What is Poker Copilot? An explanation for anyone
I went to a software conference on the weekend, aimed at small software companies that operate without outside investors. At the conference many people asked what Poker Copilot is. I explained it many times, then realised that the information I kept relating should be written and available on the web. Here it is:
What is Poker Copilot?
Poker Copilot is software that helps online poker players improve their game.
How does Poker Copilot work?
After each hand of poker you play at an online poker room such as PokerStars, the poker room writes a bet-by-bet record of the hand into a text file on your computer. Poker Copilot locates these historical records, reads the contents, extracts key information, and stores the results as statistics about the hand in its own internal database.
When you use Poker Copilot to look at your playing history, Poker Copilot presents the aggregated data to you in a form that you can easily understand, filter, and investigate in more detail.
The important thing to note is this: Poker Copilot only uses data from hands in which you have actually played.
Poker Copilot shows the aggregated data in the form of specialised statistics in real-time, as an overlay on the online poker tables. This is Poker Copilot’s “Head-up Display”, often shortened to the “HUD”.
How does Poker Copilot help?
In many ways. The first, and most important, for new users is this:
- Poker Copilot uses accumulated data to find the mathematical errors in your game so that you can eliminate the persistent errors in your playing style.
- Better still, it helps your find the mathematical errors in your opponents’ games so that you can exploit the persistent errors in your opponents’ playing styles.
Here’s a concrete example. When you start playing poker you soon learn that you need to be more aggressive with your pre-flop betting, the closer you are to dealer button. This is called position awareness. Poker players know this, and try to be more aggressive as they get closer to the button. But are they actually doing this as they think? Poker Copilot uses your historical data to find this you. A simple chart gathered from all your hundreds or thousands of past hands can tell you whether you need to be more aggressive or less aggressive in certain positions. Fixing up such a problem almost certainly leads to an improvement for your bankroll.
Does Poker Copilot Use card counting?
No. Card counting is a strategy for blackjack, not for poker. The deck of cards is started anew after each hand of poker, so there are no cards to count.
If I use Poker Copilot, am I cheating?
Not even close. Poker Copilot only uses data from hands you have played. The data it presents is data you have on your computer, whether you use Poker Copilot or not. It is data that you could record and collate manually after each hand with pen and paper, if you have much patience. You could do the same thing as Poker Copilot in an Excel spreadsheet. But it sure would be cumbersome.
Do PokerStars and other online poker rooms allow Poker Copilot?
Yes. The security teams at PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker have explicitly verified that our software works within their guidelines and added us to their list of permitted software. Winamax, a major French online poker room, sells licenses for our software in their online shop for spending frequent player points. Smaller online poker rooms often ask us to add support for their poker room to our software.