How to use Texas Calculatem

When you run the program for the first time, the below icon will open.

A dashboard will open that will show you the cards dealt, your hand odds, as well as a betting spectrum that will recommend the preferred betting strategy based on the strength of your hand. In some cases, it may be necessary to move the poker room window and the dashboard window so they are not covering one another. Simply click and drag the windows using your mouse until they are in positioned the way you want them. The screenshot below shows an example where the dashboard window sits above the poker room window.

Click to enlarge

Hand rank is a number, from 0 to 100, denoting the quality of a given hand (100% being the best).

Before the flop, hands are ranked according to statistical performance with the given number of opponents. Note that a hand that ranks highly against one opponent may do poorly, statistically, against 5 or 8 opponents. AA is always the best hand pre-flop, but 7 2 off-suit (not the same suit) is not always the worst hand (statistically speaking, 3 2 off-suit loses more often in a heads-up game).

After the flop, hands are ranked strictly by their strength in combination with the cards on the table. For example, if your hand rank is 50% after the flop, this means that half of all possible hands out there would beat you at that point.

When Texas Calculatem™ recommends betting advice, it takes into account hand rank, the probability of improving your hand by drawing certain cards (known as outs), the number of opponents in the hand, what hands these opponents might have and your position at the table.

The betting advice does not take into account the chances that one or more of your opponents are bluffing. The betting advice, as well, cannot determine times in the game when you want to be aggressive or cautious based on your "read" of other players.

In addition to odds and statistics, Texas Holdem is also a game of reading other players. While Texas Calculatem™ will help most players master the odds of this popular game, only time and practice will teach you how to read other players and vary your betting based on this knowledge.

Each time you attach Texas Calculatem™ to a poker room, it automatically opens up the dashboard window in a minimized mode (mini-mode) in order to fit better on your computer screen. In order to view a dashboard screen that has more odds information, as well as to access the Texas Calculatem™ options menu, you can click on the "full mode" button.

In "full mode" you can see more hand information and access the Texas Calculatem™ options menu.

Simply click on the "mini mode" button to return dashboard to its minimized size.

Full mode shows a larger representation of the poker table, your position, as well as the positions of your opponents that are still in the hand, or folded.

On the top right is a "Hand at the River" table. This table tells you what hands are and are not possible for you and your opponents. For hands that are possible, a % chance of hitting them (by the river) is given. The percentages will be colored red if highly likely. You can use this data to see, at a glance, if there are any straight draws, flush draws, etc, and the likelihood of hitting them.

Use the Attach to Game button to detach or reattach to a poker window.

Use the Mini Mode button to switch the dashboard back to mini mode.

Select this button to change game options. The following game options can be adjusted from this window:

Playing Style (Pre and Post Flop Advice): Texas Calculatem™ will give different advice based on your preferred playing style. Do you want to be an aggressive player or a cautious player? Are there certain hand rank preferences you have based on your existing experience? To change the advice you receive from Texas Calculatem™ based on your personal playing style, choose this option on the dashboard.

Set your preferences for play before and after the flop using the Tight, Average, and Loose options, with Loose being more aggressive and Tight being more cautious.

You may also force Texas Calculatem™ to never advise you to play hands in certain positions, unless they are in a certain top percentage. For example, if you never want to call in the small blind unless your hand is in the top 5% of all starting hands, simply check “Also force these minimum starting hands” under the “Playing Style” menu. Next, move the “Small Blind” slider to “95”, and the rest of the sliders to zero (disabling them).

Calculation Speed: Depending on your CPU speed, choose the appropriate option. It is recommended that you start at Accurate. If Texas Calculatem™ is too slow in giving advice, try the normal option, and finally the fast option.

Full mode always on top: Select this if you want the full mode screen to always remain on top of other windows.

Mini mode always on top: Select this if you want the mini mode screen to always remain on top of other windows.

Never show deck window: Select this option to hide the deck window. The deck window shows the known cards that have been dealt from the deck, as well as highlighting your outs (cards you need to improve your hand).

Show Cards After Fold: Checking this option will cause Texas Calculatem™ to pretend you are still in the hand after you fold. Your hand will remain shown in the data bar, and advice, odds, etc will all act as if you had not folded.

Four Color Deck: This options shows each suit as a different color, to match the four-color option in most poker rooms.

Dealer is Big Blind when heads up: Texas Calculatem™ normally assumes that the player on the button is the small blind, when playing heads-up. A few poker rooms do not use this rule in certain games, however. If the game you’re playing is like this, check this option.

Odds Display: You can choose to have Texas Calculatem™ display your odds a percentage, ratio, or straight chances.

Note: This program is a calculator. It is meant to give you the odds on the current situation. However, as any seasoned poker player will tell you, there is more to the game. A good example is bluffing. Although Texas Calculatem™ is not going to tell you WHEN to bluff, it can very much help you determine if someone else is bluffing.

Also, mixing up your game is important. If you always play straight, people will figure that out, and simply fold whenever you raise. In other words, don't always do what Texas Calculatem™ says to do. This is the reason for the advice slider bar. If Texas Calculatem™ tells you to fold, but you can see your hand is very close to being a playable hand on the slider bar, you may want to consider playing every once in a while.