How to Import Hand Histories (and Why the Import Failed)
An import that returns nothing gives you no clue why. There are about six reasons it happens, none of them interesting, and one of them is that you tidied up the filenames.
The two ways a tracker gets your hands
Watching a folder while you play. The tracker sits in the background, notices each file as your poker client writes it, and reads it within seconds. This is what makes a display on the table possible, and it only works with rooms that write files locally.
Reading files you already have. You point the tracker at a folder and it works through everything in it. Nothing has to be running, and it works with downloads, exports and files from years ago.
The second is the one that matters for reviewing your own game, and it's the only one that works on the rooms that export from a server. It's also the only one allowed on the sites that ban displays.
| Tracker | Where the import lives |
|---|---|
| PokerTracker 4 | Play Poker tab, then Get Hands From Disk |
| Hold'em Manager 3 | File, then Import Folder or Import Files |
| Hand2Note | Import in the main menu |
| Web-based tools | Upload the files or the folder |
Before you import
Three habits save most of the trouble below.
One folder per site, and leave the names alone. Trackers read filenames to work out which room wrote the file, which table it was, and sometimes what game. Renaming to something sensible is the most common way to break an import.
Unzip first. GGPoker and several others hand you an archive. A folder of zips imports as nothing at all.
Keep a copy somewhere else. Hands are the one thing you can't replay. A second copy off your poker computer costs nothing.
Why the import found nothing
Work down this list. It's roughly in order of how often each one is the answer.
The files were renamed. Covered above, and worth repeating because it's the single most common cause and the least obvious. Restore the original names if you still can.
The client wasn't in English. Poker clients write hand histories in whatever language they're set to, and trackers parse English. A localised client produces files that look perfectly normal and import as zero. Switch the client to English, and note that hands already written stay broken.
It's still a zip. Obvious once you've seen it. Invisible if your operating system displays archives as folders.
You're pointed at the wrong folder. Several rooms keep a folder per screen name, so the parent folder looks right and contains nothing importable at its own level. Point at the folder with the text files in it.
On a Mac, the files are inside the application. Ignition and its sister sites put hand histories inside the app bundle, and PokerTracker can't read from there. Right-click the app, choose Show Package Contents, and move the files somewhere ordinary first.
The hands are older than the room keeps them. If you downloaded an export, check it actually contains anything. GGPoker stops exporting past 90 days and Ignition past 7, and both will hand you an empty-looking file rather than an error.
Duplicates, and why anonymous sites make them worse
A tracker spots duplicates by matching hand identifiers. Import the same session twice and it skips the second copy without comment, which is the behaviour you want.
Anonymous sites break that. On Ignition and GGPoker there are no real player names, so trackers invent them at import. Take the same hands in by two different routes, say a live grabber and a download, and the invented names won't match. The tracker sees two versions of every hand and it can't reconcile them.
Pick one route per site and stay with it. If you want both, keep downloads in their own database.
Tournament summaries are a separate thing
Worth its own heading because trackers treat a missing one as a serious problem and most players don't know they exist.
A tournament summary is a second file holding your finishing position, prize and any bounties. The hand histories record how you played; the summary records what you won. Most rooms have a separate setting for each, with its own folder.
Import the hand histories first, then the summaries. Hold'em Manager in particular struggles to attach results if they arrive the other way round.
The database question
PokerTracker and Hold'em Manager both install PostgreSQL alongside themselves, which is a real database server running on your computer. When it works you never think about it. When it doesn't, you're troubleshooting a database rather than playing poker, and their support forums are full of exactly that.
It's the reason "role postgres does not exist" is a phrase a surprising number of poker players have typed into Google.
Web-based tools skip this entirely, because the database is on their side. That's most of the appeal, and it's the same reason they can work on a phone.
When it still won't go
Open one of the files in a text editor. It's plain text, and you'll see immediately whether it contains hands, whether they're in English, and whether the file is what you think it is.
That one check answers most remaining cases in about ten seconds, and it's worth doing before any support ticket.
For where the files live in the first place, see the room guides.
Educational only. No real-money play. 18+. On Google Play now; iPhone coming soon.
Frequently asked questions
How do I import hand histories into PokerTracker 4?
Open the Play Poker tab and choose Get Hands From Disk, then point it at the folder holding your files. That's the route for hands you already have. Auto-import is a separate setting that watches a folder while you play.
How do I import into Hold'em Manager 3?
File, then Import Folder or Import Files. For GGPoker and some other sites you need to import the hand histories before the tournament summaries, or the tournament results won't attach properly.
Why did my import find zero hands?
Most often the files were renamed, the poker client was running in a language other than English when they were written, or the download is still inside a zip. All three produce the same unhelpful result: nothing found, no reason given.
Can I rename my hand history files?
Don't. Trackers read the filenames to work out the site, the table and sometimes the game type. A tidy rename is the most common reason a folder full of perfectly good hands imports as nothing.
Why does my tracker say duplicate hands?
You've imported the same hands twice from two different routes, usually a live grabber and a download of the same sessions. On anonymous sites the two routes invent different opponent names, so the tracker can't tell they're the same hands.
Do I need PostgreSQL to import hands?
For PokerTracker and Hold'em Manager, yes, and it's installed alongside them. It's the single most common source of setup trouble with desktop trackers. Web-based tools skip it entirely because the database lives on their side.
Should I import play money hands?
No. The stakes aren't real, the players don't behave like players, and mixing them into your database drags every stat toward nonsense. Most trackers let you filter them out, and keeping them in a separate folder is easier.