Opinions on Online Odds Calculators

[Alex Scott]

I was just curious as to some of your opinions about odds calculators for internet poker sites (such as Texas Calculatem, which is posted on SuprNova.org almost every single day).

Before I say what I have to say, I should point out that I have NEVER used such a program in a real money game. I did however try out the program (Texas Calculatem) on a few play money games to see how it worked.

I have several opinions on odds calculators (or poker cheating programs, as they probably should be called).

1. It's cheating. Its equivalent to taking a laptop computer to the poker table in a brick and mortar casino, and running calculations on it. This would get you barred from every casino I've ever heard of.

2. A good player would not need to use such a program, since he / she probably already knows the odds and, more importantly, how to apply them.

3. This kind of program isn't that helpful anyway. It won't help you to maximise your wins and minimise your losses, or help you decide when it is profitable to draw based on pot and implied odds, or tell you when to bluff, or tell you how much to bet (in a SL/NL/PL game). Odds are only part of the game and knowing them isnt enought to make you a good player.

4. The program may actually make you a worse player, as by following it's advice you aren't thinking about all of the factors important in poker, just the odds. It would make you predictable and easy to read - if the flop comes A-6-2, and you bet, you have at least an ace with a reasonable kicker. If you check, you have one of the lower pairs or less. Simple as that.

My overall opinion is while that I think odds calculators are cheating, and any person caught using one should be immediately banned, I don't find them threatening enough to stop playing hold'em online, especially when some of the games are so lucrative. I consider myself a good enough player to pick up on the predictable play of people using these odds calculators. I do, however, think something should be done because the use of such programs may discourage some of the weaker players from playing in the first place.

I'm curious to know what online poker rooms have to say about odds calculators, and whether they consider them a threat. I'm also curious what the rest of you have to say...

Alex