The Ultimate Mac Poker Tool: Poker Academy Pro 2.5
Here is the best in Mac Poker training software. Poker Academy Pro is a MacPokerTools "Must Have" program for any player, novice to pro, looking to improve their poker game. With poker training software like this, you can probe your game like never
before, gauge your progress, plus find and fix your weaknesses. Poker Academy Pro is fun to use, but is no game. This is a powerful tool that can help you earn money at the tables. There is no other piece of Mac software out there that has the power to be able to improve your game like this one. In an industry dominated by the PC, where all Macs seem to get are hand-me-downs. Its so refreshing to have a product that works seamlessly and is on par with what is available in poker today. Not only is Poker Academy Pro on par but, it's truly a first class program at the top of its game. Lucky for us, its game is teaching you to be at the top of yours. If you are not familiar with this program, I suggest you keep reading. I have used this software for a few years now, and don't know where I would be with out it. I have all the tournaments I play regularly "programmed" in, and drill on them constantly. All the while, I'm tweaking the settings to get the simulation as close as possible to those real tables I play at. The more you practice the more you will get out of this program. As you play you have the Sidebar feeding you stats like, hand strength, potential, and pot odds. The more and more you play the more these stats embed themselves into your mind and play. There are also pop up advisers to warn you and correct any mistake you are thinking of making. Not to mention the programmable Hand Adviser on the Sidebar too. Poker Academy Pro is installed on your hard drive so you can play about anywhere. I travel a lot, and use it constantly in the air, and while waiting in terminals, its perfect. When I am feeling weak in certain areas I use the custom functions to keep repeating whatever situation I am feeling weak on at the time. Then I drill on it till I'm comfortable. Trust me, this is a tool everyone should not be without. 
Where this poker software
really excels is in its Bots artificial
intelligence. I cannot stress the abilities
of these
bots enough. If the bots were playing a static set of rules, there would be ways
to manipulate and take advantage of them. Not these bots. Poker Academy Pro features the best poker bots developed in any poker software. They will
adapt to your play and learn from your moves. This means if you like
to bluff too much, they will know this. If you fold too often to a
big bet on the turn they will exploit that too. There are several kinds of bots. There are bots specifically used for Limit, and No-Limit poker. Some of theses bots are programmed to use theories on poker espoused by David Sklansky, T. J. Cloutier, Darse
Billings and other game theorists. Not to mention bots based on pros like Gus Hanson, Daniel Negreanu, and Doyle Brunson to name a few. What makes these bots so special besides AI, is you can also adjust the settings of the Bots as well. This is
tremendously helpful in making your poker simulation as real as
possible. The AI in this software
was developed by the University of Alberta's world renown Computer
Poker Research Group. Their latest bot Polaris, nearly beat the pros
Phil Laak and Ali Eslami. This all happened at the annual meeting of
the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. You can see the Man vs. Machine challenge below.The bots AI, along with the custom features of Poker Academy Pro enables you to accurately simulate any type of opponent, table type, game structure, scenario, and drill. The ring game setup has a wide array of variations available to test your skills. There are eighteen separate limit and no limit options available, including shorthanded play and heads up. The tournament area is just as thorough. There are setups available in limit and no-limit multi and single table simulations. Any of the tournament setups can be set to any specification, from number of players to buy-in. With the Zip button you can practice at over 200 hands per hour, enabling the game to be played lightning fast so you can get to your next hand. By playing over 200 hands an hour, you can skip over the dead time waiting for a playable hand, and instead work on all aspects of your game. The in-game adviser states action frequencies to help you hone your game. You can customize the adviser to teach you different styles of play, allowing you to experiment with the different poker images. Poker Academy Pro also features tools such as the Showdown Calculator, Hand Evaluator Tool, and a Poker Tutorial, all designed to aid in your Hold'em development. Poker Academy Pro is one of those computer simulators that can add that extra edge to your game, as well as get you heading in the right direction.
Poker Academy Online:
So you are ready to mix things up a
little and play some real players? This is also the place to pit yourself against the latest bot, Polaris. Poker Academy's expansive and
helpful online community deserves a whole section in itself. Poker
Academy Online is by far the best place to learn online
and is completely Mac compatible. First off, all the formats that you play are there, both Ring games and Tournaments. What makes Poker Academy Online so
unique is the introduction of their exclusive online currency called PAX. You start at zero and slowly work to build up your bankroll, as
you would with real cash. This hard work gives value to the PAX, and
makes you and your opponents play harder. Thus
simulating real money play better than any other play money site can. Once you get around 200PAX Play tightens up significantly, making for top notch analysis and play. You
will also be rated, so play right and watch your ratings go up. Its not easy, yet can be extremely addictive. The
best part of Poker Academy Online is the community of players there. Players take pride in the community, and are focused on learning, and keeping play top notch. All this without having to spend a dime, you can't beat that. Players log onto the Poker Academy Forums to share everything of interest from general poker chat and ongoing poker news to customizing Poker Academy and product suggestions. Overall, Poker Academy Pro
is well worth the investment, and
will have long term beneficial effects on your game. But, don't
take it from me, you can see yourself. Click on any of the links above. You will find Poker Academy's site user friendly, along with a wealth of information and reviews. There is also a free trial
available to download, so you may try before you buy. Give it a shot, you will thank me for it. Keep checking back as I am writing an article on how to use
this program and all its stats to the fullest. Subscribe to MacPokerTools and receive the info as it arrives. You will not want to miss it. Enjoy!
Download Poker Academy Pro Today and Try it for Free
(http://www.poker-academy.com)
Polaris Man vs. Machine Competition:
On
July 3-6 a lineup of elite players from Stoxpoker.com, an internet
poker training site, went head to head with the latest version of
Polaris, a poker AI designed by the University of Alberta’s Computer
Poker Research Group (http://poker.cs.ualberta.ca/).
The match was held at the 2008 Gaming Life Expo, just next door to this
year’s World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. The format for the
tournament was 6 matches of one on one limit hold’em. Each match
consisted of two humans playing against the computer in separate
locations, and the contest used a “duplicate” format wherein the set of
cards dealt during the match would be the same at both teammates’
tables. At one location a human would play one side of the cards, and
in the other location his teammate would play the opposite side of the
cards. After 500 hands the winner was determined by whether the humans
or the AI had the highest net score. This duplicate format greatly
helped to reduce the short-term element of luck and make the matches a
much truer contest of skill.After the first five matches the tournament was tied at 2 wins for the humans, 2 for Polaris, and 1 tie (according to the rules of the tournament a win of less than 25 “small bets,” the betting unit on the early streets in limit hold’em, would be declared as a tie). That meant that the last match of the tournament would also be the tie-breaker, and to add to the dramatic element Polaris’ last set of opponents was arguably the strongest. Polaris won the match in convincing fashion, winning both sides of the duplicate match for a net win of 90 small bets. This gave Polaris a final record of 3-2-1, and provided the CPRG with their first win over human opponents. The CPRG had created a similar event last year against professionals Phil Laak and Ali Eslami where Polaris finished with a final record of 1 win, 2 losses, and 1 tie.
Posted by jd at 12/1/2007 3:31 PM 
Categories: Poker Tools, Mac Poker Software, Poker Strategy
Tags: training mac strategy software Tournament tools Texas Holdem poker stats coaching
Categories: Poker Tools, Mac Poker Software, Poker Strategy
Tags: training mac strategy software Tournament tools Texas Holdem poker stats coaching
I used up the eval. time playing the game simulation and wish I had gotten to dig into the analysis tools more. The artificial intelligence seems to be employed in the game opponent strategy choices which are richer and more varied than some other simulations.
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Their AI is definitely the best. Make sure to check out the link to the University of Alberta’s Computer Poker Research Group (http://poker.cs.ualberta.ca/) to hear the latest on it. The game analysis tools are nice too, but if you are not interested/able to get Poker Academy, you can always use one of the free replayers available and go back over your past hands played. This will be just as beneficial, if not more for your game, plus it is in a real game, and not a simulation. One great thing about PA is the ability to play specific scenarios repeatedly, until you are comfortable with what you are trying to learn. Not to mention the top notch bots to play when you are not able to play others.
jon
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dont waste your money on Poker Academy or poker academy pro.
the online community only has 80 players on an average night .. and the
RNG spits out predictable beats, suck outs, and outdraws.
plus the community is so clique-y that they help each other out.
a lot of effort and disappointment for play money.
the bots are ok but you are better off playing on a bigger site for free
against real ppl
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