The poker tournament blind structure calculator tool helps suggest the best blind schedule based on player and chip count, rebuys, add-ons and game duration. PokerSoup.com Home. Our poker odds calculator allows you to simulate a poker game and see the likelihood that you'll win your hand. It calculates the odds of every possible outcome in seconds, giving you an edge over. Odds calculators are fit for beginners who have just started to play poker, as they will help them calculate such things as Pot Odds and Outs. You will then be able to concentrate on making decisions, instead of spending the time calculating them yourself. The most notable ones in this category are Magic Holdem, Poker Calculator Pro and Holdem Genius. The first one is also a partner of Titan Poker Guru. Poker equity calculator Holdem Lab 2 (Free) This handy Android app is one of the most popular Equity calculators on the Google Play Store. The app claims to be ' the most complex ' equity.

Which Poker Tools are Allowed at Different Poker Sites

Poker tools including HUDs (Heads-up-displays), advice engines and calculators have become an everyday part of the online poker experience.

More recently, poker sites have implemented different rules about which poker software tools can and can't be used on their sites. Below you'll see a table summarizing the current situation for the sites available for your location. Where you see a grey tick, this indicates that there are restrictions.

Remember, sites where tools are restricted have fewer 'pro grinders' – generally meaning softer games.

• Holdem Manager 2 Review:My HUD of Choice - Cutting Edge Stats Display, Personal Database With Plenty Of Advanced Add-Ons
• Super-HUD Review: From The Awesome Poker Pro Labs, This Tool Combines A Pooled Database With HUD - 100% Stars Compliant
• Poker-Edge Review: This Tool Is 'Grey Hat' And The Major Rooms Have Tried (And Failed...) To Stop It. Use At Your Own Risk!

• Tournament Indicator: Ideal For Beginners, This Poweful Advice Engine Is Based On Harrington’s ‘M’, You Can Win While You Learn
• Tournament Shark: Attaches To Your Table And Shows You Which Players Are Fish And Who Are The Pros (Approved by major sites too).
• SNG Wiz: This ICM Calculator Will Show You How To Work Out Profitable Push / Call Ranges At The Bubble Of Sit N Go Tournaments

• Fish-o-Meter Widget Are You Looking For The Easiest Poker Sites? Our Legendary Fish-o-Meter Widget Will Help You Find Profits!
• VIP Loyalty Calculator Find The Best VIP Rewards At The Leading Poker Sites - Make Sure You Get The Best Poker Value.
• Approved Tools Calculators, Heads-up Displays And Beginner ‘Advice Engines’ That Are Approved By Big Sites.

Types Of Online Poker Tools

This guide shows you what kinds of poker software tools are available, and outlines the stages of your poker career which each are best suited to. I have broken the available tools into 3 main categories – calculators, databases and offline learning systems – though as you will see there is considerable overlap between them. After this, you will find information on 3 cool widgets we have right here at SNG Planet, including the Loyalty Calculator, Fish-O-Meter and the bankroll management tool.

Odds Calculators And Advice Engines: Tools which show you different poker odds and probabilities are great for players learning the game. These range from simple hand vs hand comparisons to some complex devices which take the size of the pot, chip stacks and even the known tendencies of your opponents into account when highlighting the mathematically correct plays.

Some of these tools give in-play advice by reading the screen. While this is not fool-proof, it will stop you from making big mistakes – the best of breed (for example the 'Indicator' series or Poker Calc Pro from Poker Pro Labs) will keep you profitable immediately – as you gain experience you will rely less on the calculator and be able to spend more time on finding (and exploiting) weaknesses in individual opponents.

Databases And HUDs: The 'Heads-up-Display' (or HUD) is an overlay of statistics on-screen which shows you the style and tendencies of each player. This is hugely valuable information which can give you an individually tailored insight into how to beat each player, how often they are bluffing and how likely they are to have a strong hand when they raise. Tools like Holdem Manager 2 collect this information from opponents as you play, allowing you to make better and better decisions at the table. (Read more about HM2 here!)

These databases also collect your stats, and you can analyze these after sessions to see which hands you are winning with and which situations or hands require more work – they are good for finding your leaks.

While most of these products are fine to use at the major sites, there are some variations which are considered to be cheating by some sites. These pool together the history of 100,000's of players and give you instant access to their stats – a huge advantage! Poker-Edge is the best known example of this category, you can find a review here.

Offline Calculators And Training Aids: Some tools work best for study between sessions. SNG Wiz is a great example of this type of online poker software, and is used to analyze your decision making at the bubble of Sit N Go tournaments. What I like about this one is that you can adjust the stack sizes and cards to see how the math changes. Once you see the patterns in the output, your play can improve next time. There are also odds calculators which show you the winning chances of hands against different combinations of hands you opponent might have – Poker Stove is a great example and is free to download.

• Poker Calculator Pro From The Innovative Poker Pro Labs, This Is The Ultimate Poker Calculator - Nothing Else Even Comes Close
• Holdem Indicator Ideal For New Players, Watches Your Opponents Patterns And Gives You Advice On The Best Moves As You Play.
• Omaha Indicator This Is For Players Who Love PLO, You'll Never Make A Math Mistake Based On Outs And Equity Again With This Tool.

Cash Game Tools: Sit and Go Planet mainly focuses on the Sit & Goes and Multi Table Tournaments. I realize that many readers also enjoy cash games, and have reviewed some excellent tools for this type of poker. These will help you beat No Limit Holdem or Pot Limit Omaha, and include options for advanced players as well as those learning the games. Check out the options in the table on the right, they could easily be the best investment you ever made in your game.

3 Widgets Right Here At SNG Planet! I am happy to announce our brand new widget - the Loyalty Program Comparison Tool. This compares the loyaly rewards you can get from 6 of the biggest online poker sites. You input your range of games and number of days played each month - and then see the comparison dollar for dollar. At the moment only the non-US sites are covered, and V2 is already in plan for the US sites to be added later. There are always the two existing widgets to take a look at too... Our Fish-o-Meter lead the way in giving a custom list of the easiest poker sites based on your bankroll, location and choice of games. This gets regularly refreshed as the sites shift in the rankings and some become tougher than others. Last, but certainly not least, the bankroll management widget takes a look at the levels you should be playing for different starting bankroll amounts. This depends on whether you are pro, recreational or somewhere inbetween - though my recommendation is always 'take a shot'.

Just a couple more newer articles to tell you about. First, many people are worried that their poker accounts will be banned for playing tools which are not approved. You can relax with this list of those tools which are fully approved - even by the strictest poker sites (like PokerStars). Second many beginner players are unsure the effectiveness of the poker software like HUDs or calculators and don't want to invest in them. If you are one of the skeptics, then why not try these tools for free poker software for free? The extra profits you generate will soon show you what a good investment many of these tools are. This article gives you 3 options for getting free poker software.

Table Of Contents

If you are looking for an article to finally understand the concept of poker equity, this is the right one for you.

In this beginner's guide to poker equity, we cover:

• what is equity in poker and why it matters
• how to calculate the equity in poker
• and a lot more.

There's also a list of the best poker equity calculators, so you can sit back and let someone else do the math for you.

Continue reading to understand why you need to master the concept of equity in poker and how you can use the best poker equity calculators to your advantage when you play online.

What is Equity in Poker?

The concept of 'poker equity' is one beginners don't like and often struggle to understand.

Not many love to think they should base their decisions on numbers or rely on a math-based approach when they play cards. After all, that's not what they expected when they first entered the world of poker.

If you are one of them, I have bad news for you:

Unless you understand what equity is in poker (and how to use it to your advantage), your results will hardly get your name featured on our articles here on PokerNews.

When you play poker, 'Equity' refers to your 'rightful' share of a pot as determined by your current chance of winning the hand.

If you are heads-up with $180 in the pot and your chance of winning the hand is 50%, your 'equity' in the hand at that moment is $90.

Be careful, though. The figure:

• does not refer to what you expect to win on that particular hand;
• it relates to the amount you would expect to win on average over multiple instances of the same situation.

If you think about this, you might understand why many players prefer to refer to poker equity as a synonym of 'value.'

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How to Calculate Equity in Poker

With so many poker equity calculators out there, you might ask: 'why should I learn how to calculate the equity in poker?'

A quick tap on your mobile phone or tools like this poker odds calculator can do the math for you. In seconds.

They tell you the value, the odds, and the optimal play based on your cards.

That's awesome, right?

Poker Calculator Online

What they don't do, however, is tell you how to calculate poker equity. Nor they tell you how to combine all the information available to find out your chances of winning the hand.

If you want to become a good poker player, you need to go the extra mile. You need to understand what happens around you and how to calculate value when you don't have any third-party help available to do the (dirty) work for you.

The following example shows you a real-life poker situation and introduces you to a simple way to calculate the equity in poker.

A Real-Life Example

In a no-limit hold'em cash game, you reach the flop in a heads-up pot. The board shows .

Betting on the flop between you and a single opponent results in you being all in with the pot totalling $200.

• You turn over for a straight flush draw.
• Your your opponent has

Sadly for you, your opponent has the best hand at the moment, with a pair of aces beating your almost straight.

But not all is lost. As math shows, you have an excellent chance to be the one taking down the pot.

Even though your opponent is currently ahead in the hand, he is only a little under 44% to win the hand thanks to all of your possible outs.

You, on the other hand, are just over 56% to win.

How Did We Calculate Poker Equity?

Poker Tools Odds Calculator

Your equity is calculated by applying the percentage chance of winning to the amount in the pot — here 56% of $200, or $112 of equity.

Meanwhile, your opponent's equity is $88.

(Of course only one of you will win the entire $200, depending on what the turn and river bring.)

How to Use Poker Equity When You Play

In the example, we calculate poker equity exactly after the cards were tabled, but when involved in a hand you must estimate your equity in a given pot based on your read of how your hand rates versus the hand strength of your opponent(s).

Say in that example your opponent was usually very tight and had three-bet you before the flop, then led with a bet on that flop.

Given how the player has been playing, you believe it's very likely he holds a strong hand like pocket aces or pocket kings.

Knowing that you have such a strong draw and have more equity here than those hands (or indeed, than most hands), you can call or raise his flop bet.

That said, your equity can change as a hand proceeds.

Say you reach the turn in this same hand with the board showing .

With just one card to come to complete your draws, your equity versus pocket aces or pocket kings has dropped to only under 30% of the pot, which might make it difficult to continue if your opponent bets and the resulting pot odds aren't favourable.

Sometimes you'll hear players say that when short-stacked in a tournament they'd instead go all-in with a hand like than with , because if they are called they are likely to have more 'equity' (i.e., a better chance of winning the hand).

If called by a player holding , is almost 41% to win while is less than 27%. And if called by , is actually a little over 50% to win while is only about 30%.

Consistently correct decisions based on equity considerations over the long term significantly increase the likelihood of being a winning player.

Read Also: How to Play Poker. A complete collection of poker rules (and strategy tips). Use it to discover new poker games or master the ones you already know.

Poker Equity Calculators

Now that you know what is poker equity and how you can calculate it yourself, it's time to look at the best calculators available in 2020.

You should use a poker equity calculator:

• As you play: to understand your chances to win a pot
• When you review your game: to evaluate the decisions you made and learn from your mistakes
• When you examine other players' hands: to reverse-engineer their thinking process and get inside their head

In the list that follows, you find the best poker equity calculators to use in 2020 — both free and paid. Have a look at them, find the one that matches your need, and use it to bring your game to a different level.

PokerNews poker equity calculator (Free)

If you are looking for a free poker equity calculator, launch the PokerNews one and use it to recreate any scenarios you lived at the table.

The current calculator is in Flash is due to be replaced by an enhanced and all-new version in the first half of 2020.

Poker Calculator Texas Holdem

Once that happens, you'll have on that page the best poker equity calculator in the industry. Use it to calculate your odds, value, and a lot more. No subscription needed.

Poker equity calculator Holdem Lab 2 (Free)

This handy Android app is one of the most popular Equity calculators on the Google Play Store.

The app claims to be 'the most complex' equity calculator for Android, and despite a few tiny flaws, it is indeed one that will help you improve your game.

Download the Poker equity calculator Hold'em Lab 2 Android to access features like:

• free poker equity calculator
• accurate odds calculation
• range filtering
• hands history
• and many more.

This Equity calculator app has lots of positive reviews on Google Play, and it is available for free download.

Preflop + Poker GTO Nash Charts (Free / $74.99)

Although one should always doubt the apps that claim to be 'THE best app to improve as a poker player,' Preflop + is a great one to download on iPhone, iPad, and Android.

This poker app was developed by high-stakes pro Matt Berkey and is backed by 2019 WSOP Circuit Ring winner Lara Eisenberg.

Preflop + is more than just a poker Equity calculator as it gives you also different training modules improve various aspects of your game.

Once you access the different areas of Preflop +, you get to calculate your poker equity or train for particular spots and situations.

While this is one of the best apps of its kind, it is also one you need to pay for.

Using all the features of Preflop+ and therefore gaining access to the entire training program requires a subscription.

At the time of writing, the plans available are:

• Monthly: $3.99/month
• Yearly: $31.99/year
• Unlimited: $74.99 - unlimited access, forever

If spending $75 only poker app is not a problem for you, we recommend you try this one and make it an essential part of your poker training.

Flopzilla ($25)

Flopzilla has been around for more than ten years and is one of the few poker tools that almost every player have used at least once in their life.

While the graphics look more basic than those of the most modern poker equity calculator apps, Flopzilla is a sound alternative — provided you are looking for a desktop-based option.

Besides the super-fast access to useful stats, one of the aspects of Flopzilla that we love most is the involvement of the developers in the poker community.

The Flopzilla official thread on the 2+2 Poker Forum is always very active. It is the perfect place to discuss results, ask questions, and develop new customisations of the tool.

One Flopzilla license costs $25 and gives you the right to install the software on two computers.

Flopzilla's official website states that this poker equity calculator can be installed only on computers owned by the same person.

Different individuals cannot share the same license.

You can purchase the $25 license via PayPal, Skrill, credit card, bankwire, iDeal, and a few other payment solutions.

Poker Cruncher (Free / Paid)

If you want to take your game the next level and you are ready to invest in a tool that will help you achieve your goal, have a look at Poker Cruncher.

Available on iPhone, iPad, Android, and Mac (via a dedicated app on the Mac App Store), Poker Cruncher is one of the few must-have applications that most beginners should consider purchasing.

Extremely useful for a correct poker odds calculation and hand analysis, Poker Crunches offers different paid plans — all unlimited.

At present, the plans are:

• Advanced iPhone: $12.99
• Advanced iPad: $17.99
• Advanced Android: $12.99
• Expert Mac: $44.99
• Basic iPhone: $3.99
• Basic Mac: $7.99
• Free iPhone:free

Please note that all apps are sold separately. E.g. if you buy the iPhone version of this poker equity calculator, your purchase does not include access to the iPad or Mac apps, and vice-versa.

Poker Equity F.A.Q.

When you play poker, the concept of 'equity' (also: 'value') refers to the part of a pot that is 'yours' as determined by your chances to win the hand ('odds') at a precise moment in time.

The simplest way to calculate the equity (or value) in poker is by applying your % chance to win the pot to the amount in the pot in a specific moment. For a more detailed explanation, look at this example.

Yes. You can use a free poker equity calculator for a quick analysis of a hand, or you can try a paid one to get more insights on your play. This list of poker equity calculators gives you all the top free and paid options in 2020.

About this article

This guide to poker equity includes a collection of tips that appeared on different PokeNews articles between 2003 and 2020.

A great thanks go to Neil Gibson for his Talking Poker: Equity (2015), for the example in this article, and for giving us a way to create this basic guide to equity in poker.

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