Holdem Manager 3 vs. Poker Tracker 4 – Once and For All!

Playing Texas Holdem poker is becoming increasingly competitive, and the days when raising preflop and c-bet was enough to take down the money are gone. There is tons of information available on the Internet, and even the weaker players have some basic knowledge. Therefore, you should utilize every possible tool at your disposal to increase your edge.

This is why most successful players use additional poker software. The two most popular programs in this regard are Poker Tracker and Hold’em Manager. Both have advanced greatly, and their latest versions, PT 4 and HM 3, respectively, are exceptional tools that provide a significant advantage on and off the table.

You can use the software to extract your hand histories, analyze your game and plug leaks after the sessions. On top of that, you can use real-time stats of your opponents to find spots to exploit them while playing.

Simply put, using the proper poker tools is invaluable. This raises the logical question: Which program is the best? It’s certainly one of those two, and today, we will examine a couple of different factors and try to find out which one is the best.

Holdem Manager 3 vs. Poker Tracker 4 – Performance

Everybody who has used either of the two tools knows that they require some resources and are hardly the lightest programs out there. That is not a big problem if you have a dedicated poker PC, but if you are running it on your five-year-old laptop, you need to consider it. This is why I decided to see how the frameworks of both Poker Tracker 4 and Hold’em Manager 3 are built.

The former seems to be the clear winner here, as it uses less memory than HM3. Both programs use MySQL for their databases, but PT 4 sends a query each time you need some information. In contrast, Hold’em Manager 3 keeps the full info cached in memory, which is why the software is much slower.

1 point to Poker Tracker 4

Holdem Manager 3 vs. Poker Tracker 4 – User Interface

Since both programs have many features, sections, charts, and graphs, the user interface is quite significant. You will need some time to get used to both products, but Poker Tracker seems to be better in this category.

The color scheme of the layout is much more intuitive compared to HM3. On top of that, most of the menus and buttons of PT4 seem to be easier to understand. Of course, it’s a subjective matter, but it seems that most people learn to work with Poker Tracker 4 much faster.

1 point to Poker Tracker 4

Holdem Manager 3 vs. Poker Tracker 4 – Filters

One of the most important features of programs is the ability to add, remove, and edit filters. In fact, poker coaches charge people for merely showing them the proper configuration of Poker Tracker or Hold’em Manager.

This is why I decided to include this section and take a more in-depth look at the filters offered. I will also consider how easy it is to configure them.

To be fair, both programs are exceptional when it comes to filtering, which is probably the reason they are the two most popular products on the market. Let’s start with Hold’em Manager 3. Once again, the program is more intuitive compared to its competitors.

It offers plenty of different filters and premade sets. This saves time and gives each inexperienced user a good starting point when creating reports and searching for leaks in his game. If you want a more advanced look into these options, I have a great course covering how to find mistakes and analyze your game! Simply put, finding the correct filters with HM3 is fast and easy, and it is my preferred option.

However, Poker Tracker 4 shows some muscles in this category as well. While it lacks the simplicity and ease of use of HM3, it is more flexible in other areas. You can create your filters from scratch and use the “AND”, “NOT”, and “OR” functions to add, remove, or combine all kinds of conditions. While the process is much more time-consuming compared to HM3, it allows you to be more precise and break your reports in many situations. Obviously, this is handy in some areas, but 99% of players will not feel this advantage, and sticking with HM3 will be a faster and more natural option.

1 point to Holdem Manager 3

Holdem Manager 3 vs. Poker Tracker 4 – Heads Up Display (HUD)

The Heads Up Display, or simply HUD, is probably the main reason people use these programs. The feature provides real-time data for each player on the table and includes all the stats you have for your opponents. This provides an immense advantage, as you have very solid predictors of the behavior of each player on the table and can adjust your strategy accordingly.

Let us start with the HUD of Poker Tracker 4. It comes with a couple of predefined configurations that can help users who don’t have a clue. All the essential data is included, and you can quickly add/remove stats by drag-and-dropping individual data pieces. Another critical component is that you can quickly add color benchmarks that will indicate when a certain number is in the range you’re looking for. The overall impression is that Poker Tracker 4 has a robust HUD and will provide everything you need. Let’s move on to the competition and see how things stand with Hold’em Manager 3.

The first thing we noticed is that there are more default configurations of the HUD. This means that beginners will probably have an easier time finding a working setup. If you decide to customize the HUD, it’s a bit harder compared to PT4, and you will need more time to get hold of every option. However, the program has some excellent add-ons, such as notecaddy pop-ups. This is the difference-maker, as it enables you to get extremely powerful custom stats and could give you an extra edge on the table.

So, in my opinion, PT4 is easier to use, but when you understand nuances of these apps HM3 gives you more options and that what matters at the end.

1 point to Holdem Manager 3

Holdem Manager 3 vs. Poker Tracker 4 – Additional Poker Software

Both Poker Tracker 4 and Hold’em Manager 3 have a bunch of extra applications that work with the main software and track poker hands. They are related to finding leaks, easier multi-tabling, odds calculation, having advanced stats and many more.

This is probably the area where there is the biggest difference between the two programs. Simply put, Poker Tracker 4 decided to add plenty of additional tools that are free to use while Hold’em Manager’s add-ons come at a price. As you could expect, the paid versions are much better and are worth it, if you have the desire to invest. The tools of PT4 are not bad, but are way more limited and won’t have such a significant impact on your game.

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1 point to Holdem Manager 3

So Hold’Em Manager 3 or Poker Tracker 4?

It’s time to draw the line and see which tracking software is better. To be fair, both have their advantages, but the match ended 3:2 with a slight edge of Holdem Manager 3.

In my opinion, HM3 is slightly better and prevails if you are ready to pay for the extra tools that come with the program and want more powerful options. Moreover, it gives you more advantages for cash games and probably even MTTs, but if you are playing Spin & Goes than PT4 will help you more.

So in the end, you should choose based on your preferred game, but my vote goes to HM3.

Both Holdem Manager 3 and Poker Tracker 4 have FREE TRIALS, so you can get both and see for yourself!