Set Insta
 |
Poker-Edge 5 Review
Outside of getting cards to play and aggression in no-limit hold'em, information is the key to success. Knowing your opponent, his tendencies, his responses, his range of hands, his response to bets is a key to profitable play. Playing live against players you have never seen before and may never see again requires concentration and a systematic, organized memory to gather useful information. The live game, while often chaotic, is slower allowing more time to process information. Players generally sit for a long time at the live table which allows one to see how a player reacts to similar situations over and over again.
The fast pace of internet poker and the volatility of player movement (I played at a table the other day where a player sat down, won one hand and left after 3 hands) along with the inability to see your opponents in the flesh, however, changes the stakes on information gathering. Many live observation techniques simply are not practical online. Along comes the HUD (heads-up display) tracking software. While there are many HUDs available today, the one I find most useful is the HUD offered in Poker-Edge 5.
The Value of Information
Not only does Poker-Edge 5 have a state of the art HUD, the HUD information changes right before your eyes street by street. Poker-Edge keeps a current database covering over 90% of all internet players in a given betting range which translates to statistically valid and reliable information presented to you all the time. Rarely do I sit down at a table where there is no data or not enough data for the HUD to make information available. So when I sit down to play I know how often someone voluntarily puts money in the pot, folds pre-flop, is prone to making a 3-bet, or folds to a 3-bet. I know how often an opponent folds to a c-bet on the flop and how aggressive one is post-flop. All of this and more makes my decision making process easier, it is as if I have been playing with everyone at the table for a long time even if I have never seen them before.
Let me give you an example. I was playing in a 10¢ no-limit game yesterday. I was in middle position with a 7h-7c and I bet 2.5 times the big blind, 25¢. The button called and an early limper folded. Looking at the HUD for the button I learned that this player is passive on the flop but likes to see a lot of hands. Post-flop he slows down and plays scared, often giving his opponent credit for a big hand. I also learned that he chases to the river and then folds 67% of the time he sees the river card.
I decided to make a medium sized probe bet on the flop which was now 65¢ no matter what came on the flop. The flop came 6h-Qh-9d a pretty good, though not great flop for me. Because my opponent just called I put him on a range of hands including A-K through A-J, middle pairs ranging from T-T to 6-6, or perhaps suited heart connectors from T-9 through 8-7. A big pair seemed improbable and even a queen something seemed unlikely but my probe bet would provide me with some information. If my opponent just called then the draw was going to the top of my list. If he raised I would go away without a set in this situation. I bet a bit less than half the pot, 30¢ and was insta-called.
The turn was the 4s. I decided he was on a draw, that because he is so timid and plays scared that I would make a strong bet here to price him out of any potential draw. At this point he would need the pot to offer 5:1 or more to make a draw profitable. I bet the size of the pot, $1.25 and my opponent folded.
The HUD provided me with enough information about this particular opponent to make the semi-bluff a very real option. Making a strong move on the turn against a timid opponent who simply called on the flop to a probe bet was made possible because I was pretty sure that I could force him out of this hand at this time. Had he called on the turn I would have given up on the river unless I hit the set where I was around 22:1 against hitting the needed 7. If I had no information about this opponent I would have followed the no set--no bet rule and checked on the flop, folding to a c-bet from my opponent.
Bonus HUD Information
Poker-Edge 5 also provides some bonus information in a table HUD. You can see in real time the table average for voluntarily putting money in the pot to see just how loose or tight the table is playing. Additionally, the table HUD provides you with a count of outs, in fact, the discounted outs available for your current hand as well as the odds offered by the pot. It is still up to you to evaluate the strength of your hand based on the outs you have. For this calculation the Gordon 4 and 2 rule provides quick estimates as to the relative strength of your hand against a random hand.
For these reasons I strongly recommend Poker-Edge 5 as a valuable tool for the serious online player. Check it out for yourself and get a free trial of Poker-Edge 5.
About the Author
Roger Fischel began playing poker with his friends in high school. Seven Card Stud and Five Card Draw were the games of choice back then. Over the years, Roger turned to Texas Hold 'em as his game of choice. He plays both limit and no-limit hold 'em regularly. During a long career as a teacher, Roger learned the value of sharing what he knows with others as a way to give back to the community in which he shares, thus, Rags to the River Poker was born. Roger recommends Poker Space the Best Poker Software and Player Tracker with Poker Stats based on Poker Hand History Statistics for improving one's game. He also offers a listing of online poker sites which welcome US players.