UPGRADED POKER TRACKERS I have always felt the whole issue of studying hand histories of opponents is an important one. Recently the kind of poker trackers available have become slicker and faster to use and I recommend those of you who want to take your poker passed the entertainment stage and into the more serious arena begin to dabble with them. If you are not satisfied with the hand history software available on your current poker site you can easily use pokertracker.com and download their program. This will function in a compatible fashion with all the major sites. The tracker software enables you to display your opponent’s statistics on an overlay right alongside their names at an online table. You’ll be able to follow how much your foe has accumulated while at the table and what percentage of hands they have chosen to play during the sitting. These kinds of stats become more and more useful with the number of hands recorded. In order to get in depth intel on your opponent a sample of eighty or ninety hands begins to show a very reliable pattern.
WHAT CAN A TRACKER TELL YOU? There are a handful of specific stats that will be readily available.
Winnings at “Show Down” percentage
Check-Raise percentage
Pre-flop raise percentage
Made it to Show Down percentage
Voluntarily Put Dollars in the Pot Percentage.
Aggression rating.
HOW TO USE THIS INFO An ultra tight player who only ever plays top ten hands will have a “Voluntarily Put Dollars in the Pot” percentage of around ten percent. Obviously a very easy player to get a fix on. A simply cautious player would have a percentage of around fifteen to twenty. Percentages in the thirty to forty range would indicate players are still giving importance to hand selection. Beyond forty percent would indicate a loose player and beyond fifty percent you’re looking at an outright beginner or a drunk. You’re ideal opponent is going to be the guy or girl who rates between forty and fifty percent. All this is simply an outline of how to use the intel the tracker provides. The poker tracker program itself will of course detail how all of the statistics can be utilised effectively. Hopefully I’ve given you a feel for how this is achieved.
POKER TIP OF THE DAY Use the first few games of the evening to establish who is the most confident player at your new table. Having done this simply use the chat-box to ask how they are feeling. Most players will respond, “I’m fine, thanks!” If they do, point out that your psychoanalyst girlfriend says f.i.n.e stands for “Freaked Out! Insecure! Neurotic and Emotional!” Then sit back and watch the confidence drain from their game, if they’re insecure, or unleash a stream of expletives back at you if they’re emotional, neurotic or freaked out. Either way, you will have disturbed their mind set. If they simply switch off without responding, at least you’ll know you’re up against the real deal.
