I'm the developer of PokerCruncher (advanced iPhone hand ranges odds calculator) and I'd like to tell you about a new iPhone / iPod touch app "ICM Cruncher" that I just released.

ICM Cruncher is:
* An independent chip model calculator,
* Which can be used as a final table chop dealmaker,
* And a push/call/fold ICM decision analyzer.

Website: http://www.pokercruncher.com
iTunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/icm-c...342578302?mt=8

The ICM calculator handles up to 10 players and 10 payouts, lets you save/load scenarios (e.g. to save the payout structures of your favorite tournaments or for "what if I do this or do that" analysis), and you can export calculation details to email.

But what I think really adds value to this app (there are many just plain ICM calcs), are the two ICM decision analyzers:

* Call an all-in or fold?
* Push all-in or fold?

You input the starting chip stacks, the payout structure, the bets/chips that have gone into the pot, who the villain and hero are (handles only one villain; this isn't quite Wiz : ), and some estimates like your equity against the villain's range of hands. For the push/fold analyzer, you enter estimates for how often villain will call your all-in and your equity against his range when he calls.

The analyzers run ICM calculations for cases like you fold, you call and lose, you call and win, etc. and put the results together and tell you which action is better and by how much. The call/fold analyzer also tells you what your breakeven equiy is against villain's range of hands so you can figure out how good your hand needs to be to call.

There are many threads where people are doing this kind of analysis by hand by running an ICM calc for each case so I thought it'd be good to automate it. Of course part of this analysis is estimating equity against a range of hands so it's useful to also have PokerCruncher on your iPhone/touch : ).

Pics below; see the pokercruncher website for more details and pics. As with PokerCruncher I'd like to improve this app so do send feedback and suggestions (and thanks to a few people on the PokerCruncher thread who suggested an ICM app). Hope you like the app.


An ICM Calculation:




ICM Decision Analysis: Call An All-In Or Fold?:






See the ICM Cruncher webpage for pics of AnalyzePushAllInOrFold.

Forgot to mention - I have this app on a $1.99 introductory price right now. The App Store economy has played havoc with app prices (forced prices to go lower), so I'm really not sure what price I'll settle on or if it will stay $1.99.

Looks very nice, I'll be buying this as soon as FT ship me my ipod.

Thanks, great.

Already got some email feedback and I've submitted a small V.1.1 update:

The CallAnAllInOrFold analyzer - currently asks you to exclude the all-in raise amount for the Villain (so in the 2nd pic above ChipsPutIntoPot is 400 and 400 for P4 and P5) but it's more intuitive to enter the full stack amount for the Villain because he's all-in so in V.1.1 you'll enter 6000 and 400.

This is just a change in the input convention - the ICM calc and analysis is correct in V.1.0 and won't change.

Now all I need is for Apple to handle my app updates correctly. Those of you who have PokerCruncher will notice that V.2.92 went live today but when you download it you get V.2.91. The problem is on their end I believe, first time, am in communication with them.

I purchased the ICM app, as well as the hand equity app, and I really enjoy them both. Well done.

I have one recommendation re: the way you market the ICM app in the app store. You write: "Poker Stars has announced that they do not allow ICM calculators to be run during live tournaments."

I appreciate that the statement sounds strong and emphasizes the power of the app, but I recommend you remove that sentence or change the language.

I think a reasonable person could think you're suggesting that a use purpose of the app is to circumvent Star's rules. I'm sure that isn't your intention. I would just be careful and avoid any suggestion that your app can... or should... be used unethically. It shouldn't be, and I think you should be careful in your marketing to really take the high ground.

Further, people who download this app know what ICM is... this is a training tool for thinking about spots when you're not at a computer.

Anyway, this is somewhat nit picking, and I'm sure you weren't intending to suggest that people use the app for wrong. I just think it's always sound business to avoid even the appearance of ethical issues.

Thanks for feedback!, glad you like the apps.

Yes I wasn't trying to suggest that people should use this app illegally anywhere. I was just trying to give an example of how important knowledge of ICM is and the edge that it can give.

Currently this paragraph reads:

=====
How valuable is knowledge of ICM (Independent Chip Model) to a tournament player? ...

Poker Stars has announced that they do not allow ICM calculators to be run during live tournaments.
=====

At first right after this I had a sentence "We should of course comply ..." but deleted it to shorten the text and because I thought that not doing anything illegal goes without saying. But I see your point that some readers may interpret it differently. So I've added this sentence at the end:

=====
We should of course comply and not do anything illegal, but we suggest you consider getting ICM Cruncher to help you master ICM.
=====

I want to go with this addition rather than with your other suggestion of completely deleting the Poker Stars reference, to show people who don't know ICM yet the edge it can give. Thanks for writing; do let me know if there are any more issues.

Cool man.

FWIW, instead of writing "illegal," I would write "anything that gives you an unfair advantage" or something like that. The word "illegal" might freak out the iPhone app approval guys!

I'd also change the word "but" to "and" in the middle. It's a subtle change, but it makes you sound more genuine. Or maybe just break it into two sentences.

Both done!:

=====
How valuable is knowledge of ICM (Independent Chip Model) to a tournament player? ... Poker Stars has announced that they do not allow ICM calculators to be run during live tournaments. We should of course comply and not do anything that gives us an unfair advantage. ICM Cruncher can help you master ICM.
=====

Good cleanups, and I'm open to endless more. I'm a software dev. not a marketing or legal person (and can't afford one) so help appreciated, thanks.

BTW, I"m not a marketing guy either, so I'm just talking. Feel free to totally ignore what I'm suggesting. Just sharing some ideas.

Here's another cut to consider:

How valuable is ICM (Independent Chip Model) to tournament players? For starters, it's so powerful that PokerStars does not even allow ICM calculators during live tournaments. We ask that our users comply with all rules and do not use our program to gain an unfair advantage during live play. We hope ICM Cruncher will help you master ICM and give you the tools to compete more profitably in tournaments of all levels and buy-ins.

This sounds good. The first version that said crush any tournament was too aggressive I thought but I like "compete more profitably" or "increase your EV" etc. I'll submit the new text in a day. Thank you sir!

Do you have a version that could run on Symbian or Android?

Sorry, no, and no plans yet to port to another phone. I.m.o. no other phone/OS matches the iPhone platform's growth and bang for the buck in terms of target device units in one implementation/port of an app. This could change; will reconsider periodically.