I own Poker Academey is PRO worth the price of the upgrade?

[steamboatin]

I like Poker Academy, not amazed by it or anything but it's okay.

Is the PRO version good enough to justify the price of the upgrade?

[Joe B.]

how the computer on the regular version?

is it challenging and smart?

[zerosum]

Absolutely. The hand evaluator module alone in the Pro version is worth the cost of the upgrade.

I'm a limit novice, and I can say without reservation that hand evaluator has greatly increased my understanding of hand strength as the board develops. The module allows the user to change the assumed oppenent starting hand strength via a probability matrix of all starting hands. I set mine tighter than the default because I think it better reflects hands played postflop.

FWIW, I don't use the advisor function, so I can't say whether it's different in the Pro version.

[oreogod]

Or u can go to http://koti.mbnet.fi/jraevaar/pokercalculator/ for a downloadable handevalutor that is free and u can actually tailor your opponents to the various Sklansky/Mamuth hand rankings on the fly. I like this program much better than poker stove. Its ultra cool. And its just as cool if not better than what the 60 dollars got ya.

Besides the only reason I would do the Pro upgrade is for the advanced heads up bots. Even with adapatation, the basic bots are push overs. If I do upgrade, hopefully I find the challenge Im looking for.

If u upgraded for the hand eval, u got jaked.

[zerosum]

[ QUOTE ]
If u upgraded for the hand eval, u got jaked.

[/ QUOTE ]

Strong language, but I'll politely disagree.

I also have a copy of the hand evaluator for which you provided a link. However, it's not even close to being as useful as the PA Pro hand evaluator -- which, by the way, can also be used as a stand alone module.

Here's a quick compare/contrast of the two, and the acronyms I used for brevity.

Poker Calculator Hand Evaluator -- PCHE
Poker Academy Pro Hand Evaluator -- ProHE

1. ProHE calculates from a probability matrix. The user can modify the matrix to reflect very tight players to very loose players.

PCHE applies equal probabilities to each possible opponent hand the user selects. Do you really believe that your opponents are equally likely to play K9s as KQs?


2. ProHE always calculates the strength of your hand for all possible number of opponents at every stage of the hand. The results are presented in a grid with opponents numbered 1 through 9. If you currently face 3 opponents, then reference the strength suggested in the row for 3 opponents. If on the turn, you're down to 2 opponents, then reference the row for 2 opponents.

PCHE requires that you always manually update the number of opponents you face at every stage of the hand, reset the hands your opponents could be playing and then recalculate the strength of your hand. Just try playing 200 hands an hour while doing that as well.


3. ProHE presents estimates of your draws as your hand develops. I have found this feature to be a good educational tool. It helps me identify outs I've overlooked, making it less likely that I'll miss them in similar situations later.

PCHE does not offer such information.


4. ProHE continually updates the probabilities of various hands your opponents may hold or draw out.

PCHE does not offer such information.

[klange]

There are much deeper analysis tools in 2.0 and those are improving regularly.

Also, Pro has heads up specialists bots; Vexbot and Sparbot. These are the strongest bots and great for learning heads up play and important component to winning tournies.

[TransientR]

I agree. The Poker Academy Pro calculator is also a breeze to use. Not true of any other I've tried.

Besides, while the NL bots have weaknesses, you can tinker with them, and I'm sure future upgrades will improve things. And Vexbot and Sparbot are good opponents for heads-up practice.

Frank

[oreogod]

Zero:
First, courier print type doesn't exactly convey the sarcasm I was trying to get across. I didnt mean it to come out strong, or like I was kicking someone in the stomach. Since there is no voice tone to get that across on these forums, sometimes we have to live with misintrepretation.

Anyway, so now that u have brought some of my ignorance to light with your description of said program...let me ask a question if u read this.

Is this program truly easy to use on the fly if you are playing a ring game online against real people? This is a genuine question as yes, while poker calculator can calulate as well, it takes a lot of tinkering and quickly to get anything toward accurate (while u can tailor your opponents to hands...its difficult to do when your turn is rushing around.)

So I have been intrested in updating to Pro for the heads up bots...this has also sparked another reason that I may have to do that.

Let me know.

[steamboatin]

I will most likely upgrade. Thanks for all your input. I'll post about it after I upgrade.

I want the heads up tourney bots and to be able to simulate a final table.

[zerosum]

[ QUOTE ]
Is this program truly easy to use on the fly if you are playing a ring game online against real people?

[/ QUOTE ]

I have not used the module in this manner and I never will, so I can only speculate.

Against a single ring game, as your question proposed, you could use it on the fly. However, I think using it in this manner could induce a sense of false confidence. Remember that the module does not consider opponent information that you might deduce from position and action.

[steamboatin]

Off topic but great avatar.

[zerosum]

Thanks.