Poker Tracker Help Needed

[GailMI]

I'm hoping that I'm safe to post an idiotic question if I put it in this section. I've been playing (online and B&M) for a few years, have read several books on small stakes limit holdem (that's all I really play) and have made a decent profit for the past year or so. (Mainly chasing bonuses.) But I've never used Poker Tracker. My last couple of bonus-clearing sessions on Party have been barely profitable even with the bonus, so I've decided I want to analyze my game a little better and am thinking about finally getting Poker Tracker.

So, here’s my question. Does the thing come with some really good, step-by-step instructions for setting it up? I downloaded the trial version and was able to import my 1,000 hands (at least it appears that I have), IN SPITE of the fact that I really didn’t know what I was doing. If I’m going to buy the program, I’d like to understand how it works, though. I’m assuming that I can get it set up so that it automatically downloads hands that I play on Party? My program/computer abilities run in the “not-quite-a-total-idiot” to “can usually figure out a program if I’m given decent support” range. My conceptual mathematical abilities are on the low to low-normal side.

Given the above limitations, can anybody give me a reasonable prediction as to whether or not I’m going to get clear enough instructions with this program to make it worth my while?

One more question—once you get it set up for a site, can you just click on a player and it will give you that players stats—or do you have to go to the list and look the player up? That’s not quite as important to me, though, as is finding out how Poker Tracker rates MY play and where MY leaks are.

I realize this is a newbie-idiot question, but I’d appreciate some input.

[buffett]

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whether or not I’m going to get clear enough instructions

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Goodness, yes. If all us idiots can figure it out, surely you can, too. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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can you just click on a player and it will give you that players stats

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I don't follow you when you say "click on a player"....please be more specific about where exactly you are clicking.
-web

[GailMI]

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can you just click on a player and it will give you that players stats

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I don't follow you when you say "click on a player"....please be more specific about where exactly you are clicking.
-web

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Well, I guess I just need to get it running and work with it. My question, I guess, is--how hard is it WHILE you are at the table to see your opponent's stats? Do you have to refer to the PT list, or are the stats for the people at that table more readily available?

My other problem is trying to figure out where my hands are stored so that I can import them. Actually, I think I just sort of stumbled upon them when I imported my initial 1000 hands. But I guess that's sort of how I manuever most programs--I just stumble around until whatever I'm trying to achieve sort of "happens." [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[SheridanCat]

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I'm hoping that I'm safe to post an idiotic question if I put it in this section.


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You've come to the right place.

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So, here’s my question. Does the thing come with some really good, step-by-step instructions for setting it up?


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Hmmm, well, there are guides you can buy to help you get started, but I'm also pretty sure you can find plenty of tutorials at the Poker Tracker forum..

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If I’m going to buy the program, I’d like to understand how it works, though.


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Poker Tracker can give you so much information, it's hard to understand it all.

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I’m assuming that I can get it set up so that it automatically downloads hands that I play on Party?


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PartyPoker now saves your hand histories to your hard drive automatically, so all you have to do is point PT at your hand history directory and it will load them in automatically - even while you're playing. You can setup how often it should read the histories; that period can be as low as 1 minute.

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Given the above limitations, can anybody give me a reasonable prediction as to whether or not I’m going to get clear enough instructions with this program to make it worth my while?


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If you get stuck, all you have to do is either ask or, better yet, run a search on the Poker Tracker forums. Any question you have has been answered, I promise.

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One more question—once you get it set up for a site, can you just click on a player and it will give you that players stats—or do you have to go to the list and look the player up?


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Well, yes, you can just click an opponent's name and get a number of useful stats, but that's not the normal way to do it. Usually you would get a HUD (Heads-Up Display) program that will overlay an opponents stats on the table as you play. The HUD reads the PT database and can update the stats in nearly realtime.

PT also has a built-in "Game Time" window that lets you do things similar to the HUD but you have to set it up manually. Getting an automatic HUD like Poker Ace or Gametime+ is the easier and more accurate way to go.

I have a rant about why I don't really think Poker Tracker is useful for the casual player, but I'll not bother pulling that out now. If you are analyzing enough hands, it can be a useful tool for looking at your own game.

Regards,

T