Poker learning tools have come a long way over the years. New generations of players get to study poker in ways that was never available to those coming up during the Poker Boom era, and Flopzilla is one of the tools making it all possible.
Flopzilla is an advanced Texas Hold’em equity calculator that allows you to not only calculate equities of certain hands against others, but also equity of one range against another, and much more.
A more frequent use of Flopzilla as a learning tool is to study how different ranges interact with different board textures, and there is no better tool for this type of studying.
Being such a useful tool, Flopzilla is a program that nearly every aspiring poker pro should have, as it is the best way to get into the weeds and discover the intricate secrets of Texas Hold’em.
In this guide, I am going to teach you how to use Flopzilla, explain the program’s main features, and talk about some of the key ways you can use it to improve your poker skills.
How to Use Flopzilla
Flopzilla is a fairly simple poker tool to use, and even poker novices should be able to get used to it quite fast, at least on a very basic level.
When you enter Flopzilla for the very first time, you will see the typical hand grid, along with a number of buttons with premade hand groups, and mathematical percentages.
Using these buttons and the grid, you will be able to select the range of hands you are looking to assign for analysis, whether this is your own hand range in a certain spot, or the range you perceive your opponents to have.
On the right side of the screen, you will see the “Flop” area. Here, you can select any cards to assign to the board, which will automatically have the software give you outputs about your range’s interaction with the given flop.
If you are wondering how to use Flopzilla to improve your poker game, you will quickly realize just how useful of a tool it is when you start using it.
This tool will help you quickly learn about the types of boards that interact well with certain ranges, as well as those that don’t, allowing you to use this understanding at the tables at a later time.
It is important to understand that Flopzilla is not a poker solver, and it does not give you any tips on how you should play your hands. It simply provides a mathematical breakdown of ranges and their interaction with different board textures.
Top Ways to Use Flopzilla
As I’ve already explained, Flopzilla is a piece of software that can be used for different types of analysis, all pertaining to the way hands and ranges interact with each other, and with different board textures.
During your poker study sessions, you may want to use Flopzilla in different ways, and try to improve various elements of your own game.
Here are some of the top ways I recommend using Flopzilla to study poker and improve your skills in the process:
Poker Hand vs. Hand Equity Analysis
Understanding what equity your particular hand has against another particular hand is the most basic of poker concepts, yet one that many players don’t fully grasp.
While calculating approximate hand v hand poker equity is pretty simple using the Rule of 2 and 4, the exact equities can differ a bit from the numbers you get using this method.
What’s even more, running hand v hand equity simulations in Flopzilla will get you the most precise numbers possible for different board textures, allowing you to calculate for hands with different suits in both your and your opponent’s hand.
At the end of the day, you don’t actually need Flopzilla to calculate how your hand does against another hand. There are plenty of other tools that can do this.
However, it is one of the most basic features you can use Flopzilla for without having to look for help from any other programs.
Poker Range v Hand Equity Analysis
While there are plenty of free equity calculators that will allow you to calculate the odds of one poker hand against another, calculating the equity of a whole poker range against a particular hand is a different story.
For instance, you may be wondering how your 3-bet calling range does against AKs in particular, a hand you believe your opponent to be 3-betting with a lot of frequency.
Flopzilla will allow you to input any hand range you choose, and pit it against any particular poker hand you select. In turn, it will give you the equity numbers for both preflop action, and different board textures you choose.
What this feature of Flopzilla can help you do is construct ranges to use in different situations against different sizings.
For example, if you notice your opponents 3-bet AK to a particular sizing, different from their AA or KK, you may be able to use this information and construct a range that has enough equity to profitably call their AK 3-bets.
Of course, poker is not an exact science, and there is always some amount of guesswork to be done. But, with Flopzilla, you will be able to take some of that guesswork out of the equation.
Poker Range v Range Equity Analysis
This brings us to an even more complex feature of Flopzilla, and one that makes the software worth every cent you invest in it.
Flopzilla is one of the best tools to help you understand how certain ranges do against other ranges, as it allows you to pit one range against another, and learn the equities.
This feature can be incredibly useful in helping you find some great exploits, as you run the numbers for typical ranges your opponents use in different scenarios, and find hands you can profitably call or bluff with in these situations.
Calculating the equity of one range against another is tedious work, and impossible for humans to do on the spot, but it takes Flopzilla no more than a few seconds to dish out the numbers.
Not only is Flopzilla one of the fastest tools for this kind of work, but it is also one of the most correct ones, as the numbers you receive are spot on, and you can take them to the bank.
Poker Range Interaction with a Board
Next up, we have another common use of Flopzilla, and that is to discover how a certain hand range interacts with a certain board.
Poker is all about picking the right spots for different plays, and using Flopzilla to train your mind to understand how certain ranges interact with different boards can be priceless.
For instance, you probably know the approximate range most people in your tournaments are 3-betting against your button open, but do you always proceed correctly against that range after the flop is dealt?
By playing with this Flopzilla feature, you will be able to better understand the types of flops that your opponents actually have a lot of big hands on, as well as those on which their hand is unlikely to have hit.
This type of deep understanding allows you to make tons of exploits, widen your bluffing ranges, and collect more chips than ever before, as well as make some amazing folds.
FlopzillaPro Features Introduced
Somewhat more recently, Flopzilla has introduced FlopzillaPro, an advanced version of the software which all Flopzilla subscribers can gain access to.
Note that once you have purchased Flopzilla, you will be able to use FlopzillaPro as well, whenever you wish, and this will not cost you any extra money.
FlopzillaPro is prototype software, which means it is still being tested out, but numerous versions and updates have come out to date, each improving the software and adding new features.
Today, you can use FlopzillaPro and get some of the following extra features:
- Faster Calculations: FlopzillaPro calculates even faster than the original Flopzilla software.
- Multiway Mode: Allows you to calculate equities for up to 10 ranges simultaneously.
- Import from GTO+: If you are already using the GTO+ solver, you will be able to quickly import poker hands from it into your FlopzillaPro.
- Test Pre-Flop Equities: Find out how likely your hand is to make a pair, set, flush, or full house quickly with this feature.
- Frequency of Flop Textures: If you are wondering just how likely that monotone or paired flop is to come up, use this feature and find out once and for all.
And much more! FlopzillaPro continues to get updated all the time, with new features added on top of the basic Flopzilla functionalities.
FlopzillaPro may be a bit too advanced for new users to get into right away, which is why the basic version is ideal to start with, and Pro is a great one to upgrade to once you get the hang of things.
How Much Does Flopzilla Cost?
Unlike many poker tools that require a monthly subscription or a fairly hefty one-time fee, Flopzilla is actually quite affordable.
You will only need to pay $25 once to purchase Flopzilla, and this will give you lifetime access to the software and all its updates.
You can pay for Flopzilla in a variety of ways, whether you wish to send out your money via credit card payment, PayPal, Skrill, NETELLER, iDeal, WebMoney, or other payment processors.
What’s even more, purchasing Flopzilla will also allow you to use FlopzillaPro for free, which is basically a two-for-one deal for these two useful poker analysis tools.
Keep in mind that once you have purchased Flopzilla, you will only be able to use it on a single piece of hardware, and will need to buy additional licenses if you want to use it on multiple platforms.
This restriction is in place to prevent multiple users from using the same license, but if you want to simply switch to another device, you can always do that by changing your hardware ID.
Flopzilla Summary – Best Value for Money
When it comes to poker training and studying tools, few come close to Flopzilla and FlopzillaPro, both of which are amazing equity calculators that allow for tons of adjustment and detailed analysis.
If you are looking to improve your hand and range reading skills, and learn more about how ranges interact with different boards and with each other, Flopzilla is the tool to get.
The best thing about it is that both Flopzilla and FlopzillaPro come at a price of just $25, which makes them great value for money spent.
If you are at all serious about poker, and are looking to study with a dedicated tool, Flopzilla is one of the first purchases you should make as soon as possible.