Online Poker

In this article we will take a look at the phenomena that is online poker. We have been there since the early days, back when Party Poker led the way and Pokerstars had yet to hit the scene. We know the online poker scene better than most, and we have played on most online poker sites out there. In this article we’ll look at the best sites we have encountered.

Non-Specific Sites

By “non-specific” sites we mean those that we initially created as a sports book or an online casino. Most gamblers and amateurs play poker through such websites, and although many professionals dismiss them, there are some gems out there. Not to mention the fact that these sites are full of weak players, allowing someone who knows his stuff to clean up.

Some of the best sites here are the ones on sports books, such as the iPoker Network, which can be found on BetFair. We were also once given the chance to play on SkyPoker, which is currently only available in the UK but with plans to spread its wings. We found that to be a very unique website, not like any other we have played before, and the competition was also very weak, which is always a huge plus. Other poker rooms to consider include Titan Poker, which is part of the Titan Bet brand and also features a casino and a bingo room, not to mention a sports book. Many of these are International sites that we played on our travels, as when it comes to non-specific poker sites, particularly those connected to sports books, Canadians don’t have much to choose from. When it comes to poker specific sites, however, it’s a different ballgame.

Poker Specific Sites

The biggest poker site around, and one that has led the way for a number of years now, is Pokerstars. This used to be the favorite site for poker players everywhere, and even after Black Friday — which made it illegal for US players for play — it was still the most popular site for non-US players. In fact, many professional US poker players went as far as to move out of the United States so that they could still play on Pokerstars, with many of them moving north of the border to Canada, and others heading across the Atlantic.

Pokerstars is the biggest and it is also the most well known. They sponsor some of the biggest events in live poker, and they run some of the biggest events in online poker. We have few bad things to say about Pokerstars, because although things haven’t always gone as planned for us on there, it’s poker — that’s the way it is. The simple fact is, when it comes to online poker, you can’t beat the choice on offer at Pokerstars. For those who enjoy the big status competitions, there is the Spring Series of Online Poker and the World Series of Online Poker, with many more single events that offer hundreds of thousands to the winners, and even to those who make it to the final table.

The competition on Pokerstars is varied, and although it’s not the best place to go if you’re looking for weak players, it’s also not the worst if you want to avoid the best of the best. This is purely because Pokerstars attracts everyone from professionals looking to grind their way to a large profit, and amateurs who have seen the Pokerstars name on TV and want to use it as a way to get involved with poker.

Pokerstars has most variants of poker covered, although at the time of writing there are no Chinese Poker variants. There are, however, games of Badugi, 5-Card Draw, 7-Card Stud, Omaha 5-Card and many more uncommon variants, along with all of the common ones. The beauty of Pokerstars is not that they have these games, as other sites do as well, but that they have the member base that can fill these games. Therefore, although they don’t get the thousands of buy-ins that games of Hold’em and Omaha do, they still get more than enough to make for a very interesting tournament and a very heathy pot.

Full Tilt Poker is also worth a look. It took a big hit after Black Friday and was out of action for some time, but then it was purchased by Pokerstars who turned it around. Full Tilt was the home of Zoom Poker, which is still available, and it also has a few other unique variants such as Matrix Poker. On Full Tilt players can also buy-in to a tournament up to 4 times, playing 4 different seats at once and allowing the best of the best to increase their variance and their chances of making it to the final table.