Recommended Poker Hand Analysis Tool

If you want to become an elite player and compete in today’s tough games, you must dedicate a portion of your time to study. Finding the highest EV play is an important part of improving and winning money in poker. However, honing in on optimal default lines versus various ranges is a difficult and painstaking task. Fortunately, there are a few software programs that assist in that endeavor.

Who Hand Analysis Tools Are For

If you want to do multi-street analysis that allows you to compare the viability of different lines of play side-by-side, you will need an advanced EV analysis tool. Just keep in mind that such software is really complicated and is mainly designed for accomplished players who have been studying the game for some time. In fact, until you are beating at least 50NL, I recommend that you keep it simple and play ABC poker and avoid complicating things too much.

For novices and most intermediate players, all you really need is a program like Pokerstove, which will solve individual EV situations and give you a good relative idea of how to build ranges. However, if you have a lot of experience and want to take your game to the next level, there is only one program that I recommend to players.

Cardrunners EV (CREV)

On the other hand, if you are an intermediate to advanced player looking to do in-depth EV analysis I highly recommend trying out CardRunners EV. I have spent literally hundreds of hours working on my game with this software. I can’t imagine not having this program whenever I am unsure on trying a particular line. In fact, I always experiment with any novel plays that I come up with in this software before taking it to them table.

If you are unsure if the software is for you, don’t worry. There is a free version that allows you to do most pre-flop and flop situations. If you want to go beyond that, you would have to purchase the program for $75, a paltry sum in the grand scheme of things. In my opinion, If you have aspirations of beating mid-stakes or higher, this type of program is a must.

Here are just a few of the things you can do with the program:

  • Perfect your 3-bet/4-bet game
  • Test various c-betting lines on different board textures
  • Develop a pre-flop flat-calling strategy
  • Analyze various bet sizings
  • Solve for GTO ranges
  • Optimize turn/river lines

Screenshots

Cardrunners EV Example

Cardrunners EV Example

Learning to Use Cardrunners EV

The learning curve is a bit involved but well worth the trouble. The developers have a YouTube channel with numerous tutorials. Here is one that shows you how the software works and demonstrates setting up a calculation tree:

CardRunnersEV: Building a simple tree

Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate of CardRunner’s EV so my recommendation is based solely on my own experience and not because I am trying to sell you something.