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Top 3 Online Multiplayer Poker Sites for 2011

There is a bewildering number of choices as it pertains to online poker. I hope this informative article helps a beginner poker fan to acquire a smooth start on the planet of online multiplayer poker. All of our Top 3, as well as being fully a leader, offers something unique. I will ensure that you point those unique features through the article. As in virtually any young industry situation is very fluid and relative standings change often. That is why I specifically review poker sites as they are in 2011. Next year I must revisit and update my conclusions.

What It Takes to Get On The List

What criteria should we use to select our Top 3? Listed here are factors that largely separate leaders from the rest of the field:

    1. Game Selection: Availability of cash poker games as well as free multiplayer poker games. Free games are critical for training and getting comfortable with the software. pengeluaran hk Texas Holdem is the king of poker. However other, less popular poker games, like Omaha, Razz may add appeal and variety to any poker site.
    1. Table Selection: Full Multiplayer - 9 handed tables in addition to short-handed and heads-up tables

 

    1. Availability: Solid Client software for both Windows and Mac with frequent updates. Bonus points if the site also offers a good browser-based, no download online poker game. You may not consider it much initially but no download poker client really shines if you are on a break, accessing site from a portable device or otherwise are “on the road “.

 

    1. Playability: That is important if you play online poker a lot. Here we rate factors like the responsiveness of the software. Whether it hangs a lot or runs smoothly day in day out. Visual layout and how the cluttered screen is. Whether controls are observed conveniently. Do not underestimate these “soft” factors. Altogether playability is the best proxy for software quality. It could either turn your poker session into difficult or make the computer almost disappear by allowing you to immerse yourself into poker action.

 

    1. Social features: Power to chat we other players and invite others to play a certain game or table. Remember that folks who play poker online tend to be inside it for fun as much as for thrill of winning money. If you play a lot, you will get to understand people and even make some friends.

 

    1. Tournaments: Offering Tournaments in many different formats such as for example single table (Sit-n-Go) and multi table (MTT).

 

    1. For the record, I don’t believe that beginners should play tournaments. Poker tournaments, especially online poker tournaments, require different poker strategy from regular ring games because tournaments tend to be played short-stacked and use antes. To an untrained eye a tournament often seems like extremely loose even reckless game.

 

  1. Traffic: Sufficient player numbers. We are talking about players who are currently logged into the site. High traffic sites are great if you like to sample different games or simply get bored easily. On the other hand, if you prefer playing poker online with the exact same people as you played yesterday, then traffic just doesn’t matter. Remember that high traffic sites are generally individuals with large promotional budgets. To recoup marketing expense their rake structure may be less favorable.

PokerStars

Run with a European company, Rational Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., this is definitely the biggest poker site today. It’s grown enormously over the last 5 years and pulls just as much traffic as 3 of its largest competitors combined. Due to a lot of players loitering the website, game and table selection are extremely good.

I don’t have any first hand experience with their Customer Service. That said, I have never heard persistent or widely spread complaints about PokerStars. Unlike various other sites that generate constant outcry from abused and disgruntled players.

Software

They recently revamped their software client to enhance online multiplayer poker game experience. In its last software update, they clearly modeled themselves after FullTilt poker client. Their lobby provides streamlined navigation, helping to locate desired games in just 2-3 mouse clicks. In addition, they significantly reduced screen clutter. The current version of the software is stable and runs smoothly. Unfortunately, they do not provide a any download poker client. PokerStars is home to the biggest pool of players seated in free multiplayer poker tables at any hour of the day.

Best Feature

PokerStar prides itself on running the largest online poker tournaments. They cleverly use offline poker events like WSOP to entice online players to enter by offering them to “qualify” for WSOP and other high-profile live poker events. Being one of the very sophisticated promoters, PokerStar turned even free online multiplayer poker tournaments (called freerolls) into marketing gold.

PartyPoker

Among the oldest online poker sites on the Internet. Behind PartyPoker, the internet site is Party Gaming, a world’s largest online gambling company publicly traded on London stock exchange. It used to be the biggest online poker site before 2006. However as a result of lack of focus and anti-gambling regulatory actions in the US it has fallen behind a handful of its more nimble competitors. Party Gaming operates a network of gambling websites and aggressively cross promotes them. Its flagship online multiplayer poker room draws traffic from its other properties, which are mostly Europe based.

Software

The software client is playable, though never to the number of other sites in this review. A word about PartyPoker’s color theme. There used to be a time when every casino or gambling related site on the Net needed to be green. Since then most sites managed to move on to produce their very own color palettes. PartyPoker is one of many holdovers still presenting you with a sea of green on its site in addition to on its software client. Annually they revamp the site’s main page to tone down the green but to this day it is really a major color.

They recently announced full support for Mac and indeed their Mac poker client is fairly good. The graphics certainly are a bit cartoonish to my taste but that just stylistic preference. They have a browser-based, no download poker client as well. Ironically initial thing you see after launching that no download poker client is really a download progress bar.

There are plenty of free multiplayer poker games, including Limit Holdem, No Limit Holdem, and Omaha. Cash games and tournaments are also within sufficient numbers.

Best feature

A defining feature of PartyPoker is its soft and loose poker games. After all softer and looser than almost every other site. That is probably as a result of the constant influx of gamblers from their other properties. As always, where there’s fish you can find sharks as well. Still, the website is beginner friendly, providing good poker educational material both written and video.

FullTiltPoker

2011 is very likely the past year when FullTiltPoker can be viewed as a major force in online poker. Pocket Kings, the company behind the website, has come across serious legal and financial difficulties. Our mention of FullTilt is in a way honorary yet well deserved. FullTilt was a good number 2 in traffic before they lost their gambling license.

Software

Their software client is most beneficial in the business. Striking a balance between feature rich yet playable and uncluttered User experience. The site and client design inspired a number of other online multiplayer poker sites, including others among out Top 3. Through the years FullTilt came up with quite a few innovations, such as for example aptly named Rush Poker. That is a system that immediately transfers you to a different table once you are out of a hand minimizing your downtime and allowing you to play far more hands per hour. Regardless of what you may think of actual Rush Poker experience, that was very creative move. They offer the widest selection of poker including such rare games, usually played mostly by professionals.

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