The Best Online Poker Tools
The most useful resources for improving your game quickly!
Written by the CardsChat Editorial Team
Online poker has become a huge industry over the years. But with millions of players worldwide taking part it can sometimes get a bit confusing, and when real money is at stake one thing you definitely don’t want to be in 2022 is confused.
But what if we were to tell you that you could improve your game, and your chances of winning, even against the sharpest competition out there? With the help of just a few online poker tools, it’s possible for anyone to transform their fortunes and their odds of winning.
If you’re interested in discovering the best online poker and poker strategy tools in 2022, but you don’t know where to start, we’re here to help. None of these tools are considered to be cheating, or even questionable, and many of our suggestions below are completely free. So if you’re looking for a way to improve your game without relying too much on lady luck, these tools will give you the help you need.
Odds Calculator
Imagine if every time you played poker online you could know exactly what your odds of winning the hand were? Well, that’s the type of help an online odds calculator can give you.
Poker odds calculators, like the free one we offer at CardsChat.com, are ideal for finding out your likelihood of winning any hand of poker in any situation you can think of. And they couldn’t be easier to use: simply enter the details of the cards you hold, the cards you’re up against and any relevant board cards, and you can find out exact winning percentages in seconds.
Through a statistical analysis of all possible outcomes, based on the cards on the table and those remaining in the deck, it’s easy to figure out what your chances are of hitting the outs you need. Using this information alongside some knowledge of pot odds and expected value, many players use an odds calculator to review tricky hands they’ve played and to check if their play was mathematically correct.
The information you glean from an odds calculator can give you a serious advantage in the game. Plus, as the CardsChat Odds Calculator is available online for free, you have nothing to lose by giving it a try!
PokerTracker
PokerTracker has been around since 2001 and continues to be the top poker program for collecting and presenting player statistics. It’s ridiculously easy to use, plus you can input your playing history from just about any online poker site, instantly revealing your strengths as well as the areas of your game that could use some improvement. It also has a HUD (Head-up Display) engine that presents tracked information in real time at the table, not only for yourself but also for your opponents, so for serious players it’s worth putting in the time to learn how to use PokerTracker.
While it does offer a 14-day free trial for new customers, the latest PokerTracker 4 will set you back anything from $64.99 to $159.99, depending on the stakes and games you are interested in tracking.
PokerTracker offers detailed configuration guides for the best online poker rooms including PokerStars, partypoker, 888Poker, Winamax and more.
Hold’em Manager
Hold’em Manager has a lot of similarities with PokerTracker, and is actually published by the same software house. You can use it to get detailed stats on your online poker history, as well as information on historical opponents you’ve faced before. The program doesn’t just run the numbers for you after your session but also while you’re seated. A customizable HUD will collect and display data on your opponents, such as how often they bet on each street.
For new players it can take a while to get used to Hold’em Manager’s additional data and how to best interpret it, but the benefits won’t take long to appreciate. Hold’em Manager 3 is now available at a cost of $60 for low stakes Hold’em OR Omaha, $100 for low stakes Hold’em AND Omaha, $100 for all stakes Hold’em OR Omaha, or $160 for all stakes and variants.
The Hold’em Manager software can be downloaded for free trial, so give it a try before you buy.
Streams, Videos, Blogs & Podcasts
Nowadays there are a ton of poker strategy resources available online.
Thanks to the launch of live vlogs and streamed coverage of tournaments and cash games, players eager to learn are often able to watch successful pros directly, in real time, soaking up as much information as they can. PokerGO is one such streaming platform that shows a wide range of international poker events for a subscription fee of $14.99 per month, or $99.99 per year.
Twitch is a massive video streaming platform that is home to millions of users, including poker players who often provide detailed commentary on their decision-making process. And a big advantage of Twitch poker is that it is completely free.
You can start watching someone with just one click on a browser. There are options to donate money to the streamer and subscriptions available that also come with a fixed cost, but videos on demand are also provided, allowing players who follow the stream to analyze the action and decisions made throughout the game in different spots. Twitch is a useful poker resource and a great way to watch successful and engaging players discuss their poker strategy for free.
Another (free) option for video content is always YouTube, where you can find a wealth of poker videos, guides and analysis.
A number of poker podcasts can also be downloaded or streamed for free. Check out the CardsChat podcast now, featuring interviews with many of the world’s greatest players including Daniel Negreanu, Phil Galfond, Patrik Antonius and Brad Owen, as well as WSOP World Champions like Jamie Gold, Joe Cada, Greg Raymer and Martin Jacobson.
Listen to the CardsChat podcast now for free!
Poker Schools
Online poker schools are a recommended route to quick improvement in any form of poker. Not only do these schools offer players information in a clear and comprehensive style, they often add some actual practice to the learning process too.
Most poker sites have their own poker schools available for free and they usually come with multiple lessons aimed at beginners, intermediate and advanced players. A few quick questions at the end will put player’s knowledge to the test, before players move on to take part in real action on an actual poker table. It’s also not uncommon for some of these rooms to offer poker bonuses for users who graduate from their poker schools, usually in the form of entries to special freeroll tournaments.
One of the first online poker schools was CardRunners, which went out of business in 2017. These days a number of other paid options are available, but for free online poker advice and strategy we would, of course, have to recommend the world #1 poker community and the CardsChat 30 Day Poker School!
With many online poker schools charging between $9 and $99 per month, the value of free poker lessons is obvious. Check out our poker school and our poker strategy articles to improve your game quickly, and for free!
Become a winning poker player in 30 days with our free video course in Texas Hold’em!
Poker Books
Long before the internet era, enterprising professionals such as Doyle Brunson supplemented their poker incomes by publishing books packed with helpful advice for players hoping to improve. Brunson’s seminal book Super/System was considered by many to be one of the best sources for poker tips for several decades.
With Super/System and its sequel still serving aspiring grinders today, it’s fair to say that learning poker through the medium of books is still a solid idea. Indeed, there are many seminal works – including David Sklansky’s Theory of Poker and Dan Harrington’s series Harrington on Hold’em – which are so packed with timeless poker truths that all players could benefit from reading them. While some of the plays and specific lines may be out-of-date when compared with modern poker theory, the core concepts are as reliable today as they ever were.
And if you’re not a fan of the hardcover format don’t worry. Since the dawn of the digital age all of these great poker books have been converted to electronic form, so you can have them as close tools when playing poker from your computer, tablet or smartphone in 2024.
Poker Strategy Articles & Forums
Acting as a modern, pared down version of classic poker literature, poker strategy articles such as those you’ll find here at CardsChat for free, are a great opportunity to pick up complicated concepts in bite-sized, digestible pieces.
Another way CardsChat can help you improve as a player is thanks to our thriving poker forum. Players from all over the world contribute, around the clock, providing useful sounding boards, advice, opinions on hand histories or just amusing stories from around the poker world.
Looking for more easy-to-understand, free poker strategy advice? Check out our latest strategy articles now.
