Query Structure

Every PQL query follows a select … from … [where …] shape, modeled after SQL.

select <selectors>
from   <bindings>
where  <predicate>          -- optional

A query produces one report row per selector, computed over a fixed number of Monte Carlo trials.

Selectors

Selectors describe what you want to measure. Each selector is an aggregate over an inner expression:

select avg(equity(hero)) as heroEv,
       count(wins(hero))  as heroWinPct,
       max(handType(hero, river))
from   ...

PQL supports four aggregate selectors: avg, count, max, min. See Selectors for the full semantics. Each selector can be aliased with as to give the report column a readable name.

Bindings (the from clause)

Bindings declare the poker situation to simulate. They are written as key='value' pairs, separated by commas:

from game='holdem', hero='AhKh', villain='QQ+', board='Ah9s2c'

Reserved keys are game, board, dead. Any other key is treated as a player name. See From Clause for the full list.

Filtering with where

A where clause filters trials before they reach the selectors. The expression must be a boolean and may reference any function, player, or street:

select avg(equity(hero))
from   game='holdem', hero='AhKh', villain='**'
where  hasTopBoardRank(hero, flop)

See Where Clause.

Identifiers and Case

Keywords (select, from, where, as, and, or, not) and function names are case-insensitive. The book uses lowercase for keywords and camelCase for function names by convention.

Card characters follow standard notation: ranks 2-9 T J Q K A and suits s h d c.

Operators

PQL inherits a subset of SQL operators:

Not currently implemented: <> / !=, ||, IN, CASE … WHEN, line comments (-- …), block comments (/* … */).

Whitespace and Commas

Whitespace is free-form. Selectors and bindings are comma-separated. Trailing commas are accepted.

Multiple Statements

A ; separates independent statements. Each statement is parsed and run in turn, with its own report:

select equity(hero) from game='holdem', hero='AA', villain='KK';
select equity(hero) from game='holdem', hero='AA', villain='QQ';