Best Tracking Software?

I've tested Poker Tracker and it looks useful. Before I buy it I'd be interested to hear if there are any other packages anyone would recommend. Is Poker Tracker the most popular?

[OrianasDaad]

I think the other two major ones are PokerOffice and StatKing, although I'm not so sure the latter exists anymore.

I believe that Pokertracker is, far and away, the most popular.

[ncboiler]

If I've said it once I've said it a million times. Get Pokertracker and be done with it.

Thanks for the advice.

[4_2_it]

Get Poker Tracker and the Gametracker+ add-on (available for free on the Poker Tracker web site). It is EV++.

[K C]

This depends on what you want to track first of all. If you want to track your own play, PT is excellent. If you want to track the play of others, it's helpful but not the best out there.

In a program that you're using to primarily track the play of your opponents, here's what you should be looking for. First of all you need enough of the right kinds of stats to make the program useful enough. Essentially what we need to read opponents is to be able to reference playing frequency across a wide variety of situations. This is where the PT add-ons really drop the ball in comparision with, say, the late Poker-Edge.

Next, if it's not usable at the sites you want to play at, this is obviously going to be a problem. PT and it's child programs have made some progress in this area, but it's still pretty limited.

Third, it's very helpful to say the least to have the software benefit from the data of others, and not just your own play. I know some PT users share data, but there's no substitute for a centralized database, where all users contribute.

Fourth, it has to be very convenient to use. You don't really have time to money around and hunt for stuff expecially if you're multi-tabling. You really need to have the info readily available. PT based programs aren't too bad in this area but what's avaiilable readily in their game time windows is limited.

Fifth, you can't have the program overloading your computer. I know some people who have the latest gear and still have trouble with PT in real time due to their very large DB's. Ideally you don't want to be hosting these DB's, and want it on another server where you can access it remotely.

Now I'm not trying to be disrespectful to PT, it's an awesome program for tracking your own results. In terms of live game play though it really can't compare to something like Poker Sherlock, which is far ahead in all 5 of these areas, and has been designed specifically to knock the socks off of real time PT users.

Check my bio if you'd like to give this a whirl.

KC

[AnilK]

Poker Tracker is the most popular. I recommend www.poker-spy.com for real time tracking.

[PokerAce]

It would be wise to avoid software that does any of the following:


1. Gives advice on the hand. This would include things like pot odds, what hands you can make, what hands your opponents might hold, things like that.

2. Shares data with other users. While the exact reason is fuzzy, this is likely the reason why Party is banning Poker-Edge. Party and Stars, the two biggest names in the game don't like applications that share hand history data.

3. Plays the game for you. This should go without saying. Poker bots and anything that automates play is against probably every single poker site's terms of service.


If you use software that does one of the above three things, you are asking for trouble. You might get away with it for a while, but you risk the poker site closing your account taking your entire bankroll.

That being said, PokerTracker is the only tracking software I'm familiar with. Most 2+2ers swear by it and most of the stat talk around here refers to it. You won't go wrong if you buy it.

PokerTracker by itself is very useful, however there are some add-ons that help you play. These applications project the PokerTracker statistics onto the poker window as you play:


1. PokerAce Hud. I'm pretty biased since I'm the developer of this application, but I think it's the best. It's still in early development, but everyone tells me it is pretty stable and it has nearly all the features of the competitors.

Find PokerAce Hud here: http://pokeracesoftware.com

2. PlayerView. Very similar to PokerAce Hud. This was one of the first, if not the first, HUD applications available. Some people have problems with it, some people don't. Your mileage may vary. Out of the three here, this is the only one that isn't free.

Find PlayerView here: http://playerview.net

3. GameTime+. GameTime+ gathers all your statistics and places them on one box for each player on the window. GameTime+ is especially good if you play on some of the smaller sites that PA Hud and PV don't support.

Find GameTime+ here: http://www.pokerdominion.com/


I recommend trying all of them and see which one you like the best, then go with that one. None of the poker sites seem to have a problem with these HUD applications, but like everything else in life, it's not guaranteed to stay that way.