Serious online poker players are constantly looking for ways to improve their game. In recent years, many players have turned to a new type of tool called a poker solver to help them gain an advantage over their opponents. 

What is a poker solver? And should you consider using one to improve your skills for cash games and poker tournaments? Carry on reading to find out.

What Is a Poker Solver?

A poker solver is a piece of software that is used by players to guide them toward the best play at any particular point in a poker game. A player can input the current state of a game, and it will provide them with the best decision, also known as a solution, that they can make based on the information they’ve entered. This solution is decided by the solver using game theory optimal (GTO) poker. Depending on whether you are playing Omaha, seven-card stud, or a Texas hold’em poker game, you may require a different solver.

Some of the most popular poker solvers are:

• PioSolver.
• MonkerSolver.
• Simple GTO Trainer.
• Simple Postflop.
• GTO+.

How Do Poker Solvers Work?

As previously mentioned, a player must input a range of information into the solver in order for it to produce an accurate solution. This information required by the solver can vary, but typically, most solvers require that players enter data such as their preflop range, their bet sizing options, and stack size.

The solver will then produce what it views as an optimal solution. This solution is calculated using an algorithm that has tested each of the potential plays that could exist based on the particular scenario you provided. These tests are run prior to you inputting the information and are stored in the solver’s database.

However, it’s important to note that what the solver considers to be the optimal solution doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to win. Without going into the details of how these algorithms work, a solver makes assumptions based on how your opponent will play (primarily that your opponent will also make optimal decisions), which means that it could unintentionally guide you in the wrong direction if your opponent makes a decision that it doesn’t see as the best choice.

The Pros and Cons of Using Poker Solvers

Now that you have a better understanding of what poker solvers are and how they work, you may be wondering whether you should consider using them. Here are the pros and cons of using these poker tools.

Pros

There are two key pros to using poker solvers.

Learn How to Play Particular Hands Optimally

Poker solvers can help you better understand particular situations in poker and guide you toward making the best decisions. This is particularly useful in analyzing hands that you have lost so that you won’t make the same mistake next time.

Can Help You Improve Your General Understanding of GTO Poker

Through repeated use, poker solvers can also help you better understand the core fundamentals of GTO poker. This makes them useful for improving your play when studying the game.

Cons

There are several cons to using poker solvers that you may want to consider before acquiring one.

Cost

Poker solvers are expensive and cost anywhere from $250 to over $1,000, depending on which features you want or need and how much you’re willing to spend to get them. Some also have an upfront cost, while others require you to pay a monthly subscription.

Optimal Decision Bias

Poker solvers assume players will always make the most optimal decision. In real-life poker games, this rarely happens, which means the solver may, in fact, guide you toward the wrong decision.

High Resources Needed

The solvers require a reasonably good computer to operate at a useful speed.

Banned from Poker Sites

They are classified as real-time assistance (RTA) tools and banned at most poker sites due to the edge they may provide over other players. If you do use them during a game, you may be banned from the site and lose any money you have in your online poker account. Many poker sites have methods for determining whether you are using them during actual games as a way to get a leg up on others in the game. However, you are allowed to use them when you aren’t playing in real poker games, but only as a study tool. As a general rule of thumb, make sure you don’t have any third-party poker tools running when your online poker client is open.

Experienced Players Will Have an Edge on You

If you are playing against a highly skilled player, they’ll be able to identify patterns in your play that will occur through the use of a solver that they can exploit. 

Other Aspects of Your Game May Suffer

Relying too much on these tools may cause other aspects of your poker game, such as understanding poker body language, to lag behind.

Have Poker Solvers “Solved” Poker?

Poker is a game that is incredibly complex, and for many years, it has been considered too difficult for a machine or AI to “solve” the game. If a game is solved, this means that there is a single way to play that will always ensure victory. While there are computer programs and AI that can always make optimal decisions, putting it ahead of the world’s best players, who, despite their incredible skill, will occasionally blunder and leave themselves exposed, many games like chess and go aren’t yet considered solved.

While poker solvers have come a long way, poker is just like chess and the game “go” in this regard. There are AI and poker programs that can outplay professional poker players, but poker is yet to be solved (excluding, to some degree, heads-up limit hold’em), and it is unlikely that it ever will be, even by dedicated poker solvers. 

Always Develop Your Poker Fundamentals

While solvers are useful in teaching you about some of the more advanced aspects of poker, it’s key that you have solid fundamentals first, especially if you’re a beginner who’s learning online poker strategies. Until you have the basics down, you should probably think twice about adding any solvers to your poker toolkit.

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