As with all things in life "practice makes perfect" so getting a lot of experience at the poker table surely counts but it can be an expensive way to improve. Reading and studying poker books and forums are good methods to use but to really get down to the details of your poker game and improve them significantly you need a few select poker tools.

If you hope pick up a few poker tools, but them on your PC and then magically be witness to huge improvements to your poker results you will be very disappointed. Improvement or success with poker tools are NOT automatic - anyone trying you tell you otherwise is not being entirely truthful Good poker tools all demand that you put in a big effort trying to learn how to use and understand them. This can easily amount to a great deal of hours but the best poker tools are definitely worth your time, as your long term improvements will be worth the effort.

If you are new to poker don't jump in and start looking at the different poker tools - start out by reading a few good poker books (these might give you a good start: "The Theory of Poker" and "No Limit Holdem: Theory and Practice" both by David Sklansky) and play some free (or low stake) online poker hands. Once you know a little more than the basics of the game it is time to start thinking about which online poker tools can best help you improve.

This is the first in a series of articles meant to explain the different poker tool types, their unique value in specific situations and teach you how to select the tools that will help you improve the most. This article supplies an introduction to poker tools and categorizes the different tool types. Later articles will give more detailed info on specific tools and how to extract the most value from them.

House rules
Just as most land based casinos doesn't allow card counting in Black Jack or the use of electronic devices in the casino many online poker rooms are selective when it comes to the use of poker tools. Pokerstars probably has the most restrictive policy in the business with a long list of banned poker software tools and programs. This article will give you a good idea of the characteristics that are typical for banned software types but to make sure please check the rules of your local poker room.

Once you have read this guide (hopefully all the articles) please don't rush out and buy 2-3 or more poker tools. The best approach is to focus on one tool at a time - spend some time deciding which tool type you stand to benefit the most from and invest in the specific tool you find most promising. Then concentrate on really getting to know this tool and once you have gotten most of the benefits the tool can offer move on to the next tool.
The single most important reason to use online poker tools is to improve your skills and thus win more. The good news is that this is entirely possible to achieve the "bad" part is that is takes time. Now please move on to the next part in which you will learn which poker tool type is best for you: Trackers, HUD's, Online Databases, Calculators, Charts or Poker Robots.

By: Dennis B.

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Dennis B. Webmaster and seasoned poker player. Currently working with SEO and webmaster for Cool Poker Guide - the high quality free online poker guide. Unbiased reviews of online poker tools, poker rooms and other online gambling resources