PokerDope.com, now known as PrimeDope.com, is a place for poker players to use several free tools. You don’t need to buy any of these tools or download programs to your computer. Android and Apple smartphones can run the tools without an issue.
There are five basic tools on the site:
- Online Poker Rake Calculator
- Poker Variance Calculator
- Tournament Variance Calculator
- ICM Calculator
- Pushbot Trainer
These tools are resources for poker formats like Texas Hold ‘em and Omaha. This website doesn’t go in-depth about poker strategy, but the tools could be useful if you’re in a pinch. Be aware that some of the tools look and feel quite dated.
We’re going to talk about each of the five tools on the website and explain how you can use them to your advantage.
Enjoy our PokerDope review!
Rake Calculator for Online Poker Players
Rake is where online poker sites make their profit, but it’s the price we pay for things that players can’t live without, like software security, bug fixes, and promotions. Every player pays rake, but that doesn’t mean you need to overpay.
Lower-stakes players almost always pay a higher percentage of rake than players who are at mid and high-stakes.
PokerDope’s rake calculator can help you review the lowest rake for games like no-limit Texas Hold ‘em, pot-limit Omaha, fast-folding poker, and short deck (6+).
Adjust the formats, number of players, and stakes to generate a list of poker sites.
Important Note: Rake fluctuates and these comparison charts may not display the correct figures. Users comment on the calculator’s page quite often and say that certain numbers are incorrect or that some poker sites aren’t available. Use the percentages as a guideline, but speak with our support team if you want up-to-date figures.
You can scroll down to see a more detailed breakdown of the price of playing at certain sites.
- Rake per 100 hands
- Net Rake (average rake % after the cap is factored in)
- Formal Rake (rake percentage and cap amount)
At almost any stake, PokerStars is at the top of the list, with a reasonable rake and low cap (maximum rake per single pot).
CoinPoker is usually in second place, between PokerStars and partypoker. Founded in 2017, CoinPoker is a relatively new poker site that grew rapidly, largely thanks to its acceptance of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies before other poker sites.
Cash Game Variance Calculator
This calculator shows your expected up and downswings of a certain period of hands. After inputting some information into the variance calculator, you can project your win rate over 100,000 to 10 million hands.
At the end of the day, this is just a projection from a browser-based tool, but some players might enjoy the visual representation.
Variance = Fluctuation from the average result.
With the online cash game variance tool, you can estimate the:
- Extent of downswings
- Odds of losing over a time period
- Hourly win or loss rate at cash game tables
To use the variance calculator on PokerDope, you’ll need to enter your win rate, a standard deviation over 100 bb, and the number of hands you want for the simulation.
The program can use its confidence model and your deviation to project your swings over millions of hands. The confidence intervals are the highest and lowest points of your win rate, so you can look at these areas to see the maximum variance.
The black line down the middle represents your EV. Your confidence intervals will run parallel to this baseline.
Thick blue and red lines will show your projected best and worst expected winnings.
Looking at the projections can be a wake-up call for some players because it really illustrates the potential highs and lows of poker success.
Tournament Variance Calculator
Let’s imagine you want to enter an online poker tournament and play in the event each week. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could estimate your variance in these events?
You’ll need the following information:
- The number of players
- How many places are paid
- Entry fee (buy-in)
- Rake %
- Return On Investment
- Number of events you will enter
- Sample size
- Bankroll (this can be left blank)
Once you click on Calculate, the variance calculator will simulate poker tournaments as many times as you instructed it to.
On the left is the distribution model, which shows the likelihood function. On the right, you’ll see 20 randomly-selected samples with the best and worst runs highlighted. The black line in the middle is your expected EV, while the green on either side is the confidence interval (projected variance from average EV).
ICM Calculator
This basic ICM calculator gives your chips a direct cash value in poker tournaments. It’s used for understanding the cost of decisions in a poker tournament and the concept is used by professional players.
This ICM calculator will also work for freeroll tournaments.
Calculating ICM also shows your equity in the tournament at that point in time, plus your chances of ranking 1st, 2nd, and other places in the tournament.
Using the ICM calculator is fairly simple You need to enter stack sizes and prize money for a maximum of nine players. Click Calculate when you’re ready and the program will get to work.
Unfortunately, 9 is the maximum, so you can’t get ICM calculations for larger tournaments.
The calculator only shows:
- How much money each player will receive (according to ICM)
- How much money players receive for a chop (when the prize is distributed instead of continuing the tournament)
- Chances of finishing in a certain position (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc)
Software like ICMIZER takes this information a much-needed step further.
This advanced program actually guides you using the Independent Chip Model and shows you the most profitable spots to push or fold. The built-in MTT Coach can correct your push/fold weaknesses, or if you’d prefer, you can analyze your online poker sessions using ICMIZER to tell you what you did wrong.
Pushbot Trainer
Every tournament poker player needs to know the proper situations for shoving (going all-in) in the late stages of tournaments. If you have a small stack in front of you, optimizing your shoves is a good way to continue in the tournament (and hopefully make a comeback).
You should also know when to call if other players move all in, which can be a tenuous prospect with so much at stake.
The Pushbot Trainer uses a specific big blind amount to display the profitable push/call hands.
Note: The PokerDope trainer is definitely not the most advanced tool you can use, in fact, it’s probably one of the most basic ones available.
Professionals and regular players tend to use standalone programs for more advanced drills, like Poker IQ or the MTT Coach from ICMIZER. The online tool from PokerDope is a good starting point, but other poker apps can offer much more training potential.
