PokerStars Configuration Guide

PokerTracker 4 version 4.0.x
March 16, 2023
  • Overview

    PokerTracker 4 imports text hand histories that are saved to your computer by the PokerStars poker client. Once imported, these hands are stored within PostgreSQL and made available for review and analysis in your PT4 database. This process must be correctly configured so that PokerTracker 4 can retrieve these hand histories and also display the Heads Up Display (HUD) on your PokerStars table(s) correctly.

    This guide is intended for users who wish to manually configure PokerTracker 4 to important hand histories from PokerStars, alternatively you may choose to use the automated Setup Assistant. Both options (manual configuration and the Setup Assistant) are simple, but users may prefer using the Setup Assistant for initial configuration.  For general information on the initial setup of PokerTracker 4, please consult the PokerTracker 4 Quick Start Guide.

  • Setup Assistant

    For most users, configuring PokerStars by using the Setup Assistant will be the most efficient method of preparing PokerTracker 4 for use with PokerStars. The Setup Assistant was created to help users automate the configuration of PokerTracker 4 without the need to manually configure your poker environment. To begin the Setup Assistant, simply click Tools > Setup Assistant from the main toolbar. Click the Configure Sites option and turn PokerStars to Yes. (Users who play Zoom will need to configure PokerTracker 4 manually)

    PokerStars PT4 Configuration

    There are a couple steps for configuring PokerStars using the Setup Assistant.

    • Step 2: You must tell PokerTracker 4 where PokerStars saves its hand histories. You can use the Auto Detect option to let PokerTracker 4 automatically find where the hand histories are being written. This can be also done manually by going to “Add” and pointing PT4 to the PokerStars Hand History Folder on your computer. We recommend you also add the PokerStars Tournament Summary folder at the same time to assure that accurate results will be available in the event you play any PokerStars tournaments. Once this is configured correctly, click Next.
    • Step 3: To assure proper HUD placement, you must also configure your seating preferences in PokerTracker 4 to match your seating preferences on PokerStars. A preferred seat is the seat location you automatically sit at when you sit down at a table. PokerTracker 4 must know your preferred seat to ensure that the HUD correctly displays while you are playing. PokerTracker's staff recommends using the Auto-Center preferred seating option while playing at PokerStars, the Auto-Center preferred seat is enabled by default for all new PokerStars installations.  To configure PokerTracker 4 to Auto-Center the HUD, make sure PokerStars is setup to auto-center your seating, and then turn the Auto-Center 

      If instead you wish to define your own a preferred seat on PokerStars, make sure the button says “Yes”, and the Auto-Center option is set to "No". (If you do not wish to define an preferred seat, please set both of these options to “No”).

      If possible,
      PokerTracker will import the preferred seating selection for you from PokerStars, if this cannot occur then simply push Change next to each table type and select the seat in the graphical interface where you automatically sit at while playing.  

    PokerStars Preferred Seat

     

    Simply push Change next to each table type and select the seat in the graphical interface where you automatically sit at while playing.  Once you have configured your seat preference for each table size correctly, click Next

    PokerTracker 4 PS Seats

     

    The final step gives you the option to import existing hand histories. It is recommended that you select yes, choose the database where you want PokerTracker 4 to import the existing hand histories, and then click OK

    Tip: If you have a lot of hand histories saved in your PokerStars folder, the import process may take some time. Please be patient and let PokerTracker 4 import all of your hands for optimal results.

  • Configuring PokerStars
     
    • Hand Histories

      You must configure the PokerStars client to save hand histories to a designated directory on your hard drive.  This step is required to allow PokerTracker 4 to import the hand histories for the database and display the HUD. 

      To save your Hand Histories on PokerStars, do the following:

      1. From the PokerStars lobby, click on Settings Playing History >  Hand History.

      2. Check Save My Hands History.

      3. Set the Language option to English. 
        Hands in languages other than English will not import into PokerTracker 4.

      4. Please note the default location where PokerStars is saving your hand histories under Where To Save.

      5. Click OK to save the settings.

      6. Ensure that the hand history folder is configured in PokerTracker 4.

      PokerStars Hand History Options

      Saving PokerStars Hand Histories

       

    • Hotkeys

      In order ­to use PokerStars hotkeys while the PokerTracker 4 Hud is running you must run PokerStars as administrator.

      To do this right click the shortcut that you use to launch the PokerStars application and choose Properties

      Click Advanced and then enable the “Run as administrator” option and click OK.

    • Tournament Summaries

      You must configure the PokerStars client to save Tournament Summaries to a designated directory on your hard drive.  This step is required to allow PokerTracker 4 to import tournament results, without summaries your tournament results will be incomplete.  

      To save your Tournament Summaries in PokerStars, do the following:

      1. From the PokerStars lobby, click on Options > Playing History >  Tournament Summaries.

      2. Check Save My Tournament Summaries.

      3. Set the Language option to English. 
        Tournament Summaries in languages other than English will not import into PokerTracker 4.

      4. Please note the default location where PokerStars is saving your hand histories under Where To Save.

      5. Click OK to save the settings.

      6. Ensure that the tournament summary folder is configured in PokerTracker 4.

      PokerStars Windows Tournament Summary Options

      PokerStars Tournament Summaries

       
    • Language

      The PokerStars client must be configured to use the English language. PokerTracker 4’s hand history importer only supports the English language, PokerTracker 4 cannot read hand histories saved in any language other than English. 

      To configure the Language in PokerStars, do the following:

      1. From the PokerStars lobby, select Options > Global > Language. Set Play in to English.

      2. If you play tournaments then you should also set the Email in language as English. Select Options > Global >Language. Set EMAIL IN to English.

      PokerStars Language Options

    • Preferred Seating

      You might choose to use the Preferred Seat option in your PokerStars client (so that you are always placed in the same seat location at every table). 

      To configure Preferred Seating in PokerStars:

      1. From the PokerStars lobby, click Options > Table Appearance > Preferred Seat.
      2. For the best performance, it is advised that you select Always Auto-Center me. Alternatively you can select Don't Auto-Center me and instead select each table type from the display below, and then click to define your preferred seat(s)
      3. Click OK

      Setting Preferred Seating On PokerStars

    • Enabling the Zoom Poker HUD

      Users that play at Zoom tables may need to manually configure PokerTracker 4.  To manually configure Zoom click Configure -> Site & Import Options from the main menu and select PokerStars (click here if you need help manually configuring PokerStars).  Make sure that the option "Enable Zoom HUD" is checked if you are playing at Zoom table and want to use a HUD.  Click OK to save your settings.

      PokerStars ZOOM HUD

      Also make sure that the PokerStars software is installed in English, not just writing hand histories in English.
       
      macOS Users - In order for the Zoom HUD to be able to work, PokerTracker must set up a PokerStars configuration file. If you see this message when you launch PokerTracker please enter your system password to allow the file to be created:
       
      Tip! If the HUD does not work at your Zoom tables after this please follow these steps:
      - Delete the PokerStars app from Applications.
      - Download a new installer from the PokerStars website and install it.
      - On macOS 14 and later add PokerTracker 4 to Privacy & Security > App Management.
      - Launch PT4 first so that the configuration can be added to PokerStars, and then launch PokerStars.
       

      Notes about Zoom tables and PokerTracker 4:

      • For optimal results, please allow the importer to import any existing hand histories before playing at Zoom Poker tables to minimize the time it takes the HUD to begin working.
      • As always, make sure that both PokerStars and PokerTracker 4 are not open before you install any updates to PokerTracker 4. To be safe, it can be helpful to reboot your system before updating.
      • Some personal Firewalls may conflict with the Zoom HUD from operating, please see the Firewall Troubleshooting Guide for more information.
  • Manual Import Configuration for PokerStars

    PokerTracker 4 cannot import PokerStars hand histories or display the Heads Up Display (HUD) in real-time while playing without prior configuration. You can easily do this by clicking Configure in the application menu, and then select Site & Import Options. View the Site Configuration tab and choose PokerStars along the left side Poker Network list.

    Windows Import Configuration

    Poker Tracker 4 Poker Stars Configuration

    Mac Import Configuration

    PokerStars Import Configuration

    Make sure Get Hands From Site While Playing is selected, or if you do not play on PokerStars then you can select Hide Site From Lists to hide it from view.
    Next, click Auto Detect to populate the path of the PokerStars Hand History Directories.
    Finally set up your preferred seating or select Auto-Center to override the preferred seating option and instead always display the Hero at the bottom center of the table if applicable. Choose to enable the Zoom HUD (Windows only), and enable the Memory grabber to allow prefetching of hand histories as required. 

    If you need more help, please consult the Importing Hand Histories tutorial for more information.

    • Memory Grabber

      The Memory Grabber is a special feature that integrates with the PokerStars application to grab hands that reside in memory.  It pulls in a select number of prior hands from the PokerStars client memory so that the PokerTracker 4 HUD can populate with results the moment you sit at a table.  Any users experiencing performance issues should disable the Memory Grabber for improved results.

      This feature does not work with the Zoom tables.

  • PokerStars Audit files

    The best way to import all of your tournament results into PokerTracker 4 is to configure tournament summaries to import as described in the Tournament Summaries section above.

    However, if you have tournaments that were played before you started using PokerTracker, or if you have hand histories for tournaments from before you enabled tournament summaries then you can request an 'audit' file from the PokerStars lobby using their automated system, and import this into PT4.
    Audit files only contain limited information, but they can help fill in gaps in your results.

    To request an audit file go to Tools > History & Stats > Playing History Audit in the PokerStars lobby.

    Be sure to select 'Text (CSV)' for the file format as this is the format that PokerTracker 4 supports.

    Follow the directions to download your audit file to your computer, and then you can import it using Get Hands From Disk on the Play Poker page in PT4 (Guide).

  • Importing hands played on PokerStars Mobile

    If you play on PokerStars Mobile and wish to import your hands into PokerTracker 4 you can request your hand histories by email using the PokerStars App.

    1. To do that go to the Account section in the app and tap on History.
    2. On the History page tap on Hand History.
    3. On the Hand History page, select the hands that you would like to request.

    When you receive the hand histories by email you can either import them directly from email using Get Hands From Email, or save the content of the email to a plain text file and import that using Get Hands From Disk.

    Tip! When saving to a file be sure to use a plain text editor - the file must not have any formatting or additional line breaks.

    Guide: Manually Importing Hand Histories

  • HUD Flicker

    If PokerStars is configured to popup your poker tables when action is required this can introduce a slight flicker to the Heads Up Display (HUD) which some users may feel is an annoyance.

    If this affects you then the option can be disabled by going to Settings > Gameplay > Multi-Tabling in PokerStars and turning off the 'Popup table whenever user action is required' option.
    Be sure to click 'Apply Changes' to save your change, and then click OK to close.

    This option is only necessary when stacking tables.

    This happens as the PokerStars window is forcing itself on top of the HUD and thus the HUD must rapidly correct this by forcing itself back on top.