Winning Poker Network Configuration Guide (WPN)

PokerTracker 4 version 4.0.x
October 26, 2022
  • Overview

    PokerTracker 4 imports text hand histories that are saved to your computer by the Winning Poker Network 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 Winning Poker Network table(s).

    Winning Poker Network has both Windows and Mac versions, and both are supported by PT4.

    This guide is intended for users who wish to manually configure PokerTracker 4 to important hand histories from the Winning Poker Network, alternatively you may choose to use the automated Setup Assistant. For general information on the initial setup of PokerTracker 4, please consult the PokerTracker 4 Quick Start Guide.

  • Setup Assistant

    For most users, configuring the Winning Poker Network by using the Setup Assistant will be the most efficient method of preparing PokerTracker 4 for use with Winning Poker Network. 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 Winning Poker Network to Yes.

    Winning Poker Set Up

    There are a couple steps for configuring the Winning Poker Network using the Setup Assistant.

    • Step 2: You must tell PokerTracker 4 where the Winning Poker Network 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 Winning Poker Network Hand History Folder on your computer. Once this is configured correctly, click Next.

    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 Winning Poker Network folder, the import process may take some time. Please be patient and let PokerTracker 4 import all of your hands for optimal results.

  • Configuring Winning Poker Network
    • Hand Histories

      The Winning Poker Network client will automatically save hand histories and tournament summaries to designated directories on your hard drive. This is important so that PokerTracker 4 may grab information for the database.

      To see (or change) where your hand histories and tournament summaries are stored for the Winning Poker Network, do the following:

      1. From the Winning Poker Network lobby, click on Settings and then select Hand Histories.
      2. Please note the location where the Winning Poker Network is saving your hand histories and tournament summaries under Destination Folder.  PT4 can only locate the hand history folder automatically if the default location is used, as shown below (your skin name may vary).

    • Language

      The Winning Poker Network client must be installed in the English language. PokerTracker 4 currently only supports English and if the Winning Poker Network client is in another language it will cause problems.

      If you have your Winning Poker Network client installed in another language please uninstall and re-install, selecting English as the install language.

    • Preferred Seating

      You can choose the Preferred Seat in your Winning Poker Network poker room client to ensure that you are always placed in the same seat location at every table. To configure this, do the following:

      1. From the WPN client lobby, click Settings and then go to Preferred Seating.
      2. Select the table sizes you wish to alter and select your preferred seat at each.


         
      3. If you do not select a preferred seat WPN will display 'Default' in the configuration and will automatically seat you in the bottom center seat at tables of that size.
      4. Select the matching preferred seat setting for that table size in PT4 (Configure > Sites & Import Options > Site Configuration > Winning Poker Network).
        PT4 will match the default behaviour of displaying you in the bottom center seat if you do not set a preferred seat for a particular table size.
         
      5. Click OK

       

      NOTE: The Winning Poker Network does not write hand histories while you are seated and waiting for the blinds (i.e. not dealt in) which means the HUD will not appear until after the first hand is imported.

      Refer to the Preferred Seating Guide for more information.

    • HUD for Blitz Poker

      Users that play at Blitz tables may need to manually configure PT4.  To manually configure Blitz click Configure -> Site & Import Options from the main menu and select Winning Poker Network.
      Make sure that the option "Blitz HUD" is checked if you are playing at a Blitz table and want to use a HUD.

      Some notes about Blitz tables and PokerTracker 4:

      • The Hud will start working after the first hand is IMPORTED (not played).
      • For optimal results, please allow the importer to import any existing hand histories before playing at Blitz Poker tables to minimize the time it takes the HUD to begin working.
      • As always, make sure that both Winning Poker Network 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.
      • If the HUD does not appear at your Blitz tables please check whether PokerTracker 4 was able to automatically detect your hand history folders.
        Go to Configure -> Site & Import Options from the main menu and select Winning Poker Network.

        If you see "Winning Poker Network does not appear to be installed" then close PokerTracker 4, and uninstall and reinstall your Winning Poker Network software.
  • Manual Import Configuration for the Winning Poker Network

    PokerTracker 4 cannot import Winning Poker Network 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 the Winning Poker Network along the left side Poker Network list.

    Make sure Get Hands From Site While Playing is selected, or if you do not play on the Winning Poker Network then you can select Hide Site From Lists to hide it from view.

    Next, click Auto Detect to populate the path of the Winning Poker Network hand history and tournament summary directories.

    If Auto Detect does not add the hand history and/or tournament summary directory automatically you can add it manually by clicking Add and browsing to the appropriate folder.  You can see where Winning Poker Network hand histories are being saved by checking the configuration in the client software, as described in the Configuring Winning Poker Network section above.

    If you play Blitz poker then enable the Blitz HUD option and enter your screenname in the Hero Name field.

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

  • Known Issues While Playing

    There are some know issues while playing on the Winning Poker Network that all PokerTracker 4 users should be aware of:

    1. PokerTracker 4 cannot support "Sit Here" functionality because the player must be located in the same seat in all tables to allow the HUD to function correctly when an alternate seat is used.  Due to this issue PokerTracker 4 users who play on the Winning Poker Network should remain in their assigned seats at each table, or choose a system-wide Preferred Seat to assure the HUD functions correctly. 
    2. The online poker client software used by Winning Poker is sometimes licensed to other third party stand alone networks, such as BetCoin.  In theory, PokerTracker 4 supports the Winning Poker Network poker software client regardless of the network where the game takes place.  BetCoin and WPN are considered separate networks with their own player pools and unique player IDs, at the same time these two companies have chosen to unify their tournament pools to help create larger fields for their tournaments.  When the tournament pools are unified, this is called a Network Tournament.   Using BetCoin as the example and a username of "playerA" on the BetCoin network, when you join a network tournament it changes to "bcp-playerA" to avoid conflicts with any players from other networks that share the same client software. The home players, which are WPN do not have a prefix. The username is displayed the same way in the hand history for the tournament. However, if you are playing a local tournament or a local game within your network, you see your regular name.  PokerTracker's database will consider each player to be unique, the tracking for "playerA" and "bcp-playerA" will be separated due to the unique user names recorded in the hand history.  You can however choose to unify the two screen names by using the PokerTracker 4 Alias function.   
  • Mac OS X Compatibility

    As of May 2019 the Winning Poker Network has a Mac OS X compatable client which is identical to the Windows version, and the Mac OS X version of PT4 has the full functionality of the Windows version for WPN in v4.15.12 onwards.

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