How to Import Live Hands into PokerTracker 4 (Step-by-Step)
You played a live tournament session, logged your hands, and exported them in PokerStars text format. Now what? Getting those hand history files into PokerTracker 4 is the step that turns raw hand data into something you can actually study. Once your hands are in PT4, you can filter by position, street, action, and every other dimension the software is built for. If you have been looking for a clear guide on how to import hands into PokerTracker 4 from live play, this is it.
For the full picture on exporting live hands to all major analysis tools — including HM3 and Hand2Note — see our complete export and import guide.
The whole process takes under two minutes once you know the steps. Here is exactly how to do it.
What You Need Before You Start
Before you open PT4, make sure you have the following ready:
- A hand history file in PokerStars text format (.txt). This is the de facto standard accepted by PokerTracker 4 and other leading analysis tools. If you logged your hands with a tool that exports in this format — like LiveHands — you already have what you need. The file contains every action, card, position, and bet size from each hand in a structured format PT4 can parse.
- PokerTracker 4 installed and running. PT4 is available for Windows and Mac. If you have not set it up yet, PokerTracker offers a 14-day free trial with full functionality. Once installed, PT4 will prompt you to create a database on first launch — accept the defaults and you are good to go.
- Your .txt file saved to a known location on your computer. Transfer it from your phone (email, AirDrop, Google Drive, direct file share — whatever works for your setup) and note the folder where you saved it.
That is everything. PT4 handles PokerStars format natively, so there is no conversion step, no reformatting, and no third-party tools required.
Step-by-Step: Import Your Live Hands into PT4
Step 1: Open PokerTracker 4 and Go to the Import Menu
Launch PT4 and click the "Play Poker" button in the top toolbar. From the dropdown, select "Get Hands From Disk." This opens the manual import dialog — the feature built for exactly this situation.
You can also access this from the import icon in the bottom-right corner of the PT4 window.
Step 2: Select Your Hand History File
In the import dialog, click "Select Files." A standard file browser opens. Navigate to the folder where you saved your .txt hand history file, select it, and click "Open."
You can select multiple files at once if you exported several sessions — PT4 will process them all in one pass.
If you saved all your hand history files in a dedicated folder, you can import the entire directory instead of selecting individual files. This is useful if you have built up several sessions worth of exports.
Step 3: Confirm and Start the Import
Click "OK" to begin the import. PT4 reads the PokerStars-format file, parses every hand, and loads the data into your database.
You can watch the import progress in the bottom-left corner of the PT4 window. For a typical live session — say 10 to 30 hands — the import finishes almost instantly. Larger batches take longer, but even hundreds of hands process in seconds.
Step 4: Verify Your Hands Imported Correctly
Once the import completes, go to your "View Stats" tab and filter for the relevant date or session. You should see your live hands listed with full detail: positions, stacks, bet sizes, cards, and results — everything you logged at the table, now fully indexed in your PT4 database.
Check a few hands to confirm the data looks right. Open one and verify the action matches what you remember. If everything checks out, you are done — your live hands are now part of your PT4 database, ready for the same analysis you run on your online hands.
Setting Up Auto-Import for Future Sessions
If you regularly import live hand files, PT4's auto-import feature saves you from repeating the manual steps each time.
Go to "Play Poker" and select "Get Hands While Playing." You can configure PT4 to watch a specific folder on your computer for new hand history files. Whenever you drop a new .txt export into that folder, PT4 picks it up automatically.
This is worth setting up if you play live sessions every week. Create a dedicated folder — something like "LiveHands Exports" — and always save your exported files there. PT4 does the rest.
Tips for a Clean Import Workflow
Transfer your files the same way every time. Whether you use email, AirDrop, Google Drive, or a direct file share to get the .txt file from your phone to your computer, pick one method and stick with it. A consistent workflow means you never lose a session's worth of data because you forgot where you put the file.
Name your files descriptively. If your hand logging tool does not name files automatically, rename them with the date and event — something like 2026-03-15-venetian-daily.txt. Six months from now, you will be glad you can find a specific session without opening every file.
Do not worry about duplicates. PT4 handles duplicate hands automatically. If you accidentally import the same file twice, PT4 recognizes the hands it has already processed and skips them. You can confirm this in the import dialog — a "Duplicates" counter shows how many hands were already in your database.
Keep your original files as backup. Once PT4 imports your hands, the data lives in the PT4 database. The original .txt files are no longer needed for day-to-day use — but it is good practice to keep them in case you ever need to rebuild your database or import into a different tool.
What You Can Do After Import
With your live hands in PT4, you now have access to the same analysis capabilities you use for your online game:
- Filter by position to find leaks in how you play from the blinds, cutoff, or button.
- Review specific streets to see your flop c-bet frequency, turn aggression, or river folding tendencies.
- Run reports across multiple sessions to spot patterns that a single hand review would miss.
- Use the HUD data — even retroactively — to understand your own tendencies over a meaningful sample of live hands.
The more sessions you import, the more useful PT4 becomes. A single session gives you hands to review. Ten sessions give you data to analyze. Over time, your live database starts to look like your online one — and that is when real study begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PT4 accept PokerStars format from sources other than PokerStars?
Yes. PokerTracker 4 parses the PokerStars text format regardless of where the file came from. If the file is formatted correctly, PT4 imports it — whether it was exported from a hand logging app or downloaded from an online poker site.
How many hands can I import at once?
There is no practical limit. You can import a single hand or thousands at a time. For live players, a typical session of 10–30 hands imports in seconds.
Will importing large batches slow down PT4?
For the volumes typical of live play — even a full year of weekly sessions — the import is fast and PT4 handles it without issue. Slowdowns are more relevant for online players importing hundreds of thousands of hands. Live hand volumes rarely reach that scale.
I do not see my hands after import. What went wrong?
Check your filters in the "View Stats" tab. PT4 may be filtering by game type, stake level, or date range that excludes your newly imported hands. Reset your filters to "All" and look again. If the hands still do not appear, confirm the .txt file is in valid PokerStars format by opening it in a text editor — the first line of each hand should start with "PokerStars Hand #" followed by the hand details.
Getting live hands from the table into your study workflow starts with capture. LiveHands lets you log hands at the table between deals and export them in PokerStars text format — ready to import into PokerTracker 4. Try it free for 7 days.