If you play on Winamax, every cash game hand can be saved in a hand history: a text file with the cards, the actions and the result. It's the raw material for studying your game with data instead of gut feeling.
This guide explains how to get to those files and what to do with them, without paying for a tracker.
1. Make sure they're being saved
Winamax can save your hand histories on your computer. Look in the client's settings for the hand history section and check that saving is turned on. The details change between client versions, so trust what you see on screen rather than a path from memory.
Only the hands you play from that moment on are saved: if you've just turned it on, play a session before carrying on.
2. Find the files
Hand histories are .txt files, usually one per table and session. If you don't know where they are, check the
folder shown in the client's own settings, or the help inside Flopmortem, under "Import hands", which explains where
each site saves its files.
If you open one in Notepad, you'll see that each hand starts with Winamax Poker -, followed by the table type and
the hand number. You don't need to understand the rest: it's just a way to check you have the right file.
3. Analyze them for free
Reading the files by hand is only worth it for a single hand. What's useful is processing them all together with Flopmortem:
- Create an account (free).
- In Import hands, upload your Winamax
.txtfiles. Duplicate hands aren't counted twice, so you can upload the whole folder again whenever you like. - Look at the summary: your stats by position, compared with references for 6-max and full ring, with their margin of error. Flopmortem only flags a leak when the sample is big enough.
From Winamax, Flopmortem reads NL Hold'em cash hands, including Go Fast tables. Tournaments, sit & gos and other games such as Omaha are skipped. And if you also play on other sites (PokerStars, 888poker, iPoker or ACR), you can put it all together in the same analysis.
4. What to look at first
Once your hands are imported, start with preflop: your VPIP and your PFR. A big gap between the two is often the first leak at low stakes. To know what to check next, read how to find your leaks in cash games.
And remember that a number based on few hands is misleading. Before changing anything, check how many hands you need to trust your stats.
5. A detail about the hands
Sites don't record everything the same way. For example, Winamax doesn't write down the bet nobody calls, and it sometimes adds it to what you win. Flopmortem returns it to you and works out the rake the same way for every site, so your numbers can be compared across them.
Use it after playing, not during
Flopmortem is not a solver or a tool to use at the table. Many sites ban real-time assistance tools. Analyze your hand histories after each session: that's what the rules allow, and it's also when you study best.