Poker Solvers

Poker solvers have transformed how players study Texas Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, tournaments, cash games, and other poker formats.

A poker solver is software that models poker decisions mathematically and calculates strategies based on Game Theory Optimal (GTO) principles. Modern solver-based tools range from desktop programs that calculate custom game trees to cloud platforms that provide instant access to presolved strategies and interactive training.

Players do not need to memorize every solver output. The real value comes from understanding patterns — which hands bet, check, call, raise, or fold; how often different actions are used; and how strategy changes according to ranges, stack sizes, board textures, rake, bet sizes, and tournament payout considerations.

For most players, the choice comes down to two approaches. Cloud-based GTO trainers provide fast answers and make everyday study easy, while traditional calculator solvers provide greater control for players who want to build and analyze custom scenarios.

This guide compares the best poker solvers and GTO training tools in 2026, including options for beginners, advanced players, tournament specialists, PLO players, and anyone looking for a free poker solver.

Poker Solver Quick Facts

What Is a Poker Solver?

A poker solver is a program that calculates theoretically balanced strategies for poker situations.

Traditional solvers create a decision tree representing the actions available to each player. The solver repeatedly adjusts each player’s strategy until it approaches an equilibrium where neither player can improve simply by changing strategy against the other player’s current strategy.

The result can tell you:

• Which hands should bet
• Which hands should check
• Which hands should raise
• Which hands should call
• Which hands should fold
• Which bet sizes should be used
• How frequently each action should occur
• The expected value of different decisions
• How ranges interact with different boards

Solver strategies often involve mixed strategies.

For example, a particular hand may bet 60% of the time and check 40% rather than always taking one action.

The goal of solver study is generally not to memorize thousands of exact frequencies. It is to understand the strategic principles and patterns behind the outputs well enough to make stronger decisions at the table.

How Poker Solvers Work

A calculator solver begins with information supplied by the user.

Depending on the software, these inputs can include:

• Player ranges
• Stack sizes
• Pot size
• Rake
• Board cards
• Available bet sizes
• Available raise sizes
• Tournament payouts
• Number of players
• Other game-specific parameters

The solver constructs a game tree containing the permitted decisions and repeatedly calculates strategies until the solution reaches the desired level of accuracy.

Modern cloud platforms can approach the problem differently.

Instead of requiring the player to build and calculate every tree locally, they may provide massive libraries of presolved situations, calculate new solutions on remote servers, use AI-assisted solving technology, or combine several of these approaches.

Calculator vs Database vs Hybrid Poker Solvers

Poker solver tools can broadly be divided into three categories.

Calculator solvers calculate custom solutions based on parameters entered by the user.

Examples include PioSOLVER, GTO+, MonkerSolver, and TexasSolver.

Their biggest advantage is flexibility. Players can build trees around specific ranges, stack sizes, bet sizes, and other assumptions.

Their disadvantages are complexity and hardware requirements. Large trees can require substantial RAM and CPU resources, and users need to understand how to configure realistic simulations.

Database solvers and GTO trainers provide access to strategies that have already been calculated.

Instead of building a tree, users select the relevant format, positions, stack depth, and board.

These platforms are generally much easier for everyday study because solutions load almost immediately and often include interactive training tools.

Hybrid platforms combine presolved libraries with custom solving.

GTO Wizard is a leading example. Players can access large existing libraries for fast study while higher-level plans also provide custom solving, node locking, and other advanced capabilities.

Poker Solver Types Compared

Why Use a Poker Solver?

Poker solvers provide a theoretical baseline against which players can compare their own strategies.

This can be useful in several ways.

• Finding leaks — Comparing your decisions with solver strategies can reveal patterns such as folding too frequently, missing value bets, calling too widely, or using inappropriate bet sizes.
• Understanding ranges — Solvers help show how entire ranges interact rather than focusing only on the two specific hands involved in one hand history.
• Learning frequencies — Solver study demonstrates why strong poker strategies sometimes mix between betting and checking or calling and raising.
• Studying board textures — Players can compare strategies across high-card, paired, monotone, connected, and other flop types.
• Understanding bet sizing — Solver outputs demonstrate when strategies favor small bets, large bets, checks, or multiple sizes.
• Studying GTO strategy — Players can develop a theoretically balanced baseline before considering exploitative adjustments.
• Testing assumptions — Custom solvers allow advanced users to change ranges, sizings, and other assumptions to see how the resulting strategy changes.

Poker solvers should primarily be used for off-table study.

Online poker operators commonly restrict or prohibit software that provides real-time strategic assistance while a player is participating in a hand. Always check the rules of the poker site you play on before running poker software during real-money play.

Best Poker Solvers

The best poker solver depends heavily on what you play and how you study.

Players who want fast daily study may prefer a cloud platform. Advanced users building unusual game trees may prefer a traditional calculator solver, while PLO and tournament specialists have tools designed specifically around their formats.

GTO Wizard — Best Overall Poker Solver

GTO Wizard has evolved well beyond its original role as a database of presolved poker strategies.

The platform now combines a large solution library with GTO training, hand-history analysis, custom solving, node locking, multiway analysis, tournament ICM tools, and AI-assisted solving technology.

Current Hold’em plans cover both cash games and tournaments.

Tournament tools include MTTs, ICM, PKOs, Spin & Gos, heads-up Sit & Gos, and a large range of stack configurations.

GTO Wizard also supports custom preflop ICM solving. Players can model tournament situations using their own stacks, antes, payouts, and bounties and compare ICM strategies with ChipEV strategies.

Postflop custom solving allows higher-tier users to change parameters such as:

• Ranges
• Stack sizes
• Bet sizes
• Rake
• ICM assumptions

Node locking can then be used to change an opponent’s strategy and study the best response.

GTO Wizard also offers separate PLO plans for 4-card Pot-Limit Omaha. The PLO product includes cash and tournament solutions, interactive training, and custom postflop solving at higher tiers.

Because calculations take place in the cloud, users do not need a powerful computer.

A free plan is available, while paid Hold’em plans start with lower-cost training access and progress through Premium, Elite, and Ultra tiers. Advanced multiway and custom-solving features are concentrated in the higher plans.

For most players who want one platform for everyday GTO study, GTO Wizard offers one of the broadest combinations of accessibility and advanced functionality.

PioSOLVER — Best for Advanced Custom NLHE Analysis

PioSOLVER is one of the best-known traditional calculator solvers.

Unlike platforms built primarily around presolved libraries, PioSOLVER allows players to create their own game trees and calculate strategies locally.

Players can configure:

• Ranges
• Stack sizes
• Pot sizes
• Rake
• Bet sizes
• Raise sizes
• Multiple postflop branches

The current PioSOLVER 3 lineup consists of Pro and Edge.

PioSOLVER Pro costs €450 and supports postflop solving with multiple bet sizes, scripting, PioVIEWER, and up to 16 CPU cores.

PioSOLVER Edge costs €800 and adds support for up to 64 cores, heads-up preflop solving, and other high-end features.

Licenses are perpetual. One year of software updates is included, after which users can continue using their existing version or purchase additional update support.

PioSOLVER is primarily CPU driven.

Postflop solving can be done comfortably on relatively ordinary modern hardware, although larger trees require additional RAM. Pio recommends at least 8GB RAM for comfortable basic use, with 16GB sufficient for many substantial postflop trees.

Preflop solving is much more demanding. Pio recommends at least 64GB RAM for practical preflop work, with 128GB useful for larger trees.

GPU performance is not important to PioSOLVER.

A free version is available for evaluation and allows users to solve two preset flops before purchasing.

GTO+ — Best Value Desktop Poker Solver

GTO+ remains one of the strongest values among traditional desktop solvers.

The current price is just $75 for the main license, paid once, with future updates included.

GTO+ allows players to build custom postflop trees, calculate solutions, create databases, compare solved trees, generate reports, and analyze strategies.

The software also includes an integrated trainer.

GTO+ is designed primarily around No-Limit Hold’em postflop study, while a separate GTO6+ product supports Short Deck.

The program runs on Windows and is CPU based.

Recommended specifications include:

• Windows 7 or newer
• 4-core 2GHz CPU or better
• 16GB RAM
• 10GB free disk space

GPU performance is not relevant.

RAM determines the maximum tree size, while solving speed depends primarily on CPU speed and the number of physical cores.

For players comfortable building their own trees, GTO+ provides much of the functionality required for serious postflop study at a fraction of the cost of many competing products.

PLO Trainer — Best for PLO Study

PLO Trainer from PLO Mastermind takes a database-and-training approach to Pot-Limit Omaha.

Instead of requiring players to construct and calculate enormous Omaha game trees, PLO Trainer provides access to a large existing solution library.

The current combined 4-card and 5-card product includes:

• More than 1 million 4-card PLO solutions
• More than 100,000 5-card PLO solutions
• Cash-game solutions
• MTT solutions
• ICM solutions
• Live 8-max solutions
• Heads-up solutions
• Preflop training
• Postflop training
• Flop aggregated reports
• Equity graphs
• Mobile training

Players can use single-node or random-board training to practice strategies rather than simply browsing solver output.

The software-only PLO Trainer currently costs $299 per month for combined 4-card and 5-card access, with discounts for six-month and annual subscriptions.

PLO Trainer Pro costs $399 per month and adds coaching content, study plans, and hundreds of training videos.

This makes PLO Trainer considerably more expensive than many NLHE solver tools, but it removes the hardware requirements and complexity associated with calculating large PLO trees yourself.

Players who need fully custom PLO solving may prefer MonkerSolver or GTO Wizard’s PLO custom-solving tools, while PLO Trainer is particularly well suited to players who want to study and drill a large existing PLO database.

Octopi Poker — Best Solver-Based Tournament Training Platform

Octopi Poker combines solver-based study with traditional poker training.

Rather than focusing entirely on raw solver outputs, Octopi is designed around turning GTO solutions into a structured tournament study process.

Its tools include:

• GTO Trainer
• Preflop simulations
• Postflop simulations
• ICM study
• Leak Analytics
• The Vault
• Octopi Academy
• Interactive drills
• Quizzes

The Vault contains thousands of hands from major poker events, allowing users to study real tournament situations and compare decisions with solver-backed strategies.

Octopi Academy adds structured courses, while Leak Analytics identifies areas where a player’s training decisions are losing the most EV.

The platform is particularly useful for MTT players who want to understand and practice solver strategy without spending most of their study time building custom trees.

Octopi also offers a coaching marketplace, creating a bridge between solver study and instruction from professional poker players.

MonkerSolver — Best for Advanced Custom PLO Solving

MonkerSolver remains an important tool for advanced PLO analysis.

Unlike PLO Trainer, which provides access to a large library of existing solutions, MonkerSolver allows users to construct and solve their own game trees.

The software supports:

• Pot-Limit Omaha
• Texas Hold’em
• Preflop solving
• Postflop solving
• Multiway situations
• Custom betting trees

MonkerSolver uses abstraction techniques to make very large poker game trees more manageable.

This is particularly important in PLO, where four-card starting hands create substantially more combinations than Hold’em.

The full version currently costs €499.

MonkerSolver runs on 64-bit Windows and macOS and requires at least 8GB RAM, although available memory determines the size of the trees that can be constructed.

Serious preflop and multiway PLO work can require considerably more memory and processing time.

A limited free version allows turn and river solving.

MonkerSolver is best suited to experienced users who specifically need custom PLO analysis. Players who primarily want to look up and practice common PLO situations will generally find a database-style product easier to use.

Simple Postflop

Simple Postflop is a traditional calculator solver for No-Limit Hold’em.

Users can create their own postflop game trees, calculate strategies, explore expected values, and use node locking for exploitative analysis.

One notable feature is support for ICM-aware solving, making the software useful for tournament situations where payouts affect strategy.

The current standalone desktop version costs $299.

System requirements are relatively modest:

• Intel Core i5 or equivalent
• At least 8GB RAM
• Windows
• No specialized GPU requirement

A free version provides limited turn and river solving.

Simple Postflop is a useful middle ground for players who want a conventional desktop solver but do not require all of the high-end functionality of products such as PioSOLVER Edge.

PokerSnowie

PokerSnowie differs from conventional poker solvers.

Rather than calculating a custom tree every time a player enters a situation, PokerSnowie uses an AI-based model developed through self-play.

Players can play against the software or import hands for analysis.

The software then identifies decisions it considers mistakes and provides feedback on alternative actions.

This creates a much more guided experience than traditional solver work.

PokerSnowie is primarily designed around No-Limit Hold’em and is better suited to players interested in interactive practice than those who need precise custom tree construction.

TexasSolver — Best Completely Free Poker Solver

TexasSolver is a free, open-source calculator solver.

It supports:

• Texas Hold’em
• Short Deck
• Windows
• macOS
• Linux
• Custom game trees
• Strategy exports

Unlike the restricted demos offered by many commercial solvers, TexasSolver provides full solver functionality for personal users without a purchase.

The trade-off is usability.

The software is less polished than major commercial platforms and requires more technical confidence to install, configure, and use effectively.

For players willing to learn the workflow, however, TexasSolver provides a genuine way to experiment with custom solver calculations without paying for software.

Poker Solvers Compared

Advanced Poker Solver Comparison

Players considering a traditional calculator solver should look beyond price.

Hardware requirements, supported formats, custom-tree functionality, node locking, and preflop support can have a major impact on which product is useful.

Best Free Poker Solvers

Players do not need to spend money immediately to begin learning how poker solvers work.

Several commercial products provide free tiers or demo versions, while TexasSolver is genuinely free and open source.

GTO Wizard Free

GTO Wizard offers a permanent free tier.

Free users receive limited access to postflop study and trainer hands, along with selected preflop access.

The exact limits depend on the game product and current plan structure.

Because the platform runs in a browser, GTO Wizard is one of the easiest ways for a beginner to start exploring solver strategies without installing software or learning how to build trees.

PioSOLVER Free

PioSOLVER provides a free evaluation version.

It operates at the performance level of the commercial solver but restricts users to two preset flops.

This is enough to experiment with PioVIEWER, solver outputs, tree navigation, and local solving performance before purchasing Pro or Edge.

GTO+ Demo

GTO+ can be downloaded and explored before purchasing a license.

The paid version costs $75 and unlocks the full custom-solving functionality.

Given the relatively low one-time price, GTO+ remains one of the least expensive ways to move from basic solver experimentation into serious custom postflop work.

TexasSolver — Completely Free

TexasSolver is the most notable option for players specifically looking for a completely free poker solver.

The project is open source and provides full functionality for personal users.

It supports Hold’em and Short Deck and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Because it is a technical open-source project rather than a polished commercial training platform, beginners should expect a steeper learning curve.

MonkerSolver Free

MonkerSolver provides a limited free version.

The free edition is restricted to turn and river solving but allows players to become familiar with the program’s workflow before purchasing the full €499 license.

Simple Postflop Free

Simple Postflop provides a free version with limited solving functionality.

Players can use it to explore the interface and work with restricted turn and river calculations before purchasing the $299 standalone version.

Best Free Poker Solver Options Compared

Best Poker Solver by Use Case

Different players need very different solver tools.

A beginner learning basic GTO concepts probably does not need the same software as a high-stakes player constructing custom multiway trees.

Best Poker Solver for Beginners

GTO Wizard is one of the easiest entry points for players new to solver study.

Users can select common poker situations and immediately explore strategies without constructing a game tree.

Its trainer also provides a more practical way to learn than simply staring at range matrices.

PokerSnowie offers another beginner-friendly approach for players who prefer playing hands and receiving feedback.

Best Solver for NLHE Cash Games

NLHE cash players have several strong options.

GTO Wizard is convenient for everyday study and provides large libraries of common cash-game situations.

PioSOLVER provides much greater control for advanced users who want to create their own trees.

GTO+ provides custom solving at a much lower price and is particularly attractive to players who do not need PioSOLVER’s more advanced capabilities.

Best Solver for Poker Tournaments & ICM

GTO Wizard and Octopi Poker are particularly strong for tournament study.

GTO Wizard provides extensive tournament libraries, postflop ICM work, and custom preflop ICM solving.

Octopi combines GTO training with ICM study, real tournament hands, courses, and leak analysis.

Tournament players who want a structured learning environment may prefer Octopi, while players who need deeper custom solving may prefer GTO Wizard.

Best PLO Solver

The best PLO tool depends on what you mean by “solver.”

PLO Trainer is our preferred option for players who primarily want to study and practice PLO strategy. It provides more than one million 4-card solutions and more than 100,000 5-card solutions without requiring players to run the calculations themselves.

MonkerSolver is better suited to advanced players who want to build custom PLO game trees.

GTO Wizard also now offers PLO4 cash and tournament study, with custom postflop solving available through its higher-level PLO plan.

Best Poker Solver for Custom Analysis

PioSOLVER remains a strong choice for players who want extensive control over NLHE game trees.

GTO+ provides a much less expensive alternative for postflop work.

For PLO and multiway analysis, MonkerSolver remains useful because it allows users to construct custom Omaha trees rather than relying on a fixed database.

Best Poker Solver for Mobile & Cloud Study

GTO Wizard is particularly well suited to players who want to study without a powerful desktop computer.

The calculations and solution databases are hosted remotely, so local CPU and RAM have little impact on performance.

PLO Trainer and Octopi likewise provide cloud-based training without requiring users to run large solver calculations locally.

Best Solver for a Low-Powered Computer

Cloud-based tools are generally the best option for players using an older laptop, tablet, or other low-powered device.

GTO Wizard, Octopi, and PLO Trainer handle the computational work remotely.

Traditional local solvers such as PioSOLVER, GTO+, and MonkerSolver rely more heavily on the user’s CPU and RAM.

How to Use a Poker Solver

Owning a solver does not automatically make someone better at poker.

The most important skill is learning how to turn solver output into concepts that can actually be applied at the table.

1. Choose a Hand or Situation

Start with a common situation or a hand you actually played.

For example, you might want to study a button-versus-big-blind single-raised pot at 100bb or a 30bb tournament spot.

Studying common situations generally provides more value than beginning with an unusual hand that may rarely occur again.

2. Set Realistic Ranges

Solver outputs depend heavily on the inputs.

If the ranges you give a calculator solver are unrealistic, the resulting strategy will also have limited practical value.

Use reasonable opening, calling, and 3-betting ranges for the game you are studying.

Database tools simplify this step because the ranges have already been defined as part of the solution.

3. Enter Stack Sizes, Rake & Bet Sizes

Calculator-solvers require additional parameters.

These can include:

• Effective stack
• Pot size
• Rake
• Available flop bet sizes
• Raise sizes
• Turn sizes
• River sizes

Adding too many possible bet sizes dramatically increases tree size and can make the solution harder to interpret.

4. Run or Load the Solution

A traditional calculator solver now calculates the strategy.

Depending on tree complexity and hardware, this may take seconds, minutes, or considerably longer.

Database tools instead load an existing solution almost immediately.

Hybrid cloud solvers may either retrieve a presolved strategy or calculate a custom solution remotely.

5. Study the Range, Not Just Your Hand

One of the most common solver-study mistakes is looking up one specific hand and asking whether it should bet or check.

Instead, examine the entire range.

Ask questions such as:

• Which hands bet for value?
• Which hands bluff?
• Which hands prefer checking?
• What characteristics cause a hand to use a large bet?
• Which blockers matter?
• Which hands mix between actions?

The goal is to find strategic patterns you can apply to future hands.

6. Compare Your Decision With the Solution

If you are reviewing a hand you played, compare your decision with the solver strategy.

Do not worry excessively about small differences in mixed frequencies.

A much more important question is whether you repeatedly make the same type of mistake.

For example, you might discover that you consistently:

• Overfold the big blind
• Continuation bet too often
• Fail to find river bluffs
• Miss thin value bets
• Use the wrong bet size on certain boards

Repeated errors are much more valuable study targets than one isolated decision.

7. Practice Similar Spots

Interactive trainers can help turn theoretical study into faster decision-making.

Instead of memorizing one solution, practice multiple boards from the same position and stack depth.

Over time, patterns become easier to recognize without referring to exact solver frequencies.

Node Locking & Exploitative Solver Study

GTO strategy is only one way to use a poker solver.

Advanced solvers also allow users to study what happens when an opponent does not play equilibrium strategy.

This process is commonly known as node locking.

With node locking, the user changes part of an opponent’s strategy.

For example, suppose you believe players in a particular game fold too frequently to turn bets.

You can modify the opponent’s strategy at that decision point and have the solver calculate the best response.

This allows players to study questions such as:

• How should I adjust if opponents overfold?
• What happens if opponents call too much?
• How should I respond to players who rarely bluff?
• What hands become profitable bluffs against a specific tendency?
• How does my value range change against a calling station?

This does not mean that a solver can perfectly model every real opponent.

The quality of exploitative analysis depends on the assumptions entered by the user.

Node locking is most useful when the player has reliable information about how a particular opponent or player population deviates from theoretically balanced strategy.

Poker Solvers vs GTO Trainers

The terms “poker solver” and “GTO trainer” are often used interchangeably, but they are not exactly the same thing.

A traditional poker solver calculates strategies.

A GTO trainer is primarily designed to help players practice strategies that have already been calculated.

Modern products increasingly combine both functions.

For many recreational and low-to-mid-stakes players, a GTO trainer may be more useful than a traditional solver.

The player receives immediate access to relevant strategies without needing to understand game-tree construction or own a powerful computer.

Advanced players are more likely to benefit from custom solving because they may need to model situations that do not exist in a standard database.

Building a Poker Solver Study Routine

Solver study is most effective when it is focused.

Randomly browsing solutions can be interesting, but it is difficult to retain large amounts of disconnected information.

A better approach is to concentrate on one recurring situation at a time.

For example:

1. Choose one position matchup, such as BTN vs BB.
2. Select one stack depth.
3. Study several related flop textures.
4. Identify common betting and checking patterns.
5. Practice the same situations in a trainer.
6. Review hands from your own database involving that situation.
7. Record recurring mistakes.
8. Return to the same spot later to test retention.

Players can also organize study by board class.

For example:

• Ace-high dry boards
• King-high boards
• Low connected boards
• Paired boards
• Monotone boards
• Highly dynamic boards

This makes it easier to understand how strategic principles change according to board texture.

The objective should be to develop useful heuristics without oversimplifying the underlying strategy.

Poker Solver Terms You Should Know

Solver interfaces contain terminology that can be confusing to new users.

Expected Value (EV)

Expected value estimates how much a decision wins or loses on average over repeated situations.

Solver outputs often compare the EV of betting, checking, calling, raising, or folding.

Range

A range is the collection of hands a player can hold in a particular situation.

Solvers calculate strategies for entire ranges rather than treating one hand in isolation.

Mixed Strategy

A mixed strategy uses more than one action with the same hand.

For example, a hand might bet 70% and check 30%.

Exploitability

Exploitability measures how much a theoretically perfect opponent could gain by exploiting a strategy.

Calculator solvers generally continue iterating until exploitability falls to an acceptable level.

Game Tree

A game tree represents all of the decisions available within a solver simulation.

Adding additional bet sizes and raises creates more branches, increasing both the size of the tree and the resources required to solve it.

Node

A node is one decision point within the game tree.

Node locking changes the strategy at a particular node so the solver can calculate an optimal response to that deviation.

GTO

Game Theory Optimal describes a strategy based on equilibrium principles where opponents cannot gain simply by changing their strategy to exploit yours.

In practical poker study, GTO strategies are generally used as theoretical baselines rather than exact scripts that players attempt to memorize.

How to Choose the Best Poker Solver for You

Start with the poker format you actually play.

A PLO specialist has very different needs from a No-Limit Hold’em tournament player.

Consider the following:

• Game type — Make sure the product supports NLHE, PLO, Short Deck, tournaments, cash games, or whatever format you play.
• Solver vs trainer — Decide whether you actually need custom calculations or primarily want to study and practice existing solutions.
• Preflop vs postflop — Some products focus almost entirely on postflop analysis.
• Tournament support — MTT players should consider ICM, bounty, asymmetric stack, and final-table functionality.
• Custom trees — Advanced players may need control over ranges, bet sizes, and other inputs.
• Node locking — Important for players interested in exploitative analysis.
• Multiway support — Particularly relevant for live poker and PLO.
• Hardware — Traditional desktop solvers can require substantial CPU and RAM resources.
• Platform — Cloud tools work across more devices, while many traditional solvers are Windows programs.
• Study style — Trainers are useful for repetitive practice, while calculator solvers are better for deep custom analysis.
• Price — Compare subscriptions with one-time licenses based on how long you expect to use the product.

Beginners should generally avoid buying the most technically advanced solver simply because it has the most features.

A cloud GTO trainer can often provide everything a newer player needs while making it much easier to develop a consistent study routine.

Advanced players who regularly encounter unusual situations or want to study exploitative adjustments can benefit more from custom-solving capabilities.

Poker Solver FAQ

What is a poker solver?

A poker solver is software that calculates theoretically balanced strategies for poker situations.

Depending on the product, users can build custom game trees or access strategies that have already been calculated.

How does a poker solver work?

Traditional solvers create a game tree containing possible decisions for each player and repeatedly adjust strategies until they approach equilibrium.

Modern cloud products can also provide presolved databases or calculate custom strategies remotely.

What is the best poker solver?

GTO Wizard is our best overall choice for most players because it combines a large solution library, interactive training, hand analysis, ICM tools, and advanced custom solving in a cloud platform.

Players with more specialized needs may prefer other tools. PioSOLVER provides detailed custom NLHE analysis, PLO Trainer specializes in PLO study, and MonkerSolver allows advanced users to build custom PLO trees.

What is the best free poker solver?

TexasSolver is one of the best options for players who specifically want a completely free, full calculator solver.

It is open source and supports Hold’em and Short Deck on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

GTO Wizard, PioSOLVER, GTO+, MonkerSolver, and Simple Postflop also provide free tiers, versions, or demos with varying limitations.

What is the best poker solver for beginners?

GTO Wizard is one of the most accessible options for beginners because players can immediately view strategies and practice decisions without constructing their own game trees.

Beginners should generally focus on understanding broad strategic patterns rather than attempting to memorize exact solver frequencies.

What is the best solver for Texas Hold’em?

GTO Wizard is a strong all-purpose option for Hold’em study.

PioSOLVER and GTO+ are better suited to players who specifically want to build custom postflop Hold’em trees.

What is the best PLO solver?

PLO Trainer is our preferred option for players who primarily want to study and practice PLO strategy because it provides more than one million 4-card solutions and more than 100,000 5-card solutions.

MonkerSolver is better suited to advanced players who want to construct custom PLO trees.

GTO Wizard also provides PLO4 cash and tournament study with custom postflop solving available on its higher PLO tier.

What is the difference between a poker solver and a GTO trainer?

A solver calculates poker strategies.

A GTO trainer allows players to practice strategies that have already been calculated.

Many modern platforms combine both functions.

What is the difference between GTO Wizard and PioSOLVER?

GTO Wizard is primarily a cloud-based ecosystem combining presolved libraries, training tools, hand analysis, and custom cloud solving.

PioSOLVER is a traditional desktop calculator solver that gives users detailed control over the game trees they construct.

GTO Wizard is generally easier for quick everyday study, while PioSOLVER is particularly useful for players who want detailed local control over custom NLHE simulations.

Do poker solvers use AI?

Some modern solver platforms incorporate artificial intelligence or neural-network technology into their solving or training systems.

Other traditional solvers use iterative game-theory algorithms without relying on the same AI-based approach.

The term “AI poker solver” can therefore refer to several different technologies.

Are poker solvers allowed while playing online poker?

Solver study should generally take place away from the tables.

Online poker operators commonly prohibit solvers and other forms of real-time assistance that provide strategic guidance while hands are being played.

Always check the specific rules of the poker site before using third-party poker software while playing.

Is GTO Wizard allowed while playing online poker?

Players should not assume that GTO Wizard or any other solver-based strategy tool can be used while actively playing online poker.

Poker sites maintain their own rules concerning real-time assistance, charts, solvers, trainers, and other strategic tools.

Use solver products for off-table study and follow the rules of the operator where you play.

Do professional poker players use solvers?

Solver-based study is widely used by serious poker players.

Professional players may use solvers to study ranges, board textures, bet sizing, ICM, exploitative adjustments, and other strategic concepts.

Can a poker solver make you a winning player?

No software can guarantee that a player will win at poker.

A solver can help identify strategic mistakes and improve understanding of poker theory, but results also depend on game selection, execution, opponent tendencies, bankroll management, emotional control, and many other factors.

How much do poker solvers cost?

Prices vary substantially.

TexasSolver is free, GTO+ currently costs $75 as a one-time purchase, Simple Postflop costs $299, PioSOLVER costs €450 for Pro or €800 for Edge, and MonkerSolver costs €499.

Cloud training platforms generally use recurring subscriptions, with pricing depending on the features and formats included.

Do I need a powerful computer to use a poker solver?

Not if you use a cloud platform.

GTO Wizard, PLO Trainer, and Octopi perform the computational work remotely.

Desktop calculator solvers depend more heavily on your computer’s CPU and RAM.

How much RAM does PioSOLVER need?

PioSOLVER recommends at least 8GB RAM for comfortable basic postflop use.

16GB is sufficient for many substantial postflop trees.

Preflop solving is much more demanding, with at least 64GB recommended for practical use and 128GB useful for larger trees.

Do poker solvers use a GPU?

Many traditional poker solvers primarily rely on the CPU rather than the GPU.

PioSOLVER specifically states that GPU performance does not affect its solver performance, while GTO+ also lists video hardware as irrelevant.

Other solver projects can use different architectures, so requirements should be checked individually.

Can you use a poker solver on a Mac?

Some solvers support macOS directly, while others are designed for Windows.

MonkerSolver and TexasSolver support Mac.

PioSOLVER is a Windows application, although users can run Windows on compatible Macs through virtualization or other Windows environments.

Cloud tools such as GTO Wizard can be accessed through a browser and do not require a native Mac solver application.

Can you use poker solvers on a phone?

Cloud-based training platforms can provide mobile access.

GTO Wizard supports mobile study, while PLO Trainer includes mobile training.

Traditional desktop solvers such as PioSOLVER and GTO+ are not designed as native mobile solver applications.

What is node locking?

Node locking allows the user to change a player’s strategy at a particular point in the game tree.

The solver can then calculate the best response to that modified strategy.

This makes node locking useful for studying exploitative adjustments against opponents or player populations that deviate from GTO strategy.

What does EV mean in a poker solver?

EV stands for expected value.

It represents the average theoretical value of a decision over repeated instances of the same situation.

Solvers compare the EV of actions such as checking, betting, calling, raising, and folding.

What is exploitability in a poker solver?

Exploitability measures how much an optimal opponent could gain against a particular strategy.

As a solver continues calculating, it attempts to reduce exploitability and move the strategies closer to equilibrium.

Should beginners use poker solvers?

Beginners can benefit from solver-based training, but they generally do not need a complex calculator solver.

A GTO trainer or structured training platform can be easier to use while learning fundamental concepts such as ranges, position, bet sizing, and board texture.

Traditional calculator solvers become more useful when players understand enough poker theory to configure realistic simulations and interpret the results correctly.