The internet is loaded with a number of ways to improve your online poker game, and many of them come in the form of software which you can easily download. Before, if you wanted to improve your game, you had to purchase costly instructional books which often were so dense that you needed to read them three or four times before you could even begin to make any real sense of them. Many of these popular strategy books did not even deal with some of core issues which arise in the online game and consequently have lost their relevance.

However, fortunately for the at-home player, the technology available now is perfectly suited to tackling the demand for online instructional material. Poker experts and computer programmers have teamed up and created some excellent tools for improving your online game. And so, without further ado, here is a quick introduction to some of the best poker software available today.

Poker Tracker

Poker Tracker is a Windows-based program that analyzes, stores, and summarizes every hand that you play. With this collection of data, you can then break down your game to take a very close look at exactly where it’s coming up short.

Poker Tracker allows you to statistically chart out a number of different aspects of your game, from the percentage of the time that you see the flop, to the frequency of your raises, and of course how often you win hands. It works by attaching itself to (and running simultaneously with) most of the major online poker rooms including Party Poker, Paradise Poker, Bodog, PokerStars, and Ultimate Bet.

With this software, you also have the ability to track every player you have ever faced (get it, Poker Tracker?) and keep detailed notes on each of them. At first, you might find the scope of information at your disposal a bit overwhelming, but you can use the free supplement called Poker Tracker Guide to help you optimize the program.

A free trial version is available at the site, but it’s only good for a month. Still, it’s a good way to try out the program and see if you want to buy the full version. It costs $55 US for either the Hold’em, Omaha, or Stud versions of Poker Tracker, or you can purchase any two for $100 and all three for $144.

Poker Charts

Poker Charts is a web-based application which means that there is no need to download or install any thing on your computer; you just access it through your web browser. With it you can track and analyze session-by-session poker data over long periods of time. The site is easy to navigate and you don’t need a PhD in mathematics to begin using the data to your advantage straight away.

This program is ideal for managing your finances and keeping track of your performance at online poker rooms. The cost is very reasonable as well. In fact, the first month is free, and after that you can sign up on a subscription-only basis. A one-year subscription costs $20, but you can also purchase 3- and 6-month packages for $12 and $8 respectively.

Poker Office

Possibly the most user-friendly poker software available on the market, Poker Office is the first choice among many internet poker players. Version 2 is now available, in which they’ve really sorted out many of the shortcomings in the previous efforts. There is now an option to re-play hands, which was not available in the original version. This is an extremely helpful feature that allows you to immediately see what the correct move should have been. There is also the option now to review opponents’ mucked hands, which can be very illuminating as it gives you even more information on the betting patterns of your opponents and allows you to more accurately categorize them.

In addition to all that, Poker Office automatically watches your game and offers instant odds, statistics, graphs and analysis. This software can be a tremendous help to any poker player, regardless of their ability. It’s a tad pricey at $79/year but we believe that this utility has the ability to pay for itself and even deserves the title indispensable.

Note: A number of poker rooms offer this software for free if you sign up with them and deposit a minimum amount (usually $50), play a certain amount of raked hands (minimum 150), or attain a predetermined amount of player points. Poker Office has over 170 supported sites, including PartyPoker, Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, Empire Poker, Pacific Poker, Ladbrokes, and many of these have special sign-up incentives which include a complimentary copy of Poker Office.

Poker Academy Pro 2

Poker Academy Pro differs slightly from the above utilities in that it isn’t used in conjunction with poker rooms but, rather serves as an independent educational tool-and a very good tool at that! With it you can perform a variety of functions, all geared at ironing out the leaks in your online poker game.

Some of the most attractive features of PAP 2 are the ability to stack the deck in order to replicate certain conditions in order to practice an area in which you feel your game to be faltering. Perhaps you need some help learning how to correctly play middle pocket pairs and other problem hands. With this software, you can repeat the situation in question again and again until you feel you have a better understanding of the key concepts.

Poker Academy Pro 2 is certainly one of the most powerful training tools on the market, which is probably why it’s not cheap at $129. But, unless you have an unlimited amount of time to spend honing your game, you will need to put down a little money in order to win a lot of money and this is a surefire way to do that.

Wilson Turbo

Wilson Turbo has been around for more than ten years, owing largely to the very poker-credible artificial intelligence developed by the programmers at Wilson Software.

It differs from the likes of Poker Tracker and Poker Office in that it is simulation software, meaning that the people you play against are not real. You create opponents with different playing styles and then you can see how they react in certain situations. This is very useful knowledge to obtain, for then you will then be able to identify very quickly the different types of players in a live game.

The graphics are a bit dated and it certainly isn’t as flashy as some of the competitors mentioned above. Perhaps this is why the price has been significantly reduced quite recently. The downloadable version can now be picked up for only $60.

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