tacohead

I would recommend PokerTracker 4 using these Range Visualizers both in-game and when going through hand histories.

Disclaimer: I'm the creator of these HUD popups.

Thanks, glad to hear your happy with the popups, Sojo!

It's pretty complicated if you're not already familiar with Pokertracker's data structure. You can find absolute hand strengths(including draws) for each street in the table lookup_hand_ranks. Bet and raise sizes are found in cash_hand_player_statistics with prefix amt_. You will also need an algorithm to arrange hand strengths according to board runout - sometimes an overpair is a very strong hand, and sometimes it's nothing etc.. So thinking about it, It will require quite a bit of work.

My PokerTracker HUD popups are ready: FlopInspector Range Visualizers

Use them in-game or for post-session analysis to get the best possible estimate of your opponents ranges.

StarsHelper probably. Very good software!

I haven't seen anyone done something like this with the custom stat system, but all the info is there so it's just a matter of making the stats and presenting it. Advanced plots like scatter graphs are not possible as far as I know.

Thanks, good suggestions! I agree, I have been thinking some of the same things - both doing what PT does, but fewer clicks and better presentation, and more functionality. I am quite busy with other stuff so won't be looking into this any time soon, though. Let's hope they implement some of this stuff in later PT releases! Also, you might wanna put in requests here: PokerTraker 4 feature requests

They´re ready but not publicly available yet. The PokerTracker distribution system isn´t well designed for HUD popups. Send me a pm if you´d like to try them.

Use the FlopInspector * for this. Not only can you find the percentage of K hi flops, but also browse all the flops in different views, and filter for any thinkable texture. Also enter a holdem hand + a range to find how that skews the probabilites for the whole flop distribution. +Much more :)

*I'm the creator of this software

It's not very practical to do this kind of analysis with CREV, and not accurate either with "Postflop play on an unknown flop". It also takes time for CREV to crunch the numbers. While not perfect, I consider estimating the EV of a preflop call with my software Flop Inspector much better. No Monte Carlo simulation - it's calculating probabilites for every flop situation exact - and much faster than CREV(using multi-threaded 64-bit calculations). Of course, I might be biased here :) I'll have a video tutorial part for the EV Calculation tab out soon, based on a scenario like this one.

Yes, I've used NoteCaddy a bit but not for quite a while. PT4 has similar functionality in NoteTracker and their custom stat system, depends on what exactly you're looking for. Badges can be made with custom stats, NoteTracker has the same range notation stuff. For the latter I prefer my own custom made range visualizers though. They're implemented as HUD popups and are very useful both in game and post-game in combination with tools that have proper range weighting possibilites*.

*Flop Inspector! :)

These will be available as a PokerTracker Premium Add-on soon!

It's not technically difficult to add a Mac installer, but will take some time to develop and also maintain, and I have a lot of stuff on my plate. We can discuss installing Flop Inspector for WINE on Skype, pm sent!

Thanks, I haven't looked into using the software on WINE unfortunately. The program itself is pure Java, GUI included. I made the installer and licensing features for Windows only, as I think Windows is the preferred operating system for poker players, and it's a bit of a hassle to maintain for multiple OS'es. I'm using Windows on Macbook myself, that works very well :)

If theres enough demand I'll consider releasing it for Mac/Linux, but nothing planned as of now.

Config directory for Pokertracker is in C:\Users[Chael Sonnen]\AppData\Local\PokerTracker 4. I would guess preferred seat is stored in PokerTracker.cfg

Configuration settings are in the file user.ini located in C:\Users[Chael Sonnen]\AppData\Local\PokerStars. Notes file also in that folder though so not sure if it´ll fix your issues.

Appdata is a system folder that is hidden by Windows on default. The Local/Pokerstars folder in AppData is the folder to back up settings and notes.

I've made an EV Calculation tab in Flop Inspector that lets you play around with each parameter of the calc and see how each part in the equation is affected as villains use different 4bet strategies. You can play around with it to find combinations of "equity threshold", "fold equity threshold" and 4bet sizings to see which 5bets are profitable. In your example you have a clear proceed with any two, and as Ben points out you should compare your EV shoving with your EV calling.

As it happens you can also find the EV of calling by estimating your realized equity for different types of flops using this brilliant software ;) In my example under I put in 77 vs 10% 4b range. You need to realize a total of 96% or more of your hand vs range equity to prefer calling the 4bet.

Hey, grats to Steve and RIO! Good choices :)

Nice nitpicking in thread :) I agree with stevejpa's definition, only addition is that r < 0 is also
possible when we're not at equilibrium. Obviously we should strive to keep it zero or better.

I have implemented an equity realization tab in my software Flop Inspector and I'm looking into best ways of estimating R for different hand types. Software calculates the overall (preflop) R for a hand (vs range) when user inputs R for each flop type. The flop types are user configurable. Examples are quads, pair + flush draw, or more elaborate stuff like middle pair with backdoor straight draw on Q 
high boards with one club and no straight draw possible.

What do you guys think would be a good way to do estimate these partial R's? I've been thinking about deriving them from villain stats(like cbet), or calculating R from expected villain contribution to the pot. What do you guys think? I appreciate any suggestions you guys might have!

Also, I haven't read any of Will Tipton's books. Is it OK to start with the second one?

Thanks for this extensive walkthrough, I agree with most of it. I have no idea how you compare range vs range in FlopZilla though? Even the developer says you have to get CREV for that.

I like the fact that you're focusing on FlopZilla's ability to calculate before a flop is entered. It's nice functionality, but you're not able to analyze the flop distribution in depth. At that point you'll need the Flop Inspector, where you set up and combine as you wish your own custom filters for hand/draw strength and texture. This enables you to fine-tune the flops your looking for: see how often you hit a pair + flush draw on an ace high board and what equities you'll have on those flops as a group or each individual flop. Examine your equity distrubution chart. Go even further and estimate your total realized equity and EV. Check it out here: Flop Inspector download :)

Back to my original question: With your in-depth expertise of all these programs, do you think there is a need for more or better poker analysis tools? As a poker player and software developer myself, I most certainly do think there is room for improvement. Then again, for the average player it might be more than enough to navigate and figure out of already?

The administrator issue is now fixed for good in the latest Flop Inspector version by installing the program to run as administrator by default.

Thanks for the idea, Pokergirl! I have been thinking about building an advanced HUD because of some restrictions with regards to custom stats in the PT4 HUD. It's not something I will have time for in the near future though. 

There are some security issues with running a memorygrabbing Zoom HUD on Mac. PT4 Zoom HUD does not work. I would recommend running Windows on your Mac for poker software.

Yeah, probably the classic Windows 7-administrator problem. Try right-clicking the shortcut and select "Run as administrator". To permanently run as admin: Right-click and select Compatibility->Run this program as an administrator. Or prevent the problem from happening in any program permanently: Disable user account control in Windows 7. 

If you still get the error message, send an email to [email protected] and we'll sort it out.

Nice hands :) And stop bluffraising them bottom pairs, you bastard!

Hey, Tyler. Great vid as usual. Regarding the KQo on AQTxx: What do you think is a typical SB 3bet range there? Why do you think this flop is not even close to a good board? Equity wise it´s better than 62-67% of flops, depending on what 3bet range is assigned to SB. Not a nut flop obv, but decent bluff catcher + chances to improve on further streets?

I think they could have made PT4 more user friendly, way too many mouse clicks for doing simple things. Still beats HM2 after lots of config. Custom stats is the most important thing that makes me prefer it to HM2.

Filter system is easier in HM2, but a little more powerful in PT4(especially using custom reports). HM2 lets you customize every report, and they all have the same hand list and graphing capabilites. In PT4 you can only customize custom reports and they can't be graphed. There's also some smaller stuff like PT4 won't let you configure time between two sessions(a break is only a break when it's at least 30 minutes, which is ridiculous(this is configurable in HEM)), so your hourly can't really be calculated sensibly.

I use both and can't live with or without them.

PT4 or HEM2 are both good. I would say HEM2 is a little more user friendly, while PT4 has some really good advanced features.

For PokerStars a very nice program is StarsHelper:

http://starshelper.net/

Amongst other things this program helps with bet sizing(by position) and can convert all amounts to big blinds, so you don't need to know what stakes you're playing or what round you're in for a tournament. It also has some small convenient HUD options like pot odds, history or M for tourneys.

For post-game analysis I would also recommend FlopInspector*, which goes a bit further than Equilab:

http://flopinspector.com/

In my opinion this is one of the most important and neglected steps for a poker player to master. The software helps you find the best course of action preflop by analyzing all flops - so you know how to proceed on all flops. You've probably heard pros talking about how well a hand "plays", but rarely do you see an extensive analysis. Analyzing how well a hand flops against a villain range is easy using the Flop Inspector.

*I am the creator of this software

__data__: Yeah the one pair hands should definitely be a part of the analysis. Here's a breakdown of our hand vs range equities (I've used a 7.5% linear range for villain) for all flops using more detailed filters in the Flop Inspector:

As you can see the one pair hands(the brown bars) have a wide range of equities. By examining these flops in more detail we find that our pairs have lower value when there are more high cards or as the flops get more connected, two-tone or monotone. In my software there's also a feature to simulate villain's continuing range. Using that we find that gutshots(and other draws) retains their equity better than pairs as villains flop range tightens. 

If you ask me what I would do though - I would continue with a pair on most flops, at least to common tiny cbet sizings in 4b pots :)

Thanks guys! Let me know if you have any questions with regards to the software. 

@Tyler I see and agree. Guys are betting so small in 4b pots that we get to the river for really cheap and can realize our two pair/trips equity a lot of the time, when we flop a pair on a decent flop. With the Flop Inspector you can filter out the worst flops like AK4 or JT5 monotone etc. and study equities for different groupings of flops.