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PokerRoom
As soon as you visit PokerRoom, you’ll immediately know why it’s so popular. Launched back in 1999, PokerRoom is one of the most highly-regarded online poker sites today. Unfortunately, U.S. customers are unable to play, but the rest of the world flocks to the tables on PokerRoom. With a wide array of high stakes and low stakes tournaments, PokerRoom welcomes Mac players with open arms. Its Mac client, Instant Play, allows you to fire up PokerRoom without downloading a thing.
Instant Play
If you’re a Mac user, Instant Play is your ticket into PokerRoom. When you visit the site, you’ll need to make sure you click on Instant Play instead of launching the Windows download.
Instant Play is a Java-based client. It will open in a new window. If you have a PokerRoom login, enter it when prompted. If you don’t have an account on PokerRoom, you’ll need to register a new one at the very beginning of the registration process.
Once you log in, your web browser may ask you to install an additional plug-in. Click “Trust” if prompted. It won’t crash your Mac; I promise. The default landing page on Instant Play is something called “Quick Seat.” It’s pictured below and you can easily jump into a sit and go tournament or cash game by telling PokerRoom exactly what type of game you want to play, whether you’re looking for no limit, pot limit, or fixed limits, and the stakes. You can only play Hold’em games from the Quick Seat screen. It’s a unique feature that is the basis for many different poker software tools. Here’s a screen shot for you:
Depositing on PokerRoom
PokerRoom does not accept U.S. customers. For residents of other countries, PokerRoom accepts some of the most popular deposit methods available. Your choices include Visa, MasterCard, NETeller, Firepay, PrePaidATM, and Moneybrookers. PokerRoom’s recommended deposit method is NETeller. You can cash out using the same methods as well as having a check mailed to you. The site even offers couriered checks.
Cash Games on PokerRoom
Let’s explore the cash game lobby. Just click the “Cash Games” button on the top of the site and the lobby will immediately pop up. Your first choice will be to select what you want to play: Hold’em for play money, Hold’em for real dough, Omaha, Seven Card Stud, and Five Card Draw. Each tab has its own set of options:
Real Money Hold’em: Limit Games and Pot Limit/No Limit Games
Play Money Hold’em: Micro, Low, Medium, and High stakes
Omaha: Omaha Hi, Omaha Hi/Low
Seven Card Stud: Seven Card Stud Hi, Seven Card Stud Hi/Low
Five Card Draw: No other tabs available
You can see all of the details for each table off to the right on your screen. Notice the $1/$2 No Limit table pictured below has 10 players seated. Their names are off to the right along with the chip stack for each person. What I really like is that the statistics for each hand are listed below each table instead of in the main display like you’ll find on other online poker rooms. The hands per hour, players per flop, and average pot size are given along with a complete rundown of the waiting list:
I absolutely love the table look on PokerRoom. The fact that you can experience it on Instant Play means it’s easy to play on one of the most professional looking sites available. You won’t find hokey avatars or pictures of empty chairs on PokerRoom; it’s a 3D person seated at the table. I really like the old woman and the man with a cowboy hat. Check out a sample of a $0.25/$0.50 limit table below:
Tournaments on PokerRoom
The tournament lobby has a lot going on, but all the information you need is displayed right in front of your eyes. The default sorting is by start time, with the one kicking off next displayed first. Check out the next tournament starting as I write this review, a $500 Guaranteed Turbo No Limit Game with a $3.30 buy in:
You can see there are 105 registered players, meaning if the tournament started now, it would have a $200 overlay. The blind levels increase every three minutes, so this will be quite an action-packed tournament. The top 10 places pay out and your $3.30 gets you 1500 starting chips. Again, there’s a lot of text and at first glance it’s a lot to digest, but PokerRoom gives you every piece of information you’ll need to find a tournament that suits your budget and time commitment.
If $3.30 is way below your desired stakes, other tournaments range in buy in from $54 to $540, so you’ll find something that suits your fancy. A series of country-specific tournaments is offered as well. There are 18 tournaments, some daily and some weekly, with a guaranteed prize pool of $3,000 or more.
Sorting the tournament lobby by clicking on “Qualifiers” is an extremely helpful way to figure out how to satellite into your favorite tournaments. Sit and Go tournaments range in buy in between $1 and $500 and start as soon as enough players are registered. They come in all shapes and sizes: short-handed, multi-table, and even satellites into PokerRoom’s major tournaments. My favorite sit and go available is the MAD Tilt All In series, where the blinds start at 10-20 and you get just 60 chips to start. Blinds increase every three minutes, so if you’re looking to blow off some steam, this is the place to do it.
PokerRoom Promotions
The Grand
PokerRoom notes that The Grand is one of the largest poker tournaments on its site and, quite frankly, it’s one of the largest tournaments offered anywhere. Mac Poker players can launch Instant Play and compete in The Grand, which is offered once per month. The tournament has two Day 1’s and one Day 2, so it’s like playing at a high stakes live tournament. PokerRoom guarantees a $750,000 payout. If footing the bill for the $1,040 buy in tournament is a bit much for you, there is a series of staged sit and go qualifiers you can compete in. This is a tournament normally only seen in a special online poker series like those offered on PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. To see it once every month is especially unique.
The $500,000 Guarantee
On the first Saturday of every month, PokerRoom offers a half million dollar guarantee. The buy in is $235, which gets you 3,000 chips. Blinds increase every 20 minutes and you’ll be competing with some of the best online poker players on the planet. What I really like about the $500,000 guarantee is that it’s offered in addition to the already generous tournament offering on PokerRoom; it doesn’t replace any of the site’s major tournaments. Because it’s offered on a Saturday, you can play in the $500,000 Guarantee and also play on PokerRoom’s and other sites’ Sunday major tournaments. As I type this, it’s a week before the $500,000 Guarantee and there are already 1,423 people signed up.
The Big Deal
Here’s another high stakes tournament on PokerRoom that you can also satellite into. The Big Deal kicks off at 19:00 GMT every Sunday. To play, you’ll either pony up a $320 buy in or qualify from $1.10. The Big Deal guarantees $150,000 in prizes.
Live Tournament Play
As I glance into the tournament lobby, various qualifiers for trips to the World Series of Poker are being offered. After all, it’s the largest live poker tournament on the planet live from the place where poker lives. World Poker Tour and European Tour Events are featured as well, so make sure to check out the PokerRoom lobby to see what’s being featured. The number of freerolls and other qualifiers that PokerRoom offers means you’ll have plenty of chances to win your way into the biggest live tournaments available.
PokerRoom is your home for some of the best tournament poker on the planet. Visit PokerRoom today by using Instant Play on your Mac!