My First Experience Using PokerTracker 4

I have been using Holdem Manager 2 for about a year. I have been generally happy with the software suite; however, I wanted to check out PokerTracker 4 to see what I have been missing there. To my delight, Steve McLoughlin at PokerTracker volunteered to help me get started and also run me through some of the finer points of the software.

I used PokerTracker 4 for about a week before the training session. I started a new database just to get used to things. I saw immediately how user-friendly the software is to set up and use straight after download.

PokerTracker 4 automatically detected all of my hand history folders, so it was just a matter of adding a directory folder and setting up my preferred seating arrangement before I was ready to play.

After playing for a few minutes on a PokerStars Zoom table, I tested out all of the different canned HUDs and saw what I liked. I took one of the templates and added in a few stats I find useful to have while playing. I also set up filters based on stack sizes for tournaments and cash games without an issue.

Then, I had my training session with Steve and "kraada" over Skype. Right away, I was blown away by all of the detail in the software. While it is easy to use out of the box, I realized right away the world of knowledge I had at my fingertips.

Many of the screens have tutorial videos, which should come in handy for anyone learning the software.

I was thrilled when I learned how to get positional stats out of my HUD, which were even more useful once I imported my older databases and had a nice base of hands on many of my habitual opponents.

The number of conditional filters that can be applied to reports and HUD stats is amazing. Basically, I realized if I wanted a stat or a report that I felt was going to be useful to me, I would be able to create it easily if it wasn't already available. I feel the world is at my fingertips with PokerTracker 4 and know if I have a problem doing something myself, I can post about it on their forums and get a quick answer.

There are also some cool canned reports, but what I might like the best is creating your own reports. I have already created two simple reports showing the players who have the most profit or loss as well as win rates sorted by VPIP. I only created these two so far just because I wanted to get a few simple ones out of the way before I get more complex in my reporting.

I also want to note how useful the graphs are. Besides the tons of graphs and filters you can use, you can drill down your graph to find your statistics during up-ticks and downswings, including the actual hands you play. The replayer itself is easy to use.

I'm off to enjoy the ICM quiz on PokerTracker 4. Thank for reading and I recommend you try out PokerTracker 4 for free with its 30-day trial today.

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