Comparison / PQL

ProPokerTools alternative: PQL in the browser

ProPokerTools' online simulations are offline and there is currently no way to buy an Odds Oracle license. Dan (nerdytenor), who wrote it, says both of those things on his own homepage, and has posted a free universal license there that runs the desktop build through January 2027 alongside the 2.3.0 installers.

So the first recommendation on this page is his: if you already know PQL and you can install a desktop app, take the free license from propokertools.com and use the real thing. If you want to run a query in a browser tab without installing anything, ours is free, needs no account, and covers ten games.

By Adam (SolvePoker) · propokertools.com checked 8 September 2026

What is down, and what still works

The homepage carries a note titled "Migration in Progress". It says the online simulations may not come back, offers the downloadable Odds Oracle in the meantime, and states plainly that there is no way to buy a license right now, which is why the free key is there. Checked on 8 September 2026, the homepage and the Odds Oracle documentation both load; the simulation pages return 404. That matches the order of work he lists: documentation back online first, then the online simulations, then license sales, possibly through a different payment provider.

None of that makes the Odds Oracle a dead tool. The desktop build is the same software it always was, and the language it runs is still the reference for what PQL means. What changed is that the thing most people used, a query box on a web page, is not there at the moment.

What the SolvePoker PQL engine is

A clean-room implementation of PQL that runs entirely in your browser. Hand evaluation is compiled to WebAssembly and every query executes on your own machine, so there is no account, no download and no license, and nothing you type is sent anywhere to be computed. Queries get shareable short links, and the editor ships worked recipes alongside a reference in the docs.

Behavior is pinned by an 888-query snapshot corpus that runs on every change, on top of a wider suite that checks the parser, the range DSL, the evaluators and the function library. That is how we keep a reimplementation honest: the language is someone else's specification, so the tests are the only thing standing between us and quietly inventing our own dialect.

Games it runs

  • Hold'em
  • Short Deck (6+)
  • Omaha, 4-card
  • Omaha, 5-card
  • Omaha, 6-card
  • Omaha Hi-Lo, 4-card
  • Omaha Hi-Lo, 5-card
  • Seven-Card Stud
  • Stud Hi-Lo
  • Razz

Whose language this is

PQL is Dan's. He designed it and the Odds Oracle is its reference implementation, which is the reason the free key on his homepage is the first thing to try if you can install a desktop app. Ours is a clean-room reimplementation of the published language, written against its documented behavior. Where the two read some corner of the grammar differently, his is the one that defines it.

What a browser gives you is a query box that is there right now, on any machine, with the same syntax you already know. Paste a query, get an answer, copy a link to the run. That is the whole of what this page is offering while propokertools.com works through its migration.

Questions

Is there a free alternative to ProPokerTools Odds Oracle?

Two, and one of them is the Odds Oracle. Its author has posted a free universal license on propokertools.com that runs the desktop build through January 2027, because there is currently no way to buy one. If you want PQL without installing anything, the SolvePoker PQL engine is free in the browser with no account, no download and no license, across ten games.

What happened to the ProPokerTools website?

The site is mid-migration. Its homepage, signed by Dan (nerdytenor), says the online simulations are down and that he is not sure when or whether they return. As of 8 September 2026 the homepage and the Odds Oracle documentation load, and the simulation pages do not. His stated order of work is docs first, then online simulations, then the ability to buy licenses again.

Did SolvePoker copy the Odds Oracle?

No, and PQL is not ours. Dan designed the language and the Odds Oracle is its reference implementation. Ours is a clean-room reimplementation of the published language, written against its documented behavior and pinned by an 888-query snapshot corpus. Where the two disagree on an edge case, his is the one that defines the language.

Do I need an account or a license to run a query?

Neither. The engine loads with the page, hand evaluation is compiled to WebAssembly, and every query runs on your own machine. Nothing you type is sent anywhere to be computed, and queries get a shareable short link so you can hand a colleague the exact run.

Which games does the PQL engine cover?

Ten: Hold'em, Short Deck (6+), Omaha, 4-card, Omaha, 5-card, Omaha, 6-card, Omaha Hi-Lo, 4-card, Omaha Hi-Lo, 5-card, Seven-Card Stud, Stud Hi-Lo, Razz. Query syntax, functions and worked recipes are in the docs.

Run a query now

The editor opens with runnable examples. No account, no install, and the computation happens on your machine.

Open the PQL engine

or try the equity calculator for the same games without writing a query