diff --git a/tracker/dmlc_tracker/local.py b/tracker/dmlc_tracker/local.py
index f8b1ae5d01..fcf7551f3b 100644
--- a/tracker/dmlc_tracker/local.py
+++ b/tracker/dmlc_tracker/local.py
@@ -22,9 +22,7 @@ def exec_cmd(cmd, role, taskid, pass_env):
     env['DMLC_ROLE'] = role
     env['DMLC_JOB_CLUSTER'] = 'local'
 
-    num_retry = 0
-    if 'DMLC_NUM_ATTEMPT' in env:
-        num_retry = env['DMLC_NUM_ATTEMPT']
+    num_retry = env.get('DMLC_NUM_ATTEMPT', 0)
 
     while True:
         if os.name == 'nt':