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ThePokerDb
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ThePokerDB ("DB" standing for "data base") is a free online source of
information for tracking online poker tournaments and players. In short, it is mind-boggling in stature and extremely comprehensive.
A staggering four and a half million or so players are listed at any given time, along with results data for almost 800,000
tournaments. It is without a doubt the single stop for online poker statistics. If you can’t find it here, chances are it doesn’t
exist. The type of information you will find about your opponents at ThePokerDB will be very valuable in determining whether you
are facing sharks or fish during tournament play.
Access to most of the site’s features and information is free, but you must create a user account. Doing so is quick and
easy, and involves little more than providing a name, valid e-mail address and setting up a password. Originally a website
unto its own, ThePokerDB is now incorporated into the “Bluff Magazine” website. If you attempt to access it by it’s old web
address, you will automatically be redirected to Bluff’s site and straight to ThePokerDB section. If you first surf directly
to the Bluff site, you will have to click the link for ThePokerDB in the center navigation bar near the top.
The “home” page of ThePokerDB features some conveniently summarized highlights, such as: “Recent Large Cashes” (which
obviously lists players who have won big prizes in online tournaments within the past few days); “Online Rankings”
(which tallies overall performance of top players by a point system); “DB Announcements” (which keeps users up to date
regarding glitches or errors regarding tournament data collection from various online poker rooms); and “Online News”
(which includes headline articles pertaining to online poker, such as “The Sunday Report”).
The real crux of ThePokerDB, however, is its “Player Search” feature. Once logged in, you can type in any player’s handle
into the “username” box. As many online poker players have accounts at several different sites, you can begin by requesting
initial results for a particular “venue”. This is accomplished via a drop down menu to the right of the username. Most of
the popular online sites are included on this list. If a player has results at several poker sites, you will be able to individually
select each site once his/her profile page appears, by clicking on each site logo (showing that player’s handle next to each.
In some cases the usernames will be different for each site). See picture below for example of a multi-account player:
The player profile begins (at the top) with a date filter (see picture below), which allows you to limit results over a
particular period of time. Within this filter is also an option to add this particular player to your “Watch List” and
subsequently a “Buddy List”. If this player is a friend who you frequently check up on, using this option will save you from
repeatedly having to type in their name each time you login to your PokerDB account. (More on this feature follows.)
As mentioned above, if this player has multiple online poker accounts, the next section of the profile lists each one by
showing the site logo and username for each. Clicking on any individual link will filter the profile page to display results
only for that account. The currently “active” account being shown is noted next to the player’s name (with a small logo) at
the very top of the profile at any given time if you ever forget which site is being viewed.
The basic (free) information about the player is then presented in “Summary” form (next picture). Winnings are broken down into
the following columns: “MTT” (multi-table tournaments), “MTT SNG” (multi-table sit & gos), “HU” (heads up play), “Satellites”
and “Overall”. The next sub-section shows data on individual Cashes (biggest, average, etc.), followed by a listing of “place
finishes”. In other words, how many “firsts”, “seconds”, “thirds”, “final tables”, etc this player has attained. The last
sub-section within the summary provides “Streak Statistics”, but is quite confusing to understand until you really make a
“study” of it. However, once deciphered, it can show how “hot” or “cold” a player has been over a given period of time:
To the right of the “Summary” tab is an option to view “Tourney Results” (see below). Once you know from the summary page
whether or not your opponent has respectable winnings, it can be very helpful to understand where those winnings are coming
from. Does he/she specialize in one type of event, or do they play a variety of games well? The “Tourney Results” view will
list all the individual tournaments from which this player’s winnings are derived, along with other basic information about
it (i.e. – date, number of players paid, field size, etc.). Each event can be clicked to view the entire list of players paid.
One of the most convenient and useful features within ThePokerDB is the ability to perform a simultaneous “Table Look Up”
while you are playing a tournament. You can search for a whole table of players simply by pasting a hand history into the
search box provided, which generates clickable links for everyone at your table!
This allows a player to instantly know what kind of players he is up against without having to type in each username individually.
In addition to your results being displayed for review, they will also be stored for the current session in a "Table Look Up"
drop down menu for easy access during your session. That is powerful information, quick and easy and instantly applicable.
Another convenient privilege that comes with having a PokerDB account is the “Personal Dashboard” and “Watch List” features.
These are customizable preferences that allow you to keep tabs on your friends and favorite players who will automatically
appear in a drop down menu list on the PokerDB home page.
This eliminates the need to retype their usernames each time you login to the site. Within the “Dashboard”, you can also
list upcoming tournaments (of any type, within any buy-in range you specify) at specific sites, thus saving you the trouble
of having to log onto each site to find out what events are starting soon. It also features a “Currently Playing from My
Buddy List” area. The currently playing list consists of players alive in multi-table tournaments that have both less than
100 players remaining and less than 50% of the field remaining. Thus, you can find any friend that is actively playing a
tournament at any of multiple sites with just one glance.
It is said that poker is a game of incomplete information. ThePokerDB goes a long way in providing an intangible type of information
that you can’t find at the table itself. Knowing the achievements (or lack of) by your opponents can be very valuable information while
you are facing them during a tournament. Even deal making in the final stages of a tournament can be greatly impacted by the knowledge
of which final table opponents might be merely “happy to be here”, as opposed to those seasoned with many cashes. Never underestimate
the importance of these seemingly trivial “edges”, and never play another tournament without consulting ThePokerDB throughout.
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