Vegas Poker Blog

Online poker refers to poker games played over the Internet. Online poker games increased the number of poker players all over the world. Playing online poker game is much easier than playing the game in the traditional land casinos. Some online poker websites also offer poker freerolls, which allows player to play without any entry fees, to attract new players. Most of the online poker rooms are player-friendly than the conventional poker games and allow players to play poker at very low cost. The software used for the online poker game gives on-time information on which player’s turn is next. Online poker sites also offer tournaments known as satellites. The winners of these satellite tournaments can gain the entry to real life poker tournaments.

There is a considerable difference between conventional and online poker games. There are more physical considerations in the conventional poker games than online poker games. For example, in the conventional poker games, the players are not allowed to sit across from each other so as to avoid any chance of observing the fellow players body language and reactions. On the other hand, in online poker games, the players can focus more intensely on the betting patterns and reaction time instead of focusing more on the physical considerations. Another main difference of conventional and online poker games lies in the rate of play. In the conventional poker games, the average rate of play is low, some 30 hands per hour, as there is more time needed for card collection, shuffling, and dealing the cards after every hand. Such a delay is not there in online poker games as the dealing, shuffling, and counting chips is done by the computer itself. Hence the play is much faster in the online poker game. In online poker, the average hands per hour will be around 60 to 80. In the conventional poker game, the players can increase their earnings only by increasing their limit. But in online poker games, the players can increase their earnings also by playing more tables. Most of the online poker rooms allow players to play multiple tables at a time, which is almost impossible in the conventional poker games.

Nowadays there are several online poker schools which teach the game rules, strategies, and how to play poker. Due to the compatibility and easiness of learning and playing, online poker games are getting more popular than the conventional poker games.

With strong ties to Ëœbrick and mortar casinos, this weeks review of titanpoker.com. which is part of the Kahnawake Indian tribes of Canada, turned up some interesting things.

In an effort to establish where they were based, I had to read a whole lot of fine print and then do a bit of googling to boot. And, outside of finally working out they are in Canada, I learned it pays to read all those disclaimers. So many times, I know we dont all bother to read the agreements, but from now on, I certainly will.

One of their rules, which I found somewhat worrisome, is on big cash outs. If you win a big game of, say, $20,000, you cant get at that money very easily. You can only withdraw up to $5000 per month. They do say this applies to all winnings over $20,000 in a month as well as a single game. They also add that in any dispute regarding wagers or winnings, their final word will be binding. Hmmm. And even though great privacy is advertised and promise on the downloads page that they dont release information to third parties, the small print also says they will always release information to third parties. And, a little bit further down, I read (and this really isnt any thing new) that they can change the rules any time they feel like it. But, hey ¦you dont need to have a credit card for this site. Feeling a little insecure? I was. There are a great many testimonials saying its the best website with the best customer service online, etc. so maybe Im reacting a wee bit much ¦so back to the site itself.

They graphics are really good, and it is as clean of a web design as Ive seen. Very crisp and easy to read without so many of the usual bells and whistles. Very refreshing! The background is all white and its a super easy to read. I couldnt get to a game table without setting up an account so never saw one, but Ill assume the clean quality bleeds over there as well. The preview looked great and very realistic too.

There arent any big poker names associated with the site, but they do promise you that Joanna Krupa, worlds leading swimsuit model, plays at the site.

Now, I wish I hadnt read the small print so thoroughly!

I have to admit that reviewing partypoker.com was one of the easier things to do since it was the first poker site I ever used. Its still one of the best and I go back there often.

Partypoker is huge and does up to $250 million per month. It has 17 million players, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a Gibraltar listed gaming company. Theyre a subsidiary of partygaming.com.

Once youre past the download (theres a bit of a problem with firewalls that has to be worked out but their help desk was fast and friendly), the site is smooth as silk as and so much more user friendly than some of the other poker sites. If you are a beginner, there are plenty of tutorials which are a breeze and if you are a seasoned player, you can jump right in with ease.

Partypoker has long been #1 and once you on the site, you quickly see why. Your account is fast and easy to manage and with so many variations and tables, you can quickly get going on one or more tables.

I particularly love the table graphics because they are easier to read, and have an elegant feel to them. In other words, these guys know what theyre doing! In some ways, the site is like a poker mall ¦with everything from blogs to tutorials on the game itself to WSOP standings to online tournament announcements (the $1 million guaranteed wins on Sundays are intriguing!). Once you start on partypoker, they really try to make sure you dont go elsewhere.

One of the features I especially like is the ability to create private rooms. Ive been playing in a weekly game recently on pokerparty with friends I used to play with in real life. Were all spread to the winds these days, but we have a great time meeting up once a week now. We rotate the times around a little to accommodate some bizarre time zones some of us live in, but outside of missing out on some good community cooking for the old weekly games, this is as close to the real thing as it gets.

If youve never tried partypoker, give it a shot. We all get happy with our favorites sites but if this one isnt yours, go have a look. You wont be sorry at all!

POKERROOM.COM

The Facts

Pokerroom.com was formed in 1999 and is based out of Costa Rica. They offer the top no-download games on the net. They are user friendly to both Mac and PC users and the downloaded version is 3D. The list of games is the standard limit , no limit Texas Holdem; Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo; 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo; the new standard BlackJack option; and they are one of the few to offer 5 Card Draw. They have an associate casino that offers all the typical casino games as well.

The Tournaments

Pookerroom.com has a daily schedule of tournaments that flow from $3 to $30 buy ins. They have a good assortment of qualifiers and satellites into larger tournaments and daily freerolls. They have a feature tournament board that offers probably the biggest selection of any poker room. The weekly welcome series is for new depositors and the Centurion Cup is a series to gain points as well as cash on a weekly basis. They offer guaranteed tournaments with minimum prize pools of $4000 to $50,000. On Saturdays they have a $300+20 buy in called the Big Deal that guarantees a pool of $80,000. They also have Bounty tournaments and weekly features that get good crowds so the pay days are more than up to other sites pay outs.

Deposit/Withdrawal/Bonus Info

Pookrroom.com has a first time deposit bonus right now that is capped at $300 for a 50% add on to your first deposit. Methods of deposit are Visa, Mastercard, NETeller, Firepay, 900Pay, PrePaid ATM, MoneyBookers, Delta, Switch, and Instacash. Cash out options are NETeller, Firepay, PrePaid ATM, and check. They are considered one of the top 5 poker rooms as far as security and have no documented problems since they opened their tables. They have a rewards points program that pays back cash or re buys to players that earn 100 points or more. Points are earned for every raked hand played.

Competition

The player competition is basically soft under the $5/10 no limit tables but above and in the bigger tournaments you cant expect to do a lot of fishing. In some of the lower tables the flop shown percentage runs in the 40s and in some cases at full tables can reach as high as 60. It is good place to learn and practice with easy graphics and tools that keep the games as equal as possible, depending on the experience at the table. Peak hour traffic at the ring tables can reach over 4000 players and the tournaments have gotten over 15,000. Most of the ring traffic is in short handed tables 5-6 players and concentrated in the Texas Holdem games. The rakes are slightly above average because of the traffic at short handed tables but the max is right on average at $3.

Misc.

Pookerroom offers the standard tools for tables; all in security, chat options, 4 color decks, notes, etc.. but they are trying harder than most to build a community. They offer a poker school and area for players to interact off the tables. They also offer information on land based home games and poker friend finder information. They have a good poker news section and try to keep up with all the big happenings and events. They have a store which is now becoming a standard feature to poker rooms. Pookerrooms Help and Support are good and by comparison to some newer sites, superior. It is 24/7 with good speed and the knowledge of the reps is average. Your best method is email support but they do not confirm your requests until they answer them.

Summary

Pokerroom.com is and should be considered one of the top 10 poker sites on the net. They have an above average dedication to the game and show that they may be a business but that they care about keeping players and not just making the money. The software is good and the support you get is worth the download but the java script is still good if you cant or dont want to take up the space on your hard drive. The ring games are worth playing but if you like tournament play, this is the site. The variety of styles surpasses other sites and is something all serious on line tournament players should look at. Pokerroom has come a long way in the 7 years it has been around and at the rate they are going with their philosophy of improvement for the players, they will keep growing as other top sites get stagnate.

Bodog poker comes to you directly from Calvin Ayre, one of the most respected and successful gambling entrepreneurs in the world. His sites are heavily marketed with use of celebrities, connections to MTV and a guarantee of fast payouts. Bodog started its poker site just over a year ago, and its becoming enormously popular with recreational as well as professional players. Its easy to see why! Ayre says hes based much of the groundwork on Richard Bransons methods and he does, indeed, seem to have incorporated many of the more successful Branson ideas into Bodog. The result is slick entertainment value with a well-oiled and proven system of betting. The company is Costa Rican based but does all payouts from the U.K.

The site itself is incredibly
user friendly, and with a
quick read of features and
rules, you can be online at a
table in no time. The quick
tour of the site gives you
an excellent idea of how it
all works, and the graphics
are simple and elegant yet
so much more innovative
than so many of the
sites around these days. Bodog makes it simple to play on up to three tables at a time (with chat features), and their stats are immediate and easy. If your bent is toward tournament play, there are numerous scheduled ones daily. Bodog also has a points system where you can accrue free ones for playing time (1 point per 60 minutes of playing time) which is handy for tournament entry fees. Otherwise, you simply buy points at the rate of 3 per $1.

The rakes are on a sliding scale which at times seem somewhat high, but Bodog does deliver like no other company so there is compensation for the rates. They also pride themselves on their certificate of random deals, and guarantee the validity of the random deal generator. Whats great about them is that they seem to really cover their customers with a blanket of solid software solutions for an ultimate poker experience.

Bodog is also linked with WSOP for contests and competition, and also supplies constant updates from the world of poker. Its a one site does all kind of place for pros as well as newbies and with all the extras, tournaments, contests and freebies, they keep you going back for more.

Because this site sometimes does upwards of a million bets a day, theyve got the system down pat and you can count on 24/7 support either online or by telephone. Bodog prides itself on great customer service at rapid speeds, and from the looks of the site, they deliver!