PokerTracker 4 Nearing End of Alpha Testing

If you’re a fan of PokerTracker, then you’ll soon be able to get your hands on a public beta of PokerTracker 4, which will be released in the near future. In the meantime, PokerTracker developers are hard at work fine-tuning their creation. PokerSoftware sat down with PokerTracker’s Steve McLoughlin to get the inside scoop of what we will and won’t see in the program’s newest edition.

PokerSoftware: Thanks for joining us. We’ve talked a lot about cloud storage here on PokerSoftware. Will we be seeing cloud storage in PokerTracker 4?

Steve McLoughlin: At this time, we have focused primarily on usability of the core PokerTracker 4 interface and in-game HUD. Therefore, we are temporarily ignoring future potential features like cloud components or iPad interfaces. A cloud interface would be a new revenue stream for us, so it is not the priority right now. We must focus on the core PokerTracker 4 application at this stage.

That said, we do have plans to create a cloud-based solution. However, we don’t plan to start development for any cloud features until after PokerTracker 4 is out in the market and we see how players are using our new interface. We feel it is important to develop for real world use requirements for hosting in the cloud once we see how our users interact with PokerTracker 4, not theoretical use based on assumptions from our developers.

PokerSoftware: PokerTracker 4 includes LeakTracker and TableTracker. Talk about the importance of including those in the final release.

Steve McLoughlin: Unlike some of our competitors that might charge their users a hefty fee for the use of add-on apps, every new feature in PokerTracker 4 is included without the need to purchase add-ons.

We are often asked by PokerTracker users what a specific stat means and how they should adjust their game to match their stat “goals.” LeakTracker allows us to address players with these needs.

The goal is to help our users educate themselves. LeakTracker is not a replacement for a coach; instead, it is used to help guide our users who need remedial work in the right direction. The tool is designed to help players understand why their stats appear the way they do and in turn empower players to make adjustments to their game on their own.

TableTracker is an optional subscription lobby service that is already available in PokerTracker 3. The features in TableTracker have been improved, but this is not a new service. It is the only existing service add-on available for PokerTracker 3 users and it will remain the only existing add-on service when PokerTracker 4 is released.

PokerSoftware: Will we see a Mac version of PokerTracker 4?

Steve McLoughlin: PokerTracker 4 is built in C++, but we write OS-agnostic applications. In theory, it doesn’t matter what the OS will be for the end product because we use C++ as the development platform. After the OS-agnostic coding is complete, we add on the OS-specific components to finish each release.

Although we do our alpha and beta stage development on Windows, creating a separate release for Apple’s OS X could take just a few extra months after we are done. It should be fairly fast for us to do. The only reason we don’t release the Windows and Mac versions at the same time is because our developers want to devote their time to the OS that our users will primarily be using. This allows us to release the Windows version as soon as possible.

PokerSoftware: What’s the most unique stat you've seen during the alpha testing process?

Steve McLoughlin: Quite a few stats we added in PT4 started as custom PokerTracker 3 stats and made it into our upcoming software release. My favorite so far is a whole range of post-flop play analysis stats for 3Bet+ pots and non-3Bet+ pots. The term 3Bet+ refers to pots whre there were 3Bets or greater pre-flop in PokerTracker 4.

We also have the ability to track 3Bets and 4Bets specifically, as well as 4Bets or greater and 5Bets or greater. Using our custom stat creation tools, you could in theory create 6Bet or 7Bet stats if you played in games deep enough to make this level of analysis worthwhile.

Other really popular ones with our alpha testers that started off as custom option in PokerTracker 3 were “in position” and “out of position” stats. In PokerTracker 4, we converted this concept into a definable stat property, so stats can be altered to reflect absolute position versus an opponent post-flop. Properties for actual position such as Button or Big Blind, as well as the property for in or out of position, can be attributed to each post-flop stat in the HUD.

PokerSoftware: Are there any changes to the PokerTracker HUD we should be aware of in PokerTracker 4?

Steve McLoughlin: Our new tools popup in the HUD is amazing. It is designed to give you as much information as possible within the main popup to save you time while playing. The drag and drop HUD profile editor is a giant evolutionary step as well.

Another feature that’s remarkable is the new multi-currency solution. In PokerTracker 4, we added separate stats to track both the Game Currency and My Currency, which is user-definable. All currency conversions are done on the fly when the session ends based on the current bank exchange rate definition.

For example, if you deposit in Euros, but play at British Pound tables, then PokerTracker has you covered. Our new multi-currency feature will always show your winnings in your own currency without the need to do any additional work. We solve these issues for you behind the scenes without any hassles.

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