24-Tabling Like a Pro: Part III

Autohotkey is a free program that helps you automate tasks on your computer. You can get it at http://www.autohotkey.com/. There is plenty of reference material on the website if you want to tinker around with the programming language. It is pretty simple and easy to learn the basics, and I would suggest any serious online poker player (or anybody who uses their computer for a large portion of their day) to become acquainted with it. A little AHK knowledge can go a long long way.

I'll be discussing some of the pre-made scripts that you can use to speed up your actions. I did not have anything to do with the creation of these scripts, I just mooch them :) The talented guys at overcards.com are the ones who put these together.

BetPot
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=379
This is a script that you can use to automate all of your table actions - including your bet sizing. There is plenty of how-to explanation in the thread, but the important thing to remember is that you can customize all of your actions to basically anything you want. I've heard of people even using video game controllers. Being the computer nerd that I am, I was most efficient with all of my table actions programmed to my mouse.

MY SETUP
Logitech G9 Mouse
I chose this mouse because it was quick, efficient, customizable (2 "body" choices, and the option to add/remove weight). Betpot works with the mouse very well.
Left Click: Standard
Right Click: Fold
Side Button1: Call
Side Button2: Raise
Scroll Wheel Up/Down: Increase/Decrease bet size
Scroll Wheel Press: Pot size raise

With this configuration, I really only ever need to use my right hand to play all 24 tables. I don't even need to aim. I just need to have my mouse over the table. This leaves your left hand free to take care of other things.

Stars Planner
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=398
This is a great script that helps you save LOTS of clicks while playing. You can set it to automatically buy in for you, to keep the Stars lobby activated at all times (most multitablers know how much of a pain it is to have to reactivate stars every time you join a table), and quite a few other options. It increases multitabling efficiency dramatically, and I'd suggest giving it a try. I use version 0.4d, which has always been extremely stable for me.

I personally do not like the autoreloader scripts, as they interfere with a stacked table layout. With Stars Planner, all you need to do is click Options...>Add more chips, and the script takes care of the rest. Very easy.


*LEARN AHK*
The possibilities are endless for making poker and other computer related tasks more efficient. A very basic understanding of the language will be all you need to be able to customize other scripts, or make your own.
Here's just a small example of a simple one I use, which has helped very much.

SetTitleMatchMode, 2

Home::
WinGetActiveTitle, Title1
WinMove, %Title1%,, 0, 0
return

End::
WinGetActiveTitle, Title1
WinMove, %Title1%,, 0, 600
return

PgUp::
WinGetActiveTitle, Title1
WinMove, %Title1%,, 800, 0
return

PgDn::
WinGetActiveTitle, Title1
WinMove, %Title1%,, 800, 600
return

You can change the X and Y coordinates to whatever works for you. This is a script that simply moves the active window to 1 of 4 spots on your screen, using the Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn keys.

I use this script constantly. When I have my stack of 24 tables going, and I get a hand where I need to pay more attention, or want to see the results of, I can just hit 1 key and move it to an open area of the screen. 23 tables stay in the normal spot, and the 1 important table is visible without being interrupted. Once the hand is over, 1 keystroke brings it back.

There are tons of other various pre-made scripts in the 2+2 software forums. The ability to customize them, or to use bits and pieces of them with other scripts is a great asset.

Some other suggestions of poker-related scripts one might write:
-A "Startup" script that runs PT and starts an auto-import, PAHud, Poker Lobby, 2+2, etc
-A script to block you from looking at your cashier or PT stats, which is a nasty counter-productive habit we tend to develop.


The specifics of AHK really can't be covered in this article, though. There are hundreds of pages of documentation on autohotkey.com, which are what I used to learn the language. The purpose of this part of the article is more to stress the importance of learning AHK, and show what is possible when it is used correctly. You don't need to be good enough to write all of the scripts yourself - you just need to be good enough to mooch other peoples work and adapt it to fit your own style.