While many online poker players are definitely smart people, the majority of them don’t have a Master’s degree in mathematics. So when it comes to calculating odds on every hand, a lot of players turn to calculators. But they don’t use just any calculator since there are tools specifically designed for calculating various situations that arise in poker.

Unfortunately, knowing that poker calculators exist is only the first step towards navigating through difficult poker decisions; you also have to know what type of calculator fits which situation. But before we get into all of this, let’s take a look how poker calculators work and the ethics involved with using them.

Poker calculators contain numerous algorithms that compute the odds of making a hand in a given situation. Simply put, a poker calculator quickly delivers odds that will help you make correct plays. Most professional players have spent years at the table, which has enabled them to memorize statistically correct plays in many given situations. That’s why poker calculators are so useful to amateur players because these tools level the playing field so it’s not just professionals who make correct plays. 

One question that arises from many poker novices is whether or not poker calculators are legal. After all, you’ve got the statistically correct odds to numerous poker situations so isn’t this considered cheating? 

It all depends on the type of calculator you’re using in addition to the site where you are using the calculator. Some of the poker calculators (a.k.a. tracking software) are so advanced that they not only help you make statistically correct plays, but they also provide information on people you’ve never even played. And a lot of poker sites consider this cheating because you have information on pretty much every player out there.

On the other hand, there are other poker calculators that only give you the basic odds every experienced player knows. These calculators are never considered illegal no matter what room you’re playing at. In the end, it’s up to you to figure out what calculator/software program is allowed at what room.

Now that we’ve covered the basics of poker calculators, let’s look at some of the different calculators you will find on the internet.

Pot Odds Calculator: Pot odds calculators are among the most basic poker tools you can use. What a pot odds calculator does is take a look at your chances of making a hand versus the percentage of chips you need to contribute to the pot. A lot of players can already do this in their head, but pot odds calculators are great for novice players or anybody who is bad at math.

Poker Scenario Calculator: Some calculators allow you to set up specific hand scenarios, and they give you the odds of each hand winning based on the scenario. For instance, you can plug in 8s-7s versus Ah-Kc on a flop of 8c-3d-Jh. The calculator will then calculate the odds of each hand winning at this juncture. 

Tracking Software: This sort of calculator gets a little iffy in terms of being allowed in certain poker rooms. Some tracking software is more advanced than others, and it is the advanced software that lies in the gray area. These programs not only help you figure out what to do in terms of odds, but they also track other players you’ve never played against to provide detailed statistics on them. In most instances, you have to pay for the tracking calculators, but they are also considered the most helpful.

Rakeback Calculator: Many players count on receiving rakeback money from poker sites to help them turn a profit. However, calculating how much rakeback you’ll receive in a week or month is difficult – especially if you play cash games. That’s why rakeback calculators are so helpful because they do the calculations for you. All you need to do is plug in the stakes, number of tables, hours you play, and rakeback offer to come up with your expected rakeback earnings. 

The advent of poker calculators has convinced many people that they have the tools to become a poker pro. Unfortunately, just having some quality software to help you out with the tough poker decisions isn’t going to automatically earn you millions of dollars. If this were the case, everybody who had even a shred of poker knowledge would hop online and start winning.

One of the reasons why calculators won’t transform you into an instant winner is because they don’t factor in the psychological aspect of poker. Even tracking calculators that provide you with stats on players don’t account for how they’ll adjust to a given table (assuming they do adjust). These stats could be meaningless if a tight-aggressive player suddenly plays loose-aggressive to take advantage of certain players. And simple calculators such as the pot odds variety only show you the statistically correct play – not the play that will win the pot based on who is in the hand.

Another big limitation to poker calculators is that they don’t do well at adjusting to different table sizes. Sure there are advanced features on some of the calculators that will let you adjust settings based on table size, but none of them account for how aggressive short-handed games are. 

When putting everything into perspective, you should be looking at poker calculators as a means of improving your play. But don’t expect them to totally make up for a lack of playing experience.