Poker Hand History Analyzer

Review your poker hands street-by-street with automatic pot odds calculations, equity estimates, and decision quality assessments. This tool helps you identify where you played well and where you could improve, turning every hand you play into a learning opportunity. Whether you're studying a Texas Hold'em session or analyzing an Omaha hand, structured hand review is the fastest path to improvement.

Why Review Your Hands?

Hand history analysis is widely regarded as the single most effective way to improve at poker. According to research published by the National Institutes of Health on skill in poker, deliberate practice through hand review distinguishes skilled players from recreational ones. Rather than relying on memory or gut feeling, systematic analysis lets you evaluate each decision against mathematical benchmarks.

The process works because poker decisions are made under uncertainty, and our memories are biased toward dramatic outcomes rather than typical ones. A hand where you made a correct fold that saved five big blinds is easily forgotten, while a bad beat that cost you a stack dominates memory. By reviewing hands objectively, you train yourself to focus on equity-based decision making rather than outcome-based thinking.

How to Use This Analyzer

Start by entering the basic hand parameters: game type, your position, stack depth, and the number of players involved. Then select your hole cards from the card grid and work through each street chronologically. For each street, input the community cards, record the action sequence (what happened before and after your decision), and note any relevant observations about the hand dynamics.

The analyzer evaluates several key metrics for each street:

• Pot Odds — The ratio of the current pot to the amount you must call, expressed as a percentage. You need equity greater than your pot odds to justify a call.
• Stack-to-Pot Ratio (SPR) — How deep you are relative to the pot. Low SPR (under 4) favors committing with top pair; high SPR (above 13) favors speculative hands. Our SPR Calculator explores this concept in depth.
• Bet Sizing Analysis — How your bet or your opponent's bet compares to the pot, with commentary on what different sizings typically represent.
• Decision Quality — A qualitative assessment of whether your action aligns with sound poker fundamentals given the situation.

Understanding the Analysis Metrics

Pot odds are the foundation of profitable poker decisions. If the pot contains 10 BB and you must call 5 BB, your pot odds are 5/(10+5) = 33%. This means you need at least 33% equity to call profitably. The PokerNews pot odds guide provides a thorough introduction to this concept.

Stack-to-Pot Ratio helps determine your commitment level. Professional players use SPR to quickly decide whether a hand is strong enough to stack off. With an SPR of 3 or less, top pair with a good kicker is typically strong enough to commit your entire stack. With an SPR of 10 or more, you generally want two pair or better to stack off. Understanding these thresholds transforms your post-flop decision-making by removing guesswork.

Bet sizing as a percentage of the pot reveals information about both your strategy and your opponent's likely holdings. Small bets (25-33% pot) are often used for thin value or blocking bets. Medium bets (50-75% pot) represent the standard range for value betting and bluffing. Large bets (100%+ pot) are typically polarized, meaning the bettor has either a very strong hand or nothing. The Upswing Poker bet sizing guide explains these concepts with practical examples.

Building a Hand Review Habit

The most effective approach is to review hands while they're still fresh. After each session, pick 3-5 hands that felt difficult or where you were uncertain about the best play. Input them into the analyzer and examine each decision point. Over time, patterns emerge: perhaps you consistently bet too small on wet boards, or you call too often facing large river bets. Recognizing these tendencies is the first step to correcting them.

Many players combine hand analysis with studying range construction and probability concepts. When you see a spot where the analyzer flags your pot odds as unfavorable, you can explore why using our Pot Odds Calculator or check your drawing odds with the Outs Calculator. This cross-referencing between tools and educational content creates a complete learning ecosystem.

According to research on deliberate practice theory, improvement requires focused effort on specific weaknesses rather than mindless repetition. The hand history analyzer supports this by highlighting exactly where your decisions diverged from optimal play, giving you specific areas to study and improve.

Connecting Hand Analysis to Strategy

Your hand review sessions should connect back to broader strategic concepts. When the analyzer identifies a street where you faced a difficult decision, explore the underlying theory. If position was a factor, study positional strategy. If the board texture made your decision complex, use the Board Texture Analyzer to understand board dynamics better. If bet sizing confused you, the Raise Calculator can help calibrate your sizing instincts.

This tool is designed for educational purposes, helping you understand poker mathematics and decision-making processes. Use it alongside our other poker tools and calculators for a comprehensive learning experience. The goal is not to find the "correct" answer for every hand, but to develop the analytical framework that leads to better decisions at the table.