Alternatives / Compare
ICMIZER vs HRC
ICMIZER suits players who want a push/fold quiz and a hand replayer beside the calculator; HRC suits players who want to build and solve their own trees, postflop included on HRC Pro. If what you want is practice on solved spots rather than a solver, Push Fold Trainer is an alternative to both, with a free tier.
Prices and features checked
Both are desktop programs that solve tournament push/fold spots with the payout structure included. ICMIZER wraps its calculator in a study suite, with a push/fold quiz and a hand-history replayer on its PRO tier. HRC is a solver first, and its Pro edition goes on to postflop solves and trees of any size.
Disclosure: we make Push Fold Trainer, a third tool that is neither of these. This page compares the two on their own terms, and says where ours fits in one paragraph at the end.
Choose ICMIZER 3 if
- You want to be quizzed on push/fold spots: MTT Coach comes with ICMIZER PRO
- You want to replay your own hand histories next to the calculator
- You want push/fold practice on your phone, which ICMIZER sells as an add-on
Price from: $17.99/mo
Choose HoldemResources Calculator if
- You want to build your own game trees, with the bet sizes and actions you choose
- You study postflop too: dedicated postflop solves come with HRC Pro
- You use Linux, or want a trial that asks for no payment details
Price from: $16.66/mo
Side by side
| Capability | ICMIZER 3 | HoldemResources Calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $17.99/mo | $16.66/mo |
| Runs on | Windows and macOS desktop apps | Windows, macOS and Linux desktop app |
| Drills you | Via SNG Coach | None we could find |
| Solved ranges | Nash + ICM solves | Solves your setup |
| ICM | The whole premise | Uses your payouts |
| Exploits | Solutions only | Frequency locks |
| Short-stack focus | Built for it | Classic: up to 30bb |
Where they differ
A study suite against a solver
ICMIZER PRO bundles the calculator with MTT Coach, a push/fold quiz with 120 desktop questions a day, and a replayer for your own hand histories. HRC's documentation covers building trees, Monte Carlo sampling, frequency locks and postflop solving. We found no training or quiz mode in it, so with HRC the practising happens elsewhere.
What each entry tier covers
ICMIZER Basic is the calculator on its own; the quiz and the replayer need PRO. HRC Classic is the preflop edition, which its maker describes as best for stacks up to 30 big blinds, with a tree size limit of 50,000 nodes. HRC Pro removes that limit and adds dedicated postflop solves.
Platforms and trials
ICMIZER lists Windows 10 or later and macOS 11 or later, and offers a 7-day free trial. HRC has downloads for Windows, macOS and Linux, with a 14-day Classic trial that needs no payment details and a 14-day money-back guarantee on its paid licences.
Modelling an opponent
ICMIZER's calculator lets you set opponent ranges by hand. HRC has frequency locks, which fix how often an opponent takes an action so the solver can find the best response to that leak. Both are ways to analyse an exploit rather than to practise one.
Tiers and prices
The cheapest tier is rarely the one with the feature you came for, so here is each tier and what it unlocks, with Push Fold Trainer alongside for reference.
| Tier | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $17.99/mo, $36.99/qtr or $99.99/yr | The ICMIZER calculator: ICM (FGS) and Nash push/fold calculations. No MTT Coach and no replayer. |
| PRO | $32.99/mo or $179.99/yr | The calculator plus MTT Coach, a push/fold quiz with 120 desktop and 5 mobile questions a day, and the hand-history replayer. |
| SNG Coach Mobile add-on | +$40/yr | 120 mobile questions a day. Requires an annual PRO subscription. |
| NITRO add-on | +$179.88/yr | Faster calculations in the cloud. Requires PRO. |
ICMIZER's prices exclude VAT. There is a 7-day free trial.
| Tier | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | $16.66/mo, $39.99/qtr or $119.90/yr | The preflop solver, described by its maker as best for stacks up to 30bb. Trees up to 50,000 nodes. |
| Pro | $49.99/mo, $119.97/qtr or $359.90/yr | Any stack depth, unlimited tree size, dedicated postflop solves and scripted tree building. |
A 14-day Classic trial needs no payment details, and paid licences have a 14-day money-back guarantee. We found no training mode in either edition.
| Tier | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Chip-EV push/fold ranges from 4bb to 30bb, shoving and calling, with no account. A free account adds 10 ICM and 3 exploit practice questions a day, and the ICM, bubble factor and satellite calculators are free. |
| Pro | $15/mo or $150/yr | Unlimited ICM and exploit practice, the full ICM range library, and accuracy stats by position and depth with a missed-hand review queue. |
Source for ICMIZER 3: ICMIZER 3, checked .
Source for HoldemResources Calculator: HoldemResources Calculator, checked .
Where Push Fold Trainer fits
Both of these solve spots. If what you are missing is practice on spots that are already solved, that is what Push Fold Trainer does: a fixed library of chip-EV and ICM push/fold spots from 4bb to 30bb, served one decision at a time and scored. It cannot solve a spot you set up yourself, which both of these can.
ICMIZER vs HRC: common questions
- Which is cheaper, ICMIZER or HRC?
- At the entry tier on monthly billing, HRC Classic at $16.66 is a little cheaper than ICMIZER Basic at $17.99. On yearly billing ICMIZER Basic is $99.99 and HRC Classic is $119.90. For the full product, ICMIZER PRO is $32.99 a month or $179.99 a year and HRC Pro is $49.99 a month or $359.90 a year. ICMIZER's prices exclude VAT.
- Does HRC have a quiz like MTT Coach?
- Not that we could find in HRC's documentation. ICMIZER's MTT Coach, on the PRO tier, is the one of the two built for drilling push/fold decisions.
- Which runs on a Mac?
- Both. ICMIZER lists macOS 11 or later, and HRC has a macOS download. HRC also runs on Linux.
- Do both use ICM?
- Yes. ICMIZER describes its calculator as running ICM and Nash equilibrium calculations, and HRC's calculations take the tournament's prize structure as an input.
The chip-EV push/fold ranges here are free with no account, from 4bb to 30bb in 6-max and 9-max, and so are the ICM, bubble factor and satellite calculators.