Starting a new tree

To start a new tree from scratch, go to File->New to get to the opening screen.

A: The active players
In this field you can select the active players for your tree.
You will not be able to start your tree (under J) until you have selected at least two active players.

It is important to keep the number of active players as low as possible, preferably two.
For more on this, please see the text below.

B: Blinds/rake/rakeback
With this button you can set properties like the blinds, rake, rakeback for your tree.



You can also edit this data at a later point though.

C: Stacks
With this button you can set the stacks for the active players in your tree.
For your convenience, the active players that you have selected under A will have a * behind their name.



You can also edit this data at a later point though.

In case of a tournament, you can enter the stacks of the players that are NOT in your tree in a separate menu.
For more on that, please see the section on tournaments (K).

D: Table size
Here you can select the number of players at your table.
If you select "Heads up", then SB will be on the button.

E: Start tree in which phase?
Here you can select in which phase you want your tree to start.
It is recommended to always start preflop and play the hand out naturally from there.

F: Restore last session
If you click this button, then the last active tree you were working on will be loaded.

G: Import hand history
With this button you'll get a menu where you can import hands from, for example, PokerTracker and Hold'em Manager.
For that, just select the desired site/tracker and follow the instructions that will appear on the import screen.

H: Instructional videos
This button will bring up a menu that links to the instructional videos on this software.
These videos are posted on YouTube.com.
Click any link to be brought to YouTube.

I: Written tutorial
Links to this written tutorial.

J: Start tree
After you have set the desired settings for your tree, press this button to begin editing your tree.
You must have selected at least two active players under A for this button to be active though.

K: Cash game/tournament toggle
Use this button to toggle between Cash game mode and Tournament mode.
In tournament mode one new button will pop up:



Clicking this button will bring up the tournament menu, where you can enter data like:
- Stacks for players that are NOT active in the tree
- The prize structure
- Bounties

For more on the tournament menu, please go here.

Narrow down the number of active players as much as possible!

It is strongly recommended to keep the number of active players in your tree as low as possible.
Ideally, you should only use two players.

There's two reasons for this:

1) With two players the Math Engine can be used
If your tree only contains two players then the software will be able to use the Math Engine (click for link). This means that it will be able to enumerate all the calculations. This will lead to mathematically accurate results. On the other hand, if there's móre than two players, then the Monte Carlo engine will be used. In that case, the calculations will be based on a large number of simulations and all results will have an inherent error in them.

2) Prevent your trees from becoming extremely complex
Dealing with all the lines and sub-lines in your tree will become very complex very fast as the number of players increases. It is strongly recommended to only use two players if possible. If limiting the tree to two players is impossible however, then it is recommended to use as few players as possible.

A trick for making one player appear to be multiple players

If you have a tree with multiple villains, then there is a trick to use only one villain instead with an artificially boosted range.
So, in other words, with this trick, you can make one villain appear to be multiple villains. In this manner, you'll be able to work with a tree with only two active players (thus allowing the Math Engine to work), while one of those players has the strength of multiple villains. For more on this trick, please go here.