Introduction to Poker Hand Histories
Introduction to Poker Hand Histories
This article will give you a basic understanding of poker hand histories and how you can use them to become a better player.
A hand history is a small text document that contains information about a hand you have played at an online poker room. They come in many forms, and while some of them can be quite difficult to understand, you will always be able to recreate everything that happened in the hand if you have the hand history.
You can see an example from Full Tilt Poker (an online poker room) below.
Full Tilt Poker Hand History
Full Tilt Poker Game #17773064601: Table Horizon Ridge (6 max, shallow) - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:11:06 ET - 2010/01/21
Seat 1: Lowballed60 ($9.10)
Seat 2: DpokerPrick ($14.17), is sitting out
Seat 3: TOMMYBOYFOLD ($22.94), is sitting out
Seat 4: franco114 ($7.74)
Seat 5: INTELECTUAL5 ($14.19)
Lowballed60 posts the small blind of $0.10
franco114 posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
INTELECTUAL5 folds
Lowballed60 calls $0.15
franco114 checks
*** FLOP *** [2h 9c 8d]
Lowballed60 checks
TOMMYBOYFOLD has returned
franco114 checks
*** TURN *** [2h 9c 8d] [Qh]
Lowballed60 checks
franco114 bets $0.72
Lowballed60 folds
Uncalled bet of $0.72 returned to franco114
franco114 mucks
franco114 wins the pot ($0.48)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $0.50 | Rake $0.02
Board: [2h 9c 8d Qh]
Seat 1: Lowballed60 (small blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 2: DpokerPrick is sitting out
Seat 3: TOMMYBOYFOLD is sitting out
Seat 4: franco114 (big blind) collected ($0.48), mucked
Seat 5: INTELECTUAL5 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Common Uses for Poker Hands
Serious players share hand histories on forums like "2+2" and "Flop Turn River" to get other players' opinion on whether or not they played the hand in the best possible way. Before someone posts a hand to the forum, it is usually passed through a "hand converter", which will remove unnecessary information and format it so it is easier to read.
Pokertracker Software
Most serious players regularly review their hands when trying to spot leaks in their game (mistakes they have made). Since it is difficult to read the raw text files as they come from the poker rooms, most players use a "pokertracker."
This is basically software that read the text files and display detailed statistics of how you have played. They also sort all the information and allow you to see a playback your play, complete with a table and all your opponents.
The most commonly used programs among professional players are Pokertracker 3 and Holdem Manager. Some players prefer Poker Office 5, but it is almost exclusively novice players, who haven't tried the more advanced programs yet.
This article will give you a basic understanding of poker hand histories and how you can use them to become a better player.
A hand history is a small text document that contains information about a hand you have played at an online poker room. They come in many forms, and while some of them can be quite difficult to understand, you will always be able to recreate everything that happened in the hand if you have the hand history.
You can see an example from Full Tilt Poker (an online poker room) below.
Full Tilt Poker Hand History
Full Tilt Poker Game #17773064601: Table Horizon Ridge (6 max, shallow) - $0.10/$0.25 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:11:06 ET - 2010/01/21
Seat 1: Lowballed60 ($9.10)
Seat 2: DpokerPrick ($14.17), is sitting out
Seat 3: TOMMYBOYFOLD ($22.94), is sitting out
Seat 4: franco114 ($7.74)
Seat 5: INTELECTUAL5 ($14.19)
Lowballed60 posts the small blind of $0.10
franco114 posts the big blind of $0.25
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
INTELECTUAL5 folds
Lowballed60 calls $0.15
franco114 checks
*** FLOP *** [2h 9c 8d]
Lowballed60 checks
TOMMYBOYFOLD has returned
franco114 checks
*** TURN *** [2h 9c 8d] [Qh]
Lowballed60 checks
franco114 bets $0.72
Lowballed60 folds
Uncalled bet of $0.72 returned to franco114
franco114 mucks
franco114 wins the pot ($0.48)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $0.50 | Rake $0.02
Board: [2h 9c 8d Qh]
Seat 1: Lowballed60 (small blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 2: DpokerPrick is sitting out
Seat 3: TOMMYBOYFOLD is sitting out
Seat 4: franco114 (big blind) collected ($0.48), mucked
Seat 5: INTELECTUAL5 (button) didn't bet (folded)
Common Uses for Poker Hands
Serious players share hand histories on forums like "2+2" and "Flop Turn River" to get other players' opinion on whether or not they played the hand in the best possible way. Before someone posts a hand to the forum, it is usually passed through a "hand converter", which will remove unnecessary information and format it so it is easier to read.
Pokertracker Software
Most serious players regularly review their hands when trying to spot leaks in their game (mistakes they have made). Since it is difficult to read the raw text files as they come from the poker rooms, most players use a "pokertracker."
This is basically software that read the text files and display detailed statistics of how you have played. They also sort all the information and allow you to see a playback your play, complete with a table and all your opponents.
The most commonly used programs among professional players are Pokertracker 3 and Holdem Manager. Some players prefer Poker Office 5, but it is almost exclusively novice players, who haven't tried the more advanced programs yet.
