The Best Cash Game Tools 2026
If there is one thing that pretty much everyone will agree on about online poker in 2026, it’s that it’s tough to beat. This is especially true for cash games, which, as you move up the stakes, get progressively harder to beat. While having a passion for the game certainly helps, the only way to keep up with the field and stay ahead of the curve is by taking full advantage of the best cash game tools.
As any serious poker player will tell you, these cash game poker tools will massively help every aspect of your game. Each category brings its own advantages, which, when pulled together, can help you master the basics, plug your own leaks, and tailor your strategy for general population tendencies and even individual opponents that you frequently play against.
Many less experienced poker players get confused and overwhelmed by the sheer number of options, not knowing where to start or which tools are essential. If you find yourself in this category, don’t worry: we bring you a clear and easy-to-follow guide on the best cash game tools in 2026 that will set you up for success.
Poker Hand Tracker: One of the Best Cash Game Tools for Poker Players
While some of the top tools for poker cash games listed in this article may be optional or less essential, good poker tracking software is a must-have for any serious player.
This software runs alongside your poker software as you play, recording each and every hand. All the information is stored in a database, which will only grow larger (and more useful) the more you play.
The value of having such information can’t be overstated. First of all, you’ll be able to analyze your own play from different positions and in different situations. Do you want to know what your raise percentage is from the button? How often do you 3-bet from the big blind facing a cut-off open? What are your results in preflop all-ins?
With quality poker tracking software, you can easily access all this information using various filters. You tick the boxes to tell the software what you’re looking for, and it gives you the full list of all hands that meet your criteria.
In the same fashion, you can analyze your opponents. If there is a player that you frequently play against and have a lot of hands on, you can dig into their data to look for patterns and find areas of the game where you can potentially adjust your strategy to exploit their weaknesses.
For example, if you notice they c-bet too frequently, you can adjust by check-raising them with a wider range. If their button open percentage is too tight, you can fold more often or structure your calling range differently to include more hands that play well against big pairs and strong aces.
As far as your choice of the best cash game tools in this category goes, there are really two options that most players use:
- PokerTracker 4
- Hold’em Manager 3
Both of these cash game poker tools are quite similar. PokerTracker 4 is a bit more powerful, with more filters and custom report options, but you’re not very likely to use these features to their full potential if you’re just starting out or play at lower stakes.
This means that you can go with either option. Both offer free one-month trials, so you can use them for a while to get a good feel for how they work and what they offer before deciding.
HUD: Poker Tracker’s Trusty Companion
A HUD (short for Heads-Up display) also belongs near the top of this list of the best cash game tools in 2026. A HUD isn’t a standalone software solution; it’s more of an add-on that collates the information gathered by the tracking software and displays it in real time while you play.
Even if you haven’t used one yourself, you’ve probably seen a HUD in action in some of the online poker videos. It’s a square box displayed alongside each player, usually showing their basic stats, such as VPIP (Voluntarily Put Money Into Pot), c-bet percentage, preflop raise, etc.
The displayed information is based on the data collected by the tracker, which means that the more hands you have on a particular player, the more valuable it will be. Someone c-betting 40% over a sample of 10 hands doesn’t mean much. If, however, they have that same percentage over 5,000 or 10,000 hands, you can rely on it much more.
Most HUDs are customizable, which means that you can choose what information will be displayed right on the screen, and what information you’ll be able to access by hovering over the small window or clicking on it. Most players go with the basic setup that shows things like:
- VPIP (a total percentage of hands played voluntarily, i.e., excluding the big blind)
- PFR (preflop raise)
- C-bet %
- 3-bet %
- W$SD – the percentage of time the player wins at a showdown
The good news is that you don’t need to download a separate HUD, as all tracking software comes with a ready-made one. Just customize it to your preferences and make sure you are satisfied with its location on the screen.
That said, there are third-party solutions you can look into if you don’t like what PT4 or HM3 has to offer.
Simple Equity Calculator: An Essential Cash Game Poker Tool
While more advanced players have all the numbers in their heads and don’t need any assistance in this department, those new to cash games will certainly benefit from an equity calculator.
This tool helps you determine your winning chance (expressed as a percentage) in any given situation. Of course, you can get all that info when analyzing hands with PokerTracker 4, but a standalone equity calculator is great for some quick analysis.
For example, you play a hand with pocket aces on a flop containing a flush draw and a straight draw. You go up against two opponents, and one of them is drawing to a flush but also has a bottom pair, while the other is drawing to a straight. A poker equity calculator will quickly tell you what your chance of winning the pot is.
Poker sites don’t allow you to use equity calculators while actually playing, but you are free to use them after the session to review any spots that catch your attention.
If you’re new to the game, inputting different hands to see how they stack up against each other will help you develop a deeper understanding of poker math and, as a result, make you a better player.
You’d be surprised how many people don’t know these basic numbers, which can lead to some pretty expensive mistakes in crucial spots. If you’re a visual type, learning about different spots this way will be much more helpful than memorizing numbers and percentages from text-based tables.
There are many poker equity calculators available. Perhaps the most popular one is Equilab. You can download and install this one for free as long as you want to use it for basic hand analysis. The software also offers some advanced features, but you’ll have to pay to access them.
PokerStove is another quite popular option in this category of the top tools for cash games, so feel free to check it out and see which one of these you prefer.
Poker Solvers: Best Cash Game Tools for Advanced Players
As we’ve mentioned already, online poker is pretty tough in 2026, and as you reach higher stakes, you’ll be coming across some very capable players. You won’t beat them by knowing the basic math, and you can be certain they’ll be using all of the best cash game tools available to them.
To really have a chance against these players, you’ll need to learn the GTO strategy (Game Theory Optimal), which is basically the perfect strategy that can’t be exploited. It is based on complex computer calculations, and it ensures that, as long as you stick to it, your opponents will not be able to get an edge on you.
And how do you learn this amazing strategy, you ask? By using poker solvers, powerful computer programs capable of analyzing almost any spot and telling you exactly what you need to do.
Just as an example, you could use a solver to analyze flops containing all high cards and a flush draw. The solver will give you the best options from both perspectives, i.e., for a preflop aggressor and the defending player, providing bet frequencies, sizes, and more.
You can analyze these spots for different effective stack sizes, too, as your decision will sometimes differ greatly when you are playing with 100 big blinds as opposed to 200 big blinds.
While this sounds great in theory, you need to understand that the volume of information is vast, so it’s impossible to just memorize all solver solutions and play the perfect game. The best players out there use poker solvers to analyze different spots and then try to understand the output. This way, they can apply the knowledge to other similar spots rather than memorize every single situation (which is pretty much impossible).
There is a lot more we could say on the topic of solvers, but the bottom line is, you’ll need to get familiar with them at one point in your poker career. The good news is that they’re not as scary or as complicated as they may feel when you first start using them.
As for the options, there are quite a few to choose from. They are all similar on the basic level, but differ in terms of the depth of the analysis and the versatility of spots you can analyze with them. The best approach is to perhaps start with a simpler one and build your way up to the most powerful solutions:
- GTO Wizard – the number one, most powerful poker solver in the market
- MonkerSolver – a strong poker solver that can also be used for PLO
- PokerSnowie – a simplified poker solver with quick, real-time results (great for beginners)
Multi-Tabling Software: Cash Game Tools to Make Your Life Easier
There are two things that determine your profit in online poker cash games. The first one is the quality of your play, and if you’re better than the competition. The second is the volume of hands you put in.
Even if you have a big win rate at your given stake level, that won’t translate into financial success if you’re not playing enough hands. For example, if you’re winning two big blinds per one hundred hands at $1/$2, which isn’t bad for online poker, your bottom line won’t be great if you only play 500 – 1,000 hands a day.
This is why all serious online players try to play as many tables as they can handle without it hurting their game. Playing four or five tables simultaneously is quite common, and the best of grinders out there will have 10+ games running at any given moment.
We don’t suggest you do this right off the bat. As a new player, you should start with one or two tables to learn the ropes. However, as you become more comfortable, you’ll want to add more tables to your sessions, and this is where good multi-tabling software can come in really handy.
The moment you exceed four tables, things will start to get messy, with windows overlapping, tables popping up at unfortunate times, causing mis-clicks, and you’ll be timing out in some games that are buried in the background.
Multi-tabling software solutions were developed to address these issues and make your cash game sessions smoother, more enjoyable, and, most importantly, most profitable.
These cash game poker tools will allow you to set up different layouts for different numbers of running tables, how tables behave when it’s your turn to act, allow you to set up custom alerts, and much, much more. While this type of software isn’t mandatory and it takes some time to set up to your liking, it can be a real game-changer for serious grinders.
Right now, there are two multi-tabling solutions available in the market. These are Jurojin Poker and Table Ninja II. Even if you feel like you don’t need them right now, check them out, as you might as well get familiar and comfortable with them ahead of time.
Not sure where to play? We’ve reviewed the best poker sites for you to help you choose the one that fits your needs. If you just want to jump into the action, these are the top-rated ones for cash games. Good luck at the tables!
Summary: Are The Best Cash Game Tools Really Necessary in 2026?
There are still many players out there who believe that cash game poker tools aren’t required and that you can still beat the games relying only on your knowledge, intuition, and memory.
While this may be true in some cases, you’ll be putting yourself at a serious disadvantage going barehanded into a battle against players who all (or almost all) use the top cash game tools to beat the game. You wouldn’t put yourself at such a disadvantage in any other sport or competition, so why do it in poker?
It is also important to note that all the best cash game tools listed in this article are perfectly legal to use, as long as you use them in line with the terms and conditions of the site you’re playing on. Some rooms, for example, don’t allow the use of trackers, while others are perfectly fine with it.
Poker solvers should only be used for post-game analysis. No poker sites allow the use of these tools while you’re playing, and if you’re caught doing so, your account will most likely be banned and your funds confiscated. There were many such examples on GGPoker lately.
The best cash game tools for poker players are there to help you improve your game, become a better player, and, as a result, win more money. You shouldn’t be shy about using them in a correct way because, at the end of the day, you want to give yourself the best chance of success.
