Playing On an Equal Playing Field

A main concern of live poker players considering making the jump to online is whether they can jump into a game and not be worried about the other players having an advantage over them. Due to “data-mining” software on the market (like PokerOffice.com), that can store information on player tendencies, calculate odds, and do other things for players, it’s an understandable concern. While many major online poker rooms (ex. PokerStars, Party Poker, Chan Poker, Full Tilt Poker) allow this type of software to be used, there is still one major one that does not, which is Cake Poker. What this type of software does is actually quite remarkable. Below is a breakdown of what duties data-mining software can perform.

Besides the functions briefly outlined above, there are important stats that data-mining software can provide for you on your opponents. The first is VPIP (voluntary put in pot) percentage. Simply put, this is the percentage of time that a player puts money into a pot pre-flop, and it is a good gauge of how loose/tight a player is. Ideally, you want to use this statistic to help determine the loose-passive players, which are the most profitable opponents for you to play.

Next, there is the PFR (pre-flop raise) percentage. This, just like it sounds, is how often a player raises their hand before the flop. So say your VPIP percentage is 16, and your opponents PFR percentage is 20, this means that you opponent raises hands that you’re not even willing to play, and allows you to adjust your game accordingly. Conversely, if your opponents PFR is low, you may want to stay out of pots when they raise, as they only raise with a select few hands.

Finally, there is the AF (aggression factor) of your opponent. This is a ratio of a player’s betting and raising versus his calling. This ratio can be calculated to either include action pre-flop or exclude it. Usually, excluding pre-flop action is deemed more beneficial, as VPIP and PFR can be used for analysis pre-flop. Use a player’s AF to determine how large of a range of hands he could be showing aggression with.

While software like this provides great analysis on your opponents’ play, it can be equally (if not more) beneficial when analyzing your own play. It can calculate your success based on many different factors in each hand, and can give you stats that are more in-depth as it always knows what your hole cards are where there’s no way to always know what an opponent held. See where you succeed, where you struggle, and adjust your play as you see fit.

There are also 3rd party software features that allow players to data-mine more information. Certain 3rd party programs allows poker players to scan sites tables and give results on which have the most weakest players. This provides a huge advantage on finding the most profitable games. Another one keeps track of certain players that are playing or not. This program also keeps track of these players at nearly every poker site.

These programs arent easy to learn. It will require a significant amount of time to even get the software installed and programed to your poker site. Not only will you need to understand the program, you will need to be internet savvy. A recreational poker player and internet user will have an extremely difficult time seting up these types of programs on your personal computer. With this in mind, one can form an opinion saying that allowing these types of programs are very unfair.

If you decide that you don’t want to use this type of software, and especially don’t want your opponents using it, you have a great option. Cakepoker.com plays host to games with great action, and they DON’T allow data-mining software. If you want a playing field that is truly level, ABpoker.ca recommends playing at Cake Poker. For more information please read our Cake Poker Review