By Paul Ellis

PokerSoftware.com

The biggest buzz in the poker software industry in recent weeks has been the imminent releases of the next generation of PokerTracker and Hold’em Manager. Holding a sizeable portion of the poker tracking market, PokerTracker and Hold’em Manager have long been the Coke vs. Pepsi of our industry.

Now, the two companies have revealed highly exciting news, giving online poker players who have been impacted so deeply by the events of Black Friday something to look forward to: new platforms in the form of PokerTracker 4 and Hold’em Manager 2.

The announcements of PokerTracker 4 and Hold’em Manager 2 have been met with scores of positive reviews from the online poker industry, as users have been yelling for the next generation of online poker data management programs. Both of the programs feature massive redesigns based on player input and feature tremendous improvements in countless areas to bring their programs to the next level.

The new programs have really upped the ante when it comes to the data management programs on the marketplace. In total, PoekrTracker and Hold’em Manager have truly separated themselves as the industry leaders.

The player involvement in building PokerTracker 4 and Hold’em Manager 2 has resulted in very player-centric clients that users will really love. But given that neither company has released its final product, there still remains plenty of time for players to look at and try out the alpha and beta versions. Along the way, testers can provide commentary and suggestions for additional modifications.

“We are now interpreting the vision of the players to the best of our abilities by showing them video previews of the application in development,” Steven McLoughlin of PokerTracker told PokerSoftware.com. “Our users can see what the program is going to look like based on their suggestions and then we’re going to comb through every single piece of feedback that we get and revise our software accordingly.”

A press release distributed by PokerTracker officials added, “The developers of PT4 believe that tracking software should augment, but never interfere with, the user’s playing experience – the interface and HUD are crisp, clean and without clutter while maintaining a vast amount of data available at the touch of a player’s fingertips.” Both Mac and Windows versions of PokerTracker will be available.

Hold’em Manager shares the same approach of user involvement by having a private forum on its site for alpha testers where users can chat and offer suggestions and feedback. The Holdem Manager staff has been very interactive with each of the posters and very quick to resolve any problems that any alpha program is bound to have. The result has been a program that is going to make any online poker player happy.

The Beta versions of both PokerTracker 4 and Hold’em Manager 2 are close to release, meaning that the final products may be available to the general public in a matter of months. Online poker players finally have something to smile about again, as the poker software industry has been revolutionized and changed for the better. And it’s all because the players have asked for the best. Now, they’re going to get it.