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Overview

Game Tracker

Tracker Tab

Stats Tab

Hand Reviews

Graphs

Alerts

Calculator

Poker-Spy Console

General Options

Reports

Player

Hand Summary

Hand Analysis


 
 

Game Tracker Tab

The Game Tracker Tab provides hand by hand history for the game in progress and for each player:

  • Click the graph icon to view a graph of that player’s historical performance.

  • Click the player name to view a Hand Analysis Report of that player’s historical performance.

  • Click the column number of a recently played hand to review a hand that was recently completed.

  • Click on the Alert count (e.g.: )  to display the Alert Window with alert details for that player.

In this Section:

Screenshots

 

Game Tracker Field

Field Name

Description
Hands  Number of hands for which you have data collected for a player.
$$  Chips you have won or lost against an opponent.
Now  Chips won or lost in the current poker session.
LT  Indicates a Loose (L) or Tight (T) player. (Ring Games only)
PA  Indicates a Passive (P) or Aggressive (A) player. (Ring Games only)
Name  The name of the player.

G

 Click the graph icon to display player graph.

M

  Player's M Value
Alerts  Number of Alerts on the player.
Table Aggression  Indicates the table aggression.
Pot Size  Size of the pot at the end of the hand.
# Players (PLs)  Number of players dealt in the hand.
Flop PLs  Number of players that saw the flop.
Showdown PLs  Number of players that saw the showdown.
Numbered Columns (17-1)  Most recently played hands.

Hands: Number of hands for which you have data collected for a player

Poker-Spy's™ ability to analyze your opponents is based on the data it has collected against those opponents. The more hands you have played against them, the better the analysis.

$$: Chips you have won or lost against an opponent

As you play, Poker-Spy™ tracks how many chips you have won or loss against each opponent. This allows you to quickly see if an opponent is someone you have dominated in the past or someone you should be running away from.

Now: Chips won or lost in the current poker session

Poker-Spy™ tracks the winnings (and losses) of each player during the current session. This can be very useful information as sometimes players will change their style of play based on their current performance. For example, someone who is losing a lot of chips could be (or go) on tilt, while others will simply tighten up. The LT and PA fields can help you determine how each player is likely to play.

LT: Indicates a Loose (L) or Tight (T) player  (Ring Games only)

As Poker-Spy™ collects data on each opponent; it is able to classify them as either Loose or Tight. You will find that Poker-Spy does a very good job at classifying players with as little as 40 hands of data for an opponent.

You can use this indicator to adjust your play against these opponents. Loose players play many hands out of position and then continue to play them too far. Tight players on the other hand will rarely play hands out of position and could be quick to fold.

Poker-Spy indicates how Loose or Tight each player is with the following indicators:

?: There is insufficient data to classify the player as either Loose or Tight.

T?: The current data indicates that this player is Tight. However, there is insufficient data to be really sure.

T0: This player is very Tight. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 10% of low limit players in terms of being tight.

T1: This player is Tight. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 20% of low limit players in terms of being tight.

T2: This player is somewhat tight. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 30% of low limit players in terms of being tight.

Blank: This player is neither Loose nor Tight.

L7: This player is somewhat loose. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 30% of low limit players in terms of being loose.

L8: This player is loose. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 20% of low limit players in terms of being loose.

L9: This player is very loose. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 10% of low limit players in terms of being loose.

L?: The current data indicates that this player is Loose. However, there is insufficient data to be really sure.

PA: Indicates a Passive (P) or Aggressive (A) player (Ring Games only)

As Poker-Spy™ collects data on each opponent; it is able to classify them as either Passive or Aggressive. You will find that Poker-Spy does a very good job at classifying players with as little as 40 hands of data for an opponent.

You can use this indicator to adjust your play against these opponents. Passive Players will almost never check-raise, raise or re-raise unless they have the nuts. Aggressive Players on the other hand are capable of doing any of these actions at almost any time. Knowing how your opponents play will allow you to use poker strategy more effectively.

Poker-Spy indicates how Passive or Aggressive each player is with the following indicators:

?: There is insufficient data to classify the player as either Passive or Aggressive.

P?: The current data indicates that this player is Passive. However, there is insufficient data to be really sure.

P0: This player is very Passive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 10% of low limit players in terms of being passive. Expect this player to raise almost exclusively with the nuts. If the player raises pre-flop, you can almost be sure that you are facing AA, KK, QQ, or AK.

P1: This player is Passive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 20% of low limit players in terms of being passive. Expect this player to have a very good hand if he shows strength. Pre-flop raises, especially out of position indicates a premium hand.

P2: This player is somewhat Passive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 30% of low limit players in terms of being Passive.

Blank: This player is neither Passive nor Aggressive.

A7: This player is somewhat Aggressive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 30% of low limit players in terms of being aggressive.

A8: This player is Aggressive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 20% of low limit players in terms of being aggressive.

A9: This player is very Aggressive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 10% of low limit players in terms of being aggressive.

A?: The current data indicates that this player is Aggressive. However, there is insufficient data to be really sure.

Name: The name of the player

Click on the Player Name to see the Hand Analysis Report for that player.

The Name field also serves as an indicator of players you want to play against, or players you want to avoid. Based on the information from the LT and PA fields, Poker-Spy will highlight the players as follows:

Green Highlight: A player that is "Tight and Passive" or "Loose and Passive" are marked in green.

"Tight and Passive" players are usually unimaginative which usually allows you to know where you stand against them.

"Loose and Passive" players play too many hands and when they show strength, they usually have a very good hand. These are the types of players you want to play against.

Red Highlight: A Player that is "Tight and Aggressive" or "Loose and Aggressive" are marked in red.

"Tight and Aggressive" is the mark of a good player. This type of player will start with the best hands and use aggression to his advantage.

"Loose and Aggressive" players play too many hands and are very aggressive. Although these players are typically long term losers, they often go on wild winning and losing streaks. They are difficult to play against because you rarely know where you stand in the hand. If you catch them on a winning night where the cards are running their way, it could seriously hurt your profits. Sometimes it is best to avoid these players altogether.

Graph Icon: Graph for a player

Click on the graph icon ( or ) to view a graph of how the player has been performing historically.

indicates a player with a positive record over all sessions tracked by Poker-Spy.

indicates a player with a negative record over all sessions tracked by Poker-Spy.

M: Player's Harrington M Value

When playing No Limit/Pot Limit Tournaments or No Limit/Pot Limit Ring Games, one of the most important number to be aware of is your M Value and your opponent's M value. The reason this number is important is because it is a large factor in determining how you should play at various stages of a Tournament.

The M Value is the ratio of your current stack to the amount of chips it costs to play a full cycle of the table. Another way to say this is the number of buttons you will see before you go broke if you were to only play your blinds and antes.

So how should a player adjust his/her play based on their M Value?

Green (20+): Play normally. Aggressive, Conservative, Super Aggressive; whatever style suits you best

Yellow (10 - 20): Blinds are getting more expensive relative to your stack size. You need to play more aggressively. You need to lay off the speculative hands like small pairs and suited connectors when you are in this zone because you don't have enough chips.

In the yellow zone, loosen a little your raising or calling requirements while at the same time tightening your requirements to call someone else's raise.

Orange (6 - 10): You need to play even more aggressive than in the Yellow Zone. You don't have enough chips to make some complex plays like coming over the top of two players to steal the pot. 

Your bread and butter play in this zone is raising first-in (and sometimes all-in) to steal the pot.

Red (0-5): Your only option is all-in. If you make a small bet, your stack is so small, you are committed anyway - so just go all in. Interestingly, small pairs become powerful again when you do play them all-in.

Alerts: Number of Alerts on the player

Indicates the number of Alerts on the player. Click on the number (e.g.: )  to display the Alert Window with alert details for that player.

Other alerts are as follows:

Table Aggression: Displays table aggression

Basic Mode

Identifies hands raised pre flop. When a hand is raised pre-flop you will see a indicator.

This indicator allows you to quickly see if your table is Aggressive or Passive and to adjust your starting hand requirements accordingly. This is also very useful when you are playing multi-table because it is easy to misjudge how a table is playing when your attention is divided between two or more tables.

For more information on using this indicator see the section Is my table Passive or Aggressive?

New! Advanced Mode (Registered Users only)

The Advanced Table Aggression Indicator can be enabled from the Poker-Spy Console under Tools | Option (see General Options).

This unique (patent pending) indicator displays the highest level of aggression on each street for each hand.

Each indicator is divided into 4 sections and each section represents a street. The streets are represented in the following order:

  • River (top)

  • Turn

  • Flop

  • Pre flop (bottom)

The color in each section identifies the highest level of aggression for that street:

  • Beige: No action occurred on that street. The hand ended on a prior street.

  • Green: The action consisted of calls, checks and folds.

    • Pre-flop: each player either folded or called the big blind

    • Flop, turn and river: Hand was checked by all players.

  • Yellow: One player bet, all other players called or folded

  •  Red: The action on that street included one or more raises

This indicator allows you to quickly see if your table is Aggressive or Passive and to adjust your starting hand requirements accordingly. This is also very useful when you are playing multi-table because it is easy to misjudge how a table is playing when your attention is divided between two or more tables.

For more information on using this indicator see the section Is my table Passive or Aggressive?

Pot Size: Size of the pot at the end of the hand

This indicator allows you to quickly review the size of the winning pot over the most recent hands.

# Players(PLs): Number of players dealt in the hand

This indicator shows you the number of players that were dealt cards. It will be highlighted in Red when 6 or less players are at the table to indicate that the game is short-handed.

Flop PLs: Number of players that saw the flop

This indicator allows you to quickly review if the table is loose or tight.

Orange Highlight: Table is tight pre-flop.

White Highlight: Table is average pre-flop.

Purple Highlight: Table is loose pre-flop.

If you see lots of orange, you are at a tight table (few people in each hand). If you see a lot of purple, you are at a loose table.

Showdown PLs: Number of players that saw the showdown

This indicator allows you to quickly review how far, on average, the players are playing their hand.

Orange Highlight: Table is tight post-flop.

White Highlight: Table is average post-flop.

Purple Highlight: Table is loose post-flop.

Red Highlight: The Showdown was uncontested (player bet, everyone else folded).

If you see lots of orange, you are at a tight table (few people in each hand). If you see a lot of purple, you are at a loose table.

Numbered Columns (17-1): Most recently played hands

You can review the hands played in detail by clicking the hand number in the header. This allows you to quickly review the action that occurred during a hand without having to trudge through those hard to read log files.

Under each column, you will discover useful information on how your opponents have been playing the most recent hands:

Text: If the player showed his cards, Poker-Spy will display them to you. A lower case 's' denotes suited cards. Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten are indicated with A, K, Q, J, T respectively.

Note: At most poker rooms, Poker-Spy displays the hole cards of all players in the showdown, even if they mucked their hand.

Bold Text: If the cards are shown in Bold, this indicates that the player raised or re-raised pre-flop. The letters PFR in Bold, indicate that the player raised pre-flop but that Poker-Spy was unable to determine what the starting cards were.

Highlight Colors

Light Blue: Player saw the flop.

Dark Blue: Player was on the Dealer Button.

Red Border:

 Player won the hand

PFR: Player raised preflop but the hole cards are unknown

AQs: Player raised preflop with the hole cards shown (in this case: Ace-Queen suited)

Grey: Player was not dealt cards for that hand.

Getting the most out of the Game Tracker Window

Is my table Loose or Tight?

Take a look at the Flop Pls and Showdown Pls lines to determine if you are at a loose or tight table. If you see a lot of  Orange your table is tight. if you see a lot of Purple your table is loose. Every three or four hands, take a look at these fields and see if your table conditions are changing. The table characteristics can change drastically when one or more new people sit at your table. Once you determine if your table is Loose/Tight and/or Passive/Aggressive, adjust you play accordingly (see below).

Is my table Passive or Aggressive?

Take a look at the Table Aggression line to determine if you are sitting at an aggressive table.

The Table Aggression indicators lets you know if your table is a very aggressive (you see red on most streets), normal (a balance of red, yellow and green), or passive (mostly yellow and green).

It is important to notice the type of aggression the table is exhibiting. Not all games have the same level of aggressiveness pre flop and post flop. You will need to adjust your hand selection based on the aggression of the table. For example, if your game is passive post flop (foe example, many hands go check-check-check on the turn), it will often be correct to call one bet on the flop because you are actually paying one small bet to see two cards. On the other hand, if the game is very aggressive when the bets double on the turn, it is often correct to fold most draws.

Every three or four hands, take a look at these fields and see if the table conditions are changing. The table characteristics can change drastically when one or more new people sits at or leaves your table. Once you determine if your table is Loose/Tight and/or Passive/Aggressive, adjust you play accordingly (see below).

Adjustments to make in a Loose and Passive game:

Loose and Passive games are filled with bad players and are among the most profitable games you will find. Here are some adjustments to make:

  • If you can get in for a single bet, play more hands than you would against better players. This is especially true if you are holding suited connectors.

  • Frequently keep it to a single bet before the flop. This will allow bad players to call you incorrectly on the flop because they will not be getting the right odds to call if you keep the pot small. For example, if raising with AQ in early position will fail to cut down the field, you should probably not raise.

  • Conversely, if 4 or more players are going to call 2 bets you should raise with high suited cards. One of the reasons to do this is that if you flop your flush draw, by making the pot bigger, people will now continue to play hands they can't win if you hit it.

  • For the same reasons, you should also raise on the button with small pairs if many players are in. If you flop your set, your opponents will keep on calling with hands which they have little chance of winning.

For more detailed information on how to play in loose games, read Part 4 of Hold'em Poker for Advance Players by David Sklansky.

Adjustments to make in a Loose and Aggressive game:

Loose and aggressive games can be profitable but are often unpredictable as they can cause large swings in your bankroll. The first adjustment you can make is to find a loose and passive table and play there instead. If you choose to play, here are some of the adjustments to make:

  • You should not be in many pots. Stick to the Sklansky starting hands and play them in position.

  • Beware of chasing draws since they become very expensive if you have to call a raise and a re-raise on each street.

  • Starting hands that include pairs or 2 high cards go up in value, while drawing hands like connectors and suited connectors go down in value.

Adjustments to make in a Tight and Passive game:

When your table is Tight and Passive you can still play a fair number of hands as most of your opponents will be playing in a straight forward manner.

  • If the passive players show weakness, this could be a good opportunity to bluff at the pot.

  • Often check the flop and try to steal the pot on the turn when the bets double if your opponents show weakness.

  • If it's folded to you (you are first in) and you plan on playing the hand, you should raise.

Adjustments to make in a Tight and Aggressive game:

Tight and Aggressive games are typically unprofitable. Since there are so many loose and passive games on the net at all times, you should probably just find another table.

If you must play and the game is extremely tight, keep in mind that most of your profits will come from stealing the blinds.

Who are the Loose player?

The first place to look to identify the Loose players is the LT field. Look for these indicators:

  • L7: This player is somewhat loose. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 30% of low limit players in terms of being loose.

  • L8: This player is loose. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 20% of low limit players in terms of being loose.

  • L9: This player is very loose. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 10% of low limit players in terms of being loose.

  • L?: The current data indicates that this player is Loose. However, there is insufficient data to be really sure.

Also take a look at the recently played hands for players that play too many hands. You can identify them by the amount of Light Blue that you will see on their line. Loose players usually have a lot of blue as they play many hands.

You can get a quick assessment on the Quality of cards that your opponents play by looking at the hole cards revealed over the recent hands.

Who are the Tight players?

The first place to look to identify the Tight players is the LT field. Look for these indicators:

  • T?: The current data indicates that this player is Tight. However, there is insufficient data to be really sure.

  • T0: This player is very Tight. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 10% of low limit players in terms of being tight.

  • T1: This player is Tight. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 20% of low limit players in terms of being tight.

  • T2: This player is somewhat tight. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 30% of low limit players in terms of being tight .

Also take a look at the recently played hands for players that players that play too many hands. You can identify them by the amount of Light Blue that you will see on their line. Tight players usually have little blue showing as they play few hands.

Tight players typically play quality hands and they usually play those hands in position. You can get a quick assessment if this is the case by looking at the hole cards revealed over the recent hands.

Who are the Passive players?

The first place to look to identify the Passive players is the PA field. Look for these indicators:

  • P?: The current data indicates that this player is Passive. However, there is insufficient data to be really sure.

  • P0: This player is very Passive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 10% of low limit players in terms of being passive. Expect this player to raise almost exclusively with the nuts. If the player raises pre-flop, you can almost be sure that you are facing AA, KK, QQ, or AK.

  • P1: This player is Passive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 20% of low limit players in terms of being passive. Expect this player to have a very good hand if he shows strength. Pre-flop raises, especially out of position indicates a premium hand.

  • P2: This player is somewhat Passive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 30% of low limit players in terms of being Passive.

Passive players rarely show aggression unless they have or are very close to having the the nuts. Review the hole cards and look for players who do not raise pre-flop with the standard raising hands (AA, KK, QQ, JJ, TT, AK, AKs, AQs). You can identify if they have raised preflop by looking for the bold indicator (eg: PFR, and AQs:)

Who are the Aggressive player?

The first place to look to identify the Aggressive players is the PA field. Look for these indicators:

  • A7: This player is somewhat Aggressive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 30% of low limit players in terms of being aggressive.

  • A8: This player is Aggressive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 20% of low limit players in terms of being aggressive.

  • A9: This player is very Aggressive. Poker-Spy ranks this player within the top 10% of low limit players in terms of being aggressive.

  • A?: The current data indicates that this player is Aggressive. However, there is insufficient data to be really sure.

Aggressive players will bet and raise often. Review the hole cards and looking for the bold indicator (eg: PFR, and AQs) to identify the loose raisers.

Click the column number of a recently played hand to review a hand that was recently completed and see if the play is consistent with a Tight Aggressive player or a Maniac.

Who are the players I should play against?

You should look for Loose and Passive players and Tight and Passive Players. Poker-Spy helps you identify these players by marking their name them with a Green Highlight . If you find yourself sitting at a table with 1 or more players with this identification, chances are that you have found a profitable table.

Who are the players I should avoid?

You should avoid Loose and Aggressive players and Tight and Aggressive Players. Poker-Spy helps you identify these players by marking their name them with a Red Highlight.

If you find yourself sitting at a table with 2 or more players (in addition to yourself) with this identification, chances are that you have found a table with too many good players relative to the the number of bad or average players. You are probably better off moving to a different table where you will not have to divide the chips from losing players between so many people.

Who are the losing player?

Click the player name to view a graph of their current and historical performance. Losing players have a chart that exhibit a downtrend trend.

To identify losing players for this session, look at the Now field. Players that are losing chips are identified by a Red Highlight.

If you have won chips from a player (across all sessions), the $ field will indicate how much you are up on that player with a Green Highlight.

Who are the winning player?

Click the player name to view a graph of their current and historical performance. Winning players have a chart that exhibit an upward trend.

To identify winning players for this session, look at the Now field. Players that are winning chips are identified by a Green Highlight.

If you have lost chips to a player (across all sessions), the $ field will indicate how much you are down on that player with a Red Highlight.
   




Copyright © 2005-2010 Paul Parisien. All rights reserved.