diff --git a/pyfpdb/HandHistoryConverter.py b/pyfpdb/HandHistoryConverter.py
index 9b22f42b..9af87d62 100644
--- a/pyfpdb/HandHistoryConverter.py
+++ b/pyfpdb/HandHistoryConverter.py
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ class HandHistoryConverter:
         """Read file"""
         print "Reading file: '%s'" %(filename)
         if(self.filetype == "text"):
-            infile=codecs.open(filename, "rU", self.codepage)
+            infile=codecs.open(filename, "r", self.codepage)
             self.obs = infile.read()
             infile.close()
         elif(self.filetype == "xml"):