GGPoker bans HUDs and trackers: what is still allowed, and what to do now

GGPoker used to tolerate trackers and HUDs that did not affect gameplay. After a security incident in which high-stakes players were spied on through compromised third-party software, it banned every third-party poker tool and automation tool on its client.

Disabling the HUD is not enough: GGPoker asks you to fully close these applications, background processes included, before you launch its client.

The rule targets tools that read game data or interact with your tables: trackers, HUDs, table managers, equity calculators and macro tools. GGPoker’s Security & Ecology Policy goes further and bans “any external software that supports, interacts with, augments, or manipulates a client”.

The ban applies now. What changes on December 1, 2026 is detection.

1. October 15, 2026

   Ban announced, with immediate effect, alongside new security features (Screen Guard, connection monitor, win-rate anomaly detection). Named tools: Jurojin, PokerTracker 4, Hand2Note, Holdem Manager 3, StarsCaption, DriveHUD 2, Intuitive Tables, Lobbyze, Equilab, AutoHotkey.

   GGPoker blog

2. October 23, 2026

   Start of the rollout of native table management in the client (table swapping, layout locking, focus management), meant to replace third-party table managers.

   GGPoker statement, reported by the press

3. October 29, 2026

   New version of the Security & Ecology Policy: zero tolerance for auxiliary software, rules on hand-history imports.

   GGPoker policy

4. Until November 30, 2026

   Transition period: no automatic warnings or penalties.

   GGPoker statement, reported by the press

5. December 1, 2026

   Automatic detection and in-client warnings: a flagged program must be closed at once. Ignoring repeated warnings can lead to restrictions, up to a permanent ban.

   GGPoker statement, reported by the press

6. 2027

   End of support for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and macOS 11 or earlier (no exact date yet).

   GGPoker blog

The December 1, 2026 date comes from a GGPoker statement relayed by several poker news sites; it is not in the original blog post. The policy also allows GGPoker’s security team to scan your device (section 1.10).

GGPoker bans third-party tools that run alongside its client, not studying poker. This is what stays possible:

Never open a study tool, a solver or a chart while you play: the policy treats it as real-time assistance, punished by a permanent ban and confiscation of funds. Section 2.3: “Referring to charts of any kind during play is strictly prohibited.”

This is the part many players miss. Closing your tracker during play is not enough to stay within the rules: the policy also covers what you do with your hands afterwards.

Section 7.2

Importing hand histories is allowed only to track your own play and results, and no third-party tool may import or convert hand histories from the tables or from PokerCraft.

Section 7.3

You may not give anyone access to your PokerCraft data or share your own hand histories with another party.

Section 7.1

Collecting hand histories other than your own is data mining, punished by losing PokerCraft access, a permanent ban and confiscation of funds.

Our reading: importing your GGPoker hands into Hand2Note or PokerTracker 4, even after the session, now goes against the policy. The wording names no exception for other tools either, including hand analysers.

Review your GGPoker hands in PokerCraft’s replayer, then look up the spots that bother you yourself in a solution library. You study the decision, not the file.

If GGPoker was your only room, the tracker has lost its main use. If you play elsewhere too, it still works there.

Where trackers are still allowed (checked on November 1, 2026)

PokerStars

Trackers allowed; stats that change automatically with the game state are banned. Hand2Note switches its dynamic and positional HUDs off there; the static HUD, notes and popups stay.

Winamax

Trackers allowed (PokerTracker and Holdem Manager are named); solvers, ICM and equity calculators and some dynamic Hand2Note features are banned.

iPoker, WPN, 888, partypoker

Hand2Note imports hand histories from these networks automatically; read each room’s current rules before you set up a HUD.

Rules change: read your room’s current terms before you install a HUD.

A HUD helped you spot leaks in your opponents. Without one on GGPoker, the edge moves to your own decisions, and those you work on away from the tables.

1. 1

   Pick two or three hands after each session

   In PokerCraft, keep the hands where you hesitated or lost a big pot. Write down the spot: positions, stacks, board, bet sizes.

2. 2

   Look the spot up in a solution library

   In GTO Wizard, find the same spot and compare your line with the solution. The free plan gives you 100 preflop spots and 1 postflop spot a day.

3. 3

   Drill it until it is automatic

   Replay the spot in the Trainer (10 hands a day on the free plan). Decisions you have drilled do not need a HUD.

4. 4

   Play against the population, not the stats

   Without per-player stats, rely on how the player pool at your stakes plays: who calls too much, who rarely bluffs the river. Note-taking and Smart HUD stay available in the client.

GTO Wizard is a study tool: close it before you open any poker client.

Study off the tables with GTO Wizard (free account)

Free plan, no time limit. Use it between sessions, never while you play.

What GTO Wizard’s free plan includes