For example, you used to play on Full tilt and want to move into the Entraction network. With HHSmithy you can buy PartyPoker hand histories, download and unzip them and be playing with almost complete knowledge of your opponents in no time at all. If you're serious about poker then you'll know how valuable poker hand histories are.
Video Software Review
FreePokerDB (FPDB) Synopsis
If you are one of the many online poker players not using a Heads-Up Display (HUD), then you are quickly dipping into the minority. Unfortunately, the reason that many players do not have an HUD or track their hand histories is because they simply can't justify spending the $65 to $150 it takes to buy a program like Holdem Manager or PokerTracker. Now, through the help of a lone programmer, an open-source program called the FreePokerDB has made its way across the internet and allows a user to track critical stats, winnings, and losses and even have an on-table HUD, all for free.
FreePokerDB (FPDB) Full Review
First, it should be noted that installation of the FreePokerDB isn't something that is going to be accomplished through an easy double-clicking experience. Again, this is an open-source, free program, so you will have to put some extra effort into setting it up. You'll need to download MySQL (free) and install that first. Then, you'll have to download the special installer file and after it's done, reboot your computer. You'll unzip the FreePoker Database files to your computer and run the program. Chances are you're still not done, as you'll probably have to create the database manually in a MySQL editor. Once you've finished that, you’ll need to get into the program and create tables for it.
By then, you will breathe a sigh of relief, as you have accomplished the setup process. In order to get the graphing feature to work, you'll need to download two small programs, install them, and then restart the application. Past that, much of the program runs itself. The auto-import feature only requires the user to enter the folder where hand histories are saved for PokerStars, for example.
For now, much of the program is in development (marked “todo” within the program's menu), but you’ll find a straightforward stats program and functional Heads-Up Display (HUD). The 'Bulk Import' option allows a user to import hand history files en masse and get them into the database in fairly quick order. Once that's done, you can check out the stats from within the 'Viewers' dropdown menu. The 'Player Stats Tabulated View' brings up stats sorted by buy-in level and gives a bevy of standard statistics like VPIP, PFR, BB/100, and more. There is no way to customize the report at this time.
The HUD is overlaid on your poker table, but requires you to move it around in order for it to appear next to the appropriate villain at the table. There are six stats in the HUD by default and some ability to tweak these in the HUD's XML configuration file exists. The number of stats available is limited at this time, but as development moves forward on this open-source project, more should be created in later versions. As it stands now, the HUD is legible, functional, and exactly what you would expect from a freeware program. Here is a view of the HUD:
FPDB also has a very nice 'Table Viewer' tab that will allow you to check out just about every statistic you can imagine on your opponents. The list is laid out in an easy-to-read format, so at a quick glance, you will be able to find out how many hands a player has in the database and how passive or aggressive they are. You can then use this information against your opponent. The Table Viewer looks like this:
Unlike its paid competitors, FreePokerDB supports less frequently played games online including Stud and Draw. While it also supports Hold'em and Omaha, this is an ideal piece of software if you like to play many different forms of poker.
The FreePokerDB v0.22 program is a fantastic way for a micro-stakes player to get into the world of hand history tracking and take advantage of an HUD at absolutely no cost. If one has the patience to overcome the lengthy installation and debugging process, the reward is a functional program that can save users a nice chunk of change over rival programs like Holdem Manager and PokerTracker.
Member Reviews
matheuspaterno's Review of FreePokerDB (FPDB)
July, 21, 2016I have a question, I have been using fpdb on betonline for a long time. But, they updated the system and now the hands are saved in an online database, it is not saved n my hard drive anymore. Is there a way I can still make fpdb work? Thanks!
ricadoforti's Review of FreePokerDB (FPDB)
November, 18, 2015By then, you will breathe a sigh of relief, as you have accomplished the setup process. In order to get the graphing feature to work, you'll need to download two small programs, install them, and then restart the application. What programs??? please.
In modern online poker, all sophisticated players collect and analyze their own hand histories.
This is a prerequisite if you want to have a chance to compete in the arena of online poker. The goal is to study your own game and the games of your most feared opponents in order to find patterns.
Normally poker players use their own hand histories for this type of analysis. This is simple because online poker sites let you collect your hand histories automatically. All you need in order to conduct an analysis of your hands is a so-called poker tracker software.
HandHQ: A precious hand histories database
Why would you buy hand histories?
If you ever wondered if you could buy datamined results for poker players, the answer is yes. HandHQ offers bulk hand histories from the major sites including pokerstars.
Nowadays online poker is getting very competitive and only the smartest players with an edge can dominate the field. This is exactly what handhq offers, a poker edge that let you uncover the secret playing habits of your opponents even though you may not have played with them before.
What HandHQ sells is the opportunity to improve your database by gathering more hand histories than you would normally be able to. This is called data mining. If you import such additional hands into your database, you will get a broader source of information about other poker players. And poker is all about information.
HandHQ's website is very practical and to the point. To be honest, this website has been operating for a few years and this is the best place to get hand histories on the Web.
Online Poker Database
In order to buy hand histories, click the button called 'Purchase'. Then choose the poker room, a game type (limit or no-limit), the stakes, the number of players (HU, 6-max or FR), and the number of hands you want to buy.
The poker rooms currently on offer are PokerStars, Full Tilt, Party Poker, OnGame, iPoker, the Cereus Network and B2B/Entraction. The levels range from $0.10 to $200 big blind depending on the site selected. You can buy between 200k and 7 million hands at a time.
Recently they also added the Merge Network where Carbon Poker is the main room. If you are migrating to Carbon Poker after the US online poker crackdown, buying hand histories from the Merge Network will give you a headsup when you start.
The payment methods include visa, mastercard, paypal, moneybookers, neteller, webmoney and moneta.ru. The price depends on the limit and the number of hands you buy, the more hands, the bigger the discount. For example 1 million of NL50 hands cost $32. Or 100k hands of HU NL5000 costs $109.
Know your opponents' tendencies with HandHQ
You will receive a zip file by email containing the required number of hand histories. When I tried it and bought 1.4 million hands, it took one hour for the zip file containing 1,423 history files to reach my email. Then it is just a matter of importing them into your database.
If you regularly use either Holdem Manager, Poker Tracker or PokerOffice, you will be able to import handhq's hands. You need first to unzip the file, then to use the import facility of your poker tracker. In Holdem Manager, it just takes a few clicks (but then it takes hours for the import to complete). If you face difficulties with importing, the FAQ of your poker tracker will answer most questions.
One word of caution is that handhq currently does not remember the hands you already bought if you made a purchase in the past. As handhq's website will display the dates contained in a new purchase just before it is completed, make sure to verify that these dates are not duplicates with previous ones you bought.
What I recommend if you want to buy twice or more times the same specifications (room, limit, level, number of players), is to space your purchases by a few days at least. This way you will always get freshly played hands, as the system automatically chooses the more recent hands in the historical database.
Please note that pokerstars is included in the list of handhq's poker rooms. Handhq is the that I know of where this can be found. Is it ok to use software to datamine pokerstars? Or is it allowed to buy pokerstars datamined hands?
On one hand it is against pokerstars' TOS to datamine hand histories. On the other hand, if you buy from handhq, pokerstars has no way of knowing what you did. If they ever tried to scan your hard disk to detect such hand histories, this would be an (illegal) infringement of your privacy.
No one has ever been caught by pokerstars for using handhq's hand histories. I do not endorse or recommend buying pokerstars hand histories. Make your own choice. I just want to describe what handhq has to offer, and this includes pokerstars hand histories.
Thinking about the cost, it is very low. If you buy 1.4 million hands of NL50 at $49, it is costing you 0.007 big blinds per 100 hands for these 1.4 millions hands. Looking at it this way, it is really cheap. Getting these extra hands should definitively help you increase your win rate by more than 0.007BB/100.
At higher stakes the price gets higher, but if you play high stakes poker, this is truly cheap as well compared to the size of pots.
The best way to attempt to move up in limit is to already have bought some hand histories. This way you will immediately know who the regulars are and who the newbies are. Just this knowledge alone is worth ten times the price.