[1][2] PokerTracker's software imports and parses the hand histories that poker sites create during online play and stores the resulting statistics/information about historical play into a local database library for self-analysis, and for in-game opponent analysis using a real-time Head-up display.

The company felt that discontinuing support of v2 would avail resources which could be dedicated to improving PT3 and providing exceptional customer service.

PokerTracker reads these files and extracts the relevant information, which it converts into a database for later review or statistical analysis.

[11] The software is capable of combining hand history details of multiple accounts from different online poker services, which allows a user to aggregate his or her data.

The situations it analyzes are conditional on the opposition's playing characteristics and the player's position relative to the dealer.

[19] One of the biggest improvements in PokerTracker 3 over PT2 is that it is fully customizable so that all statistics and reports can be tailored to the individual user.

[11][21] The Guardian claims most serious players use PokerTracker during online play to constantly calculate situational optima.

[22] PokerTracker 3 is also known for its integrated heads-up display, a transparent video overlay data presentation that makes statistics and notes are readily available during play.

The HUD provides a vast array of realtime statistics for in-game analysis, customizable to the user's preference.

TableTracker is an integrated service that automatically identifies ring tables with competition suitable to the user's playing style.

[10] Major online card rooms forbid the use of software that gives a player an "unfair advantage."

Since PokerTracker software doesn't fit into either of these categories it is generally allowed on most sites, including industry leader PokerStars.com.