Wilson Poker Software

Wilson Turbo Poker Software

Wilson Poker Software - Turbo Texas Hold'emWilson Poker software is the brainchild of Bob Wilson, a computer programmer and poker player who had the idea for poker tutorial software in the late 1980's. The idea culminated in the release of the first Wilson Poker software package in 1989 for DOS, Turbo Texas Hold'em. This first version of the software took over a year to create. All of the various Wilson Poker software packages have gone through multiple versions since then.

All of the Wilson Poker software program use billions of hand simulations to test various poker situations for the most profitable play. These situations can vary according to the number of players at the flop, how much money is in the pot, how many and the sizes of raises, the position of the player, etc. The software is particularly useful for beginners, as it will notify players of style mistakes related to how passive or aggressive a player is.

Notable poker players and writers like Jim McManus and Mike Caro have recommended using Bob Wilson's poker software.

On Mike Caro's site, he writes, "For years I've been enthusiastic about Bob Wilson's Turbo Texas Hold'em."

In his book, Positively Fifth Street,Jim McManus writes, "At least a third of the players I've talked to at Binion's now claim--or admit--they use Wilson programs to practice, and my guess is that the percentage is about to go up."

Wilson Poker Software consists of the largest poker simulator product line of any other simulation developer online. They have 8 different poker simulation programs covering Texas holdem, Omaha and stud, and they constantly update their software to add new options, better features and an improved artificial intelligence (AI) to reflect the different styles of today's games.

List of Bob Wilson's Poker Software

Turbo Texas Hold'em

The Turbo Texas Hold'em program is the oldest of all the products that Wilson Software has developed and is the one that has seen the most upgrades and improvements.

What's excellent about Turbo Texas Hold'em is that it's not a one size fits all simulator. Like in real poker, each Turbo Texas Hold'em situation is different, which means that players have to think of a unique solution for each hand they play. A wide assortment of playing styles have been included in the software, and you can choose what kind of players you want at the table: tight, loose, passive, aggressive or any combination of these styles. The AI is advanced enough that the players adjust to your style too.

Turbo Texas Hold'em offers "challenges", like the "Awareness Challenge," which encourages players not to be overly concerned with trying to beat the opponents. Instead, the goal of the "Awareness Challenge" is to focus more on what is going on around you and develop reads on other players.

Turbo Texas Hold'em also offers a "Beat the Advisor Challenge" where you compete against the advisor (the software's toughest competitor) to see how you're improving.

Other features include being able to replay hands, peek at your opponent's cards, being able to save games in progress, and being able to view various statistics. The program only covers fixed and spread limit games. At the time of this writing, January 2010, Turbo Texas Hold'em costs $59.95.

Turbo Texas Hold'em Lite

The Turbo Texas Hold'em Lite software is almost identical to the full version of Texas Turbo Hold'em, but there are a few things that you cannot do:

The Turbo Texas Hold'em Light simulator is "lightened" of all the options that allow you to cheat in one way or another. As of January 2010, the cost of Turbo Texas Hold'em Light is $39.95.

Wilson No Limit Hold'em Cash Game

The No Limit Hold'em Cash Game software is a new Wilson poker software simulator that teaches players no limit hold'em cash game play strategy. Eight different advisors offer advice about how to properly size bets, how to calculate odds, and how to read board textures. On the advice screen, you will also be shown how your hand compares to the best possible hand and what action you should take given how many players are in the hand, left to act and everyone's stack sizes.

Other features include the ability to replay hands, the ability to save in progress hands, and the ability for the AI to switch gears based on how you play. As of January, 2010, the cost of the Wilson Poker No Limit Hold'em Cash Game software is $59.95.

Wilson Tournament Texas Hold'em

Wilson's Tournament Texas Hold'em simulator uses real time tournament structures from major live and online tournaments. There is no better way to practice for a tournament than practicing in a simulated tournament with an identical structure.

Tournament Texas Hold'em options include being able to have as many as 5,000 players in the tournament, being able to play no limit, pot limit and fixed limit games, being able to play a full tournament or skip to the final table, and being able to control the difficulty of your opponents. You can also start, stop and save a tournament in progress to complete at a later date. As of January 2010, the cost for Wilson's Tournament Texas Hold'em software is $39.95.

Turbo Omaha High - Turbo Omaha High/Low Split:

Wilson's Turbo Omaha software shares similar features with their other poker simulator software. You can control which players are in the game with you, make your own profiles, play fixed or spread limit games, control the blind/bet amounts, and stack the deck.

This particular Wilson poker software package teaches a points system to help you evaluate your starting hand. Many beginners in Omaha overvalue their starting hands, so this feature is especially useful.

Other Turbo Omaha features include receiving advice from the advisor on odds and the plays that you make, the ability to challenge the advisor "Sherlock Holmes" to a match, the option to fold out of turn, and the option to skip being dealt bad hands.

As of January 2010, you can purchase up Turbo Omaha Hi or High/Low Split for $59.95.

(You can learn more about Omaha hi lo poker here.)

Turbo 7-Card Stud - Turbo 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo

Most of the features found in Turbo 7-Card Stud mirrors the features found in Turbo Texas Hold'em and in Turbo Omaha.

A few differences include a "dead" card button which allows you to see which cards are not available to you. This is a great feature, because keeping track of the live and dead cards can be one of the most difficult aspects of stud. You can also challenge "Rosetta Stone," the head advisor, to see how much you are learning. The ability to replay hands, view reports. and having questionable plays on your part highlighted are all also included.

Both Turbo 7-Card Stud and Turbo 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo simulations are available $59.95 each as of January 2010.

SideWinder Sid

SideWinder Sid is an add-on to the Turbo Texas Hold'em and Turbo Texas Hold'em Lite simulation softwares. The purpose of SideWinder Sid is to walk you through questionable hands and show you how you could've played them differently. Sidewinder Sid was in development for over a year before release, and it's been improved upon several times since. SideWinder Sid retails for $15 as of January 2010.

Wilson Poker Software Demo & Software Supported

Be sure to try the demo from Wilson Software before purchasing the full version of their simulator software. As of January, 2010, Wilson Poker software only supports Windows 95 through Windows XP, Windows 7, and on Macs when an emulator is in use. Wilson Poker software will not run on a 64-bit system. So try out the demo first to make sure your computer is compatible. 

And if you're tired of all the thinking involved in poker, and you're a Mac user, then give some slot machine games a try. My friend runs a site about Mac slots in particular, and it's well worth a visit.