PokerTracker 4 Adds PLO8, NLO8 Zoom Poker Support

As part of the most recent version of the PokerTracker 4 Public Beta, support was added for Pot Limit Omaha Eight or Better and No Limit Omaha Eight or Better PokerStars Zoom Poker tables. Zoom Poker has quickly become a hit on the world's largest online poker site, and PokerTracker officials have been ardently keeping up with the recently introduced games and stakes.

PokerTracker 4's Public Beta is now also compatible with the pre-release of Windows 8, the newest redesign from Microsoft that will reportedly be introduced later this year. This author has delayed the purchase of two computers in anticipation of Windows 8, but those who get to test drive the OS going forward can seamlessly use PokerTracker 4's Heads-Up Display, or HUD.

The latest PokerTracker 4 Public Beta is Version 4.01.17. The litany of fixes rolled out includes filter settings now being recalled when PokerTracker 4 restarts and a brand new stat that shows hand counts per thousand in order to conserve HUD space. Remember, a HUD is a small window that sits adjacent to a player's user name, and so only showing vital information is of the utmost importance.

PokerTracker developers have also implemented a fix that addresses missing players at PokerStars Zoom tables for some users. Those players who fire up Microgaming Network sites like Ladbrokes and 32Red are in for a treat, as they'll get an improved playing experience at Anonymous Tables by enabling table session HUDs by default. Even though your opponents are anonymous, your HUD can still display stats from an individual session, which allows you to keep tabs on others' play.

Import and export of hand and player notes are now available in PokerTracker 4, as is a Postgres SQL server tuner, which will help improve performance for Postgres 8.3 or later. On the Onagme Network, which encompasses rooms like bwin, PokerTracker 4 will now automatically detect your table sizes. Overall, a variety of stat updates and interface changes were introduced in order to better a person's experience using this super-sized poker tracking and analysis tool.

Concerning the Postgres changes, PokerTracker's Steve McLoughlin told PokerSoftware, "The Postgres server must exist on your desktop if you wish to use the Postgres Tuner to improve database performance. The Tuner is not compatible with remotely hosted Postgres SQL servers. You may manually tune or even un-tune your Postgres server in the 'Database Management' window by selecting the appropriate option under 'Housekeeping.'"

Other features added in the latest generation of PokerTracker 4 include the ability to back up NoteTracker Auto-Note rules, the ability to remove unused table type descriptions in the Tournament Editor, and offline Profile Selection support for Zoom Poker tables.

New changes include the Default Hand Count stat in all HUDs now being "Hands Abbreviated." In addition, the default of all stat values to the "No Opportunity Statistic Text" preference has been adjusted, as have the Auto-Detect settings for "Protect Filled Table Type," which is now un-checked by default. In PokerTracker 4's powerful graphs, programmers have re-enabled money won with and without showdown winnings on tournament graphs.

One month ago, PokerTracker opened up its PokerTracker 4 Beta to the general public. Prior to that, PokerTracker officials had conducted Alpha testing and a Private Beta, but wanted to bring in more participants in order to identify the remaining bugs before PokerTracker 4's commercial release. Anyone participating in the Public Beta is encouraged to contact PokerTracker officials if they encounter any hiccups.

Zoom Poker was released in recent weeks on PokerStars and is reminiscent of Rush Poker on the now-dormant Full Tilt. As soon as your action in a hand ends, you're taken to another table with a new set of opponents to start another hand. Players have reported between 300 and 400 hands per hour with Zoom Poker, which speeds up a user's experience and allows them to reach rake milestones considerably faster.

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