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How to Play Texas Hold'em
The game of Texas Hold'em has many variations. We'll start by describing Fixed Limit
Texas Hold'em which is the most common variant that is played in cardrooms. No-Limit
Texas Hold'em has recently become very popular as well, due to extensive television
coverage.
This section gives a high-level overview of the game of Texas Hold'em. For players
completely new to Texas Hold'em, the next sections expand into much more detail about
specific parts of the game.
Betting Limits
In Fixed Limit games all bet sizes are fixed to a specific amount, while in No-Limit
games a player may bet any amount of the chips they have in front of them. This is the
only difference in rules between these two forms of Texas Hold'em and yet the strategy
and style of game play is changed dramatically.
Any game of Texas Hold'em, be it limit or no-limit, is played at a pre-defined stakes. The
stakes dictate the fixed size of the bets in the limit game or the minimum bet size in the
no-limit game.
The Button
At a poker table, players sit in a clockwise order, typically up to ten players at a table.
Each hand, a specific player is given the dealer Button, usually a flat disc with a 'D' on it.
This designates that player as the dealer for the hand. The cards are dealt relative to the
dealer button, and all betting leads from the left of the button. The button advanced
clockwise to the next player after each hand, so that all players get a turn playing as the
button.
Blinds
Before any cards are dealt, the two players to the left of the button must make forced
bets, called Blinds. They are called blind bets because the players are betting before
having cards, and are thus betting blindly. The player directly to the left of the button is
called the Small Blind and the next player is called the Big Blind. The Big Blind places a
full minimum bet size on the table (the minimum bet size is determined by the game's
stakes), and the Small Blind places a smaller bet amount, typically one half the size of the
minimum bet. For example, in a game that has a Big Blind of $10, the Small Blind size
will be $5.
The Pre-Flop Betting Round

Once the blinds have been posted, the players are all dealt two cards face-down. The two-
card hands are called your Hole Cards. The game of Texas Hold'em has four rounds of
betting. The first round is called the Pre-flop. The pre-flop is special since the betting has
already been started by the blinds. Since the small and big blinds have already bet, the
first player to act is the player directly to the left of the big blind. This position is
commonly referred to as Under the Gun. In a betting round, each player must have at
least once chance to act. In order to stay in the hand, a player must match any bets made
by other players. A player also has the opportunity to raise the stakes by betting. If a
player raises, all players that haven't folded have an opportunity to call the new bet
amount, and in most cases to re-raise. During the pre-flop, if no one raises and it comes to
the big blind, the big blind is allowed an opportunity to raise, or they may check to end
the betting round. In fixed-limit Hold'em, all bets made must be the size of the big-blind,
and in no-limit all bets made must be at least the size of the last bet made.
Many novice players find it complicated to learn all of the rules of betting. See the
section on betting rounds for more details on how betting rounds proceed.
The Flop Betting Round

When the Pre-Flop betting round is complete, three cards (the flop) are dealt face-up on
the center of the table. These are community cards which all players may use to make
their best 5-card poker hand. A second betting round commences, starting with the player
to the left of the button. Since there are no blind bets, players may check (calling zero) as
an action until a player decides to bet. In fixed-limit Hold'em, all bets made on the flop
must be the size of the big-blind.
The Turn Betting Round

After the Flop betting round, a fourth community card is placed on the board, and a third
betting round begins. In fixed-limit, all bet sizes must now be double the size of the big
blind. If the big-blind was $10, then all bets and raises must be $20 on the Turn.
The River Betting Round

After the Turn betting round, a fifth community card is placed on the board, and a fourth
betting round begins. In fixed-limit, all bet sizes again are double the size of the big
blind.
The Showdown
If all players fold to a bet during any betting round, the hand is immediately over and the
chips in the pot are awarded to the bettor. If players remain all the way to the end of the
River betting round, the players now show their hands in order, and the best hand wins
the pot. The best five-card poker hand formed from each player's two private hole cards
and the five public community cards wins the pot. If a tie occurs, the pot is split.
Poker Hands
When you enter a showdown, the ranking of each player's hand is used to decide who
wins the pot. Therefore, it is very important to understand how poker hands are made and
ranked.
Making the Best Five-card Hand
In Texas Hold'em, a poker hand is always the highest ranked five-card hand that can be
made using any five card combination out the seven cards available to each player. The
seven cards available to each player include their two private hole cards and the five
public community (or board) cards that all players share. To put this another way, a poker
hand can contain zero, one, or both of a player's hole cards. In the case where a player is
using none of their hole cards, their entire poker hand is defined solely by the five public
community cards, and this is commonly called "playing the board".
Ranking a Poker Hand
Poker hands can be broadly categorized into types according to the standard five-card
poker hand types. Each of these hand types can be used to give a rough ordering for
poker hands: all hands belonging to a particular hand type are ranked higher than all
hands corresponding to types below it, and are ranked lower than all hands corresponding
to types above it. For example, any Three of a Kind beats any Two Pair, but loses to any
Straight. The relative ranking of these types is based on the relative likelihood of a hand
of that type occurring when considering all possible five card combinations out of a
standard deck of 52 cards.
In a standard deck of 52 cards, there are four suits: Spades, Diamonds, Clubs, and Hearts.
Within every suit there are 13 ranks which are ordered from highest to lowest as Ace,
King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, ... , Two.
In Texas Hold'em, unlike some other card games, all suits are considered equal and are
not used to break ties in hands that are equal except for suit differences.
For hands of the same hand type, the ranking of the hands within a hand type depends on
the ranks of the cards making up the hands.
Hand Types
The hand types in Texas Hold'em presented in order from highest ranked to lowest are as
follows:
 Straight Flush
 Four of a Kind
 Full House
 Flush
 Straight
 Three of a Kind
 Two Pair
 Pair
 High Card
Other Considerations
In all hand types you have to be aware of your Kickers. The best possible hand an
opponent can have, given a particualar board is called The Nuts. When there are board
cards to come, you must also learn what types of hands you can draw to.
Poker Hand Types
5-card Poker hands ranked from strongest to weakest
Percentage of 5-
Sample hand Name and description
card hands
Straight Flush (including Royal
Flush)
0.0015%
5 cards of the same suit in
sequence
Four of a Kind
0.0240%
4 cards of the same rank
Full House
3 cards of identical rank and 2 0.1441%
cards of another rank
Flush
0.1965%
5 cards of the same suit
Straight
5 cards of different suit in 0.3925%
sequence
Three of a Kind
2.1129%
Two Pair
2 cards of one rank and 2 cards of 4.7539%
another rank
Pair
42.257%
High Card
5 cards of differing suit and rank, 49.882%
not in sequence
Straight Flush
A Straight Flush is a hand where all five cards are of the same suit and in sequence
according to their ranks. Straight flush hands are ranked relative to each other based on
the rank of the highest card in their sequence. As the highest ranked card in a sequence
increases, the straight flush's relative ranking increases amongst others in its category.
Example:
versus
Player 1 has an Ace-high straight flush:
Player 2 has a Queen-high straight flush:
Since player 1's straight's sequence starts with a higher ranked card (i.e an Ace) than
player 2's (i.e. a Queen), player 1's straight flush is ranked higher.
It is important to note that even though the Ace is always the highest ranked card in
Texas Hold'em, it can be used in sequences as a card whose rank follows the Two. This
means the highest possible straight-flush is an Ace-high straight flush (e.g. Ah Kh Qh Jh
Th), and the lowest is a Five-high straight flush (e.g. 5h 4h 3h 2h Ah).
An Ace-high straight flush (often called a royal flush) is the best possible hand in Texas
Hold'em since it is the highest ranked hand within the highest ranked hand type.
Four of a Kind
A Four of a Kind is a hand where four cards have the same rank. The rank of the four of a
kind cards determines the relative ranking amongst different four of a kind hands. The
higher the rank of the four of a kind cards, the higher the rank of the hand. This means
Four of a Kind, Aces is the best possible hand of this type, and Four of a Kind, Twos is
the lowest possible hand of this type.
Example:
versus
Player 1 has Four of a Kind, Aces:
Player 2 has Four of a Kind, Eights:
Player 1's Quad Aces beats Player 2's Quad Eights.

Full House
A Full House is a hand where three of the cards in a hand are all of one rank, and the
other two cards are both of another rank. To picture this, imagine your hand containing
both a Three of a Kind and a Pair.
Full houses are ranked amongst each other by first looking for the hand with the highest
ranked Three of a Kind portion. If two hands have equally ranked Three of a Kind
portions, a higher ranked Pair is used to decide the winner.
Example #1:
versus
Player 1 has a Full House, Aces Full of Sevens:
Player 2 has a Full House, Nines Full of Aces:
Since player 1's Three of a Kind portion has a higher rank (i.e. Aces) than player 2's
Three of a Kind portion (i.e. Nines), player 1 has the higher ranked hand.
Example #2:
versus
Player 2 has a Full House, Full House, Aces Full of Nines:
Both player 1 and player 2 have equally ranked Three of a Kind portions so the Pair
portions of their hands must be considered. Since player 2's Pair (i.e. Nines) is higher
ranked than player 1's Pair (i.e. Sevens), player 2 has the better hand.
Example #3:
versus
Player 2 has a Full House, Full House, Aces Full of Sevens:
Both player 1 and player 2 have the exact same hand, Full House, Aces Full of Sevens,
and as a result both players tie for having the best hand.
Flush
A Flush is a hand where all five cards are from the same suit. The relative ranking of
flush hands depends on the ranks of their individual cards.
Flush hands are compared starting with a hand's highest ranked card. If hand A's highest
ranked card is higher than hand B's, then hand A is ranked higher. If hands share the
same highest card rank, the comparison of card ranks moves to each hand's second
highest ranked card. This card by card comparison is repeated until a hand has a card
with a higher relative rank, or all five cards are of equal rank. In the case where all five
cards are of equal rank, the hands are equal.
The highest possible flush is an Ace-high flush. The lowest possible flush is a Six-high
flush. A Five-high flush is not possible since it would be a straight flush.
Example #1:
versus
Player 1 has a Flush, Ace high:
Player 2 has a Flush, King high:
Since the highest ranked card in player 1's flush (i.e. the Ace) is higher than the highest
ranked card in player 2's flush (i.e. the King), player 1 has the better hand.
Example #2:
versus
Player 1 has a Flush, Ace, Ten high:
Player 2 has a Flush, Ace, King high:
Player 1 and Player 2 both have Ace-high flushes. Looking at their second highest ranked
cards, player 2's King is higher than player 1's Ten, so player 2 has the better hand.
Example #3:
versus
Player 1 has a Ten-high straight flush:
Player 2 has a King-high flush:
A straight flush always beats a regular flush regardless of the card ranks, so player 1 has
the better hand.
Straight
A Straight is a hand where all five cards are in a sequence according to their ranks. The
ranking of straights depends on the highest ranked card in the five-card sequence making
up the straight. As with straight flushes, Aces can serve as the highest ranked card in an
Ace-high straight, or as the lowest ranked card in a Five-high straight.
The best possible straight is an Ace-high straight (e.g. As Ks Qd Jc Th), and the worst
possible straight is a Five-high straight (e.g. 5s 4s 3d 2c Ah).
Example #1:
versus
Player 1 has an Ace-high straight:
Player 2 has a Queen-high straight:
Since player 1 has the straight starting with the higher ranked card (i.e. the Ace), player 1
has the best hand.
Example #2:
versus
Player 1 is playing the board and has a Queen-high straight. The best hand player 2 can
make is also a Queen-high straight.
Since both hands are straights whose highest cards are equally ranked (i.e. Queen), the
hands tie.
Three of a Kind
A Three of a Kind is a hand with three cards of the same rank, and two other cards, each
with different ranks. Three of a Kind hands are first ranked according to the rank of the
card used in the three of a kind portion of the hand. The higher the rank of the card is in
the three of a kind portion, the higher the hand is.
If two Three of a Kind hands share the card rank for the three of a kind portion of their
hand, the two other cards in the hand are used to break ties. These two other cards are
called kickers. The two kicker cards of each hand are sorted in terms of their ranks. Then
the highest kicker card from each is compared, and if one hand has a higher kicker card
than the other, that hand is ranked higher. If the first kicker is of the same rank, the
comparison moves to the next kicker card and repeats.
The highest Three of a Kind hand is a Three of a Kind, Aces (with King kicker, Queen
kicker). The lowest Three of a Kind hand is a Three of a Kind, Twos (with Four kicker,
Three kicker).
Example #1:
versus
Player 1's hand is a Three of a Kind, Aces with King kicker, Ten kicker:
Player 2's hand is a Three of a Kind, Kings with Ace kicker, Ten kicker:
Since player 1's hand has a higher ranked three of a kind portion (i.e. Aces have a higher
card rank than Kings), it beats player 2's hand.
Example #2:
versus
Player 1's hand is a Three of a Kind, Aces with King kicker, Queen kicker:
Player 2's hand is a Three of a Kind, Aces with King kicker, Jack kicker:
Player 1 and player 2 each have hands with equal three of a kind portions (i.e. Three of a
Kind, Aces). They also share the same highest kicker (i.e. a King). However, player 1's
second kicker, the Queen, is higher than player 2's second kicker, the Jack, so player 1
has the better hand.
Example #3:
versus
Player 1 and Player 2 each have hands with equal three of a kind portions (i.e. Three of a
Kind - Aces). They also share the same highest kicker (i.e. a King), and the same second
highest kicker (i.e. a Queen). As a result, both players have equal hands.
Two Pair
A Two Pair hand contains two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and a fifth
card, the kicker, of a different rank. To rank Two Pair hands, the rank of a hand's highest
ranked pair is first compared. The higher the rank of the highest pair, the higher the
ranking. If there are equally ranked highest ranked pairs, then the rank of the second pair
is considered. The higher the rank of the second pairs, the higher the ranking. If hands
contain both pairs with equal ranks, the higher ranking kicker gives the higher ranking.
The highest possible two pair is Two Pair, Aces and Kings (with Queen kicker) (e.g. As
Ah Ks Kh Qd). The lowest possible two pair is Two Pair, Threes and Twos (with Four
kicker) (e.g. 3s 3h 2s 2h 4d).
Example #1:
versus
Player 1's hand is Two Pair, Aces and Queens, King kicker:
Player 2's hand is Two Pair, Kings and Queens, Ace kicker:
Since player 1's highest ranked pair (i.e. Aces) has a higher rank than player 2's highest
ranked pair (i.e. Kings), player 1 has the higher ranked hand.
Example #2:
versus
Player 1's hand is Two Pair, Aces and Kings, Queen kicker:
Player 1 and player 2 each have the same highest ranked pair (i.e. Aces). However, player
1's second ranked pair (i.e. Kings) has a higher rank than player 2's second ranked pair
(i.e. Queens), so player 1 has the higher hand.
Example #3:
versus
Player 2's hand is Two Pair, Aces and Queens, Jack kicker:
Player 1 and player 2 each have the same highest ranked pair (i.e. Aces), and the same
second highest ranked pair (i.e. Queens). However, player 1's kicker (i.e. a King) has a
higher rank than player 2's kicker (i.e. a Jack), so player 1 has the higher hand.
Example #4:
versus
Player 1 and player 2 each have the same highest ranked pair (i.e. Aces), the same second
highest ranked pair (i.e. Queens), and the same kicker (i.e. a King), so their hands are
tied.
Pair
A Pair contains two cards of the same rank, and three remaining cards all with different
ranks. Pairs are ranked according to the rank of the paired cards, and then as needed by
using the rank of the three kickers.
The highest pair is a Pair of Aces (with King, Queen, Jack kickers), and the lowest pair is
a Pair of Twos (with Five, Four, Three kickers).
Example #1:
versus
Player 1 has a Pair of Aces with King, Queen, Five kickers:
Player 2 has a Pair of Kings with Ace, Jack, Five kickers:
Since player 1's paired cards have a higher rank than player 2's (i.e. Aces have a higher
card rank than Kings), player 1 has the best hand.
Example #2:
versus
Player 1 has a Pair of Aces with King, Queen, Five kickers:
Player 2 has a Pair of Aces with King, Jack, Five kickers:
Player 1 and player 2 both have a pair of Aces, and they both have King kickers, but
player 1's second kicker, the Queen, is higher ranked than player 2's second kicker, the
Jack, so player 1 has the better hand.
Example #3:
versus
Player 1 has a Pair of Aces with King, Queen, Jack kickers:
Player 2 has a Pair of Aces with King, Queen, Jack kicker:
Player 1 and player 2 are both playing the board, and as a result, have the same ranked
hands.
Kickers
Though they seem like an insignificant part of a hand, one important thing to pay
attention to in Texas Hold'em are your kicker cards.
Kicker cards are defined as those cards which do not directly contribute to the main type
of your hand. For example if you have three-of-a-kind queens, the other two cards would
be your kickers.
There are many situations where the quality of your kicker means the difference between
winning and losing a hand. If your hand and an opponent's are equal except for a kicker,
then the winning hand is said to "out-kick" the losing hand. Here are some common
situations in Texas Hold'em where kickers may be important in determining who wins or
loses a hand:
Example #1:
versus
Player 1's hand is a Four of a Kind, Sevens, Ace Kicker:
Player 2's hand is a Four of a Kind, Sevens, King Kicker:
In this hand, there are four Sevens on the board giving both players a Four of a Kind,
Sevens. Player 1's kicker card is an Ace, whereas player 2's kicker card is only a King. As
a result, player 1's hand is better and since it came down to the players' kickers to decide
the winner, player 1 is said to out-kick player 2.
Example #2:
versus
This hand is the same as the above, but each player's kicker card is an Ace. This means
both player's have the same hand: Four of a Kind, Sevens, Ace kicker.
It was kind of unfortunate for player 1 that the fourth seven came on the turn. Using
Poker Academy's Showdown Calculator, you can see that on the flop Player 1 had a
66.7% chance of winning before that happened.
Example #3:
versus
Player 1's hand is a Pair of Kings with Ace, Jack, Seven kickers:
Player 2's hand is a Pair of Kings with Queen, Jack, Seven kickers:
In this hand, each player makes a pair of Kings. However, player 1 has the better hand
since their Ace out-kicks player 2's Queen.
Example #4:
versus
Player 1's hand is a Pair of Kings with Ace, Queen, Ten kickers:
Player 2's hand is a Pair of Kings with Ace, Queen, Nine kickers:
In this hand, each player makes a pair of Kings. Each player's hand is equal up until their
fifth and final card where player 1's Ten out-kicks player 2's Nine, giving player 1 the
better hand.
The Nuts
At any given stage in Texas Hold'em, the best possible five-card hand that can be made
on the current board is called the nuts. Knowing the nuts at every stage in a poker hand is
a useful skill that helps you assess the strength of your own hand. Here are a few
examples:
Example #1:
Board: 7c 8c Qd
The nuts on this board would be Three of a Kind, Queens which could be made if a
player's hole cards were a pair of Queens.
Example #2:
Board: 7c 8c Qd Tc
Adding a Tc on the turn to the previous example's flop changes the nuts significantly.
With this new board the nuts are now a Jack-High Straight Flush which a player can
make if they were holding hole cards of Jc 9c:
The next best hand, or second-nuts, would be a Ten-high Straight Flush which can be
made with the 9c 6c:
One interesting thing to note about this example is that if a player is holding the 9c 6c,
from their perspective they are holding the nuts since they know that when they have the
9c no other player can make the Jack-high Straight Flush.
Aside from these two straight flush hands, the next strongest hands would be flushes
starting with the Ace-high flush. After the flushes, players can have straights as well. Any
J9 hole card combination other than the Jc 9c makes a player a Queen-high straight.
Players can make Ten-high straights as well with any 96 hole card combination other
than 9c 6c. Following all these other hands, is the previous stage's nut hand, a Three of a
Kind, Queens, which is the highest Three of a Kind hand that can be made on this board.
Example #3:
Board: 7c 8c Qd Tc 8s
Adding the 8s on the river to example 2's board adds to the complexity of the hand. The
nuts would still be the Jack-high Straight Flush, and the second-nuts would still be the
Ten-high Straight Flush. However, the ranking of hands after these two hands changes
because of the fact that the community cards now contain a paired of rank (i.e. the two
8's).
The second 8 on the river makes it possible for a player to have Four of a Kind, Eights if
they held pocket 8's, which would be a good enough hand to make the third-nuts. The
fourth-nuts would be a Full House, Queens Full of Eights, if a player held pocket Queens.
There are many other full house possibilities as well, and then these hands would be
followed by various flushes, and then various straights.
Draws
At any given stage in Texas Hold'em, it is important to know if your hand can still
improve. The ways that a hand can improve are commonly called "draws", and the future
community cards that can help your hand improve are often called "outs". Here are some
common drawing situations in Texas Hold'em:
Example #1:
Your Hand: Ac 2c, Flop: 7c 8c Qd
On the flop you would have an Ace-high hand. However, because your hand contains
four clubs, you are said to have a flush draw as well.
Any of the nine remaining clubs in the deck (there are 13 total and four have already been
dealt, so 13-4 = 9 left) would improve your hand to a flush (and in this case, the best
possible flush, the Ace-high flush). These nine club cards would be considered your outs
to make your flush on the turn.
Example #2:
Your Hand: Ts 7h, Flop: 9d 8c Ah
On the flop you have an Ace-high hand. However, because your hand contains four cards
in a sequence (i.e. Ten through Seven), you are said to have an open-ended straight
draw.
If a Jack or a Six appears on the turn, then you would make a straight (either a Jack-high
straight or a Ten-high straight, respectively). Since there are 4 Jacks, and 4 Sixes left in
the deck, you have 8 outs available to make a straight on the turn.
Example #3:
Your Hand: Tc 9c, Flop: 7c 8c Ah
in a sequence that are also of the same suit (i.e. Tc 9c 8c 7c), you are said to have a
straight-flush draw.
This hand has great possibilities to improve. The Jc or 6c gives you a straight-flush. Any
of the other clubs give you a flush. Any of the other Jacks or Sixes give you a straight.
Adding up these cards means that there are 15 cards in the deck that will improve your
hand to at least a straight on the turn.
Example #4:
Your Hand: Js Ts, Flop: 7c 8c Ah
that span a five-card sequence that is missing a middle card (i.e. Jack through Seven with
a missing Nine), you are said to have an inside straight draw, which is sometimes also
called a gutshot straight draw. Any of the four Nines left in the deck would be outs to
give you a straight on the turn.
Betting Rules
This section describes the rules and mechanics of a Hold'em betting round.
Betting Limits
In Fixed Limit games all bet sizes are fixed to a specific amount. If the stakes are
$10/$20, this means that all bets and raises in the first two betting rounds (the pre-flop
and the flop) are $10, and all betting in the last two rounds (the turn and the river) must
be $20. The first number given in the stakes ($10) is commonly called a small bet, and
the second amount ($20) is called a big bet. The big blind, being a forced pre-flop bet is
always the size of a small bet, and the Small Blind is typically half a small bet. In a
$10/$20 game, the small blind would be $5.
In No-Limit Hold'em, there is no maximum bet size. A player may bet any amount up to
the size of their stack. All bets must be at least the size of the big-blind. All raises must
be at least as big as the previous bet or raise.
Betting Actions
There are several types of betting actions that can be made in a betting round.
Fold
A player may always fold their hand when it is their turn to act. A folded hand is
thrown into the muck and the player is no longer eligible to win the pot. If all but
one players fold, the hand is immediately over. The last remaining player wins the
pot uncontested.
Check/Call
If a player wants to remain in the hand, but does not wish to increase the stakes,
they may Call the current amount they owe the pot to continue playing. If the
amount to call is zero, a Call of zero is referred to as a Check. A common mistake
new players often make is to fold when they could check for free, and remain
eligible to win the pot.
Bet/Raise
When a player wishes to wager chips to increase the stakes, he may bet the proper
amount (there are some restrictions that we will discuss later). The first betting
action in a betting round is called a bet, and any subsequent bet is called a raise.
Betting Order
The betting always proceeds in clockwise order around the table, and starts with the first
active player to the left of the dealer button. Active players are the players still remaining
in the hand. Players that have folded their cards are no longer actively involved in the
hand. Players may only act when it is their turn to do so. A player must either fold, call,
or raise when it is their turn to act. To remain in the hand they must match the amount bet
by other players. If a player raises, all players must have a chance to fold, call the raise,
or re-raise. Once all players have acted and there are no outstanding bets, the round is
over.
Betting Caps
In fixed-limit poker there is usually a cap on the number of raises allowed during a single
betting round. Usually no more than three raises are allowed, except when it is down to
just two players remaining in the hand (heads-up). No-Limit Hold'em does not typically
have a cap on betting.
All-in
When a player runs out of chips at the table, and calls or bets with the last of their chips,
the player is placed all-in. An all-in player is no longer active in the hand, but they are
still eligible to win the current pot. However, if remaining players continue betting, all
future bets go into a new pot (a side-pot), which the all-in player is not eligible to win. At
the show down, the players involved in the most recent side-pot showdown first, then the
all-in player shows their cards for the main pot.
Example Poker Hand
This section walks carefully through a complete hand of Texas Hold'em.

Alice: Imagine a five player game of $10/$20 hold'em, with the following five
players: Alice, Bob, Carl, Dave, and Eddie. Alice has the dealer button so
Bob posts the Small Blind of $5 and Carl posts the Big Blind of $10. The
cards are dealt, two to each player, face-down: Now it is Dave's turn to
act. Dave has three options. He may fold if he does not like his hand. He
Bob:
can call the outstanding $10 bet made by Carl as the Big Blind. Or he
may raise the stakes by $10 by putting a total of $20 into the pot. Dave
looks at his hand and sees Pocket Eights, which he thinks are worth
playing. Dave calls the $10 bet. Now it is Eddies turn to act. He has the
Carl: same options that Dave had. He may fold, call, or raise. Having a weak
starting hand, Eddie decides to fold, and tosses his hand away. Eddie will
spend the rest of the hand as an observer. Now it is Alice's turn to act.
She quickly calls the $10 bet as well with her two face cards.
Dave:
Since Bob has already put $5 in the pot as the Small Blind, he only needs
to put $5 more to call, or $15 more in to raise the bet by $10. Bob, having
a small suited-connector hand decides to call as well, and puts $5 more
into the pot.
Eddie:
Now the action is on Carl. Since no one re-raised his Big Blind, he can
check, or if he wishes he can raise $10 more. Carl, having a weak hand,
decides to check. Technically, he also has the option to fold, but it would
be a very silly thing to do since by checking he will get to see the flop for
free.
The pre-flop betting round is now over since everyone had a chance to
call the outstanding bet (Carl's Big Blind). All of the chips in front of
each player are swept up by the dealer and placed into the center of the
table.
The flop is dealt:
The first active player after the button is Bob, so Bob is first to act on the flop. Bob has a
decent drawing hand. If the turn card is an eight or a three, it will give him a Straight.
Bob doesn't know that his draw is much weaker than it appears. Three of the eights and
one of the threes are being held by Carl and Dave. Bob decides to try and get to the Turn
as cheaply as possible to see if he makes his draw. Bob checks.
Carl has a draw as well. Any deuce will make him a straight as well. Carl checks. Dave
has the pair of eights in the hole. He is a little worried about the Ace on the flop, which
would give a bigger pair to anyone holding a single Ace. There is a high free-card danger
here as well with possible straight draws and a spade flush draw. Dave decides to bet to
protect what may be the best hand. He can't allow the other players to draw against him
for free.
Next to act is Alice (Eddie is skipped since he folded earlier). Alice can fold, call the $10
bet made by Dave, or raise another $10. Alice decides to call the $10. It is back to Bob
again, who is now faced with the option to fold, call, or raise. Bob decides to call the $10
in hopes of drawing to a straight. Carl is next, and decides to fold.
The flop betting round is now over since all players have acted since the last betting
action made by Dave.
The turn card is dealt:
Bob is first to act since he is the first active player to the left of the button. Bob has not
made his straight draw, but he still can hope to make his straight with the river card. He
has also picked up a flush draw. Any diamond on the river will give him a flush. Bob can
check, or bet $20. Recall that on the turn and river, all bets must be $20. Bob checks,
hoping to draw cheaply to the river.
It has been checked to Dave, who decides to bet again. Alice can now fold, call the $20
bet by Dave, or raise another $20, making it $40 to go. Alice has made a pair of Kings so
she decides to be aggressive and raises $20. The action is back on Bob, who must now
pay $40 to continue in the hand. Bob does some quick mental arithmetic to decide if he
should fold or call:
Bob figures that there are 15 cards in the deck that would make his hand very strong.Any
eight or three would make a straight, and any diamond would make a flush. There are 9
remaining diamonds in the deck and 4 threes and 4 eights. He can't count the three of
diamonds or eight of diamonds twice since those would make the flush, not the straight,
so that gives 9 outs to the flush and six outs to the straight. Bob can see 6 of the 52 cards
in the deck, so there are 46 possible cards that could be dealt on the river. This means that
32% of the time (15/46), the next card will make his hand very strong, and likely to win
the showdown. Bob counts the money in the pot, which totals $130. If he calls, the pot
will be $170. 32% of the time his $40 investment will win a pot of at least $170. The
remaining 68% of the time his hand stays weak, and he knows he will fold to any bets
made in the next round, so 68% of the time he will lose $40. The expected value for
calling is (32 x $170) - (68 * $40) = $5440 - $2720 = +$2720. It is clearly profitable in
the long run for Bob to call the $40.
With this knowledge, Bob decides he must call.
Dave must still call $20 to stay in the hand. Dave is knows that his hand is in trouble.
With Alice raising him, and Bob calling, his pair of eights is no longer a contender. His
only hope would be to hit one of the two remaining eights in the deck to make three of a
kind. Little does he know that that would give Bob his straight. With so few outs left, he
decides to give up and fold.
The river card is dealt:
Bob is first to act, being the first active player after the button. Bob can check or bet.
Since his draw did not materialize, and his hand is very weak, he checks. Alice decides to
check as well. The river round is over, and Alice and Bob must now showdown for the
pot. Since Alice acted last, Bob must show his hand first. He reveals his 7d6c. His best 5-
card hand is a pair of fives (5s 5c As Kd 7d). Alice reveals KhJd. Her best 5-card hand is
two-pair, Kings and Fives (Kd Kh 5s 5c As). Alice is awarded the $170 pot, and the hand
is over.
Recommended Books
A very common question by novice players is what books to read. With the explosion in
poker's popularity, hundreds of books on poker have hit the shelves. We've listed a few of
the classic books on Poker that we feel are of high quality and worthy of mentioning.
For learning advanced concepts, there is no substitute for a good book on the topic. The
combination of a well-written book on Texas Hold'em and Poker Academy software
provides a tremendous opportunity to learn and take your game to the next level. Poker
Academy provides the perfect poker playground in which to try out new concepts and
experiment with the ideas presented in books.
For Beginners
Poker: The Real Deal, by Phil Gordon
"Poker: The Real Deal" is an excellent book desgined for anyone looking to get started in
the world of poker. Phil takes you through the history or poker, the basic rules, and some
basic strategic concepts. It is enjoyable and well laid out taking you from your first steps
inside a casino to the final table of a major tournament. Along the way Phil recommends
reading a number of the books mentioned below to help advance your poker knowledge.
Although this book is light on strategy and may not offer poker veterans much new
information, the book is primarily designed for the beginning player who may have seen
the game played on TV or at their local casino and would like to learn how to play.
Overall I would highly recommend this book as a read for anyone interested in playing
poker but afraid to get started.
Intermediate / Low Limit
Winning Low Limit Holdem, by Lee Jones
Winning Low Limit Hold'em (WLLH) is a solid limit hold'em book designed primarily
for novice - intermediate players playing in low limit games ($3-$6 stakes and under).
The book recommends a tight overall strategy to avoid getting into trouble. The book is
small and well written making for an easy read for most novice players.
Small Stakes Hold 'em: Winning Big With Expert Play, by Ed Miller,
David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth
"Small Stakes Hold'em" is probably one of the best books on the market dealing
specifically with the topic of low-limit hold'em games that one frequently sees online and
in their local cardrooms. The book has sound solid advice recommending a tight but
aggressive strategy designed to earn you every last extra penny possible. The book
teaches you the basics about counting outs, reading the board, identifying your
opponents, and playing solid pre-flop poker. It also teaches you the skills and ideas to
play solid aggressive post flop poker as well. Overall this is sound book to read if you are
new to the game or play in alot of low limit holdem games with weak players. This book
is one of a series of great poker books published by 2+2.
Advanced
Hold'em Poker For Advanced Players, by David Sklansky and Mason

Malmuth
This books is a complete and definitive work on the game of Texas Hold'em. It covers a
wide range of topics from what hands to play preflop to playing heads up on the end. This
book is a must read if you plan to play the bigger limit games that are spread at major
casinos across the world. This book is one of a series of great poker books published by
2+2.
Pot-Limit & No-Limit Poker, by Stewart Reuben, Bob Ciaffone
"No Limit and Pot Limit" is probably one of the best books specificaly focusing on
games with No Limit and Pot Limit betting that are becoming increasingly popular
throughout the poker world. This book discusses many important conecepts and ideas and
is a must read for anyone serious about studying these games.
Super System I & II, by Doyle Brunson
Super System I & II are a collection of works dealing with a variety of poker games
(Hold'em, No Limit Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha High-Low, 7-Stud, 7-Stud High-Low,
Triple Draw Lowball). Each book contains chapters written by some of the worlds top
poker professionals. Refrerred to as 'the bible' by many players for its size and
importance both these books are worth while reads for anyone serious about poker.
Theory
Theory of Poker, by David Sklansky
"Theory of Poker", written by a top-professional, is probably the best poker book ever
written. 'Theory of Poker' is a discussion of how to think like a professional poker player
rather than how to play like one. This book contains many sophistocated concepts and
ideas that require careful thought and study to put into practice. This book deals with all
forms of poker and can be re-read every few months to pick up new ideas. If you are
thinking of buying just one book from this list, then this is the book.
Tournaments
Harrington on Holdem Vol I & II, by Dan Harrington & Bill Robertie
Simply put 'Harrington on Hold'em Vol I & II' are the best books on the market today
that deal specifically with No-Limit Tournaments. He discusses many important concepts
and ideas that take you from the early stages of a tournament all the way to the final
table. The book is well written and very organized with plenty of examples and sample
problems to help those ideas sink in. These books are an absolute must read for anyone
interested in No Limit tournament play.
Tournament Poker for Advanced Players, by David Sklansky
This is another great book from 2+2 publishing and David Sklansky. It discusses
different aspects of proper tournament strategy and survival for all forms of poker. The
book contains general tournament concepts such as the gap concept, changing gears,
playing the short/large stacks, making deals, and much more. If you plan on playing
tournaments than these ideas can help you become a winner.
Psychology, and mindesets
The Psychology of Poker, by Alan N. Schoonmaker PhD
A great book dealing with the psychological and mental aspects of the game. This book
helps you identify what style you are most comfortable playing and what style your
opponents are playing. It helps you get into the heads of the other players to try and see
things from their point of view and helps you understand your own game better.
Although theres not much in the way of poker strategy (that is left to other books on this
list) there is still plenty of information for players of all skill levels. This is yet another
good book by our friends at 2+2 publishing.
Zen And The Art of Poker, The Tao of Poker, by Larry W. Phillips
Another set of books dealing with the mental aspects of poker. Although short on poker
strategy, both of these books are light, easy reads that will help you shape up your mental
game. Topics include luck, bad beats, aggression, the long run, noticing yourself, and
controling your emotions. These books are organized into a series of small pointers to
help focus your mind when at the poker table.
Live Games / Tells
Caro's Book of Poker Tells, by Mike Caro
The most definitive work done on the game of live poker, body language, and tells. The
books deals with all forms of poker (5-card, 7-stud, hold'em), and is most helpful if you
play alot of live games at the casino or home games. The book is well organized with
helpful descriptions discussions, pictures, and strategies for each possible tell. Caro also
helps take the player into the psychological aspects of the game and the reasons behind
certian tells. Overall this is a very useful book if you play a lot of live poker.
For Fun
Positivly Fifth Street, by Jim McManus
This book describes Jim McManus's improbable run at the 2000 world series of poker.
Sent by Harpers magazine to cover death of Ted Binnion, and the the WSOP, Jim decides
to take his own shot in the tournament. This book is entertaining, intresting, and takes
you into the high stakes world of Las Vegas, and to the final stages of a major
tournament. Once you pick up this book, you wont put it down.
Poker Wisdom of a Champion, by Doyle Brunson
This book is a collection of interesting and entertaining stories from the legendary Doyle
'Texas Dolly' Brunson. Doyle takes you through the ups and downs of the high stakes
texas road gamblers during the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Along the way you will meet a coloful
assortment of characters and places along the southern USA. This book is a very light,
fun read, and is hard to put down once you pick it up.
The following primer was written by Darse Billings and is included with his kind
permission. http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~darse/Papers/no-limit-tnmt-primer.html
Darse's No-Limit Hold'em Tournament Primer
The following essay was written for "Poker World" magazine in 1995, and is reprinted
here with the permission of the author, Darse Billings.
The article is intended only as a starting point for players who are new to No Limit
Hold'em tournaments. The advice is sound, but is necessarily limited in scope.
A Primer for Playing No-Limit Hold'em
Tournaments
No-limit Hold'em tournaments are becoming increasingly popular these days. They are a
change of pace from the regular grind, and give players a chance to win a big prize if
they're lucky. A player who is knowledgeable about the best tournament strategies can
also hold a big edge over the opposition. Conversely, inexperienced tournament players
can be at a significant disadvantage, even if they are fairly good at limit Hold'em.
For a player who is new to the tournament environment, but ready to give it a try, the
natural question is "Where do I start?". The aim of this article is to give a simple "crude
but effective" strategy that will give even a novice tournament player a decent chance of
finishing in the money.
First, the disclaimer. It takes a lot of learning and practice to become a strong poker
player. For most people, it requires hundreds of hours of reading and playing, often over
the course of years. Tournament strategy adds a completely new dimension to this
expertise, and there is no way you're going to become an expert overnight. It is equally
impossible for a single magazine article to explore the full depth and complexity of poker
and tournament strategy.
What we hope to accomplish is simply to give a succinct set of guidelines which will help
the relatively inexperienced tournament participant close the gap, and perhaps even hold
a slight advantage over the opposition. These ideas have been field tested, and they are
surprisingly successful. The reason this system works so well despite its simplicity is
probably because many players, including veterans, fail to make the appropriate
adjustments to tournament conditions.
The primary goal in a tournament is simply to stay alive -- to outlast the more reckless
players and to still have some chips when the field is reduced to only the paying
positions. The approach we recommend is to play tight but aggressive, to avoid large
confrontations (except when we expect to have much the best of it), and to seize good
opportunities, especially late in the tournament.
Although the main objective is to survive as long as possible, that does *not* mean you
should fear being eliminated. To be successful, you must make the most of your good
hands and situations. In tournaments, safety is worth money -- but ironically, it is the
most courageous players who are the safest, not the most passive ones.
In no-limit poker, all you can ask for is to get all the chips in the middle when you figure
to have the best of it. You might have KK and lose to AA, or be caught by someone with
52s -- it happens. If you lose, you lose, but don't let that make you second guess a good
decision. There is no reason to regret such a loss, and you should do exactly the same
thing if the opportunity arises again. With that philosophy in mind, let's now look at some
specific tactics for no-limit Hold'em tournaments.
How to play before the flop
Rule 1: Play only very good starting hands.
In early position, play only premium starting hands, such as Sklansky's group one and
group two hands: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AKs; TT, AQs, AK, AJs, KQs.
In late position, add a few more solid hands, such as those in group three: 99, AQ, ATs,
KJs, QJs, JTs, and perhaps AJ, KQ. Play small pairs only if it's cheap to see the flop and
you expect to win a large pot if you hit a set.
The idea is to play very few hands, but to usually bet and raise with those you do play.
Contrary to popular perception, playing tight is not the same as playing passively. When
you fold before the flop, it should be thought of as an aggressive action. You are simply
refusing to invest your money on a bad or mediocre holding, and are preparing to use
every one of those saved chips when you believe you have the best of it. Being selective
in your starting hands helps you to survive in at least two ways.
First, in the time you are folding hand after hand, other people will be playing, and some
will be eliminated. This brings you closer to the prize money, even if the number of chips
you have hasn't changed. This is a unique feature of percentage pay-back tournaments
(events with more than one prize, which is the standard). If you're interested in learning
more about this mathematical fact, the best theoretical analysis of tournament strategy
can be found in "Gambling Theory and Other Topics", by Mason Malmuth. But since not
everyone is inclined to read such a treatise or spend hours absorbing its implications
before entering their first tournament, we've tried to have most of those principles built-in
to this simplified system.
The second advantage to playing only premium hands is that you minimize the
occurrence of situations which require delicate judgement. Many typical players
frequently put themselves into difficult situations that require careful handling, where a
single error can cost them their whole stack. As a relatively inexperienced player, you
want to avoid these dangerous spots as much as possible. By playing only very sound
starting cards, you will usually have a very strong hand, a very strong draw, or a hand
you can fold easily after the flop.
Rule 2: If you are the first one in, enter with a raise.
Because of your tight hand selection, you will usually have the best hand when you do
play, so you want to make others pay to play. This first raise should be a meaningful size,
regardless of your actual hand -- you'll play pocket Aces the same way as KQs, and your
opponents won't know what you have (except that it isn't junk).
In the early going, when the blinds are small compared to the average stack, your raise
can be quite a bit more than the big blind, say between five and ten percent of your total
stack. For example, if everyone starts with 1000 in tournament chips and the blinds begin
at 5 and 10, consider opening with a raise of 50 or more. Later, when the blinds are larger
relative to the average stack, a good guideline is to raise the size of the pot after your call.
For example, if the blinds are 100 and 200 and you are under the gun, raising another 500
(making it 700 to go) is a respectable amount.
Rule 3: If there are other callers in before you, raise if you have a large
pocket pair, otherwise call.
With earlier callers, the pot will usually be large enough that you want to fight for it
immediately if you have a premium pair. Raise the size of the pot or more with AA, KK
or QQ. Now you are satisfied to either win the pot right there, or to have someone pay
such a high price to play an inferior hand.
With lesser hands, your advantage isn't likely to be as great, so you'll wait until the flop to
see where you stand. Notice that this advice is somewhat at odds with Rule 1, and there is
some middle-ground between them. The difference with having early callers already in
the pot is that they are more likely to call a raise, so your chance of winning the pot
uncontested is greatly reduced compared to being the first one in. On the other hand, if
you have a good hand like AK, and there is just one caller in before you, you may still
want to raise in order to limit the number of callers and increase the price of admission
for those who do call. You should be more inclined to just call if your hand is suited or
there is more than one caller already in the hand. You should be more inclined to raise
with good pairs or unsuited hands with an Ace, especially if the only caller is a loose
player (unlikely to have a particularly strong hand).
If there are several callers, you can call a small bet (say up to five percent of your stack)
with a small pocket pair, in the hope of hitting a set on the flop. As you gain no-limit
tournament experience, you may also wish to call in this good situation with suited
connectors like 76s or a nut-flush draw like A5s. However, be advised that these hands
require more skill to play well, and may not be worth the trouble.
Rule 4: Use caution in responding to a raise.
If you have not yet acted and someone has raised, play only if you still expect to have the
best hand. If you have already entered the pot, either with a raise or late call, and the pot
is therefore substantial, a few more hands can be played, but you must still exercise
extreme caution. Many starting hands that are normally good become highly vulnerable
in this situation.
Do not hesitate to fold hands like KQs or 99 if you respect the raiser -- you are likely to
be either a slight favourite or a large underdog, and this is not the best place for you to
invest your money. The danger with cards like KQ is that you could hit your hand (a
King-high or Queen-high flop) and still be far behind (to AA, KK, AK or AQ, for
example), in which case you are likely to get eliminated. Avoid the large confrontation,
and wait for a better moment to commit your stack.
If you have AA, KK, or QQ, or some other hand you believe to be superior to the raiser's,
then re-raise the size of the pot or move all-in with your whole stack. These are the best
possible hands you can start with, and you must not be shy. To make the most of them,
the right time to act is now, before the flop. As before, you will be delighted if you win
the sizable pot without a fight; and if you get called, you will be getting a high pay-off for
a reasonable risk.
With a hand that is not as strong but could well be the best, such as AK or JJ, you can call
and see the flop provided it doesn't cost too much (say another ten or fifteen percent of
your stack). Now you'll commit to the hand if you get a favourable flop, and get out if the
board suggests added danger. If the initial raise is so large that you cannot get this
information for a reasonable price, then "discretion is the better part of valour", and you
should usually release the hand.
Note that the value of your hand also depends on your perception of the opponent.
Against a player who seems to raise too frequently (suggesting they often do not have a
very strong hand), you might re-raise all-in with JJ, or play AQ the same way you would
normally play AK. Unfortunately, this can also lead to difficult decisions later in the
hand, so you should not go out of your way to punish a player you feel is bluffing too
much, until you acquire more experience.
How to play after the flop
Rule 5: When you hit a flop you like, bet big and raise big.
Once you see the flop, you will usually know where you stand. If you have an overpair
(eg JJ: T-7-4), hit top pair (eg AQ: A-7-2) or a set (eg 22: K-J-2), then you are ready to
play. You have waited patiently for this good opportunity, and now you are willing to go
the distance.
Betting the size of the pot is normal, but for our purposes a larger bet of about twice the
size of the pot may be preferable. The reason for such a large bet is that you are not too
interested in getting called unless the price is high. You do not want to let a weaker hand
draw cheaply, nor do you want to be put into a potentially awkward situation if it can be
avoided. By making these oversized bets (relative to the size of the pot), you quickly
force your opponents to make a critical decision for their whole stack. They must either
fold, in which case you win with no risk, or they must risk a large loss when you likely
have a significant advantage over them.
Choosing the size of a bet also depends on how many chips you have. You should bet up
to about one third of your stack (leaving enough for another meaningful bet on the turn),
or else go all-in. If you are up against a single opponent, you should base these
proportions on the smaller stack, since that is the maximum number of chips that can
actually be wagered. For example, suppose you and your opponent each have 1000, and
the current pot is 150. A bet of 300 now is a strong action, because it leaves you enough
for one large all-in bet on the turn if your opponent should call. If you *or* your
opponent had only 500, then a bet of 300 probably isn't as effective. You could choose to
either bet 150 now (leaving 350 for next), or simply move all-in immediately, depending
on the circumstances.
If you've hit a flop you like and someone else bets, you can make a large raise or move
all-in immediately (unless there is a very good reason to believe you are beaten, in which
case you should fold). Your opponent's bet has indicated a good hand, but you have a
golden opportunity to win a large pot if your hand is just a bit better, which is quite
probable if you've started with the recommended hands. Once again you must play with
courage and conviction, even in the face of possible elimination.
If your bet or raise is called and the turn card is not terribly frightening, make another
large bet or move all-in at that time. You can, of course, still lose, but very few hands will
be getting proper odds for a call and it will take a very good hand to beat you. Again,
that's all you can reasonably ask for. Most of the time the player that calls you will be the
underdog, and you have played well regardless of the outcome.
Of course, life isn't always so easy, and there will be times when you are not so certain of
having the best hand. Perhaps someone moves all-in in front of you, and you have top
pair but a mediocre side card (eg. AJs: A-T-5). Perhaps the board is paired (eg. AK: K-5-
5), has a possible flush (eg. KQs: Kc-Tc-5c), or you have only second pair (eg. JJ: Q-8-
5). There are far too many possibilities to discuss here, but you must simply use your best
judgement, based on the number of players in the pot, your knowledge of the opponents,
and other factors. To be a tough player, you sometimes have to accept some risk, and
demand that your opponent prove they have your decent hand beaten. At other times, you
must have the discipline to throw away a good hand when it looks too dangerous to
continue. Make your best guess and act decisively (usually raising or folding, rather than
calling). If your decision turns out to be incorrect, so be it -- you've learned something for
the next time.
Rule 6: When you hit a good draw, bluff if the conditions are right. Call
only if the one-card draw odds are correct.
Bluffing is an essential component of poker tactics, and no basic strategy can be sound
without including a certain frequency of bluffs. Put simply, if you never bluff you are
giving away too much information to your opponents when you bet. Even mediocre
players will soon learn that you almost always have a strong hand when you bet, and they
will learn to correctly fold, which is to your detriment.
In this basic system, you will use your good drawing hands for bluffs because although
they are weak they have a lot of potential for forming a strong hand should you get
called. If you flop a four-flush or or an open-ended straight draw, you will usually have
overcards as well (eg AJd: Kd-Tc-5d, KQc: Jh-Tc-5d), giving you a hand with many
outs, even against a top pair.
First you must decide if a bluff is warranted. Against players who almost always call, or
against many opponents one of whom may call, you should decline bluffing because the
chance of success is too low. More usually, you'll be up against one or two typical
players, and a bluff will be both reasonable and profitable. Bet exactly as you would with
a strong hand, forcing the opposition into a critical decision immediately. (More
experienced players who normally use a wide variety of bet sizes can improve their
expectation with a well-chosen bluff size, but that is beyond the scope of this simple
system).
In particularly good situations, such as acting last after a couple of reasonable players
have checked, you can also bluff with as little as Ace-high (eg. AQ: J-8-5). This is a
semi-bluff because you may actually have the best hand, but still have a decent chance to
improve if you get called. You may also discover that your bets are commanding a lot of
respect because you have already won several showdowns with strong hands. This is a
good time to increase your bluffing frequency, especially in the later stages of the
tournament when there is a lot to be gained from a successful steal.
If your bluff gets called and you fail to improve your hand, you should generally check
on the turn. Often your action on the flop will earn you a free river card, especially if you
have good position. If your opponent does bet, release the hand unless you are getting
correct odds to call (which normally won't be the case).
If the turn is a friendly card and you're first to act, either bet or check-raise, depending
which plan you think will win the most money. If you're last to act, bet or raise now -- do
not slow-play the hand unless you're *certain* you can win more that way. Generally
speaking, your opponent has much more incentive to call on the turn (to see that last
card), and you want to be called with your monster hand. If you only hit an overcard
instead of the big draw, then bet as you would normally with top pair (you don't want to
give up a free card, and may get called by the previous top pair).
Many players fall in love with their big drawing hands, but this is a serious error. In limit
Hold'em, these hands can be quite powerful because the small bet sizes ensure that it will
almost always be correct to call on the turn as well. In no-limit poker you can't look
beyond the next card, because your opponent can make such a large bet on the turn that
you are forced to fold (or make a bad play by calling). Having said that, it may still be a
good play to call a small bet (say one third of the pot or less) with your good drawing
hands, especially if you act behind the bettor and expect to win another large bet if you
hit your draw. In principle, you don't mind taking a reasonable risk for a large guaranteed
pay-off, because you're going to need some luck to defeat the good players anyway.
Rule 7: Late in the tournament, fight for the blinds with big cards.
Tight play is effective early in a tournament because you are essentially refusing to risk a
lot when there is relatively little to be gained. As the blinds and antes grow larger, there is
more to be gained from winning the hand, so more risks can be taken. The increasing
blinds also mean that more critical decisions will be faced earlier in each hand. At the
latest stages of the tournament, your choices will often be reduced to either folding or
going all-in before the flop, and you must know how to adjust to this new style of play.
Since the higher stakes will quickly erode your stack, you will probably need to win the
blinds fairly regularly in order to survive. Once the blinds have reached the stage where
you have only enough chips for one meaningful raise, you must be willing to go all-in
with any hand that figures to be the best against the remaining players in the hand. This
could mean committing your whole stack on a hand that you would have normally folded
early in the tournament.
You won't attempt to steal with garbage hands, however. You can think of this as a semi-
bluff, where you might well have the strongest hand at the moment, but still have a
chance of drawing out in the event that you get called. For example, if there are no callers
yet, you might jam with A7 on the button, or with 88 from middle position. You could
easily get called and then lose in this situation, but since it will take a good hand or a
lucky draw to beat you, you are satisfied to accept this risk.
The strength of the starting hand needed for a good semi-steal play will depend on the
size of the blinds, the number of players yet to act in the hand, and their style of play.
Generally, you are looking for at least a medium pair or two large cards (especially if one
is an Ace). Suitedness is not terribly important, so you would much rather have KT
offsuit than 54s, for example. (Note that this is exactly the reverse of the situation early in
the tournament, where playing KT could be a fatal error). As always, there is a lot of
room for your evaluation of the situation. If in your best judgement you are unlikely to
win the blinds with a raise, it may be better to wait for a stronger hand. However, if the
other players believe you only play strong starting hands, you may be able to use this to
win the blinds a few extra times before they catch on.
By the same reasoning, at the later stages of the tournament you must also be more
willing to defend your blinds when you have a reasonably solid hand. For example, it
may be too conservative to fold KJ to a possible steal attempt, even if you have to go all-
in to call. Against frequent raisers, you might even decide to call with any Ace.
Rule 8: Treat your last few chips as though they were precious, because
they are.
If your stack is so small that you do not even have enough for a decent raise of the big
blind, then you actually need a stronger hand to call, since you don't have that added
chance of winning the hand uncontested. Now you are simply waiting for cards which
you fully expect to be the best hand going in. If it doesn't come, keep waiting until the big
blind forces you all-in (or close to it), and let your luck decide the issue. The mathematics
of tournament poker show that your last few chips are actually worth more than each of
the chips in a tall stack, so entering into a border-line situation is not in your favour. For
more on this phenomenon, the reader is again referred to Mason Malmuth's studies of
tournament strategies.
If you are in the blinds, it will often be correct to call even with a very weak hand. For
example, if you are in the small blind and calling the big blind will put you all-in, you
should call with _any two cards_ (unless there was a raise indicating a very strong hand,
and even then it may be correct to call).
Once you are in the money, remember that the main objective is to survive as long as
possible. This could mean making some unusual looking plays. For example, suppose
you have only one chip left and are dealt QQ, but a player before you calls the big blind
all-in. Since there is a decent chance of a player being eliminated this hand, your best
option could very well be to fold! For the same reasons, you may elect to fold KQs after
another player raises all-in, even if you think you have a pretty good chance of winning.
By avoiding the large confrontation, you might lock up a higher finishing position, and
win substantially more money.
To recap our recommended basic strategy, start by playing only very good starting hands
and play them aggressively. When you make a strong hand, such as top pair with a good
kicker, be prepared to go the distance. When you do play a hand, use your best judgement
and be decisive -- either make large bets and raises, or fold if you think you're beat. Do
not be afraid to bluff when a good opportunity presents itself.
As the blinds increase in size, add more strong hands (pairs and big cards) and fight for
the blinds. Avoid large confrontations when possible but seize opportunities when they
arise. Play to survive, but do not play passively. When down to your last few chips, wait
for a strong hand before committing them, and continue waiting until the big blind finally
forces you to play. Learn as much as you can about your opponents and the special nature
of tournament play, and above all, have fun!
- Darse.
Addendum:
The article does not go into very much detail on the late stages of a tournament -- that is a
problem you would like to have! Suffice it to say that you should try to steal the blinds
frequently (much more than your "fair share") whenever it has been folded to you. Most
players will be playing far too tight at this stage, and there is an enormous +EV
opportunity for stealing a few extra blinds. You should also have garnered a healthy
amount of respect from your previous tight play.
Glossary of Poker Terminology
 Aggressive Player
A player who is characterized by frequently betting and raising.
 Aggressive Check
To min bet or bet very little into a very large pot, instead of just checking. This is
done for several of the followings reasons: to show weakness or lack of
knowledge of NL betting, to confound others, and/or in late position to give your
opponent a chance to check-raise.
 All-in
To have one's entire stake committed to the current pot. Action continues toward
a side pot, with the all-in player being eligible to win only the main pot.
 All-in Equity
The expected income if the current hand was permitted to go to the showdown
with no further betting.
 Ante
A mandatory fee placed into the pot from each player at the start of a game (in
some types of Poker).
 Bet
To make the first wager of a betting round (compare raise).
 Big Bet (bb)
The largest bet size in limit poker. $20 in $10-$20 Hold'em.
 Big Blind (BB)
A forced bet made before the deal of the cards. $10 in $10-$20 Hold'em, posted
by the second player to the left of the button.
 Blind
A forced bet made before the deal of the cards (see small blind
and big blind).
 Bluff
To bet with the expectation of losing if called.
 Board
The community cards shared by all players.
 Button
The last player to act in each betting round in Texas Hold'em.
 Call
To match the current level of betting. If the current level of betting is zero, the
term check is preferred.
 Check
To decline to make the first wager of a betting round (compare call).
 Check-Raise
To check on the first action and then raise in the same betting round after
someone else has bet.
 Community Cards
The public cards shared by all players.
 Connectors
Two cards differing by one in rank, such as 7-6. More likely to make a straight
than other combinations.
 Draw
A hand with good potential to make a strong hand, such as a straight draw or a
flush draw (compare made hand).
 Dry
Lacking possible draws or betting action, as in a dry board or a dry game.
 Flop
The first three community cards dealt in Hold'em, followed by the second
betting round (compare board).
 Fold
To discard a hand instead of matching the outstanding bet, thereby losing any
chance of winning the pot.
 Free-Card Raise
To raise on the flop intending to check on the turn.
 Hand
(a) A players private cards (two hole cards in Hold'em). (b) One complete game,
from the dealing of the cards to the showdown (or until one player wins
uncontested).
 Hole Card
A private card in Hold'em.
 Implied Odds
The pot odds based on the probable future size of the pot instead of the current
size of the pot.
 Income rate
The expected amount a hand will win.
 Independent Chip Model (ICM)
The EV of the current number of chips you have in a tournament. It is calculated
as:
(the probability of getting first) * (prize for first) +
(probability of getting second) * (prize for second) +
... for all prizes ...
For more detailed information: http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~sharnett/ICM/info.html.
 Jam
To raise all-in, putting all your chips in the pot.
 Kicker
A side card, often deciding the winner when two hands are otherwise tied (eg. a
player holding Q-J when the board is Q-7-4 has top pair with a Jack kicker).
 Loose Game
A game having several loose players.
 Loose Player
A player who does not fold often (eg. one who plays most hands at least to the
flop in Hold'em).
 Made hand
A hand with a good chance of currently being the best, such as top pair on the
flop in Hold'em (compare draw).
 Mixed strategy
Handling a particular situation in more than one way, such as to sometimes call,
and sometimes raise.
 Near-optimal
A good approximation of a game-theoretic optimal solution.
 Off suit
Two cards of different suits (compare suited).
 Open-Ended Draw
A draw to a straight with eight cards to make the straight, such as 6-5 with a
board of Q-7-4 in Hold'em.
 Outs
Cards that will improve a hand to a probable winner (compare draw).
 Passive Player
A player who is characterized by frequently checking and calling his hand rather
than betting or raising.
 Pocket Pair
Two cards of the same rank, such as 6-6. More likely to make three of a kind than
other combinations (see set).
 Pot Odds
The ratio of the size of the pot to the size of the outstanding bet, used to determine
if a draw will have a positive expected value.
 Pre-flop
In Hold'em, the first betting round after the deal of the cards and before the flop.
 Raise
To increase the current level of betting. If the current level of betting is zero, the
term bet is preferred.
 River
The fifth community card dealt in Hold'em, followed by the fourth (and final)
betting round.
 Second pair
Matching the second highest community card in Hold'em, such as having 7-6
with a board of Q-7-4.
 Set
Three of a kind, formed with a pocket pair and one card of matching rank on the
Board. A powerful well-disguised hand (compare trips).
 Showdown
The revealing of cards at the end of a hand to determine the winner and award the
pot.
 Side-pot
A second pot for the bets made by active players after another player is all-in.
 Slow-play
To call with a strong hand, and then raise in a later betting round, for purposes of
deception.
 Small Bet (sb)
The smallest bet size in limit poker. $10 in $10-$20 Hold'em.
 Small Blind (SB)
A forced bet made before the deal of the cards. $5 in $10-$20 Hold'em, posted by
the first player to the left of the button.
 Stakes
The size of the bets for ring games or the buy-in amount for tournaments.
- In a limit ring game the stakes are in small bets / big bets. For example $2 / $4:
the blinds are typically a $1 small blind / a $2 big blind and the bet sizes are a $2
small bet / a $4 big bet.
- In a no limit right game the stakes are in small blind / big blind. For example
$2 / $4 NL the blinds are $2 small blind / $4 big blind and the bet is always equal
or greater than the big blind.
- For tournament the buy-in is the amount that goes to the prize pool + the rake.
For each the stakes of $5 + $1, $5 will go toward the total prize and the house will
take $1.
 Suited
Two cards of the same suit, such as both Hearts. More likely to make a flush than
other combinations (compare off suit).
 Suited-Connector
A hand that is both Suited and a Connector (i.e. Qh-Jh).
 Table Image
The general perception other players have of one's play.
 Table Stakes
A poker rule allowing a player who cannot match the outstanding bet to go all-in
with his remaining money, and proceed to the showdown (also see side pot).
 Taking a Bath
A term for when a player becomes over-committed to a hand like Ace-King or a
small pocket pair and can't fold, despite missing the flop.
 Texture of the Board
Classification of the type of board, such as having lots of high cards, or not
having many draws (see dry).
 Tight Player
A player who usually folds unless the situation is clearly profitable (eg. one who
folds most hands before the flop in Hold'em).
 Top pair
Matching the highest community card in Hold'em, such as having Q-J with a
board of Q-7-4.
 Trips
Three of a kind, formed with one hole card and two cards of matching rank on
the board. A strong hand, but not well-disguised (compare set).
 Turn
The fourth community card dealt in Hold'em, followed by the third betting
round.
 Under-the-gun
The position of the player who is first to act in the betting round. Also known as
in the flower bed, primarily by Canadians who prefer a more non-violent term.
 Wild Game
A game with a lot of raising and re-raising. Also called an action game.
Glossary Adapted From:
The Challenge of Poker.

Darse Billings, Aaron Davidson, Jonathan Schaeffer, and Duane Szafron,
Artificial Intelligence Journal, vol 134(1-2), pp 201-240, 2002.
http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~darse/Papers/AIJ02.html
Getting Started: Main Lobby
The main lobby is the screen you see when you first start Poker Academy. It is a
launching screen to take you deeper into the program.
You can perform any of the following options.
Select a game lobby so you can launch a game
 Ring Games — Practice playing cash games against the bots. These games are
played with fixed stakes and with any bankroll you wish. The object is simply to
make money.
 Tournaments — In a tournament each player starts with the same number of
chips, and the blinds increase periodically. As players lose all their chips they are
removed. The object is to be the last one standing. Poker Academy supports a
variety of tournaments from single tables to large multi-table events with
thousands of computer players.
 Poker Academy Online — Play against other Poker Academy users over the
Internet (requires an Internet connection). From this lobby you can connect to our
game servers and play against other users. You can sit down in a room or create
your own. Ring games and single table tournaments are supported. All games are
for play money and there is no fee to use this service.
Launch an analysis tool
 Hand Evaluator — Analyze a specific player holding and board context, listing its
potential and outs in detail. The hand evaluator can be run on its own to analyze
an arbitrary hand, or loaded with the current hand from an in progress game.
 Showdown Calculator — Analyze a set of up to 10 hands and board cards and
determine the probability of each holding winning, losing, or tieing assuming that
all players see the showdown. This is often called all-in equity. Some or all of the
hole cards or board can be left unspecified.
 Player Statistics — Analyze all of the hands you have played against the bots and
display statistics. This tool shows you how well you are doing versus other
players, in various positions, with various types of hole cards, and much more.
Other options
 Get assistance from this help system, and the built-in Hold'em tutorial, or read our
About screen to get some general information and to see the build number. (This
can be useful for technical support).
 If you have a game in progress and come back to the lobby screen there will be a
"Resume Game" button at the bottom of the screen which will take you back into
the game.
Getting Started: Ring Games
To start a Ring Game you first select "Ring Games" from the main lobby to enter the ring
game lobby.
Table Selection
On the left side of the Ring Game Lobby is a tree view which contains a number of pre-
configured limit and no-limit tables. You can choose to play against a full complement of
computer opponents, a short-handed game or heads-up. Once you select a table, the table
information view on the right shows you the opponents, a comment describing in general
terms what to expect of the table, and the stakes.
Profile Selection
Underneath the list of tables on the left is the profile selection box. You can select a
profile to use or create a new one. Profiles are used by the statistics system to track your
progress, and used by the bots to learn how you play.
Launch the Game
Underneath the opponent list you will find the starting bankrolls, the stakes, and the rake.
These can be edited and will be remembered as the defaults for all tables.
Under the table information screen on the right is the Load Table button. Click that to
start playing!
For more information on creating and managing your own ring game tables, see Ring
Game Tables.
Getting Started: Tournaments
To start a tournament select "Tournaments" from the main lobby to enter the tournament
lobby.
There are three parts to setting up a tournament game: a) selection of the tournament
structure b) optionally editing that structure and c) setting your field of opponents.
Game Structure Selection
On the left side of the screen is a tree view which contains a number of tournament
structures. These structures range from single table tournaments to large multi-table
tournaments—both limit and no-limit. For the most part, they are drawn from well known
public sources.
Note: If you don't finish a tournament in one sitting, it is automatically saved. It will
appear at the top of the tree in an "Unfinished Tournaments" section. You can resume this
tournament or remove it.
Editing a Tournament Structure
Once you select a structure then the tournament information view on the right is updated.
The leftmost "Details" pane allows you to edit the important values in the tournament
structure such as starting bankroll.
The two rightmost panes show detailed information about the tournament structure,
which can be used to modify the tournament parameters.
For more information on editing tournaments, see the Tournament Lobby section.
Setting the Opponents Line-up
Above the tabbed interface is a slider which selects the number of opponents. Its
minimum and maximum values are determined by the type of tournament you selected on
the left. Changing this slider will fill up your tournament with random computer
opponents.
If you would like more control over the field of opponents you can go to the "Line-up"
tab underneath the player count slider. For each computer player in the tournament you
can set the type of AI engine they use.
For more information on setting the line-up, see the Tournament Lobby.
Profile Selection
Underneath the list of tournaments on the left is the profile selection box. You can select
a profile to use or create a new one. Profiles are used by the computer opponents to learn
how you play, and by the statistics system to track progress.
Launch the Game
Click the Load Table button to start playing!
There are some unique features to tournament game play. See the Tournament Play page
for details.
Getting Started: Online
To start an Online game, first select "Poker Academy Online" from the main lobby to
reach the online lobby.
Note that you must be connected to the Internet to use Poker Academy Online.
Connecting to the Online Lobby
The first thing you must do is decide on an online username. Usernames should be less
than 12 characters and can only contain letters, numbers, spaces, and decimals. Spaces at
the start or end of your username are ignored.
After typing in a username, press Connect
Although you don't type in a password, the program uses the CD Key you entered after
installing and makes sure each CD Key can only be used once online. Don't lend out your
CD Key or you may be unable to play!
Joining a Room
Once you are connected the Online Lobby Window will appear. This window contains a
variety of information for Poker Academy Online.
The Room Chooser
The Room Chooser contains a list of all of the active rooms online. By default, all rooms
are displayed, but there are tabs along the top to choose to show only certain sub-
categories (limit, no-limit, tournament, and private). To sit down at a table select one of
the rooms and press "Join Room", or double-click it. Selecting a room will display more
information about that room below the room chooser, including what players are
currently in the room.
News Tab
To keep users informed of the latest server news and events such as promotions and
freerolls, the latest news is displayed in the News tab.
Account Tab
The account tab shows the status of your online bankroll. For more information on how
online bankrolls work, see our section on Poker Academy Currency (PAX).
Standings Tab
All games played in the public PAX rooms are rated. The standings tab displays statistics
about all players in poker academy online. Get rated and find out where you stand.
Users Tab
This lists all of the currently logged in players on Poker Academy Online. This can be
helpful is seeing if a friend is logged in and where they are playing.
Lobby Chat
A public lobby chat area is provided. Players can use this to organize where to play, or to
just chat about poker.
Starting Online Play
Playing online is similar to playing against the computer opponents. For a ring game, the
first step is to click on one of the empty seats that says "Select Seat" on it. You wil not be
able to join a tournament that has already started or a game with ten players already
seated. When joining a tournament, a registration screen appears. Click the register
button to claim a seat in the tournament.
When you are seated in a room, play begins when the room creator presses the "Start
Tournament" button (in the case of a tournament) or when the minimum number of
players is reached (in the case of a ring game).
Have fun! For more information see the Online page.
Tip: To chat click in the box underneath the Transcript in the sidebar, type your message,
and hit the Enter key. Alternatively, you can press Tab to select the text entry field.
Take Your Game to the Next Level
The primary goal of Poker Academy is to help you become a better player. Poker
Academy Pro contains a comprehensive suite of powerful poker tools no serious poker
player should be without. You may be wondering how you can best use these tools to
improve and polish your game, and most importantly, to increase your winnings.
Learning even one new concept or plugging one small leak in your game will easily pay
for the cost of this software many times over once you put your new skills into action for
real cash.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Poker Academy Pro is the ultimate practice tool. There is no substitute for experience.
With Poker Academy Pro you can play at high speed to gain experience fast. Unlike most
humans in online play-money games, our computer opponents always take the game
seriously. Unlike real cash games, you can experiment with new styles and learn without
losing your shirt. We offer a wide variety of different player styles to practice against.
Your experience against a well rounded line-up of opponents will prove invaluable.
Drill on specific situations
If you find yourself unsure of how best to play certain situations, you can use the Dealer
Options to set up exact conditions and then drill on them until you are confident in your
play. For example, learn the difference position makes by playing the same hand one
hundred times each in early, middle, and late positions. Learn to play King-Queen offsuit
under the gun by playing it hundreds of times in a row. The ability to isolate and train on
specific scenarios is a powerful learning tool. You will feel extremely confident the next
time you find yourself in a well practiced position.
Learn to read hands
Use the peek feature to see if your suspicions are correct. Play with all of the cards face
up and study how each player plays their hand. Review hand histories and play back old
sessions to see how well you played, and where you made mistakes. You can also use the
'instant replay' feature to see if taking a different action would have made you more
money. For instance, you may have slow-played a set on the flop, and now want to replay
the same hand to see if betting for value earlier would have built you a bigger pot.
Try out new Concepts
Reading poker books is an excellent way to learn and understand new poker concepts. As
you are reading, put the concepts into practice by trying them out in Poker Academy. The
combination of a well written reference book and the ability to demonstrate those
concepts immediately will solidify your understanding.
Analyze Your Game
Use the Player Statistics to find leaks in your game. Discover what hands you play
profitably, and which you lose money with. For instance, you can filter your hands by
position and instantly see which starting hands you are losing with in that position. You'll
need to either stop playing those hands in that position, or drill on them until you learn to
play them profitably. Use the Sharks & Fish list to see which players you are winning and
losing against. Use the bankroll graphs to spot trends in your performance over time.
Compare your statistics to other players to discover how your style differs.
Learn the odds
It is vital to know the odds of making draws, the probability of your hand being the best,
and the odds of winning if you jam with your pocket pair and your opponent calls you
with two overcards. Poker Academy Pro contains several tools to help develop a good
intuition for poker math. The Sidebar's Hand Evaluator gives real-time stats on the
strength of your hand. The more fully-featured Hand Evaluator window breaks down the
probabilities of your hand's strength, draws, and the opponent's likely holdings. The
Showdown Calculator is an essential tool for calculating the odds of any match up of
hands. Using the showdown calculator will help you make the right judgement in tricky
all-in situations.
Ring Games
Ring Game poker is the classic manner of playing Texas Hold'em. In a real life situation,
opponents sit around a table with cash in front of them and each hand is played for real
money. The object is simple: make more money than you lose.
With Poker Academy you can play and practice limit and no-limit ring games. The limit
and no-limit designation refers to the type of betting structure in the game. Limit, also
know as fixed limit, means that each bet or raise is a pre-determined amount and not at
the discretion of the player. In no limit, also known as open limit, players can bet or raise
any amount. All Poker Academy games are played with table stakes, which means you
can only bet, raise or call to a maximum of the chips you have in front of you.
One unique aspect of ring games is the presence of a rake. Many casinos take a small
portion of each pot, called the rake, as their fee for hosting the poker game. With a rake
you must not only be a winning player, but must win enough to overcome the casinos
portion. Poker Academy allows you to simulate the rake if you wish to and lets you
choose from several popular formulas for determining the rake amount.
Ring Game Tables

Poker Academy lets you create and edit ring game Tables, which specify the opponents
and seating order for a game. It comes pre-configured with several starting tables for both
limit and no limit.
Table creation and management is done from the Ring Game lobby, which is reached by
clicking on the "Ring Games" button in the main lobby.
Adding and Removing Tables
Use the toolbar to the right of the list of to manage the list of tables. The create
table button creates a new Untitled table which you can edit by selecting it
and editing it like any other table (see below).
Note: The new table is either limit or no limit depending on the game type that is
currently selected when you press the create table button.
The trash button will remove the currently selected table. Note that you are
able to remove the pre-configured tables as well as user created ones.
Importing and Exporting
New in Poker Academy 2.0 is the ability to export and import tables. If you have
a table setup that you feel is unique and challenging, you can use the export
button to send the table to a file.
You can then use the import button to add a table to your game. You can also
use this feature to back up and restore table configurations if you need to move
to another computer.
Table Editing
For both new tables and pre-configured tables you can edit the computer opponents
seated at that table. The names show up in an entry field above the opponent list and can
be edited directly.
To edit the opponents, click on a row in the opponent table. A pop-up menu will appear
letting you assign the seat to be empty, filled with a random bot, or filled with a specific
bot.
To edit the description click in the box below the opponent list and enter your text.
Table changes are saved automatically.

Tournaments
Tournament poker is one of the most popular ways to play poker these days. With Poker
Academy you can play and practice limit and no-limit single-table and multi-table
tournaments. The limit and no-limit designation refers to the type of betting structure in
the tournament. Unlike ring games, Tournaments have their own predefined structure
which raises the blinds at certain intervals to ensure that the tournament will reach a
conclusion. The most common practise is to advance the level after a given amount of
time has passed, or a certain number of hands have been played. The single-table and
multi-table designation refers to how many tables are simultaneously dealing at any one
time of the tournament. Single-table tournaments only ever involve one table and so all
players are always seated together at the same table until they bust out of the tournament.
Multi-table tournaments add a new wrinkle to the tournament experience: as players bust
out, the players remaining are often moved from table to table in an effort to balance the
number of players at each.
Tournament Lobby
The Tournament Lobby is the launching point from where you will select tournaments to
play. To start a tournament, first select one from the list on the left hand side. You can
select from many popular limit and no-limit single and multi-table tournament structures,
or any unfinished tournaments that you were playing.
Pre-defined Tournament Structures
Poker Academy comes with a number of pre-defined tournament structures as well as

tools to create and edit your own structures. From the lobby you can create, delete,
restore to default, import, export, and save your custom tournament structures.
Creates a new tournament structure that duplicates the settings of the previous
structure you had selected. You will be prompted to enter a name, and you must
ensure that all tournament names are unique.
Deletes the currently selected custom tournament. You can not delete pre-defined
tournaments (only edit them).
Restores the currently selected pre-defined tournament to its default settings.
Opens up a file chooser that will allow you to import other custom tournament
structure files (.xml) into Poker Academy. Importing an invalid file will result in an
error message being displayed, but will not affect the operation of the program.
Opens up a file chooser that will allow you to save the current custom tournament
structure file to disk. You can share these structures with friends and other Poker
Academy members through our forums (www.poker-academy.com/forums).
Saves the current custom tournament structure to disk. The save button will become
enabled once you make a change to your tournaments settings.
When you select a tournament structure from the list, the panel on the right hand side will
be updated to show various information about the selected tournament. This includes the
tournament name, tabs with various configurable settings, and a short description.
The four tabs containing the configurable settings for the selected tournament structure
include: Details, Structure, Players, and Payouts.
Details Tab
The Details tab contains a description of your tournament along with three editable
sections: Game Time Details, Buy-Ins, Players.
Game Time Details - lets you adjust the starting values for three main settings:
Starting Chips - lets you set the number of chips each player receives at the beginning of
the tournament.
Starting Players - lets you adjust the number of players that will begin your tournament.
This is the same as adjusting the slider above.
Players Per Table - lets you set the number of maximum number of players that will play
at each table. Heads up tournaments are not yet supported, so the minimun number of
players per table is three.
Buy-Ins - lets you choose how much you want to buy into the tournament for. The list of
available buy-ins represents which buy-ins are allowed for the structure. These buy-ins
are used for tracking your stats in tournament play so you can calculate your return on
investment. To select the buy-in you wish to use for your tournament, simply highlight
the desired one before you start the tournament. Existing buy-ins can be edited by
double-clicking on one of the numbers of the buy-in entry you wish to edit. You can also
add and remove buy-ins allowed for the particular structure by using the (+) and (-)
buttons located to the right of the buy-ins section.
Players - lets you set the minimum and maximum number of players allowed in your
tournament structure. These minimum and maximum numbers represent the extreme left
and right numbers on the slider at the top. Single table tournaments generally allow 2-10
players, while multi table tournaments generally allow 10 or more players.
Structure Tab
The structure tab allows you to edit the betting structure for the tournament including:
Start Level, Level Length, Betting Type, and the Level Editor.
Start Level - lets you determine which level of the tournament structure the tournament
will begin at (i.e., instead of starting at the first level, you get to choose which of the
beginning levels to skip). You can adjust this number using the arrows, or by typing one
in yourself. Each structure has a different number of levels, and you may not exceed the
last level of the structure.
Level Length - allows you to choose how long each level in a tournament will last. This
can be based on Minutes, Hands, or Busts. Minutes means the levels will increase after a
given amount of actual playing time has passed. Actual playing time is accumulated hand
by hand and recorded from the time when you first hit the deal button to the end of the
hand. This means that if you leave the program in between hands that time will not be
considered when deciding when levels increase. Hands means the levels will increase
after a given number of hands have been played. Busts means the levels will increase
after a given amount of players have busted out of the tournament. Since there can be
more than one bust per hand in the tournament, depending on the number of busts that
happen in a hand and the value of this setting, levels can actually be skipped.
To simulate live play we recommend a setting of roughly 30 hands per hour of play. (i.e.,
if your tournament raises blinds every 15 minutes, that would be roughly 8 hands per
level)
Betting Type - lets you choose the betting type that will be used for the entire
tournament. No limit, means that you can bet up to your entire stack on any decision on
any round, and the minimum bet has to be at least the value of the big blind. Limit, means
a fixed limit structure, where all bets and raises are fixed based on increments of the big
blind.
Level Editor - lets you edit the structure and blinds for your tournament. Each level has
three editable columns: Ante, Small Blind, Big Blind. Double clicking on any of these
columns will allow you to edit the appropriate value for that level. When you edit the
small blind of a given level, the big blind will automatically be set to twice the small
blind. Every tournament should have increasing blinds to force the action as the
tournament progresses. The only rule when making a custom tournament level is: the big
blind must be greater than or equal to the small blind of that level. Beyond that you are
free to make any custom tournament structure you like. The (+) and (-) buttons located to
the right of the level editor allow you to add / remove selected rows from the structure.
Players Tab
The Players tab lets you view and set the lineup for your tournament. Here you can select
or configure which distribution of computer opponents or “bots” you would like to play
against. A pull down box at the top allows you to select distributions or players stored on
disk. A table is also displayed which lists the opponents and the distribution percentage
they will appear with in the tournament. There are controls along the top that allow you
to create, delete, save, import and export player distributions. There are also buttons on
the side that allow you to add and remove rows from your distribution.
Creates a new player distribution for the given betting type. Creating a new
distribution will prompt you to enter a name, so you can easily select it later. A
default random distribution will be created initally, which you can begin editing.
Deletes the currently selected player distribution from disk.
Saves the currently selected player distribution to disk.
Opens up a file chooser that will allow you to import other player distribution files
(.xml) into Poker Academy. Importing an invalid file will result in an error
message being displayed, but will not affect the operation of the program.
Opens up a file chooser that will allow you to save the current player distribution
file to disk. You can share these distributions with friends and other Poker
Academy members through our forums (www.poker-academy.com/forums).
Adds a new row to the player distribution. All new rows will initially be set to
random, allowing you to chose any engine or profile you like.
removes the currently selected row from the distribution.
Poker Academy offers a few standard pre-defined player distributions for both limit and
no-limit games. To choose a new distribution, select one from the pull down box in the
center above the players list.
To edit a player distribution click any opponent to bring up a menu containing all of the
players available for the selected type of game. The first level of this menu lists the
Artificial Intelligence engines and the submenus list specific profiles based on these
engines. You can also choose to specify random bots from all AI engines, or choose
random bots from specific AI engines, to help vary your tournament lineup.
Note: The AI Engines are specific to the particular game being played. Jagbot, Pokibot
and Simbot play only limit hold ‘em. Vexbot and Sparbot play only heads-up limit hold
‘em. Jambot, Oddbot, Xenbot and Averybot play only no-limit hold‘em.
Once you have selected a "bot", you can edit its distribution percentage by double-
clicking on the third column in the player list. When you start your tournament the
number of specific bots that appear will be based on the percentage you entered for it in
the player list.
Tip: You do not not have to worry about your percentages adding up to 100%, as all
values will be normalized when the start button is clicked. For example, if I allocate two
bots, (A) with 20%, and (B) with 10%, when I start the tourney I will expect to see 67%
(A) bots, and 33% (B) bots in my lineup.
Payouts Tab
The Payouts tab contains two sections: Choose Payouts and Payout Viewer.
Choose Payouts - lets you choose what payout scheme you would like to use for your
tournament. Poker Academy has provided a variety of different payout schemes for
different sized tournaments. There are multi table tournament and sit n go payouts which
will pay a certain number of players a percentage of the prize pool. As well, there are
satellite payouts that will pay 1 winner for every 10, 20, or 50 players. Lastly, there is a
winner take all payout scheme that will only pay the top place finisher. Beside the payout
chooser you can set the Initial Prize Pool and increase the ammount of money in the
prize pool that the players are playing for. Below is the value of the prize pool, and the
current number of players in your tournament. Adjusting the number of players using the
slider above will alter the prize pool, and the corresponding payouts in the payout viewer.
Payout Viewer - Lets you view the payouts for the current tournament based on: the
Number of Players, the Buy-In and the Initial Prize Pool. There are three columns: Place,
Payout, and Prize. The Place column shows the range of positions the payouts correspond
to for that row. The Payout column is the percentage of the total prize pool that each
place in that range will receive. The Prize column contains the amount of dollars each
place listed in that row will receive.
Unfinished Tournaments
If any unfinished tournaments are available for you to resume, they will appear at the top
of the list on the left hand side of the Tournament Lobby.
Unfinished tournaments will appear categorized based on whether they were no-limit or
limit and single-table or multi-table tournaments. Unfinished tournaments are
automatically saved for you when you stop playing and the tournament has not finished
or you have not busted. There is only one control button for unfinished tournaments:
delete
Deletes the current unfinished tournament from disk.
When you select an unfinished tournament, the title of your tournament appear on the
right side of the screen along with the date you started it. Below the name is a bit of
information about your tournament: the prize pool, buy-in, your ranking, players left,
elapsed time, and starting chips. Below this are four tabs with more information about
your unfinished tournament: Standings, Summary, Levels, and Pay-outs.
Standings Tab
The Standings tab shows you a list of all players in your tournament, how many chips
they have left, and any payouts they have received.
Summary Tab
The Summary tab displays a short description of your tournament, with information about
the starting chips, level length, and the current level and blinds. Also present is
information comparing your chip stack with all the chips in play, the average chip count,
and the amount of the big blind. This information is crucial to help determine how well
you were doing in the tournament when you stopped playing it. Below that is a chart of
how the largest, average, and smallest stacks compare.
Levels Tab
The Levels tab displays the levels and structure of your tournament. The Level Number,
Blinds, and Antes are shown. The blinds will increase as the level number increases.
Some tournaments will not have antes. This list is fixed upon tournament start.
Payouts Tab
The Payouts tab displays the payout information for your tournament. The place is the
position a player finishes. Payout is the percentage of the prize pool that place will
receive. Prize is the dollar amount that place will receive. This list is fixed upon
tournament start.
Playing a Tournament
Once you have selected a new tournament and edited it to your liking, you can go to the
game screen and begin playing the tournament by clicking the Start Game button that
appears at the bottom of the Tournament Lobby screen. Alternatively, if you have
selected an unfinished tournament that you would like to resume, you can click the
Resume Unfinished button that appears at the bottom of the Tournament Lobby which
will take you to the game screen where you can continue playing through the resumed
tournament.
Note: If you are starting or resuming a large multi-table tournament there will be a delay
while the tournament is setup before taking you to the poker table where you can start
playing.
Once you are sitting at the poker table to play a tournament game, the Tournament
Standings Window option will either appear depending on how your preferences are
setup or will become enabled in your main window's Lobby menu where it can be opened
using the Tournament Standings... menu item or the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl-T.
When playing a tournament, not all the options that are available when playing a ring
game are allowed. More specifically, during a tournament, the following will either not
be allowed or will do nothing: freezing the button, setting the button, shuffling seats,
setting bankrolls, or modifying or saving tables.
During tournament play, you deal hands using the Deal Hand button as you would in a
ring game. When you press the Deal Hand button, a tournament manager first checks if
the level needs to be incremented and then checks if tables need to be balanced in a
multi-table tournament and moves players if necessary. If either the level is incremented,
tables have been removed, or you have been moved, you will see an announcement in the
center of the table notifying you what has happened. The announcement is followed by a
slight pause so that you can read the announcement and then a hand will be dealt.
While your table is playing, all the other tables in the tournament, if there are any, will
play simultaneously in the background. When your game finishes, and the games at each
of the background tables finish, the game that you just played will be logged to the Hand
History Database and update statistics relevant to your play (including those in the Player
Statistics System, the Tournament Standings Window and the tournament standings
section in the Sidebar). In a multi-table tournament none of the background table games
will be logged so they will not appear in the Hand History Database. After the game is
logged, the Deal Hand button will appear so that you will be able to deal the next hand in
the tournament or rely on Auto Deal to deal the next hand automatically for you.
Background Tables
Since there are potentially many tables all playing at once, the computer opponents
playing on background tables have their allowed computational capabilities selectively
reduced so that many opponents can all play at once and play quickly. As the size of the
multi-table tournaments increase, the more the computational capabilities of the computer
opponents on background tables have to be reduced. In a tournament consisting of up to
three tables, all tables are played with all computer opponents at their full capabilities.
Once you have up to and including five active tables, the computer opponents on the
additional two tables are further reduced so that no opponent modelling is done. Once
you go past five active tables, all computer opponents on background tables are reduced
so that they do no opponent modelling and also have their computational resources quite
strongly reduced. No matter what size of tournament you play though, all computer
opponents on the table that you are playing on never have their computational capabilities
reduced.
Winning a Tournament
When you are fortunate enough to win a tournament, you will see an overlay that appears
over the poker table that will congratulate you and present you with some summary
information that includes how much money you have won and how many players you
have beaten. This overlay has a Back to Lobby button that dismisses the overlay and takes
you back to the Tournament Lobby.
Busting out of a Tournament
If you are unfortunate enough to bust out of a tournament, you will see an overlay that
appears over the poker table that will present you with summary information that
includes how much money you have lost. This overlay has two buttons on it. The Quit
Tournament button will quit the tournament when pressed and take you back to the
Tournament Lobby. The Continue Tournament button will dismiss the overlay and allow
you to watch the tournament finish as an observer. If you do watch the tournament
through to completion when the tournament ends the summary overlay will appear again
informing you again of your results and wait for you to press the Back to Lobby button
which will dismiss the overlay and take you back to the Tournament Lobby.
Quitting a Tournament
If at any point in time you want to quit playing your tournament to play a different game
or just because you are done with playing for the time being, you can just select the
different game you would like to play or close the application and your tournament will
automatically be saved and added to your Unfinished Tournaments section of the
tournament list on the left hand side of the Tournament Lobby screen. If you do quit an
unfinished tournament and do not want to actually ever resume the tournament, you will
have to manually remove that particular tournament from the Unfinished Tournaments in
the Tournament Lobby using the trash can icon.
Tournament Standings Window
The tournament standings window is an auxiliary window that can be opened when you
are playing a tournament. This window provides useful information about the tournament
that is updated in real-time as you play to help keep you informed on the current state of
the tournament.
Once a tournament is started, this window can be opened manually by selecting the
Tournament Standings... menu item under the Lobby menu in the main application
window (or, by using the Ctrl-T key shortcut). Depending on your preferences, this
window can also be set to open automatically once a tournament starts by selecting the
Show window at tournament start checkbox located on the Options tab of the
Tournament Standings Window itself. By default, this option is selected so it will
automatically appear at the start of each tournament you play.
The tournament standings dialog has its information separated out into six different tabs:
Summary, Standings, Stacks, Levels, Payouts, Options.
Summary Tab
The Summary tab contains some very useful summary information about both the
tournament itself and how you are currently doing. At the top is the title of the
tournament you are playing. This title is the same title that appears in the lists of
tournaments that you use to choose a tournament to start in the Tournament Lobby.
Following the title are the following entries:
Buy In:
your buy in for the tournament. Format for the buy in is the total amount of the
buy in followed by its breakdown of prize pool and house fee amounts
respectively. So, a buy in entry that says $6 ($5 + $1) means that it cost you $6 to
enter the tournament of which $5 goes to the prize pool that can be won and $1
goes to the house as some sort of fee that is not allowed to be won.
Prize Pool: Total number of dollars available to be won in tournament.
Positions Paid: Number of finishing spots where a player wins money.
Ranking: Your current ranking in the tournament out of the total number of entrants.
Players Left: Number of players not busted out of the total number of entrants.
Next Position Pays: The prize given to the next player to bust.
Chips in Play: The total number of chips in the tournament.
The next section tells you the size of the largest, average, and smallest chip stacks left in
the tournament.
The next section gives you information specific to your chip stack including the size of
your chip stack, its percentage of the total chips still in play, its ratio in regards to the size
of the average stack, and its ratio in regards to the size of the current big blind size.
The next section lets you know the current level of the tournament and the size of the
ante if there is one as well as the corresponding blinds for the level.
The final section contains a quick summary paragraph of additional tournament

information including things like the number of chips each player started with and how
fast the levels increase.
Standings Tab
The Standings tab contains a standings table where every row shows some summary
information for every player that entered the tournament. There are four columns in the
table: Place, Name, Chips, Result. Rows are sorted in ascending order by each player's
place in the tournament. The standings table is color coded to visually separate areas of
the table. Green rows indicate players that have not yet busted out of the tournament
while red rows indicate players that have busted. Each color can appear in either a lighter
or darker shade as well, and the lighter shade is used to indicate places that are in the
money (either tentatively, if that player is not yet busted, or guaranteed, if that player has
busted) and the darker shade is used to indicate places that did not make the money. In
addition, your entry in the table will appear in bold text to make it easier to find.
The Place column contains each player's current ranking in the tournament. A player's
place is primarily determined by their chip count. The higher the player's chip count, the
higher their place in the tournament standings. For player's that are not busted this place
is their tentative ranking amongst all entrants in the tournament. As players bust, their
tentative ranking turns into a finishing place since they are no longer active in the
tournament. For players that bust, the hand on which they busted out on is used to
determine their finishing place. If more than one player busts out on the same hand, their
chip counts at the start of the hand are used to break ties for finishing places. If more than
one player should bust on the same hand and have the same number of chips at the start
of that hand, then those players finish tied for the same place. The Name column contains
each player's name. The Chips column contains each player's chip count. The Result
column contains the amount of profit or loss the player made by entering the tournament
and finishing in their particular finish place. The Result column will only have filled in
entries for players that have actually busted out of the tournament.
Stacks Tab
The Stacks tab contains a graphical plot of the chip counts for all active players. The chip
counts are presented from left to right in ascending order. The heights of the chip counts
are graphed proportional to the current chip leader. The stack corresponding to your chip
count (or all chip counts tied with you) will appear in a lighter color than all other chip
stacks. If you want more information about a stack, you can hover over a bar and a popup
will appear letting you know the player's name and exact chip count represented by the
bar. In addition, if the application determines that the scale of the graph can allow
additional information to be presented, the graphical plot may contain a black horizontal
line to indicate how large the big blind is in proportion to the stacks (and possibly
additional horizontal white lines representing subsequent multiples of the big blind), as
well as another black horizontal line representing what would be the height of the
currently average stack.
Levels Tab
The Levels tab contains a table of all the levels that make up the tournament. Each row in
the table corresponds to a level in the tournament and as a tournament progresses the
current level proceeds from the top of the table down towards the bottom of the table.
The current level's text is written in bold. The Level column contains the level number.
The Blinds column shows the amount of the small blind and the big blind for that level.
The Ante column shows the amount of the ante for the level.
Payouts Tab
The Payouts tab shows you the net prize for each non-zero paying finishing spot in the
tournament. Each row represents a payout amount for a particular range of finishing
spots. The Place column shows the range of finishing spots corresponding to the payouts
in that row. The table is sorted in ascending order of finishing places. The Payout column
shows what percentage of the total prize pool each player would win. The Prize column
shows the actual gross winnings each player would win.
Options Tab
The Options tab contains two options that allow you to control how you want the
Tournament Standings Dialog to automatically open. If the Show window at tournament
start option is selected then the window will automatically open when you start a
tournament. If the Show window after each bust option is selected then the window will
automatically open each time some player in the tournament busts. The initial defaults
when you first get the program are set so that the window automatically appears upon
tournament start, but will not appear each time a player busts.
Home Tournament Clock
Nowadays, lots of people enjoy getting together with friends to play in their own home
poker tournaments for fun. To help you organize and efficiently manage these
tournaments, Poker Academy provides a Home Tournament Clock.
Poker Academy's Home Tournament Clock makes it easy for you to keep track of all the
essential tournament information: the blinds and levels, the prize payouts, the number of
players entered and their buy-ins. With all these great features, you can make sure your
home tournaments go as smoothly as the tournaments in the casinos do.
The Home Tournament Clock is a separate program which you can start from Poker
Academy's Main Lobby or from its Window menu. When the clock is first opened you
will see four main areas: the blind structure, buy-in/add-on/rebuy data, the payout
structure, and a tournament level timer with controls.
Tournament Blind Structure
Poker Academy's Home Tournament Clock ships with some default tournament blind
structures that you can choose between or edit. To choose one of these structures, use the
pull-down structure chooser at the top of the window.
When the Home Tournament Clock is run for the first time, a bare bones initial structure
is selected by default. Each subsequent time you open the Home Tournament Clock, the
last structure you chose will be automatically selected and loaded.
Along with the structure chooser there are five toolbar buttons:
Creates a new structure that you can name and edit.
Deletes the currently selected structure.

Saves the currently selected structure to disk.
Adds a new level to the current structure. If you have a row selected, that row will
be duplicated. If no levels are selected, a level will be added to the end of the
structure.
Deletes the selected level(s) from the structure. If no row is selected, the delete
button will be disabled.
Tip: You can only make changes to the structure or select a new structure before the
clock has been started or after the clock has been reset.
To edit the current tournament structure, double-click on the table cell you wish to
update, and change the value. You may adjust the values of antes, small blinds, or big
blinds in any of the structures you choose.
When you make an error editing the structure, the invalid cells will be highlighted in red
to alert you to the problem. Errors can exist when you make an ante bigger than the small
or big blind, or make the small blind bigger than the big blind for a single level. Errors
can also exist when the blinds decrease from one level to the next in the structure. For a
tournament, the blinds should increase from level to level or sometimes they may remain
the same.
Below the blind structure table is the level length control. You can change the number of
minutes that each level will take by adjusting the spinner. You may also adjust the
spinner while the clock is running and the setting will take affect on the next round. For
example, you want the first four levels of your tournament to be 15 minutes long, and
every level after that to be 20 minutes long. To set this up, simply set the level length to
15 minutes and start your tournament clock. After level four has started and the clock is
counting down the 15:00 minutes you can adjust the level length to 20 minutes and when
level 5 starts the clock will begin using a 20:00 minute timer.
If you have pause after each level option selected, the clock will pause when a level is
complete and wait for you to start the timer to begin the next level.
Buy-ins, Rebuys, and Add-Ons
On the left-side of the Home Tournament Clock under the level structure table, there are
entry fields which you can use to keep track of information regarding players' buy-ins,
rebuys, and add-ons. Entering this information allows the tournament clock to
automatically track the prize pool of the tournament which is in turn used to
automatically compute your desired tournament payouts. In addition, the tournament
clock will also use this information to keep track of the total number of chips in play.
The buy-in entry fields allow you to specify the number of players buying in to play in
your tournament, the price each person is paying to buy-in, and the number of chips each
player gets for a buy-in.
The rebuy entry fields let you keep track of the number of players that purchased rebuys,
the cost of a rebuy, and the chips given per rebuy.
The add-on entry fields let you keep track of the number of players that purchased add-
ons, the cost of an add-on, and the chips given per add-on.
Values entered into these fields are automatically remembered by the Home Tournament
Clock and will be automatically loaded on subsequent startups (except for the number of
rebuys and add-ons which are automatically reset to zero on each startup).
Tournament Prize Payouts
The Tournament prize payouts table lets you customize the values of prizes paid out in
your home tournament. The number of payout rows in the payout table are automatically
adjusted to equal the number of players buying into your tournament which is set by the
buy-in entry field. This helps to make sure that you cannot accidentally provide payouts
to more people than those who entered your tournament.
When you increase the number of player buy-ins, and the prize pool is fully allocated,
each subsequent entry will receive a 0% payout. If the entire prize pool has not been fully
allocated, each additional buy-in and subsequent payout row added will automatically be
given a payout value. This payout value corresponds to the prize pool amount left to be
paid and the value of the previous payout entry. Adding payouts automatically in this
manner ensures that the prize pool is never over-allocated, and that the size of the payouts
never increase as players finish in worse spots.
To adjust a payout value simply double-click to edit the desired table cell. If you adjust
the '% Prize Pool' value, the gross payout will be automatically updated and vice versa.
When you make an error editing the values in the payout table, the cells will be
highlighted with different colors to denote the different errors. Green highlighting means
that the current payout table entries do not give out 100% of the prize pool. You can find
the percentage still left to allocate by mousing over the payout table and reading the value
in the tool tip. Red highlighting means you have allocated more than 100% of the prize
pool and you need to remove a certain % from the payout table. Again, you can find this
percentage by holding the mouse over the payout table and reading the percentage in the
tool tip that will appear. Orange highlighting means that the highlighted payout entries
are inconsistent. That is, a higher placed finisher will receive less money than a lower
placed finisher.
The values in the payout table are automatically updated whenever more money enters
the prize pool through buy-ins, rebuys or add-ons. Below the prize pool there are some
basic summary stats about your tournament including the total prize pool, and total chips
in play.
Clock Display and Control
On the right-hand side of the Home Tournament Clock is a large timer panel. This panel
displays the current level, the time left, and the current blinds. Below this display
information are the clock controls:
Starts the level timer. Once the timer is started, the play button changes to a pause
button.
Pauses the level timer. Once the timer is paused, the pause button changes to a play
button.
Takes the tournament clock back to the start of the previous blind level. This resets
the level timer and pauses the timer.
Takes the tournament clock to the start of the next blind level. This resets the level
timer and pauses the timer.
Resets the Home Tournament Clock timer and levels. Once the tournament clock is
started, the tournament's level structure is considered locked, and you can only
choose a new structure or edit the current one after using this button to reset the
clock.
The Start Break button just below the clock controls starts a break timer for the given
number of minutes specified. To change the length of the break simply adjust the number
of minutes before pressing the Start Break button. You can start the break at any time
once the clock has been started. If you start a break during the middle of a level, the level
will pause, and the timer will be restored once the break has been completed. If you wish
to stop a break before it is complete simply press the Stop Break button, which replaces
the Start Break button when the break timer is started.
Poker Academy Online
Poker Academy Online is a completely different way of playing poker using Poker
Academy. Instead of playing against computer opponents, you play against other people
who also have Poker Academy. These games take place on the Poker Academy Online
server and require Internet access to play. All games on Poker Academy Online are for
play money and there is no fee to use this service.
Note: this service allows users of Poker Academy to play against one another online
using the Poker Academy server. It does not allow you to connect to other online servers,
and does not allow you to set a computer opponent to play in your stead online.
There are many unique aspects to online play including: online usernames, table
selections and creation, chatting and flashing cards. Poker Academy continues to collect
statistics for you just as it does for games against computer opponents, so the same
powerful tools to analyze your progress are available.
The Online Lobby
Once you are connected the Online Lobby Window will appear. This window contains a
variety of information for Poker Academy Online.
The Room Chooser
The Room Chooser contains a list of all of the active rooms online. By default, all rooms
are displayed, but there are tabs along the top to choose to show only certain sub-
categories (limit, no-limit, tournament, and private). To sit down at a table select one of
the rooms and press "Join Room", or double-click it. Selecting a room will display more
information about that room below the room chooser, including what players are
currently in the room.
News Tab
To keep users informed of the latest server news and events such as promotions and
freerolls, the latest news is displayed in the News tab.
Account Tab
The account tab shows the status of your online bankroll. For more information on how
online bankrolls work, see our section on Poker Academy Currency (PAX).
Standings Tab
All games played in the public PAX rooms are rated. The standings tab displays statistics
about all players in poker academy online. Get rated and find out where you stand.
Users Tab
This lists all of the currently logged in players on Poker Academy Online. This can be
helpful is seeing if a friend is logged in and where they are playing.
Lobby Chat
A public lobby chat area is provided. Players can use this to organize where to play, or to
just chat about poker.
Online Table Creation
After connecting to the online game selection server, you may not always wish to simply
sit down at an available table. There may all be tournaments that have started, be already
full, or perhaps you simply want to play a game solely with friends of yours.
Instead of joining a room directly, you have the option to create your own room and have
people join it. Pressing "Create Room" in the lobby brings up the create room dialog.
There are a number of options you can select.
Name and Password - this is the name your room will have in the name selection screen.
You may leave it as the default name or change it as you wish. No two rooms may have
the exact same name. The password is an optional field. If you leave it blank anyone will
be able to join, if you give it a value then only people to whom you have told the
password will be able to join your room.
Game Type - Next, choose the type of game you want to play. You can choose Limit or
No-Limit, Ring game or Tournament, and the currency to use (play money, or PAX).
Depending on the choice of Ring game or Tournament, a different settings panel will be
shown with the applicable options for that game type.
Ring Game Settings - this tab is the default, leave it here to create a ring game. You are
able to specify the betting structure (limit or no limit), the minimum and maximum
number of players, the stakes, and the starting bankroll. The minimum number of players
is used to determine when to start the game--as soon as enough people are seated it will
begin. If you set the starting bankroll to zero, users will be able to set their bankroll as
they please when they sit down at the table.
Tournament Settings - choose this tab to create a tournament. You should begin by
selecting the betting structure (limit or no limit) as that will determine what tournament
structures are available. From there you should select a tournament structure as that will
set the other fields to defaults for that structure. Finally you can optionally edit the other
fields. Maximum players specifies the most that can be in the tournament -- there is no
minimum as the game owner can press the Start Tournament button whether she wishes
to start the game. The remaining options modify the tournament structure and allow you
to play a faster or slower tournament progression as you wish.
Finishing Once you have finished creating your room you will see it appear in the room
list. Select and join your room like you would any other room. If it is a tournament you
will see you have a "Start Tournament" button where the "Deal" button is usually. Only
the creator of the room can start a tournament.
Online Game Play
In many respects playing online is very similar to playing a ring game or a tournament
against computer opponents. However there are a number of differences.
Game Starting
After joining a room you see the familiar poker table interface. The first step is to click
on one of the empty seats that says "Select Seat" on it. If none of the seats have that on
them then the room is full, or it is a tournament room where the tournament has already
started.
Chatting
Talking to your human opponents is a big part of the enjoyment of online games. Poker
Academy lets you chat to people and have it appear in the transcript and, if you are
seated, on the screen above your cards.
In online mode there is a text field underneath the transcript in the sidebar. Click there,
type your message, and press Enter to send it to the other players. As an alternative to
clicking in the text entry field you can press Tab (or any other key that you set using the
Options > Edit Hot Keys... menu item) and then begin to type your message.
Extra Action Buttons
You will notice that there are sometimes extra action buttons beyond the Fold, Call, Raise
buttons which are available against the computer opponents.
Fold and Show
Flashes your cards to the table before folding. This option only appears when your
fold will end the hand.
Reveal Both
Reveals both your cards to the table. This appears after you win uncontested.
Reveal Xx
Reveals either your left or right hole card only. This appears after you win
uncontested.
Poker Academy Currency (PAX)
What are PAX?
Poker Academy Online is a play money site. The biggest problem with play money is that
the games are not realistic. Players simply do not play the same way with chips that are
worthless as they do when the chips have value. PAX is our attempt to give the chips in
Poker Academy a real value. You have to work to earn PAX, and if you lose them
through careless play, you will have to work to get more. This gives PAX real value. This
helps make our PAX games play much like real-money games, despite being a play
money site. Players that do not take the game seriously will quickly loose any PAX they
have and will be back at the bottom rung.
Play Money v.s. PAX
Poker Academy Onine has two types of games; PAX games and Play Money games.
Designating a room to be play money instead of PAX means anyone can sit down at no
cost, and can rebuy (if applicable) an unlimited number of times. Play money games are
provided for players who don't want to invest the time to build up a PAX bankroll. It can
also be useful when you just want to goof-off or experiment with radical styles. Play
money games are considered exhibition games, and statistics are not kept by the server.
How do I get PAX?
Everyone stats with zero, none, nil, no PAX. All PAX in the system MUST be earned.
This is the major difference between Poker Academy Online and other online poker sites.
Each PAX carries the value of someone's time invested to earn that chip.
PAX Freerolls are the main source for earning your initial PAX bankroll. There will
always be a freeroll table, that anyone can join for free. The higher you place in the SnG
the more PAX you will earn, the last places will not earn anything. Your freeroll earnings
will only be paid up to a maxium bankroll of 50 PAX.
What can I do with my PAX?
Earning PAX first and foremost lets you practice proper bankroll management. As your
bankroll grows, you can play increasingly higher limits. Only the best players will be able
to rise to the highest limits, and thus you will face the most challenging opponents
available. Standings are given showing all player's PAX won or lost at the tables. By
being rated, you can quickly learn where you stand relative to the rest of the community.
Game Play
The table window is where you play poker against computer opponents or other people
online. The game area displays the current table. Seats and cards may be clicked on for
context-sensitive options. When it is your turn to act, action buttons are displayed along
the bottom of the screen. Along the right of the table is an information Sidebar providing
a game transcript, advice, and live hand statistics.
Action Buttons
At the bottom of the screen, a number of action buttons will appear when it is your turn to
make an action.
Deal Hand
The Deal Hand button will only appear when you can start dealing a hand and pressing it
starts the hand. When you are playing a ring game or a tournament game you can use the
Auto Deal feature to automatically deal hands for you so that you do not have to click this
button every hand (see options).
Fold
Clicking the Fold button folds your hand. This button appears when it is your turn to
make an action and goes away when it is not your turn to act.
Check or Call $x
When it is your turn to act, if there is no bet to you the 'Check' button will appear, which
allows you to check (i.e. call $0). If there is a bet to you the 'Call $x' button will appear,
where $x is the amount of the bet to you. Pressing it will call the current bet.
Bet $x or Raise $x
When it is your turn to act, if there is no bet to you the 'Bet $x' button will appear, which
allows you to bet $x dollars. If there is a bet to you, and the maximum number of raises
has not been met, the 'Raise $x' button will appear. Pressing it will raise the current bet by
$x dollars.
If the game is no-limit then a slider will also appear next to the Bet or Raise button,
allowing any legal raise amount to be made. A Pot button will automatically bet the size
of the pot for you, and an All-In button will automatically raise you all-in. If you wish to
set a specific amount using the keyboard, click the $ button to the right of the slider.
Tip: The No-Limit betting slider can be moved using your mouse-wheel, if you have one.
Table Area
Each player's name is presented on their seat, along with their current bankroll, and last
action. The player who's turn it is to act will have a hilited rectangle.
If you click on a player's seat, you can set the bankroll for that player and, if it is a
computer player, modify the settings of that player's poker engine.
You can click on a player's cards to reveal what they are holding if you have "peeking"
enabled (see options).
Profiles
Each profile you create will be treated as a different and uniquely named player, with its
own set of statistics and hand histories. Computer opponents will learn and adjust their
play to each profile.
The purpose of profiles is two-fold. Most importantly, each profile is tracked separately
in the Player Statistics. The computer opponents will also treat each profile as a brand
new player.
Tip: Profiles are very useful for trying out different styles of play. For instance, you
might have one profile for goofing around and experimenting with wild strategies,
another profile for serious play, another for playing with all cards face up, and one for
drilling on specific game situations. For instance, you might set up the dealer options to
deal you King-Jack off suit (KJo) in early position every hand so that you can play it out
500 times to learn how to play that scenario better. By using a different profile for the
drill, you won't pollute your player statistics from other sessions.
Game Options
The options are accessible from the Options Menu, and are described below.
 Advanced Actions
If Advanced Actions is checked, then a panel will appear on the game screen
where your action buttons normally appear to allow you to pre-select an action
before it is your turn to act. If you pre-select an action which no longer makes
sense after another player has subsequently acted, then your advanced action is
automatically cleared. Advanced actions are particularily useful to speed up game
play when playing Poker Academy Online.
 Auto Deal
Auto Dealing will automatically press the Deal Hand button for you after each
hand. The delay between deals can be set in the Throttle settings. Auto Dealing
can be used during ring game or tournament games but does not do anything
during online play or during Hand Playback.
 Freeze Button
Selecting this option so that there is a "check mark" in the menu will force the
button to stay in its current position during ring game play for as long as you have
the button frozen. This option is useful if you want to practice playing a specific
position. This option is ignored during tournament and online games as well as
during Hand Playback. When the button is actually frozen, a lock will be shown
on the button when you see it on the table.
 Four Color Deck
The four color deck makes different suits easier to spot. Diamonds are blue and
clubs are green.
 Muck Losing Hands
Players will automatically fold their hands at the showdown if they are beat. If
this option is off players will always reveal their hands at the showdown.
 Peeking
Peeking allows you to click on a player's cards to see them. If you don't want to
be tempted, or accidentally click and see the cards, then use this option to turn
peeking off. This option does nothing when you are in an online game or when
you are in Hand Playback.
 Play Face-Down
In live casino play, you need to keep your cards face down, and remember what
you hand was throughout the hand. You can play this way (and click on your
cards to peek) in order to practice for live games. This option does nothing when
you are in an online game or when you are in Hand Playback.
 Play All Face-Up
All cards will be shown face up. You will be able to watch how the opponents
play their hands. This is an excellent mode for novice players to learn the game.
This option does nothing when you are in an online game or when you are in
Hand Playback.
 Hide Names
This option when selected will replace each computer opponent's name on their
seat and in the Sidebar Transcript with a generic name, of the form "Seat x",
where x is their seat number. It is important to note that this option does not mask
each player's real name when keeping statistics and when logging the actual hands
played in the Hand History Database. This option is useful when you want to
practice how to quickly classify an opponent based on their betting tendencies and
get feedback on your improvement. For example, you can start a table with
known opponents, then hide their names using this option and then shuffle the
seats. You can then play at the table for a while and try to figure out which
opponent is which based solely on how they play. Once you have a guess of
which player is which, you can flip this option off and see how accurate your
guesses were.
 Advice
Poker Academy will display advice in the Sidebar to suggest which actions it
feels are appropriate to take every time you need to act. This option allows you to
choose between having this advice hidden or visible. In addition, there are certain
situations in Poker Academy that trigger warnings when you make certain actions
in those situations. When this happens, Poker Academy will warn you by
displaying a warning overlay over the poker table. When these overlays appear,
you are able to tell them to not display again in the future. This option allows you
to re-enable all warnings associated with each of the fold, call, and bet actions.
 Background Image
Allows you to choose your preferred table color, carpets, and chairs.
 Animation and Sound
Turn the various animations and sound effects on or off. Additionally, there is a
drop down item that allows you to select which sound engine you want to use to
play game sounds. Sound engines seem to perform differently for different
people, so this option gives them the choice to experiment with alternative sound
engines.
 Throttles
Throttles control the speed of the game. If you find the game moves too slowly or
too quickly for your taste you can adjust the throttles to move the game at your
desired speed.
 Hot Keys
Allows you to customize the hot keys assigned to various game actions. The
defaults are 'f' to fold, 'c' to check or call, 'r' to bet or raise, 'd' to deal, 'z' to go into
Zip Mode, and 'enter' to automatically take you from the poker table to the chat
box for chatting in online play.
 Window Options
Allows you to decide how you want the Poker Academy window to be displayed.
You can choose between playing Poker Academy in Compact Mode or in Regular
Mode. In addition, you can choose between available color schemes. It is
important to note that these options require Poker Academy to be restarted in
order for them to take effect.
Dealer Options
Dealer Options allows you to rig the deck so that certain cards will be dealt. Choose
Dealer Options... from the Dealer menu.
The options you choose here will be applied to any ring games that you play and to the
tournament games that you are watching or participating in. These options are never
applied during online games, or to any background tables during a multi-table
tournament.
Small lock icons will appear on cards that are "fixed".
Fixed Hole Cards
Fixed Hole Cards controls how hole cards are dealt to each player. Every seat has two
radio buttons allowing you to specify how cards are dealt. You can specify particular
cards with the left option or a range of cards with the right option.
Click any of the card backs to bring up the Card Chooser and select the specific cards
you wish to have dealt out. Cards that have been chosen elsewhere will appear grayed-
out. Cards left face down will be dealt randomly from the remaining cards in the deck.
To quickly flip cards back to random cards without going to the card chooser, hold down
the control key and click the card.
Select the right radio button if you wish to select ranges of cards to be dealt to a seat.
These ranges are based on the 169 possible starting hands in Hold'em. For example,
selecting "Top 5%" would deal only premium hands that fall in the top 5% of these 169
hands. Selecting "Middle 30%" would select a larger range of middling hands from the
centre of this ranking of hands.
Fixed Board Cards
Fixed Board Cards controls how the board cards are dealt. You can specifically select
each board card with the card chooser as described above.
Other Options
You can uncheck Log Hand Histories and Statistics so that games played will not be
logged in the Hand History Database or affect the tracked statistics in the Player
Statistics System. You may wish to not record games and stats where you where the deal
has been skewed.
You can use different profiles when playing or practicing with a skewed deck to keep the
statistica and histories separate.
The Remove Cap once Heads-Up option means that when you are playing against only
one opponent in a limit game, more than 4 bets or raises are allowed in a round. This an
optional rule in Hold'em seen in many cardrooms.
How Can This Help Me?
Being able to control which cards are dealt to which seat is a powerful tool for learning
about different poker situations. For example, you can force yourself to be dealt various
hole card pairs that you are uncomfortable playing so that you can try out various
strategies and see which ones work in which situations. When you combine this ability
with the ability to "fix" board cards and additionally even your position in a ring game,
you have the ability to force yourself to learn how to deal with problematic situations
until you become comfortable with them. Additionally, these options can be used to
allow you to practice and explore specific concepts that you may have read in poker
books.
Selecting Set Button in the Table menu to set your position and freeze Button from the
Options menu along with Dealer Options allows you to set up particular scenarios that
you can practice playing.
Table Menu Options
The options are accessible from the Table Menu, and are described below. Many of them
are specific to playing ring games.
 Shuffle Seats (ring game only)

Shuffle Seats randomizes the order of the opponents around a table. This is a good
way to change the configuration of a table without changing the computer
opponents. It can be also used in conjunction with Hide Names in the Options
menu. For example, you can start a table with known opponents, then hide their
names and then shuffle the seats using this option. You can then play at the table
for a while and try to figure out which opponent is which based solely on how
they play. Once you have a guess of which player is which, you can flip the Hide
Names option off and see how accurate your guesses were.
 Save Table As... (ring game only)
If you have made changes to the configuration of the computer opponents at the
table this will allow you to save those changes as a new table so you can choose
this exact configuration again.
 Set Button (ring games only)
Set Button will set the button to the player specified in the submenu. You can
additionally use Freeze Button in the Options menu if you wish to stop the button
from moving. This is good for practicing various types of positional play.
 Set Bankroll (ring games only)
This brings up a dialog which allows you to set your bankroll.
 Set All Bankrolls (ring games only)
This brings up a dialog which allows you to set your bankroll and any or all of the
computer opponents bankrolls.
 Edit Opponents
This is the main entry for creating new computer opponents, or editing existing
ones. It will bring up a dialog box that lets you flip between computer opponents
and adjust their settings. For more information see the Opponents page.
Throttles
Throttles control the speed of the game. If you find the game moves too slowly or too
quickly for your taste you can adjust the throttles to your desired speed.
Actions
The action throttle controls the minimum time between player actions. For instance, an
action throttle of one second will enforce at least one second between a player betting and
the next player acting.
Showdowns
The showdown throttle controls how long showdowns will take. A long showdown gives
you more time to see what the opponent had and think about how they played the hand.
Auto-Deal
This sets the delay between a hand ending and the start of the next hand. It is only used
when Auto-Dealing is turned on.
Fast Folds
After you fold the hand, the hand is played out by the computer opponents. With Fast
Folds on, once you have folded all throttles are set to zero for the remainder of the hand.
That way the game plays at maximum speed when you are no longer in the hand.
Auto-Zip
Auto-Zip has the same effect as clicking fold and then clicking the lightning button to zip
to the end of the hand. Once you have folded, all of the remaining players will play at
maximum speed, and animation will be disabled. Some of the more advanced opponents
will play at a reduced mental capacity in order to play faster. This is the fastest way to
move on to the next hand.
Advance Actions
Advance Actions allows you to instruct Poker Academy to perform an action

automatically when it becomes your turn. They will appear (as check boxes) when you
are still in a hand, but it is not your turn.
The actions that are available to you at any given time will change depending on the
current state of the game. If the action you select becomes an invalid action it will be
ignored and you have the option of selecting another.
Hand Evaluator
The Hand Evaluator can compute and summarize a detailed evaluation of any Hold'em
hand. Custom cards can be entered along the top by clicking on each of the card buttons.
Once hole cards have been entered, some statistics become immediately available. For
instance, the draws to the flop, turn, and river, for that hand will be shown under the
draws tab. Most calculations, however, also require board cards to be entered as well.
Strength
When the Hand Evaluator is open, the Strength tab will display the results of a running
simulation that determines the percentage of the pot you will win on average against each
of 1 to 9 opponents. The percentage of the pot that you will win is typically referred to as
your equity in the pot.
Your equity in the pot takes into account how often you would win a pot outright, how
often you would lose the pot, and how often you would tie and end up sharing the pot
with your opponents. For example, if you will always win the pot outright, then you are
said to have 100% equity. If you will always lose the pot, then you are said to have 0%
equity. If you will always tie against one opponent, then you have 50% equity. If you will
always tie against two opponents, then you have 33% equity. If you win the pot outright
half the time, and lose the pot outright the other half the time, you have 50% equity. If
you win the pot outright one third of the time, and lose the pot outright two thirds of the
time, you have 33% equity.
In the simulation results shown, all unspecified board cards are randomly generated in
each simulation. This gives you an estimate of your all-in equity since the results
correspond to what happens when you are all-in against your opponents and you get to
see all the remaining board cards. Because these simulations automatically generate the
remaining board cards for you, the simulations will start running as soon as you specify
any of your cards.
In each trial of the simulation, each opponent is assigned hole cards according to the
distribution of hands indicated by the currently selected opponent preflop tightness bias.
The opponent preflop tightness bias can be selected using the slider at the bottom of the
Hand Evaluator window. This slider is explained in more depth in the Bias tab
description below.
At the bottom of the Strength panel, the hand's pre-flop hand ranking is also given. The
pre-flop hand rank was determined by simulating millions of hands and computing the
performance of each starting hand. The best hand (AA) is ranked #1, while the worst
hand (72o) is ranked #169.
Draws
The Draws panel shows the probability of making a draw to each type of hand on each
betting round. If the betting round is already passed, the hand type that was made in that
round is marked with an asterisk.
Positive Potential is the probability that if you are currently behind, the next card to come
will make your hand the best.
Negative Potential is the probability that if you currently have the best hand, that the next
card to come will put you behind.
Hands
The Hands panel shows the probability of your opponents currently having various types
of hands. Uniform weighting gives an exact count with all hands considered equally
likely. Biased probabilities are skewed toward hands that were more likely to be played
preflop.
The nuts (the best possible hand) is also displayed on this screen.
Bias
The Bias tab lets you configure the amount of bias to use in the calculations that appear
in the Strength and Hands tabs.
On the left is a 13x13 matrix which represents all 169 starting hands types. Each cell is
shaded to represent the current weighting it receives. The darker a cell, the more weight it
is given in the calculations.
The slider bar changes the estimated pre-flop tightness of your virtual opponents. If you
drag the slider all the way to the left, the entire table becomes black. This means that your
opponents would see the flop with any two cards, and the biased values will be identical
to uniform weighting. If you move the slider all the way to the right, only hands like AA,
KK, and AK suited are probable.
The histogram on the bottom right shows the distribution of hand ranks for all of the 1081
opponent hands, weighted by the probability that the hand was played (from the weight
table). All of the bars drawn in grey are hands that are worse than your hand. The bars
drawn in red represent all of the opponent hands that are better than your hand. The
distribution depends on the tightness of your opponents and will change as you move the
slider.
The x-axis is the strength of the opponent hands (with the weakest hands to the left and
strongest to the right). The height of each bar shows the relative proportion of hands for
each strength class.
Showdown Calculator
The Showdown Calculator is a powerful tool for calculating the chances of a hand
winning, tying, or losing at the showdown. Clicking on any of the red card-backs will
bring up a card chooser. Any cards that are left unspecified (shown as a card-back rather
than a specific card image) represent any random available card.
To quickly flip cards back to random cards without going to the card chooser, hold down
the control key and click the card.
Cards can be loaded from games in progress by choosing Load Current Hand or Load
Hand and Opponent Hands from the Options menu.
Once the scenario has been entered, there are two methods of performing the calculation:
Enumeration and Simulation.
Enumeration
You should use Enumeration only when you have a small number of random cards in
your scenario and you would like an exact result. Enumeration will calculate the winner
of every possible card combination and display exact numbers. This is practical only with
a small number of random cards, as the number of card combinations and thus the length
of time to calculate grows exponentially with each one. Enumerations are typically used
with 6 or fewer random cards.
Tip: If you choose Enumerate on a scenario with many random cards and don't feel like
waiting for the heat-death of the universe you can always click the X button to stop the
calculation.
Simulation
Simulations are a fast alternative to enumeration since they are not affected by the
number of random cards. Using Monte Carlo sampling, the simulation quickly converges
to a very good approximation of the relative values. The more trials used, the more
accurate the approximation becomes. Simulations are typically used with 7 or more
random cards.
When running a simulation, you can stop at any time. Once the numbers appear to have
stabilized, finishing the trials will have only a minor effect on the accuracy.
Tip: You can toggle between displaying relative percentages or exact totals by clicking
on the results under each hand.
Examples
There are numerous questions the Showdown Calculator can be used to answer. For
instance, you may want to know how often Ah-Kh beats Jc-Js. Simply set the number of
hands to 2, set the two hands to the appropriate cards, and click Enumerate. Within a
few seconds, it will show that the pocket Jacks are a 53.7% favorite to win. In this case
enumeration is used since the 5 board cards are the only random cards.
Now perhaps you want to know what your pre-flop chances are with pocket Jacks, when
you are up against 5 other players. Set the number of players to 6, enter Jc-Js into the first
hand, and leave the rest wild. In this case we use Simulate since there are 15 random
cards. You will find that Jacks will hold up about 33% of the time.
Now compare what happens to your Jacks when you simulate an Ace-high flop such as
Ad-2c-7h. Next, compare this to a flop such as Td-2c-7h where your Jacks are an over
pair.
Note
When using the showdown calculator, keep in mind that wildcards are taken from a
uniform distribution. That is, all possible combinations are equally likely. The calculator
does not attempt to model what hands your opponents are likely to be holding. In
addition, it gives you the final winning percentage assuming all hands have stayed to the
showdown.
Hand History Database
All hands played in Poker Academy are stored in a Hand History Database. The main
Player Statistics window provides access to all of the hand history and player analysis
tools. This module lets you view hand histories, import hands, track your session
performance, view summarized reports on all of the players you've faced, and dive into
specific player statistics such as bankroll graphs, action frequencies, and more.
The Player Statistics module contains three types of windows. The Hand History
Database contains summary information on all of the players and sessions. Hand History
Browsers display the actual hands from a session. Player Stats Windows can be loaded
for each player you have played a hand with. Individual player stats windows contain
information specific to that player.
Toolbar Buttons
Several common toolbar buttons are used throughout the statistics package. They
typically apply an action to the currently selected row in a table. If nothing is selected,
they apply to all rows in the table.
The Player Stats button will bring up a new Player Statistics Windows
containing detailed statistics on the selected player.
The Hand History button will bring up a Hand History Browser showing only
the selected hands.
The Playback button loads the selected hands into the game window for play
back and review.
Permanently deletes all of the selected hands or sessions from the database.
Export transcripts of the selected hands or sessions to a text file.
Import Hands Histories from Online Poker Sites from a text file or directory.
Opens a specific help page in this help browser.
Summary Tab
The Summary tab provides a quick at-a-glance summary of the entire database contents.
The total number of hands, sessions, and players are given on the upper left.
Totals for all of the different Sites found in the database are displayed in the table at the
top. Currently only two sites are supported. Poker Academy Pro is the site under which
all local games are played. Poker Academy Online is used for all hands played on our
online servers. In the future, we will support importing of hand histories from other poker
sites. All players in the database are listed on the Players summary table. Heroes (your
personal profiles) are shown in bold. A Show Heroes Only check box allows you to filter
out all players that are not Heroes. Likewise, you can also filter out all players that have
not played a significant number of hands. For each player, it lists:
Player
The player's name
Site
The site the player is from
Dollars Won
The net dollars won or lost over all ring game hands, and tournament earnings.
Essentially, this is the player's bankroll.
Rake Paid
The amount raked from pots this player has won, or rake paid in tournament buy-
in fees.
Hands
The number of hands played.
Ring Games
The number of ring game sessions played.
Tournaments
The number of Tournaments played.
Player Type
The class of player (Hero, Human, or Bot)
Selecting a player will enable two buttons on the right:
The Player Stats button will bring up a new window containing detailed
statistics on that player. (See the section on Player Statistics Windows for more
information).
The Hand History button will bring up a Hand History window showing only
the hands where that player is listed.
Note: As a short-cut, double-clicking a player's row will bring up a Player Stats window.
History Tab
The History tab displays a list of all hands ever played. See the section on the Hand
Histories Browser for more information.
Session Tabs
There are four tabs for each of the four game types (Limit Ring, No-Limit Ring, Limit
Tournament, No-Limit Tournament). Each tab displays a list of the appropriate sessions
at the top. The bottom half of the view contains a list of all players from the selected
sessions. Sessions can be selected (control-click to select multiple sessions, or shift-click
to select a range of continuous sessions). Clicking on any of the column titles will sort the
table by that column. Clicking the same column title again will reverse the sorting order.
Menu Options
Color Preferences...
Choose your own custom colors shades to represent winning, losing, and breaking
even. The defaults are pastel green for winning, pastel red for losing, and white
for breaking even.
Export Hand Histories...
Exports all of the hands in the database as text formatted hand transcripts.
Hand History Importer
The Hand History Importer will import hands from the major Online Poker sites. The
importer will group your hands by the site and session they where played online, and
produce the same extensive stats as your Poker Academy hands. Imported hands can also
be played back in the same manner as the rest of the hands in your Hand History
Database.
Note: Texas Hold'em Limit, Pot Limit and No Limit Ring games are currently only
supported. Files that failed to be imported are stored on your hard disk, for later import
when other game types are supported. Tournaments are not yet supported.
Importing Hand Histories
Online Hand Histories must be read from a text file, typically on the computer's hard
drive. It is recommended that you place all of your online hand histories in a seperate
directory and copy / backup regularly. Poker Academy can scan a directory and will
import all hands into the database. The following Online Sites are currently supported:
Party Poker
Hand Histories can be configured to be saved on your hand drive. This can be
configured in Party Poker client's menu using Options -> Hand History
Configuration Options
Poker Stars
Hand Histories from the past 30 days can be saved to your hand drive. Within the
Poker Stars client's menu go to: Options -> Instant Hand History Options...
Paradise Poker
Hand Histories can be requested for your most recent 100 hands played. This can
be done from the Paradise Poker client using either the Options menu or the
Dealer Chips Tray.
Results
After an import is completed the summary results are displayed at the top of the screen.
The details panel will give more information about each file that was imported, including
the type of importer/parser used add the number of hands found, new hands imported into
the database, hands duplicated within the file, hands that where overwritten/updated, and
the hands that failed to be imported.
Limitations
Currently the importer does not support tournament hands, hands with unsupported bet
completion rules, or hands where a player is given disconnect protection.
Hand History Browser
The Hand History window displays a scrolling list of recent hands. Your cards are shown
in the Hand column, and the board cards are shown in the Board column.
Clicking on any of the hands will generate a transcript on the right.
Table rows are color coded in red, green or white (by default). A red background
indicates that the hero lost money during the hand, white indicates no money won or lost,
and green indicates a win.
If the hand history browser was launched on an opponent's statistics, the Hole cards and
cell shading will be displayed from the perspective of that player, instead of the hero. The
window's titlebar will specify the perspective.
Toolbar Options
When a hand is selected, several toolbar buttons are available:
Play Back
Loads the hand into the game window for play back and review.
Calculator
Loads the hand into the showdown calculator
Export
Exports the hand transcript to a text file
Delete
Deletes the selected hand from the database
Help
Brings up this help page in the help browser
Menu Options
 You can choose to either show or hide all of the opponent hands in the transcript
window with the Show Hole Cards option.
Hand Playback
Hand Playback allows you to watch a hand or session of hands from your hand history
using CD player style controls. Hand Playback can be useful for going over hands in
your Hand History to evaluate and analyze your own actions or the actions of others.
During playback, all known cards are shown face-up. As play proceeds a percentage is
displayed by the cards of active players. This percentage represents the player's equity in
the pot, or in other words the percentage of times they would win the pot on average if
there were no future betting actions and all future board cards were rolled out. These
percentages are either the result of a 10,000 trial simulation or the result of an an
enumeration in the case where no more than 10,000 enumerations are needed. For this
calculation unknown cards are assumed to all be equally likely.
Invoking Hand Playback
Hand Playback can be invoked using the Hand Playback icon that you can find on
windows that are part of the Player Statistics System. For example, from the Player
Statistics System you can choose to watch a single selected hand from your hand history
or you can watch all hands from one or more selected sessions.
It is important to note that Hand Playback can only be invoked if you are not currently
playing at the same time. If you are in the middle of a hand, you will need to abort the
hand in order to actually watch a hand. If you are outside of hand but sitting at a poker
table as part of a ring game, tournament game, or online game, you will be silently
removed from those games if you invoke Hand Playback. In the case of a tournament
game, your tournament game will be automatically saved and marked as unfinished so
that you can resume it after you are done with Hand Playback. In the case of a ring game,
you will need to restart your ring game when you want to go back to it. In the case of an
online game, you would be disconnected and you would have to manually reconnect after
you are done with Hand Playback.
Hand Playback Controls
The Hand Playback Controls are designed to be similar to the controls you would see on
a CD player. The controls are as follows (in order from left to right):
Previous Hand Button
Goes back to the start of the previous hand. This means if you are in the middle of
a hand, clicking this button takes you to the start of the previous hand and not the
start of the current hand. If you want to go to the start of the current hand, you
have to click the Previous Hand Button followed by the Next Hand Button.
Step Button
Steps you through a hand step by step.
Play/Pause Button
Toggles you between play and pause mode. When in play mode, play
automatically proceeds step by step using your preferred Action Throttles and
Showdown Throttles (see Throttles for more information on the throttles
themselves). When in pause mode, play does not proceed unless you press the
Step Button or toggle this button back to play mode.
Next Hand Button
Skips all remaining play in the current hand and takes you to the start of the next
hand.
Player Statistics
The Player Statistics panel presents detailed information on the selected player. Every
hand ever played by that player is accessible from this window. The upper portion of the
screen will list the sessions they have played. The filters on the upper-left will filter the
session list by game type, stakes, and table name. Summary information of the selected
sessions in the table is displayed in the bottom portion of the window. The bottom portion
has two modes, Session Stats and Hand Stats.
Session Stats
Session stats shows information about the overall sessions. If a single session or
tournament is selected, then results for that single session are displayed. If multiple
sessions are selected, a bankroll graph is shown on the right, and session totals are given
on the left.
Hand Stats
The hand stats section displays summary information at the hand level. The hand stats
displayed are based on the sessions selected in the upper table. The Hand Filters on the
right let you filter the hands to match specific criteria such as your position, number of
players, or your hole cards. Some basic totals are displayed below, and the main area to
the right contains several tabs with detailed information:
Totals
After applying all the filter the totals are displayed.
Hands
The total number of hands
Raked
The total amount ranked
Units Won
The total amount of the selected units won
Units / Hand
The total amount of selected units won per hand
Hand Filters
Several filters are available from the Filters panel. A filter will let you look at only a
specific subset of the hands you have played. For instance, if you wanted to show only
statistics from heads-up games, select Max -> 2 Players. You can also filter the statistics
based on your position. For instance, to show only hands where you were in the big blind,
select Position -> Big Blind . Filters are applied to all hands on all tabs.
Min
Minimum number of players per hand.
Max
Maximum number of players per hand.
Position
Seat position the player is sitting at for the hand.
Cards
Hole card for the player.
Pairs
Two cards of the same rank.
Suited Connectors
Two cards of the same suit and their rank is within one of each other.
Offsuit Connectors
Two cards of the different suit and their is are within one of each other.
Any Ace
One of the two cards is an Ace
Groups:
Groups 1 to 8 refer to the groups of starting cards that David Sklansky made
popular in his books:
Group 1
AA KK QQ JJ AKs
Group 2
TT AQs AJs KQs AKo
Group 3
99 JTs QJs KJs ATs AQo
Group 4
T9s KQo 88 QTs 98s J9s AJo KTs
Group 5
77 87s Q9s T8s KJo QJo JTo 76s 97s A9s A8s A7s A6s A5s A4s A3s A2s 65s
Group 6
66 ATo 55 86s KTo QTo 54s K9s J8s 75s
Group 7
44 J9o 64s T9o 53s 33 98o 43s 22 K8s K7s K6s K5s K4s K3s K2s T7s Q8s
Group 8
87o A9o Q9o 76o 42s 32s 96s 85s J8o J7s 65o 54o 74s K9o T8o 43o
Played Hands Only
A hand that was played
Hands Slider
Move the slider to display a limited number of hands
Units
$/h
Dollars per Hand. This unit type should be used if you want to see how an actual
poker bankroll would have changed over the selected sessions. For ring games, if
you select this unit type, the graph will show the selected player's winnings in
dollars. For tournaments, this unit type causes the graph to map the selected
player's tournament chips throughout a tournament session to predicted
tournament winnings in dollars. This is done using a variant of the Independent
Chip Model (ICM). At the start of each tournament there will be a sharp drop and
this corresponds to the rake taken to play the tournament. Also, while a
tournament is unfinished, it is plotted in gray and does not count toward the
current bankroll until it is is finished.
sb/h
Small Bets per Hand. A small bet is equal to a big blind. When this unit type is
selected, all of a player's winnings in a hand are converted into a multiple of the
size of the small bet for that hand and then plotted. This type of unit is useful
when you want to view your win rate across sessions of games with different
sized stakes. It is important to be aware that for tournaments the size of the small
bet increases as the levels in a tournament increase. As a result, care should be
taken when interpreting a graph plotted using this unit type if the sessions selected
include both ring and tournament sessions.
T/h
Tournament Chips per Hand. This unit type is for when you want to plot the size
of your stack of tournament chips thoughout a tournament. When this unit type is
selected, the size of the big blind is plotted alongside your tournament chip graph
so you can easily see the information together. Note, this option is only available
to be selected when your selected sessions are purely tournaments and is best
viewed a single tournament at a time.
Bankroll Graph
The Bankroll Graph tab graphically plots a running total of the selected player's winnings
over all selected sessions. If only one session is selected, the resulting graph is straight-
forward showing only the player's winnings for that session. If more than one session is
selected, the plot shows the player's winnings in each selected session appended one after
the other session by session from left to right.
If not too many sessions are selected and plotted together, each session will have blue
dots indicating its start and end points.
Tip: If the selected sessions include both ring game and tournament sessions, they will
both be plotted together, but you should take care when interpreting these results because
you really are looking at two different types of games all at once.
Graph Options
The way the Bankroll Graph is plotted can be customized. These options allow you to
customize the plot's units on both the vertical axis (i.e. Units) and the horizontal axis (i.e.
Type).
Units
$/h
Dollars per Hand. This unit type should be used if you want to see how an actual
poker bankroll would have changed over the selected sessions. For ring games, if
you select this unit type, the graph will show the selected player's winnings in
dollars. For tournaments, this unit type causes the graph to map the selected
player's tournament chips throughout a tournament session to predicted
tournament winnings in dollars. This is done using a variant of the Independent
Chip Model (ICM). At the start of each tournament there will be a sharp drop and
this corresponds to the rake taken to play the tournament. Also, while a
tournament is unfinished, it is plotted in gray and does not count toward the
current bankroll until it is is finished.
sb/h
Small Bets per Hand. A small bet is equal to a big blind. When this unit type is
selected, all of a player's winnings in a hand are converted into a multiple of the
size of the small bet for that hand and then plotted. This type of unit is useful
when you want to view your win rate across sessions of games with different
sized stakes. It is important to be aware that for tournaments the size of the small
bet increases as the levels in a tournament increase. As a result, care should be
taken when interpreting a graph plotted using this unit type if the sessions selected
include both ring and tournament sessions.
T/h
Tournament Chips per Hand. This unit type is for when you want to plot the size
of your stack of tournament chips thoughout a tournament. When this unit type is
selected, the size of the big blind is plotted alongside your tournament chip graph
so you can easily see the information together. Note, this option is only available
to be selected when your selected sessions are purely tournaments and is best
viewed a single tournament at a time.
Type
Hands
Changes the horizontal axis of the graph to be in units of hands played.
Sessions
Changes the horizontal axis of the graph to be in units of sessions played.
Graph Analysis
Luckometer - plot the 'luck' of the cards for each hand shown in the graph. For
additional details a full description of the luckometer is provided.
Pre-flop luck - plots a graph of how strong your starting hands have been, on a
percentage scale, where 50% would be an average starting hand.
Played Hands % - shows how loose or tight you have been playing pre-flop. This is also
a percentage scale, so if you have been playing all hands, the graph would rise to the top
of the scale, while folding everything would have the graph fall to the bottom.
Actions
The Actions tab graphically shows information about the selected player's actions over
the selected sessions. The upper portion of the tab breaks down the player's action
frequencies by each Texas Hold'em round: Pre-Flop, Flop, Turn and River. The lower
portion of the tab shows four other key statistics for the selected player on graphical
scales: Pre-Flop Played %, Went to Showdown and Won %, Pre-Flop Aggression, and
Post-Flop Aggression.
Action Frequencies By Stage
The Action Frequencies By Stage portion of the Actions tab graphically shows how often
a player takes each type of action in each stage of the game. This information is shown
using four pie charts with associated percentages for each stage in Texas Hold'em: Pre-
Flop, Flop, Turn, and River.
Each pie chart is color-coded to show frequencies for each of the four action frequencies
tracked. Fold is shown in red, Call in dark blue, Check in light blue, and Bet in green.
The relative size of each colored section in the pie represents the percentage of time the
selected player has taken that action in the selected sessions. These percentages are also
listed explicitly beside each pie chart.
If a pie chart is an empty circle, then that means that the selected player has never made
an action on that stage in the selected sessions. When this happens, the percentages
shown with each action are shown as being "n/a" (i.e. not available).
In the bottom left corner of each stage's frequency information is a number that is used to
indicate how often a player reaches that particular stage in the game. In the Pre-Flop
panel, the number represents the number of hands dealt. In the three other Post-Flop
panels (flop, turn, and river), the number in the corner represents the percentage of time
that player went to that stage. It is important to note that during all-ins a player can reach
a stage but not actually get to make an action there.
The frequency information presented here is useful when trying to identify patterns in a
player's betting habits. For example, this information is useful if you want to see if a
player is calling too much on the flop only to fold on the turn.
Key Stats with Graphical Scales
The lower portion of the Actions tab graphically presents some key statistics for the
selected player as observed in the selected sessions. For each key statistic, there is a
graphical scale that represents a valid range for the value of that statistic. The selected
player's value for that statistic is shown as value inside the scale.
To make it easier to interpret the graphical scale, they are colored in a specific manner to
draw your attention to different areas. Each extreme end of the scale is colored a specific
color and a gradient is used blur the two colors together as they approach one another.
Somewhere within the scale, there will be a white highlighted region that is distinctly
bright at some point and fades out to the extreme colors. This white highlighted region is
meant to indicate a suggested range where the player's actual value should be situated.
It is important to note that the accuracy of these stats, as with all stats, will have more
significance as more hands are played. Also note, analyzing these stats across different
game types (number of players, types of players, betting type (e.g. limit or no limit), and
game type (e.g. ring or tournament)) may produce poor statistical significance.
These graphical scales are useful to use when you want to compare different players to
try and identify which characteristics are important for making players winners or losers.
The key statistics shown are as follows:
Pre-Flop Played %
The percentage of hands where the selected player voluntarily contributed chips
to the pot (i.e. chips put into the pot not including blinds or antes). That is, this is
the number of hands the player called or raised before the flop out of the total
number of hands dealt. This statistic is extremely useful to determine how loose
(plays many hands) or tight (plays few hands) a player is. For newer players, it is
good to play tighter, while you learn and watch others play. At a full table (10
players), it is also better to play tighter. When there are less players at the table
you need to play more hands. Note, it is possible for a player to see the flop
without voluntarily putting any money in the pot. For example, this can happen if
they post the big blind and the pot is not raised. Also note, the suggested range (in
white) is for a tight - average player in a 10 handed limit game.
Pre-Flop Aggression
Aggression shows a player's betting tendencies. Aggression is calculated by:
(number of raises + number of bets) / number of calls
The more a player bets the more aggressive they are. The more a player calls the
more passive they are.
Went to the Showdown and Won %
The number of hands won at during showdowns out of the number of hands taken
to showdowns. If this value is 100%, the selected player has won every single
showdown they have seen in the selected sessions. If this value is 0%, the selected
player has lost every single showdown they have seen in the selected sessions.
Post-Flop Aggression
Post-Flop Aggression is calculated according to the same formula shown above in
the description of the pre-flop aggression statistic. Post-flop aggression, however,
considers player actions on all three post-flop stages together to determine the
value of this statistic (i.e. flop, turn, and river). Pre-Flop and Post-Flop aggression
are separated into separate stats because players tend to play differently pre-flop
and post-flop.
Hands Stats - Frequencies Tab
The Frequencies panel displays a miscelaneous selection of statistics and frequencies.
Steals and Calls
Shows pre-flop frequencies for stealing, folding the blinds to a steal, and cold calling.
Folded SB to Steal
Number of times player folded their small blind to a steal out of the number of
times someone attempted to steal
Folded BB to Steal
Number of times player folded their big blind to a steal out of the number of times
someone attempted to steal
Attempt to Steal
Number of times player attempted to steal the blinds out of the number of times
they had the opportunity. A steal attempt is defined when a player raises in the
cutoff or on the button in a six or more handed game when everyone has folded
before them.
Cold Call %
Calling a bet and a raise before the players, has invested money in the pot in that
round out of the number of times they had the opportunity
Misc Stats
This is a compilation of several different useful stats.

Average Pot Size
Sum of all pots over the total number of hands in the set units.
Units / 100 hands
Profit Units per 100 hands
Pre-flop Raise
The number of times the player raised pre-flop over total number of hands
Aggression
Aggression shows a player's betting tendencies. Aggression is calculated by:
(number of raises + number of bets) / number of calls
The more a player bets the more aggressive they are. The more a player calls the
more passive they are.
Stage Seen %
The Stage Seen panel displays the percent of time the player went to each stage out of the
total number of hands.
Hands Played
The percent of hands played. This is similar to VP$IP - Voluntarily Put Money
Into the Pot percent, however VI$IP does not count calling only the big blind
from the small blind as a played hand.
Won at Stage %
The Won at Stage panel displays the percent of the time the player made a profit out of
the total number of times they went to that stage.
Pre-Flop Stats
The pre-flop stats table breaks your hands down by pre-flop starting hand, and shows
how much you have won or lost with each type of starting hand. This is very useful for
learning which hands you should either fold more often, or learn to play differently post-
flop. By default, hands you are winning with are shown in green, hands you are break-
even with are shown in white, and hands you are losing with are shown in red.
Note: Don't read too much into your hand values until you have collected enough hands
to have statistical significance. You will need hundreds of examples for each starting
hand before the values are meaningful.
Tip: Double click a row to bring up a Hand History Browser showing all of the hand
histories where you had the selected hole cards. For instance, if you notice you're losing
money with a particular hand type, you can instantly bring up all of the relevant hand
histories for review.
Sharks & Fish
The Sharks & Fish table shows how much you have won or lost directly against each
opponent you have faced. You can quickly learn which players are taking your money,
and which ones are helping to pad your wallet. By default, players you are winning
against are shown in green, players you are break-even with are shown in white, and
players you are losing to are shown in red.
Tip: Double click a row to bring up a Hand History Browser showing just the relevant
hands between you and the opponent. A hand is considered relevant if both you and the
selected opponent put money in the pot. This will filter out all hands where you or the
opponent folded pre-flop and did not contest the pot.
Luckometer Analysis
Ever wonder how much of your success is from good play, and how much is from luck?
The Luckometer is a tool for objectively measuring the quality of the cards you are being
dealt, verses your opponents.
The luckometer is intended to answer the following question: What quality of cards have
I been dealt, relative to my opponents? Perhaps you have just experienced a large drop in
a heads-up match. The luckometer can help you determine if you were simply dealt a bad
run of cards, or if you are on tilt.
"Luck" is defined by a simplistic, objective formula based only on the cards dealt. The
player who is dealt the winning hand receives the luck for that hand, and the players dealt
losing hands receive the corresponding amount of negative luck for that hand.
"Luck" is proportional to the strength of the hands dealt. For instance, flopping a nut
flush is considered luckier than flopping two-pair. However, it is considered far luckier to
flop a nut flush, if your opponent also flops the second nut flush.
Luckometer plots
Using our simple metric, a plot of 'luck' can be overlayed with a bankroll plot. Although
the luck plot is not on the same scale as the bankroll plot, trends in luck can be compared
to trends in the bankroll.
Luckometer results are well defined for heads-up play, and an extremely high correlation
with luck is typical between evenly matched players. The Luckometer ratings are more
difficult to define for full-ring games, and so the correlation is less significant.
Sidebar: Overview
Poker Academy includes the sidebar as major source of dynamic information when
playing a poker game. At the top of the sidebar are four buttons which take you to the
Main Lobby, Hand Evaluator, Showdown Calculator and Player Statistics.
The main function of the sidebar is to hold a number of sidebar sections. Each section can
be closed to just its titlebar, or opened to see its contents. The window is not tall enough
to comfortably support all sidebar sections in their expanded state, so you will want to
pick and choose the ones you find most useful.
Sidebar: Session Stats

The Session Stats panel records some basic statistics about your current session. And
allows you easy access to session graphs.
Statistics in Session Stats Panel
 Hands Played: number of hands in this session.

 Hands Won: the percentage of hands played that you have won. Tied hands gets
counted as less than a full win depending on the %age of the pot you won. So a
three way tie would count as 1/3rd of a win.
 Win Rate: the number of small bets won per hand for this session.
 Flops Seen: the number of flops seen in this session.
Accessing Session Information
There are two buttons at the bottom of the Session Stats panel which provide easy access
to some session information.
The History button brings up a Hand History Browser for every hand in that session.
This is useful to review previous hands, and for online play it allows you to see mucked
cards of your opponents. Mucked cards are those cards they see a showdown with but
discard because they cannot beat what you have already shown.
The Chart button brings up a Player Statistics window. Your profile is selected, and the
current session is selected. This lets you easily see in depth information about the current
session.
Sidebar: Tournament Stats
When you are playing in a tournament, a Tournament Stats section will appear in the
Sidebar that allows you quick access to some tournament summary information.
On the header for the Tournament Stats section of the Sidebar, you will see a left
pointing arrow on the left hand side and you will see a up or down pointing arrow on the
right hand side. The up or down pointing arrow on the right hand side of the header
expands and contracts the section to make it visible or hide it. The left pointing arrow on
the left hand side allows you to flip between two available subpanels containing two
different types of tournament summary information: Summary Subpanel, and Stack
Subpanel.
Summary Subpanel
When the Summary Subpanel is the currently chosen subpanel, the header of the
Tournament Stats section of the Sidebar will read "Tournament". When this panel is
visible, it contains summary information that will tell you the prize pool of the
tournament, your current ranking, the number of players still active in the tournament,
and the sizes of the largest, average, and smallest stacks respectively.
Stacks Subpanel
When the Stacks Subpanel is the currently chosen subpanel, the head of the Tournament
Stats section of the Sidebar will read "Tournament Stacks". This subpanel contains a
graphical plot of the chip counts for all active players. The chip counts are presented from
left to right in ascending order. The heights of the chip counts are graphed proportional to
the current chip leader. The stack corresponding to your chip count (or all chip counts
tied with you) will appear in a lighter color than all other chip stacks. If you want more
information about a stack, you can hover over a bar and a popup will appear letting you
know the player's name and exact chip count represented by the bar. In addition, if the
application determines that the scale of the graph can allow additional information to be
presented, the graphical plot may contain a black horizontal line to indicate how large the
big blind is in proportion to the stacks (and possibly additional horizontal white lines
representing subsequent multiples of the big blind), as well as another black horizontal
line representing what would be the height of the currently average stack.
SideBar: Hand Evaluator
The Hand Evaluator panel in the SideBar provides you with immediate summary
information about your hand as well as your immediate pot odds. The summary
information displayed for your hand depends on whether the current action is in the
preflop or postflop stage of the game. For more detailed information on hand evaluation,
please see the help information on the full Hand Evaluator.
Preflop Hand Information
For preflop decisions, your hand is described according to its preflop hand value. Your
preflop hand value is determined by seeing how highly your hand is ranked out of the 169
possible distinct preflop hands. This value is displayed both in terms of the percentage of
hands your hand is ranked higher than and also as its actual ranking out of the 169 hands
where a rank of 1 is the best possible preflop hand ranking and a rank of 169 is the worst
possible preflop hand ranking.
There are 169 preflop hands when you ignore the specific suits of your preflop hole cards
and instead just look at whether your hole cards are paired or unpaired and suited or
unsuited.
Note: The hand rankings are based on computer simulations. They are not to be taken as
the gospel truth, as it is impossible to rank starting hands perfectly, since their ranking
(chance of winning) changes a great deal depending on the game conditions. Our
computer simulation rankings are general, well-rounded rankings.
Postflop Hand Information
For postflop decisions, your hand is described by three components.
Hand Name
The first component describing your hand is the name of the best 5-card poker hand you
currently have. For, example, if you have JdTd as your hole cards and the flop is 9dJhQd
then your hand would be assigned the name "a Pair of Jacks".
Strength
In addition to your hand name, the immediate strength of your hand will be shown. The
strength of your hand is an estimate of the chances that your hand is currently better than
that of all your opponents. This estimate takes into account the number of opponents you
are up against. The estimate shown also takes into account opponent modelling
information to bias the strength estimate based on past observations of your opponents.
Potential
The final piece of information presented to describe your hand is the estimated positive
and negative potential of your hand. Your hand's positive potential is the percentage of
situations where you have a hand that is currently behind but that ends up ahead on the
next stage. Your hand's negative potential is the percentage of situations where your hand
is currently ahead but will end up behind on the next stage.
Pot Odds
Your current immediate pot odds are shown both in percentage form and odds form.
When your amount to call is zero, your pot odds are displayed as "n/a". When you are out
of the hand your pot odds continue to be updated despite the fact that you are out of the
hand and you do not have an actual amount to call.
Sidebar: Advisor
Advice is intended for use by novice players. Advice can be left permanently visible, or it
can be hidden so that it only appears when you move your mouse cursor over the shield
graphic hiding it. Clicking in the advisor pane will toggle showing or hiding the current
advice.
The advisor acts like another computer player that sits behind you and lets you know
what it would do if it were in your shoes. Don't assume that the advice is always correct,
or that it is the only way to play. It is simply an example of how one of the computer
opponents would play the hand.
The advisor will help novice players recognize when it is appropriate to raise a strong
hand, call with draw odds, or learn which starting hands should be played and which
should be avoided. Advanced players will not find the advice feature to be of much use.
Suggestions of actions to make are shown as both a pie-chart, and as percentages for
folding, calling, and raising. The percentages reveal how often the advisor thinks the
action should be taken. For instance, if the advisor says fold 80% and raise 20%, it is
probably suggesting that it would normally fold this hand, but that 20% of the time it
would raise as a bluff.
If you were to always choose the maximum percentage displayed as your action, your
play would be quite straightforward and transparent. This style of play would be easily
exploitable.
You can choose which bot profile you want for your advisor on the second page of the
advisor panel. This page can be accessed by clicking the little arrow in the title bar of the
panel. A different advisor can be chosen for both limit and no-limit games.
The third page (which again can be accessed through the arrow in the title bar of the
panel) lets you enable or disable all of the pop-up advice warnings. The pop-up advice
warnings are rule-based triggers that will pop-up when we feel you may be about to make
a big mistake such as folding a very strong draw or failing to bet the nuts on the river.
Each different warning can be disabled individually when they are triggered. This lets
you re-enable all warnings or turn them all off completely.
Sidebar: Transcript
The Transcript provides a textual log of hand information. It shows what actions have
taken place in the hand, what cards were flopped, and records a textual description of all
the winning hands. The Transcript is useful to refer to if the action had gone by too
quickly and you'd like to see exactly what has gone on before.
In online mode, the Transcript also shows all player chat, and is the only place where you
can see chat from observers who are not seated at the table.
You can turn on and off certain classes of transcript messages by right clicking anywhere
in the main transcript area. This brings up a menu that allows you to toggle the display of:
player actions, hand events, hand summaries, and player chat. Note that the toggles apply
to future transcript messages, and do not filter the text that is currently displayed.
Chatting
In online mode there is a text field underneath the Transcript. Click there, type your
message, and press Enter to send it to the other players. As an alternative to clicking in
the text entry field you can press Tab (or any other chosen key that you set using the
Options > Edit Hot Keys... menu item) and then begin to type your message.
Opponents
An opponent is a virtual poker player. They have a name, an engine (the particular
Artificial Intelligence they use), various personal settings for their playing style, and a
memory of hands they have played in the past. If you play the same opponent more than
once, under the same profile name, the opponent will recall how you played and may use
that information to adjust its playing style against you. Each opponent also has its own set
of statistics, which can be viewed in the Player Statistics window.
Opponent Manager
To manage your opponents, Poker Academy provides an Opponent Manager which you
can use to create, delete, import, export, and customize your computer opponents.
The Opponent Manager can be accessed with the Opponent Manager menu item under
Poker Academy's Window menu (or alternatively, using the menu shortcut Ctrl+O).
The Opponent Manager window is broken up into two parts, the Choose Opponent
section on the left, and the Opponent Settings panel on the right.
Choose Opponents - Displays a list of engines and bot profiles for all opponents in
Poker Academy. The list is displayed in a tree sorted by betting type and engine name.
The control buttons on the left allow you to create, delete, import, and export opponent
profiles. Alternatively, for each selected opponent, right-clicking also brings up a popup
menu with similar controls to duplicate, delete, or export the selected individual opponent
or engine.
Creates a new opponent profile based on the current engine, or bot you have
selected. Selecting an engine will create a bot with the default profile for that
engine. Selecting an opponent will create a duplicate profile of the existing bot.
Deletes the currently selected opponent profile from disk.
Opens up a file chooser that will allow you to import other opponent profiles (.pd
files) into Poker Academy. Opponent profiles must use an existing engine from
Poker Academy. May not be compatible with older versions of Poker Academy
(1.5).
Opens up a file chooser that will allow you to save the current opponent profile to
disk. You can share opponent profiles with friends or other Poker Academy
members using our forums (www.poker-academy.com/forums)
Opponent Settings - Selecting an opponent from the tree on the left hand side of the
Opponent Manager displays the specific and configurable settings available for that
opponent on the right hand side of the manager. Using this panel, you can make changes
to your bot profile and adjust specific settings based on the bot engine. The settings for
each of the engines are discussed specifically below. Every bot must have a unique name,
which can be edited at the top of the Settings panel. When you make a change to the
opponents settings, the save button will become enabled on the top right side of the panel
to allow you to save the profile to disk. Beside the save button is a 'reset to default' button
that will return your bot to its original profile.
Artificial Intelligence Engines
Limit Engines:
 Jagbot
 Pokibot
 Simbot
 Sparbot
 Vexbot
No-Limit Engines:
 Averybot
 Jambot
 Oddbot
 Xenbot
Poki
Poki is well-rounded artificial intelligence system designed to play full-ring Texas
Hold'em. Poki is the result of years of research into computer poker techniques. Poki
models each specific player independently, tracking their playing styles. Poki will adjust
its play over time to counter your style of play.
Poki uses what it knows about your habits to put you on probable hands. Once Poki has
put you on a hand, and evaluated the strength of its own hand, a formula-based betting
strategy is used to decide on a randomized action.
Poki keeps track of your play based on your profile. If you use a new profile Poki will
treat you as a new, unknown player.
Poki is very configurable and can be turned into everything from a wild and aggressive
raiser, to an uber-tight rock, to a loose and passive calling station.
Pre-flop Settings:
There are five tightness levels to choose from (tight, moderate, loose, loose-passive, and
small stakes advisor). See Preflop Limit Tightness Settings for detailed information on
these settings.
The pre-flop deception level lets you choose how much randomization Poki will use in
pre-flop actions. If you set the slider towards honest Poki will raise with strong hands,
call with moderate strength hands, and fold everything else. With high deception (tricky)
Poki will have a higher chance of calling strong hands and even some very weak hands,
and will raise some moderate hands.
Post-flop Settings:
For post-flop play there are four sliders. The first slider controls how tight Poki will play.
If you set Poki to all-the-way loose then Poki will never fold post-flop. Similarly, if you
were to set Poki to the maximum tightness it would only stay in with the absolute best
hand. For solid play you should set this value to around 45%.
The second slider controls Poki's aggressiveness. If you set Poki to be passive, it will tend
to check and call more than bet or raise. If you make Poki aggressive it will favor betting
and raising.
The third slider controls how deceptive Poki will play. For instance, setting Poki to tricky
will increase the chances of Poki check-raising or slow playing strong hands.
The last slider controls how much Poki will use its opponent modeling information. If
Poki is set to use the math it will base its decisions more on the mathematical strength of
its hand than the strength of its hand relative to a specific opponent. This sets the style to
either 'play the man' or 'play the cards'.
Post-flop Calling Settings:

Both post-flop calling options will cause Poki to call more often, making the play much
looser. This is especially useful when trying to simulate loose players.
Use Implied Odds will make Poki call more with questionable drawing hands, such as
gut-shots or overcards.
Defend Large Pots causes Poki to call to the showdown with only moderate-strength
hands if the pot is large enough to warrant it.
References
The Challenge of Poker.

Darse Billings, Aaron Davidson, Jonathan Schaeffer, and Duane Szafron,
Artificial Intelligence Journal, vol 134(1-2), pp 201-240, 2002.
http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~darse/Papers/AIJ02.html
Jagbot
Jagbot is a simple, rule-based strategy. It uses no opponent modeling. It only evaluates
the strength of its own hand, and uses a simple formula to choose a randomized action.
Since Jagbot does relatively little calculation (compared to the more complex opponents),
it is a good choice if you want to play a very fast-paced game, especially on a older
computer.
If you are a novice poker player, Jagbot is also a good player to start training with. You
might want to play a table full of Jagbot players if you find the regular tables too difficult.
You can modify Jagbot's pre-flop hand selection. You can choose Tight, Moderate,
Loose, Loose-Passive, or Small Stakes Advisor. See Preflop Limit Tightness Settings for
detailed information on these settings.
Simbot
Simbot is a derivative of Poki. Instead of using Poki's formula-based betting strategy to
make decisions, it runs simulations of the hand to completion, and determines the most
profitable action to make based on the outcomes.
Pre-flop Settings:
There are five tightness levels to choose from (tight, moderate, loose, loose-passive, and
small stakes advisor). See Preflop Limit Tightness Settings for detailed information on
these settings.
The pre-flop deception level lets you choose how much randomization it will use in pre-
flop actions. If you set the slider towards honest it will raise with strong hands, call with
moderate strength hands, and fold everything else. With high deception (tricky) it will
have a higher chance of calling strong hands and even some very weak hands, and will
raise some moderate hands.
Post-flop Settings:
For post-flop play there are two sliders. The first slider controls how much it will use its
opponent modeling information in assigning cards for the simulation. This sets the style
to either 'play the man' or 'play the cards'.
The second slider controls what types of actions the simulated opponents will do during
the trails. If set to Call, the simulation becomes a basic all-in equity simulation. If the
slider is moved towards Predict then it will use its opponent models to try and predict
what each opponent would do in each simulated situation.
References
Improved Opponent Modeling in Poker.

Aaron Davidson, Darse Billings, Jonathan Schaeffer, and Duane Szafron,
Proceedings of the 2000 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ICAI'2000),
Las Vegas, Nevada, pp 1467-1473, 2000.
http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~darse/Papers/ICAI00.html
Using Probabilistic Knowledge and Simulation to play Poker.

Darse Billings, Lourdes Peña, Jonathan Schaeffer, and Duane Szafron,
Proceedings of the Sixteenth National Conference of the American Association for
Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-99), 1999.
http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~darse/Papers/AAAI99.html
Limit Pre-flop Tightness Settings
The tight, moderate, and loose settings can all be thought of relative to each other as a
way of describing how many hands a computer opponent will consider playing. That is, it
is a way of controlling how many hands a player will fold or not fold. Amongst these
three settings, the tight setting plays the least number of hands, the loose setting plays the
most number of hands, and the moderate setting plays some number of hands in between.
The loose-passive setting sets the preflop style of play to be even looser than the loose
setting mentioned above and also causes the computer opponent to prefer passive actions
such as checking and calling. This is a useful setting to try when you want your computer
opponents to play more like certain low limit players that have the style of playing a lot
of hands but mostly by checking and calling.
The fifth setting, the Small Stakes Advisor setting, is probably the setting that results in
the tightest most aggressive style of play preflop. The play that results when using this
setting is based on advice (specifically, the loose table recommedations) given in the
excellent book "Small Stakes Hold'em: Winning Big With Expert Play" which was
written by Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth.
References
Small Stakes Hold'em: Winning Big With Expert Play.

Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth,
Two Plus Two Publishing, 2004.
http://www.twoplustwo.com
Sparbot
Sparbot can only play the heads-up game. Sparbot, as the name implies, is a great
opponent to spar against. It plays a solid, defensive game of poker. It should be difficult
to read and to exploit.
Sparbot attempts to play in a near-optimal way. It hides information by playing a proper

balance of randomized mixed strategies for all strengths of hands. However, in doing so,
it will not attempt to exploit your weaknesses. It will merely attempt to defend against all
possible methods of attack.
Sparbot has a slider which allows you to specify how passive or aggressive it is. Passive
play favors checking/calling and aggressive play favors betting/raising.
References
Approximating Game-Theoretic Optimal Strategies for Full-scale Poker.

Darse Billings, Neil Burch, Aaron Davidson, Robert Holte, Jonathan Schaeffer, Terence
Schauenberg, and Duane Szafron,
Proceedings of IJCAI-03, (Eighteenth International Joint Conference on Artificial
Intelligence), 2003.
(Winner of the IJCAI / AAAI 2003 Distinguished Paper Award)
http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~darse/Papers/IJCAI03.html
Vexbot
Vexbot is a heads-up only player. It relies entirely on the model it builds of your playing
style (so don't expect it to play very well the first time you play it). It will attempt to
maximally exploit any and all weaknesses it finds in your playing style.
Consequently, observing how it plays is like watching a mirror of your own play. If it is
raising you a lot, perhaps you are folding too much or playing too many weak hands.
Vexbot can be a good tool for finding flaws in your own play. It can be an extremely
vexing opponent to play, especially when it has a good model of you.
Note: Vexbot may play badly at first. You must play a few hundred hands to teach it the
basics of your style, before it can build a strong model of how you play. A person
wishing to get the most out of vexbot should play a match of a few thousand hands. If
Vexbot is adapting properly, it should become increasingly difficult to beat.
Vexbot can play two different pre-flop styles. Vexbot can use its smarts in the pre-flop,
just as it does in the post flop. Unfortunately, using this method, Vexbot can take several
seconds to decide on an action. Most players will find this too slow for pre-flop play. The
alternative is a fast, rule-based pre-flop system, based on simulated expected values for
each of the starting hands.
There is a slider which allows you to specify Vexbot's passive/aggressive level. Passive
play favors checking/calling and aggressive play favors betting/raising.
A slider is also presented for exploration verses exploitation. Exploitation will have
Vexbot favoring to play in ways that have worked against you in the past. Exploration
will have Vexbot more often deviate from exploiting what it already knows, so that it can
learn and explore new playing styles against you.
Averybot
By Brian Edwards <brian@chrissyandbrian.com>
Averybot plays an aggressive strategy for No-Limit tournaments. It attempts to build it's
stack gradually as the blind levels progress, while avoiding marginal situations that put a
major portion of its stack at risk. The basic strategy was inspired by the writings of T.J.
Cloutier.
The number of hands that Averybot will play is configurable. Two configuration sliders
are available, one for preflop decisions and one for postflop decisions.
Jambot
Jambot uses David Sklansky's No-Limit Tournament System Strategy. It will either fold
or go all-in pre-flop, based on a simple formula. The system was designed for a casino
owner's daughter, who knew nothing about Hold'em or poker, so that she could play in
the World Series of Poker.
Only premium hands are used to either steal the blinds or have a good chance of winning
if called. As the blinds grow in proportion to the stacks, the set of played hands grows in
order to continue stealing blinds at the rate required to stay alive in the tournament.
Sklansky-1 plays the strategy defined in Tournament Poker For Advanced Players by
David Sklansky. System-2 uses the more complex system later published in Card Player
Magazine (April 3rd, 2003).
Oddbot
Oddbot is an erratic, sometimes difficult to read no-limit player. Its creative style can add
some flavour to the table.
none
Xenbot
Xenbot plays a solid, configurable strategy for No-Limit tournaments. The basic strategy
was inspired by the guidelines set forth in Darse Billings' A Primer for Playing No-Limit
Hold'em Tournaments.
The pre-flop hand selection is highly configurable, using the pre-flop groups editor.
XenBot has ten pre-flop hand groups, and each group of hands is played differently. Each
starting hand can be assigned to one of the ten groups.
Group One
Premium hands that will be raised or re-raised in any position. Raise or call all-in if need
be.
Group Two
Raise the blinds and one or two limpers, otherwise will call if we are short stacked, or the
amount to call does not commit our stack.
Group Three
Raise the blinds in late position, limp in early position. Call if short stacked, or if the
amount is small.
Group Four
Raise the blinds only in late position, limp only in mid to late position, and call if short
stacked.
Group Five
Raise if heads-up, or raise the blinds short handed. Limp in mid to late position. Raise or
call if short stacked.
Group Six
Raise the blinds heads-up, or short-stacked. Call in the small blind, or limp in late
position. Raise or call if short stacked.
Group Six A
Raise in late position, when short-stacked, or when short-handed. Call if already put
money in the pot and have decent odds. Call if up against an aggressive opponent short-
handed. Raise or call if short stacked.
Group Seven
Limp in late position, raise the blinds heads-up. Raise or call if short stacked.
Group Eight
Heads-up only. Raise if short-stacked, raise the blinds, or call small amounts if stacks are
large.
Bluffs
Raise if heads-up, or raise the blinds, but fold if re-raised.
No Group
Check or fold.
Post-Flop Options
Post-flop actions are controlled by three sliders. The first sets the aggression level of the
player to be high or low. Aggression effects the player's standards for betting or raising.
Implied odds and showdown odds can be estimated liberally or conservatively. This will
effect how often the player will call with draw odds or with weaker hands.
Technical Support
Technical support is available to all our customers between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm (MST),
Monday to Friday. Call us at 1.780.423.1133.
Support is also available on our online forums:
http://www.poker-academy.com/forums/
BioTools Incorporated
709 Empire Building
10080 - Jasper Ave.
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T5J 1V9
WebSite: http://www.poker-academy.com/
E-mail: support@poker-academy.com
Phone: 1-780-423-1133
Fax: 1-780-423-1333
Notices
Poker Academy and the Poker Academy logo are trademarks of BioTools Incorporated,
registered in the United States and other countries.
The World Poker Tour (WPT) and the WPT logo are trademarks of World Poker Tour
Enterprises, registered in the United States and other countries.
PokerStars and the PokerStars logo are trademarks of PokerStars.com, registered in the
United States and other countries.
Party Poker and the PartyPoker logo are trademarks of WPC Productions (Gibraltar)
Limited., registered in the United States and other countries.
UltimateBet and the UltimateBet logo are trademarks of UltimateBet.com, registered in

the United States and other countries.
Apple, the Apple Logo, Macintosh, Mac, and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple
Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S.A. and other countries.
Microsoft is a trademark or registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United

States and other countries.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Copyright
Copyright (c) 2005 BioTools Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Contains portions copyright (c) 2001-2005 JGoodies Karsten Lentzsch. All rights
reserved. License for the JGoodies portion follows:
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided
that the following conditions are met: i) Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. ii) Redistributions in binary form must
reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. iii) Neither the name of JGoodies
Karsten Lentzsch nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived
from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE
COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO
EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF
THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Credits
Programming
Aaron Davidson
Scott Fortin
Bryce Larson
Adrien Melanson
Tim Rosborough
Terence Schauenberg
Shawn Sidoruk
Kevin Suffecool
Warren Wong
Artificial Intelligence
Darse Billings
Neil Burch
Aaron Davidson
Brian Edwards
Rob Holte
Jonathan Schaeffer
Terence Schauenberg
Duane Szafron
Artwork
GraphicTerminal Entertainment
Parachute Design
Scott Fortin
Jeff Nelson
Josh Ramsbottom
Marketing, QA & Support
Anthony Giombetti
Kurt Lange
Kelley Lange
Graham McEvoy
Jason Spencer
Focus Group / Testing

A special thanks to all those who volunteered in the past to help make Poker Academy
Pro such a great program!
Magnus Alvestad Robert 'Capn' Scott
Sam Bakshian Spenser Segal
Harry 'Haz' Bowers Skip Sperry
Riad Deeb Edward Spiegel
Daniel DuBois Mike Stillman
Brian Edwards Thomas Stoll
Larry Hui Tysen Streib
Markian 'Prak' Hlynka Rodney Sumner
Dave Jenkins Darrel Vuncannon
Ben Kramer Greg Wurzburger
Rob 'UncleTrick' LaRosa Albert Silver
Don MacPherson David Sonenberg
Justin Montgomery John 'Mr T' Tierney
Alan Oursland Steve "SkyWalk423" Walker
John Richmond Chris Wyngarden
Shabbir 'The Chef' Safdar John Yeo
Matthew Sapowith

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How to Play Texas Hold'em

The Pre-Flop Betting Round

The Flop Betting Round

The Turn Betting Round

The River Betting Round

Making the Best Five-card Hand

Ranking a Poker Hand

Player 1 has an Ace-high straight flush:

Player 2 has a Queen-high straight flush:

Player 1 has Four of a Kind, Aces:

Player 2 has Four of a Kind, Eights:

Player 1's Quad Aces beats Player 2's Quad Eights.

Player 1 has a Full House, Aces Full of Sevens:

Player 2 has a Full House, Nines Full of Aces:

Player 2 has a Full House, Full House, Aces Full of Nines:

Player 1 has a Full House, Aces Full of Sevens:

Player 2 has a Full House, Full House, Aces Full of Sevens:

Player 1 has a Flush, Ace high:

Player 2 has a Flush, King high:

Player 1 has a Flush, Ace, Ten high:

Player 2 has a Flush, Ace, King high:

Player 1 has a Ten-high straight flush:

Player 2 has a King-high flush:

Player 1 has an Ace-high straight:

Player 2 has a Queen-high straight:

Player 1 has a Pair of Aces with King, Queen, Five kickers:

Player 2 has a Pair of Kings with Ace, Jack, Five kickers:

Player 2 has a Pair of Aces with King, Jack, Five kickers:

Player 1 has a Pair of Aces with King, Queen, Jack kickers:

Player 2 has a Pair of Aces with King, Queen, Jack kicker:

Player 1's hand is a Four of a Kind, Sevens, Ace Kicker:

Player 2's hand is a Four of a Kind, Sevens, King Kicker:

Player 1's hand is a Four of a Kind, Sevens, Ace Kicker:

Player 2's hand is a Four of a Kind, Sevens, Ace Kicker:

Your Hand: Ac 2c, Flop: 7c 8c Qd

Your Hand: Ts 7h, Flop: 9d 8c Ah

Your Hand: Js Ts, Flop: 7c 8c Ah

Example Poker Hand

This section walks carefully through a complete hand of Texas Hold'em.

The flop is dealt:

The turn card is dealt:

With this knowledge, Bob decides he must call.

The river card is dealt:

Poker: The Real Deal, by Phil Gordon

Intermediate / Low Limit

Winning Low Limit Holdem, by Lee Jones

Hold'em Poker For Advanced Players, by David Sklansky and Mason

Pot-Limit & No-Limit Poker, by Stewart Reuben, Bob Ciaffone

Super System I & II, by Doyle Brunson

Theory of Poker, by David Sklansky

Tournament Poker for Advanced Players, by David Sklansky

Psychology, and mindesets

The Psychology of Poker, by Alan N. Schoonmaker PhD

Live Games / Tells

Caro's Book of Poker Tells, by Mike Caro

Positivly Fifth Street, by Jim McManus

Poker Wisdom of a Champion, by Doyle Brunson

Darse's No-Limit Hold'em Tournament Primer

How to play before the flop

Rule 1: Play only very good starting hands.

Rule 4: Use caution in responding to a raise.

How to play after the flop