Master Poker's Table Features
While using Master Poker you will spend the vast majority of your time
viewing the Table Screen. I hope I've already convinced you of how important I
believe the aesthetic appeal of this screen to be, but in addition to providing
an attractive playing atmosphere it's also important you are able to get around
easily and have immediate access to some important tracking data during the
course of your session. Below are a few features on this important screen meant too
make your playing experience more flowing and convenient.
The Table Screen
Once you've setup your event and made choices for your cardroom
location, table color, and deck style you will be taken to the Table Screen
which might look something like this--Click the small image below to see an
enlarged table graphic.
This game is being played at the 'Gentlemen's Club' and has been equipped
with a blue table. The title bar of the Table screen displays the event buy-in
amount, the type of event you're playing, how many seats are being filled at
each table, the total players who started the event, and the current level of
blinds and antes.
The lower section of the screen displays the Action Button Bar, the
Leaderboard, the User's tracking stats for the session, the hand tracking summary box, and
links to the prize pool breakdown and hand rankings display. Many of these
things will be explained in greater detail in the 'At the Table' section.
The Winning Board
Finding
the best five card hand in a game that uses seven cards can sometimes be
difficult for both experienced and novice players. If you're an Internet player, you've probably found yourself at some point
blurting out loud, "What? Why did I lose? What did he have?" where a
pot you were sure was yours is suddenly pushed to your opponent. MP will
help you identify the culprit in those circumstances by shading all cards that are not being used in the final five cards of the
winning hand.
As you can see, the player who once occupied Seat 7 can now clearly see why
his big Straight did not hold up. Having the reason for your demise clearly pointed
out might not help with your frustration at busting out of a tournament, but at
least you can begin the healing process a little more quickly.
The Betting Slider
While the Action Bar buttons and keyboard commands will cover most betting
action you will desire, there will always be those times when you wish to finely
tune your bet amount.
The betting slider allows you to bet precisely the amount you wish. The
slider works in increments the size of the Big Blind, and the little arrow
buttons work in amounts incrementally smaller than that, down to 1 chip, the
smallest denomination allowed in MP.
Leaderboard
Once your session has begun you will find an active Leaderboard in the
lower left corner of the screen. This little window tracks the event leaders.
In single table events it displays the
current top three players in chip position at the table. In multi-table events
it displays the current top three players in chip position from all tables in
the Tournament. Put your cursor over the chip leader’s name to see his/her
personality type.
For serious players clicking the Leaderboard label allows you to view important additional
event data such as the total chips in play, the average stack size, the
percentile of chips you hold overall, the number of Big Blinds you have left in
your stack, and your current 'M' factor (for those of you familiar with this
Paul Magriel construct made popular in Dan Harrington's excellent books).
Dynamic User Tracking
At the bottom center of the Table screen are several tracking stats that will
dynamically update as your event unfolds. The left side variables keep you
abreast of such areas of concern as the total percentage of hands you've played,
your aggression level, limping frequency, and the number of times you've folded
the best hand (postflop). Passing your cursor over the desired stat will display
more information on what your current numbers actually mean (whether you're
being too active, lack aggression, or are too passive).
The right side variables track your status within the current event, keeping
you abreast of the total hands played to this point, the number of players
remaining in the event, your current standing, and when to expect the next blind level
increase (as it relates to the total hands dealt).
Hand Tracking Summary Box
Once any given session is underway you will find an active Hand Tracking
Summary box in the lower right corner of the table screen.
This window
displays a summary of every past winning hand, including the hand number, the
winner's name, the pot size, and a summary description of the winning hand if
the hand went to a showdown. This allows the curious to go back through their
entire session and
answer questions such as how many hands were won, how often a hand actually went
to a showdown, the average
winning hand for the session, or perhaps how often a Set (or better) actually shows up in
someone's hand.
While we're on this area of the Table Screen, take a look at those little
blue labels beneath the hand tracking window. Their functions are described immediately
below.
Prize Money
In tournament poker, it’s often more fun to play for money than to play for
finishing position. It’s for this reason that I included a basic prize money
structure for all Tournaments and 'Sit and Go' events. Click the image
below to see a larger view.
If a tournament event has a buy-in
of at least $1 it will have a cash prize pool (otherwise it's considered a
freeroll). Cash prizes will be included in your personal history archives so you
can track your financial progress over the long term.
Currently Active Structure
You may have set the blind structure at the beginning of your event, but now
that you're sitting at the table can
you remember what values are in the next level? Or at what specific level you're
at in the event? No worries.
At-a-glance view of the current structure, the structure name (in case you
thought you were playing a different structure), with the current blind level
highlighted for easy reference.
Poker Hand Rankings
For players new to poker you may double-click on the ‘Hand
Rankings’ label in the lower right corner of the Table Screen to see a breakdown of
all poker hands by their rank (from top to bottom). Click the image below
to see a larger view.
This little feature should
be helpful to those folks who are new to the game (or just could never seem to
remember if a Flush beats Three of a Kind).
The Rabbit Cam
Often-times when folding, players will ask the dealer to see what the next
card off the deck would have been. Among the new generation this is often known as
checking the 'Wonder Cam'. Among veteran players it's known as
'Rabbit Hunting', which is how we refer to it in MP. Checking this option gives you the ability to do exactly that,
peek at the next card to be dealt (the Turn or River card).
As you can see here, clicking the Rabbit Cam button brings up a little window
next to your cards telling you the next card off the deck is going to be the
Seven of Clubs. Whether you continue play after making this sneaky peek is up to
you and your conscious.
Running Action Review
During the course of any hand you can click a 'Hand review' button to bring up a
running text review of the hand as it has unfolded up until that point. Click
the image below for an enlarged view.
In a game you could use the scroll bar on the right side to view the unseen portion of the summary
which includes things like the hand number, the starting chipstacks for each
player, the size and locations of the blinds, etc., right down to the end of the
hand with who won the pot, and for how much (including all split pots). When a hand is completed, MP will
also add to the top of the running summary the starting hands of each player to
make sure your report is as detailed as you need it should you decide to
cut-and-paste, archive, debate, or record it for prosperity.
Keyboard/Mouse Controls
The application was originally designed to be played solely with a mouse, but
I've found that when spending many hours at the computer zipping through hand after hand
the keyboard can present a comfortable alternative to constantly reaching for
the mouse. It's for this reason I have included parallel keyboard commands for
nearly every action you can take with the mouse. For example, you can
simply press the ‘d’ key to deal the next hand, the 'z' key to zip to the
end of the hand, the F3 key to reload
in a cash game, or hit the number '7' key to bet 70% of the pot on the
flop. After a short period of getting familiar with your various keyboard options these types of shortcuts make it much easier for power players to quickly
and smoothly knock out hand after hand.
The Office Magician
This personal preference provides an easy-access button near your cards that
can be used to make the Master Poker table quickly disappear from your screen (poof!),
revealing the Window's Desktop (and leaving no trace of MP on the Windows task
bar). When the coast is
clear, a tiny button in the lower right corner of your screen can be used to
return to your game. Not that I condone playing poker at your workplace or
without the permission of a controlling spouse, but ... it's here for you if you
need it.
Click the button below to move to the next feature section:
Order Now
| 
