are in this category. Certainly it is understandable that a number of new players might balk at spending the money. However, this software will advance your game quite rapidly as long as it is used properly and you put in the needed time to really learn how to use them and then commit to improving your online game.
When to Consider Buying Poker Online Tracking Software
All of this then leads to the final question about when someone should seriously consider obtaining online poker site tracking software. While it would be tempting to say get this item as soon as you start playing online, that is probably not good advice. After all, there is certainly a reason why most new players never become veterans, they either only remain as casual players, or they move on to something else.
Instead, our recommendation is to wait a while after you have started playing. Think of it like this, the first thousand or so hands you play at the various poker rooms will be mainly getting used to the mechanics of playing, using the poker sites' software, etc... Should you jump right in and add poker tracking software immediately, this could cause a number of additional distractions that would needlessly lengthen this familiarization process, and might even contribute to a general dissatisfaction with the game.
Instead, get comfortable with online play first. Then get your poker tracking software. Of course, you can still always keep your eyes peeled for promotions and discounts or special offers on these American online poker tracking software programs.
