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What software would you recommend for analyzing one's game? I'm talking detailed number-crunching after the session, not online databases like sharkscope or in-game odds calculators (meh).

Is there anything that could pick up some of the patterns, good or bad, in my game, e.g.:

  • hands that I'm least profitable with ("I should really start folding small pairs pre-flop")
  • draws that I may be overplaying ("Those flush draws looked good but cost me 1BB each in the long run")
  • games/formats that have not worked out too well for me historically ("I get distracted in any tourney that runs over 5 hours")

Running hand history logs through a smart parser would be technically straightforward (not to be confused with easy!), but if there is a good tool out there already, I wouldn't mind paying for it. It really has to be good though, plus there is always the paranoia factor that a great app you just downloaded could be revealing your hands along with those of hundreds of other users to its author, skyrocketing his ROI ಠ_ಠ

NB: there is a list that likely mentions some of the software I'm after (fingers crossed it would be in the "allowed" category), but there is no way I could trial all of that myself.

My game of choice is MTT NLHE @pokerstars on a mac, but don't let that limit the options you want to share.

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There are two major players in this field: Hold'em Manager and Poker Tracker. Both provide the type of in-depth number crunching and statistical analysis that you're looking for, and they do it way better than anything you would roll on your own. They track things that few players would even think to look at without first seeing the information available in one of these two programs.

In my experience, Hold'em Manager has a wider array of options for cash games, giving it a slight edge there. They even have some plugins that can detect strange patterns in your opponent's play and automatically issue notes about those plays. However, something about the way Hold'em Manager imports tournament results is messed up, so that gives Poker Tracker the edge for tournaments.

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  • is it good for non-holdem games?
    – amigal
    May 16, 2012 at 20:41
  • Both have versions that support Omaha as well. I do not know of anything to support stud or draw games. May 16, 2012 at 20:42
  • thanks. In matter of fact, I am looking for such a tool for Omaha hi/low. Do you know one?
    – amigal
    May 16, 2012 at 20:48
  • I should have been clearer. Both of those should work for limit, pot limit, and no-limit versions of hold'em and Omaha. They will also correctly handle hi/low. I used the latest Omaha version of Hold'em Manager for some hi/low games just a few weeks ago. May 16, 2012 at 20:50

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