Why this page exists
Whether a tool is permitted is not my decision. It is the poker room's. So instead of claiming approval, this page states precisely what the software does technically, and what each network has answered once they have. If a room tells me CoreSpade is not welcome, I remove support for that room. That commitment is also part of our Terms of Service.
What CoreSpade does on every network
- Arranges and resizes table windows into layouts you define.
- Moves tables into dedicated slots when you sit out or bust.
- Maps Fold, Check/Call, Bet/Raise and bet sizing to keys you choose.
- Draws a coloured frame around the table where it is your turn to act.
- Optionally closes software that poker rooms prohibit, while a client is running.
What CoreSpade never does
- It does not read hole cards, board cards, stack sizes or opponent actions.
- It does not decide anything. Every action comes from a key you press.
- It contains no odds calculator, no equity tool, no solver and no link to one.
- It has no automated play and no timer-based actions.
- It keeps no opponent database and shows no statistics during play.
How it reads the table
On every network except one, CoreSpade stays completely outside the poker client. It captures the contents of a table window through the Windows Graphics Capture API — the same public interface used by screen recording software — and compares colour values at a small number of fixed points, expressed relative to the window size. From that it derives three things only: is it your turn, are you sitting out, have you busted. The captured frame is discarded immediately; nothing is stored and nothing is transmitted.
Those sample points sit on buttons and status areas. They carry no card and no player information, and there is no code in CoreSpade that could interpret one.
How it sends your input
Keystrokes go to the focused table window. Clicks are delivered as standard Windows messages to the window handle. On partypoker, whose tables are built from standard Windows controls, CoreSpade uses the documented Windows API for those controls: it reads a button caption to confirm it is the right one, then clicks it, or writes an amount into the bet field.
CoinPoker is the exception, and it is disclosed
CoinPoker's Unity client does not reliably accept simulated input. To make hotkeys work there at all, CoreSpade loads a small native library into the client process which reads which action buttons are visible and triggers them directly.
This is an active intervention in the client, not passive observation, and I am not going to describe it as anything else. The full technical detail goes to CoinPoker with the review request, and until they have answered, the component is not part of any public release. If their answer is no, it will be removed and CoinPoker support will fall back to external input — or be dropped.
The tracker
CoreSpade contains an experimental results tracker. It reads the tournament summary files your poker client writes to disk and shows profit and ROI over time. Hand history files are identified by their first line and skipped — they are never parsed.
Stored per tournament: buy-in, rake, bounty, re-entries, field size, prize pool, and your own finishing position and winnings. No player names, no hands, no statistics about anyone else. Nothing is shown while tables are open. It is a results overview you look at afterwards — closer to a spreadsheet than to a database tool, and it is not essential to the product.
Status per network
| Network | Method | Review status |
|---|---|---|
| PokerStars | External only | not yet contacted |
| GGPoker | External only | not yet contacted |
| 888poker | External only | not yet contacted |
| partypoker | External, Windows control API | not yet contacted |
| Winning Poker Network | External only, layout and hotkeys | not yet contacted |
| iPoker | Not implemented yet | not yet contacted |
| CoinPoker | In-process library, disclosed | not yet contacted |
Status values: not yet contacted, review requested [date], approved, approved with conditions, declined — support removed.
For review teams
If you work for one of these networks and want to verify any claim on this page: I will provide the source code, the compiled binaries and a licence key. Write to support@corespade.app. I would rather have your assessment than your assumption.