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POCKET ACES

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Maryann Guberman has been a writer and editor with many gaming publications, including Sports Form, Card Player, Poker World, Player's Panorama and Systems and Methods. She also has written and edited numerous books on gambling.

April 3, 2004

Say YES to Software

He deals the cards to find the answer
The sacred geometry of chance
The hidden law of a probable outcome
The numbers lead a dance
-- Sting, from "Shape of My Heart"

As a serious student of poker you've probably wondered whether or not poker software can help you learn to play or can help you improve your game. You might even have asked a "poker guru" via email, phone, letter or other means of communication. And, the answer that came back depended on which expert you approached.

Most authorities say (robustly), "yes" to poker software and because it's the best on the market, the product they are quick to recommend is Wilson Software's Turbo line.

For some time, however, and probably at present, one or two knowledgeable poker writers/theorists fervently sermonize that software is of little use in poker.

Rarely do we disagree with experts but over the years we have always taken the stance that poker software belongs on the computer of anyone who wants to become more proficient at the game. By using, for example, Turbo Texas Hold'em, a player can learn to recognize hand value quickly, can take the time to analyze a flop and become familiar enough with three-card potentials, can discover the strength of the check raise, and learn why it's so dangerous to bet aggressively in early position along with a lot of other aspects of hold'em. Granted, none of this is as good as playing against real people but it's a darn sight cheaper. And if learning these things via software saves even one bet, it's worth the price.

Live poker aside, the emergence of online poker puts a gigantic exclamation point after the robust yes mentioned earlier.

After all, isn't online poker computerized?

Okay, it's computerized to a point. You are actually playing against live players. But you can't see them. You aren't able to catch a trembling hand or a labored swallow. Except for the chat bar, you can't talk to them. You can't hear the slight break in the voice when they say, "raise." Take away the ability to read a person by body language and you have, basically, a computer.

But even if this is only partly true, you still have so many advantages when you use software to help you in your quest for poker proficiency.

For example, Turbo Texas Hold'em has an "advisor" and over the years this little fellow has grown up. Each upgrade to the software brought him closer and closer to maturity and one of the latest important spurts of growth includes the ability to give the player advise based on both the loose game (very often the kind you'll find online) and the heads-up game (which you're going to run into if you ever get to the final table of a tournament live or cyber).

And think of this totally different scenario and see if you recognize yourself. You've been playing for four hours and it seems as if every had gets snapped off on the river. Only one out of seven times do you win with A-K suited. Bob Wilson, the genius behind the Turbo software, and Mike Gilbert have done a much more credible job of explaining how and why this kind of simulation works. You can see it at http://www.wilsonsoftware.com/sim.html.

Choose any of your favorite hands that haven't been living up to your expectations. Then go ahead and run a simulation yourself with software designed for your particular game. The answers you get can lead to a rather sobering and/or revealing experience.

The truth about poker, particularly hold'em, lies in the concept of starting hands and position. Master these and you have an edge. Master them and learn how and when to deviate, depending on the structure of the game you're in, and you have an even bigger edge.

And nowhere can you pick up and run with the idea of gear shifting than you can with software‹software that lets you bring in a large variety of playing styles for opponents‹and do it all without losing the farm.

So here's the plan. If you really want to move ahead in the game of poker, get the software and use it. And when someone tells you it's worthless, just nod and shake your head and remain noncommittal because you will have an advantage over that naysayer when you meet him at the table Š and that's what this whole game is all about.

Or to quote more of Sting:

He deals the cards as a meditation
And those he plays never suspect