sexta-feira, 19 de abril de 2013

A look at Perfect Preflop Play Deluxe


If you play online SNGs and tournaments, this app will make you thousands of dollars. 





Selecting a hand grants you access to six screens of information indispensable for online play. They expose the relationships between your hand and your opponents’ possible ranges, and help you reach the correct decision based on your assessment of the position. PPP Deluxe also includes a book that explains every concept you need to know to use the original PPP. And the Monster Book is currently being published in this blog as it gets made (see tabs on the top). 


The screens are organized in three files and two rows. The different rows are for break-even mode (tan background) and Relevant Profit mode (gray), and you shift between them by tapping the top of the screen, depending on whether you want to pursue an infinitesimal edge or to only risk your chips for a profit of at least 5% of your stack. Thus PPP Deluxe can be tailored to your style. Also, you get to choose your priority at the start screen, which determines which mode you land on immediately after typing in your hand – but the other mode is always one tap away. 




File one in break-even mode


Each of the three files has a Relevant Profit and a break-even version. The first file is original PPP for tables with antes. Original PPP means that the screen tells you how much you can call against an all-in bet (or re-raise all-in vs a bet against which you don’t expect to have fold equity, which amounts to the same) once you determine which range your opponent is most likely to be playing. If he's on the small blind vs your big blind and he has only 2 big blinds left, then a bet by him can be expected to represent the all-hands range. But if he's tight and under the gun with 15 BB left, then the 3% range is probably your best guess. 




File one in Relevant Profit mode

Tap the right-hand side of the screen and arrive at the second file, which is again for calling all-in bets, but for a table without antes. It comes second because it’ll be used less often, as people are usually shoving preflop late in the tournament, when there are antes. While the pot odds column gives you the same numbers as in the with-antes screen, the translation of the pot odds into big blinds shows different results, since the starting pot will be smaller. Of course, the number of big blinds you can call profitably also varies with your position, as you get different pot odds to call the same all-in bet depending on whether you’ve posted a blind. 


We call the third file Monster, and it supplements the other two by giving you the numbers for when it’s your turn to go all-in. The numbers shown in the gray screen are for how much you can shove the small blind without losing money (break-even mode). You will discover which hands can be shoved profitably no matter what your opponent holds or does (say, any amount of chips with Aces), which pushes could be exploitable but are still good (say, shoving 8 BB on the small blind with 62o, which is unprofitable only if your foe calls you with one of the two loosest ranges, which he won’t unless he is on tilt), and which are just bad (like shoving your last 2.5 BB with 72o in the SB, where the BB is almost certain to call you with any hand and you’ll only average 34.9% equity. 




File three in Relevant Profit mode. These are the numbers of big blinds you can shove when opening from the small blind versus each calling range, so as to profit at least 5% of the amount risked. Since the number of big blinds you can shove profitably naturally decreases as you get placed farther to the right of the big blind and you have more opponents yet to act, it's safe to say you want to shove a hand from the button that at the very least would yield relevant profit if you were in the small blind. So you may use this screen as your guide to shoving the button and the corresponding gray screen - which is one tap away - for shoving the small blind. Or you may bypass the gray screen altogether and use only this one. Note that this would make your shoving ranges from the button and SB the same. This may feel a little weird, but the truth is you would still be making every unmissable move available from the small blind. In Monster, the equity column replaces the pot odds column, so that you always know at a glance how often you are going to win against each calling hand. This becomes increasingly relevant as your position becomes such that there are over four players to act after you, and especially if your stack is so small as to give you very limited fold equity. The problem with being ahead of several opponents is that, unlike in the small blind where you are only going to get called by the big blind's 8% range at a frequency of roughly 8%, when you are under the gun with eight opponents you are actually going to face such a strong range more than half the time! So while you may be tempted to shove your last 3 BB with K2o, you would simply get trounced by either the 8% range (where you have 27% equity) or the 3% range (where you'll only win a heart-breaking one time in five). So often your best move will be to simply fold the K2o and accept that you'll probably be forced to call and all-in with crap next hand. It may sound bad, but the fact is that being aggressive is sometimes just plain wrong - as in having a weak hand with no fold quity versus eight players - and gives you worse expectation than a fold. Meanwhile, by calling and all-in from the big blind next hand getting 3.5-to-1 pot odds you'll most likely be making a terrific play. Needless to say, all pairs are great for shoving ultratight, as they'll have at least a respectable 40% equity versus the critical, certain-to-call-you, 8% range. Further, all class-C (green) hands and better will usually do a good job at this at 30% equity or more, with perhaps the exception of K9o, whose 28.4% equity versus the 8% range is pretty bad.


In Relevant Profit mode, the third file can be used as the numbers you can safely shove on the button vs the critical ranges we’ll discuss in the Monster Book. Plus, you’ll notice that the pot odds column is replaced by an equity column for Monster. This is to guide you in shoving from the earlier – and increasingly complex – positions. For instance, if you’re under the gun and with little to no fold equity, say with only 3 BB left, then Monster will show you why you should usually require at least a class-C (green) hand like JTs, since, as you’ll find, it has a relatively whopping 34.1% of equity vs the 8% range – much better than the 27% equity of K2o vs said range. 


Check out Perfect Preflop Play Light for a free sample. 





For more precision, pick your table size before playing. 


sexta-feira, 25 de janeiro de 2013

Perfect Preflop Play Deluxe now for sale

MONSTER IS HERE! 



 The most complete version of PPP has arrived, and it's for sale right here.


   
PPP Deluxe is identified by the black background in the App Store

After picking your priority, it's time to pick your table size. For an exclusive heads-up session, pick Heads-up; for and exclusive MTT session, pick 9-max; and if you're playing mostly non-heads-up sit-and-gos, 6-max is the way to go, since even 9-max sit-and-gos are going to be 6-handed or so by the time the big decisions arise. 

Perfect Preflop Play is now complete. Our Deluxe version adds Monster, the tool that gives you precise numbers for shoving the small blind and big blind, with and without antes, for break-even and relevant profit purposes. It also gives you the tools to make informed decisions regading what hands to shove and fold from all other positions. Really, once you master PPP Deluxe, the sky is the limit. 

 

Our incredibly practical keyboard, where you type in any hand in 2 seconds to get access to a world of valuable information. If preflop hold'em play is a swimming pool, this turns it into one with no deep end.



Note that version 1.1 is going to add the Monster Book for free for all players who buy now at the current discounted price. Players who wait till version 1.1 are going to pay an extra $2. 


Other than that, PPP Deluxe has all the functions of the original (green) PPP. You can shift between normal and Relevant Profit modes by just tapping the top of the screen once. This lets you know which calls (and pushes, for Monster) give you less than 5% profit but are still safe, and which are outside the profitable spectrum altogether. This takes the concept of "informed decisions" to a whole new level. PPP now contains a whopping 2,366 result screens of indispensable information. 


But there's more. Before you start using PPP at all, you can choose your priority, whether you're more of a Relevant Profit or a normal mode player. This will determine which results show up first. You can still look at your least favorite mode with just one tap, but if you prefer you never have to waste a second looking at it.






Break-even (gray) versus relevant profit (tan) mode for the same hand (a pair of Deuces contemplating a call). You can shift between modes with just one tap, depending on whether you want to extract every bit of value. The priority you picked at the beginning decides which mode will be shown to you first. 

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General description: 


Do you know in which situation you should call a 13 BB all-in bet by an opponent when you hold K2o? Hint: the answer is not always, nor is it never, and it’s almost impossible to be mathematically sure about this type of play. Well, it used to be. 


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FUNCTIONS INCLUDED: 

. PPP book 

. Monster book (coming soon for free) 
. Normal 9-max mode 
. Normal heads-up mode 
. Normal 6-max mode 
. Relevant profit 9-max 
. Relevant profit heads-up 
. Relevant profit 6-max 
. 9-max Monster 
. 6-max Monster 
. Heads-up Monster 
. 2,366 result screens (14 per hand), 34,476 recommendations 
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PPP is an app created to enable its user to take advantage of hidden preflop opportunities in order to improve their expectation in tournaments and cash games. It’s not about trying to cheat. PPP organizes the relevant information between your hand, your position, and your opponent’s range in a whole new way, accessible for consultation and application in real time while you play online, in just three taps of your iPhone or iPod Touch. 


Heads-up calling mode. This gives you a cleaner screen, showing only the information necessary for when you're playing a heads-up sit-and-go, or down to two players.

PPP is an advanced poker learning tool that is going to make you a better player, and one much more knowledgeable regarding the (frequently not obvious) relations that math imposes on the elements of the game. But we don’t leave you in the dark. We know the beginner is probably not yet at a level where they ask some of the questions answered by the app. That is why PPP includes a book (available in English and Portuguese in the same version) that explains in detail the importance of the mathematical concepts that matter to the game, and will sharpen your focus so that you can use the app in all of its potential. Read carefully, get used to how PPP works, and you are not only going to win (more) money, but you will know exactly where it comes from.



Tan (relevant profit) Monster, our pushing machine for incredible accuracy. Break-even (gray) Monster gives the exact numbers you can shove profitably from the small blind. RP Monster gives you the numbers for shoving the small blind with unmissable profitability (5% stack increase). But here's the thing. While shoving the small blind is a way simpler equation t. han any other position, these numbers can be used as the correct ones for shoving the button! According to our theorem, you must only make plays that have a chance of being right. So step one for shoving the button is asking yourself, "Would this at least yield relevant profit if I were the SB?" If the answer is no, then shoving the button is too risky. So you can use the tan screen for shoving the button (meaning you're only shoving the button with a hand that would be an unmissable shove from the small blind), and the gray screen for the small blind. Or you can use only the tan screen for either, if you're more conservative. For greater explanation on the mathematical thinking behind all of this, get PPP Deluxe and wait for the Monster Book, coming free in version 1.1. 

Perfect Preflop Play is not a scam and it’s not magic. It came from an instructor’s need to teach poker quickly to a student. The app compiles all of the knowledge acquired in that process and presents it so as to free the user from doing math and let them focus on observing opponents’ tendencies. Make no mistake about it. PPP does not substitute your intelligence in deciphering your foes, nor do we want to form players who are unable to play without checking it. On the contrary, PPP is a learning tool, and once you get used to how it works, you are going to see the game in a much clearer, more organized way, and you are going to be a more competent player the next time you find yourself without it.

quinta-feira, 13 de dezembro de 2012

Relevant Profit mode has arrived

So, what the hell is wrong with your game - ever thought about it?

                              
By Flickr user HarshLight

Until this very day, my friends, I'm embarrassed to say, Perfect Preflop Play was incomplete. Not because we were trying to scam you or anything, but because we have learned from PPP itself and our research, and we have arrived at some pretty big - hell, some revolutionary conclusions. This has never been talked about by anyone in the world; it is a brand-new concept.

PPP used to be about just showing you one threshold, that of when your call stopped being too big (unprofitable) and started being small enough (profitable). This is basically what every serious poker player is trying to figure out about their hand all the time. It is definitely valuable information, but we have decided it is not enough. 

                           

Results screen for Deuces in a 9-max table with antes, now known as normal mode



We now bring you Relevant Profit mode, a function that shows you another threshold: when it is that your call starts yielding 5% profit over the amount risked (by which I mean if you have 50 BB and your opponent shoves 10 BB, RP will tell you whether calling is going to yield 5% profit over the 10 BB call, the effective stack). 

                       


The brand-new results screen, also for Deuces at a 9-handed table with antes, but now showing the Relevant Profit thresholds


So, now that we have the thresholds for both breaking even and Relevant Profit at our fingertips, your options for each hand and each position create three zones - unprofitable calls, somewhat profitable calls, and very profitable calls. 

                          


On top, the three zones created by Relevant Profit and normal mode in PPP 1.1 for Deuces on the big blind versus the 64% range at a 9-handed table with antes. On the bottom, the two rather crude zones we used to have


Luckily you can shift between modes by just tapping once on the top of the screen, precisely for cases where just one mode doesn't give you the full answer and you want to be sure of whether your call falls at least in the "somewhat profitable" zone. 

And that's not all. Before you start your session, you're prompted to choose your priority, whether it's Relevant Profit or normal mode. This will depend on your temperament, whether you like chasing infinitesimal edges or you shun variance and choose to only make the really unmissable all-in calls. Again, no matter what your priority, you are never more than one tap away from the other mode. But if you happen to never want to look at your least favorite mode, then by picking your priority you jump straight from hand selection to your favorite, and never have to waste a second looking at the other one. 

segunda-feira, 26 de novembro de 2012

PPP Light already among most popular poker apps

Perfect Preflop Play Light  has been up for a week and it's been downloaded in 15 countries, and counting. Thank you for downloading and getting us to page 2 for poker apps this fast. We're working hard to give you version 1.1 of PPP Classic in early December.  

segunda-feira, 19 de novembro de 2012

Perfect Preflop Play Light now available for FREE

App store link


PPP Light allows you to take the essential hold'em tool out for a spin without committing to paying even a single dime.

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FUNCTIONS INCLUDED (for comparison with our other apps):
. Normal heads-up
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Perfect Preflop Play is a family of apps that enables you to play just about every hand that ends preflop with superhuman ability, through a clever method of matching up your hand against all relevant hand ranges your opponents may have. 

This light version features a fraction of the functions that are or will soon be available in our other apps. PPP Light consists of the "normal heads-up mode" section of our more complete apps, which tells you how many big blinds it's safe to call against each of your opponent's shoving ranges when heads-up. It also covers situations at fuller tables when you're in the small blind or when you're blind vs. blind with no antes - but don't use it for other positions (like when you're the big blind facing a button push, or even if you're in the small blind at a full table with antes, as PPP Light covers only zero or two antes) as the numbers would be wrong! The Q scale information is also there, helping you gauge whether you should shove your hand when it's your turn to open. 



PPP Light (Heads-up Only) compared to PPP Classic and our upcoming apps


After testing this one, get Perfect Preflop Play - Poker tool + lessons, to get not only everything you need at heads-up, 6-max or full tables (with or without antes), but also "relevant profit" mode, which, unlike normal mode that tells you at what point a call becomes profitable, instead tells you at what point you start adding 5% to your chipstack by making the call. That way, if you're maybe concerned about a bubble, or for some other reason do not want to pursue an infinitesimal edge, relevant profit will let you know which calls are truly unmissable. Relevant profit will be added free in version 1.1 of PPP.

And the full version comes with an e-book (available in English and Portuguese in the same version of the app) that explains all of the logic and math that go into using PPP to make the right decisions. This will truly make you a more intelligent player who understands the underlying relationships that make poker work. Welcome to a world of optimal decisions. Welcome to Perfect Preflop Play.




              Deluxe                              Classic                    Heads-up Suite                    Light

terça-feira, 18 de setembro de 2012

PPP Heads-up Only to be a free app

Introducing PPP entry points, our lowest-level app is going to be launched in October and will be absolutely free. Heads-up Only is going to feature one of the eleven PPP functions (classic heads-up mode) and will allow the user to take Perfect Preflop Play out for a test drive before committing to spending even a dime. 


PPP Heads-up Only will show you one such screen for each starting hand. That's one out of eleven total functions you can get with our most complete product, PPP Deluxe. Note that the numbers will be correct not only for a heads-up table, but also when you're in the small blind at a bigger table, and for when you're in the big blind facing a raise from the small blind. 


We're planning to launch three products soon to go along with our current one, which will itself be updated for free to include the all-new Relevant Profit mode. With this addition, the player will be able to choose the priority of what is shown to them immediately after hand selection (whether it's the amount they can call versus each range to break even, or the amount that will yield them 'relevant profit'), and will at all times be able to switch between modes with just one tap.  

Perfect Preflop Play Deluxe will go further and add Monster, our tool for always shoving the small blind with extreme precision. Monster will always tell you, for every hand you can have against all six possible calling ranges, for zero, two, five or eight antes posted on the table, how much you can open-shove in the small blind to take the hand down without having to play versus the big blind out of position. By looking at the numbers for every calling range, you can quickly determine whether shoving is mathematically unexploitable - that is, whether shoving has a better expectation than folding and there is simply nothing your opponent can do, no range they can call you with that will change that. Think about it, it's quite a powerful concept. Monster will also feature 'relevant profit' mode, in case you're looking not only for what pushes are positive-expectation, but which ones will result in you increasing your stack by 5% or 1.5 BB (whichever is smaller) on average. 

Thus, for example, when you type ATo into Monster for a game with no antes, you will see that the lowest number there is 59.49 big blinds versus the 8% range (all other ranges allow you to shove even more!). Now, what this means is that you can shove 59 BB in the small blind and that has positive expectation, no matter what the big blind does. For the most extreme example, let's say they decide to only call you with Aces. All right, you do look pretty stupid when they call you with Aces with a smug smile, but you should not worry about that. Think, instead, about the fact that this exact opponent is only going to call you one time in 408!!! So for the first 407 times that you shove ATo you steal 1.5 BB without a showdown, and then they finally call you on the 408th and you're dominated. My friend, you should be delighted to come across this opponent, and Monster is the guarantee that you will take full advantage of them. 

But if you think that, if the maximum amount you can shove is 59.49 big blinds to break even, then shoving 59 BB is not very profitable - then, well, you're entirely right. This is where Relevant Profit comes in, to show you that by shoving 19.11 BB and getting called by the range that's the worst for you (8% range), you are going to show a profit of 0.96 BB, which is 5% of your stack and, thus, quite an unmissable shove. Any shove below that amount is even better. 

Now compare this unexploitable play with limping or raising a normal amount in the small blind and getting called or reraised and playing the rest of the hand out of position. Well, if you've ever read a single thing about poker, then you know you should always avoid being out of position, and by shoving the amount approved by Monster, you will cancel that disadvantage for good

Of course, the same numbers apply for when you're heads-up at the table, with the big difference that now you have position in the small blind, and consequently seeing a flop is much better than before. Great for you, you have more options, but the fact remains that the pushes suggested by Monster are still profitable and, you will often find, preferable.  

Finally, Heads-up Suite is the product that's cheap and meets every need of the heads-up specialist. It will feature heads-up mode (both classic and relevant profit) and Monster, as well as the original PPP book and the Monster book. That way every single hand in a heads-up tournament is covered, whether you're the one shoving or the one calling. 

These are the functions present in each of our products:




quinta-feira, 30 de agosto de 2012

'Relevant profit' mode coming soon for free!

Okay, so it's an eight-handed table, you hold Deuces in the big blind and the button, who has been bullying everyone for the last three orbits because we're close to reaching the money, again shoves around 25 BB from the button. You're entirely certain he has a range not an inch tighter than the 31% range, and you must call you last 16.7 BB to go to showdown. Should you do it? 




Yes! Am I right?

Well, yes, but also...

What kind of player are you? How much is this bubble? Do you care about this particular mincash? Are you in a fighting mood, or do you really just want to guarantee a winning session?

Granted, in a perfect world where you always have thousands of buy-ins and no feelings regarding what happens, but instead you only focus on optimum play an the long run, the answer should be: fuck the bubble, I've read the situation well, I know what this guy is doing, calling is absolutely a positive-expectation play, not only immediately, but it may later stop people from messing with my blind, so I call.

But if those questions indeed bug your mind, it's no fault of yours, and you're not wrong to consider them - you are what is known in laymen's terms as a human







A human (by Flickr user vagueonthehow).

The number 17.1 BB is the exact point where calling the bet against the 31% range is break-even, meaning calling 17.1 BB has the exact same expectation of folding - that is, to have 17.1 BB by the end of the hand when you fold, and to end the hand with a total 171,000 BB over 10,000 hands when you call (averaging 17.1 BB). Any number greater than that is unprofitable to call (your expectation is lower than folding), and any number smaller than that is profitable. And 16.7 is smaller, so this is a profitable call. But...

What Perfect Preflop Play (get it here) is neglecting to tell you is, by how much? That is, if by calling my non-desperate stack of 16.7 BB I expect to end the hand with 16.8 BB but also expect to bust out before the bubble more than half the time, do I want to do it? I'm guessing most of you will answer "no."


By Flickr user lindenbaum


And that is why we're coming up with a free update that is going to tell you what you really want to know: When does calling become so profitable that it's a shame not to do it? 

It's really simple. We're not going to erase the information you currently find on PPP, but by messing around with the original formula just a little bit, we're going to bring you a whole new mode that you can choose to show you at what point your call starts yielding an extra 5% to your stack, or an extra 1.5 BB for stacks bigger than 30 BB. 

So now that we demand to increase our stack by at least 5% to warrant making the call, what is the cutoff? For this precise situation, it's 10.87 BB. That's because, when you make the all-in call with 10.87 BB, the total effective pot becomes 25.04 BB, and you have 45.6% equity in that, which amounts to 11.42 BB, which is bigger than 10.87 BB by 0.55 BB, which is 5% of 10.87 BB.

So if you have 10.87 BB or less against this exact player in this spot, then by calling you are going to increase your stack by at least 5%, effectively turning the call into too good to miss. So from a practical standpoint, this update (which also includes 6-max mode) is going to make PPP a whole lot better, and for free. 

The "relevant profit" concept will also be applied to Heads-up Monster, to make sure you're only shoving the small blind (especially with a decent stack) when there's enough to gain from it.