Choosing an
Online Poker Room
Experienced poker players have
been around long enough and talked to enough of
their colleagues to know which online poker
rooms are
great and which ones should be avoided. New
players, however, don't have that same
advantage. A simple Google search for "poker
sites" yields 32 million results. A few pages
offer top 10 lists but each list is so different
that it all almost seems completely random.
So what do you do? Well, you
can take our word for it with our recommendation
of poker sites or you can use the following
categories to find the best poker site for
yourself. There are hundreds of poker sites out
there all claiming to be the best but you can
use these categories to narrow down the list.
You will then end up with a manageable list of
poker sites to choose from.
Reputation for Integrity
This is the absolute most
important factor to consider when choosing a
poker site. Most online poker sites are hosted
on small islands, outside the jurisdiction of
major governments. As a result, there’s a lot of
trust involved in depositing your money and
playing at an online poker site.
The top poker sites in the
world have been so successful because their
players trust them with their bankrolls. These
poker sites are the ones that have the best
reputations and are considered safe for players
with any amount of money. If you stick with the
big name poker sites that come to mind when you
hear the words “online poker,” you’ll be in good
hands.
Player Traffic
Poker sites that have lots of
players are great because it’s easier to find
games and look for soft tables. These poker
sites also tend to be the same ones mentioned
above – the big name sites that you hear about
all the time. You want to avoid poker sites with
low traffic because multi-tabling is severely
limited and it can be difficult to find soft
tables.
Some poker sites list how many
players are online at any given moment right on
their websites. If you don’t see a player count
on the poker site’s web page, you can download
the software and check for yourself. It’s a bit
of a pain but you’ll be glad you went through
the trouble to find a poker site with solid
player traffic.
Sign Up Bonus
A good sign up bonuses isn’t
as important as the two above factors but it
still helps. If you narrow down your list of
potential poker sites to just two or three
sites, go with the one that offers the biggest
sign up bonus.
Of course, this is assuming
you plan on depositing enough money to max out
the bonus. If you only plan on depositing a few
dollars, you should instead choose the poker
site that has the smallest bonus. That way, you
can save the bigger bonus for when you have the
funds to max it out.
Customer Service
Any time you have your hard
earned money deposited at a poker site, it’s
nice to know they have excellent customer
service. Not only is it convenient if you need
any help, but it also shows that they respect
and value their customers.
VIP Rewards
A nice VIP program will
improve your profits through the rewards it
gives to existing players. The more you play at
a poker site with a nice VIP program, the more
you’ll make in special bonuses and merchandise.
This factor should be considered a tie breaker
rather than a deal maker. As nice as VIP
programs are, the above factors are more
important.
Consider the Site as a Whole
Some poker sites perform
better in certain areas than other poker sits.
PokerStars, for example has the best tournament
scene but Full Tilt has the best cash games.
After you have a few poker sites in mind, look
at each one as a whole and then go with the one
that gives you the best all around impression.
