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The Basics of PokerStars
Current Bonus:
100% First Time Deposit Bonus up to $50
Major Promotions:
The Sunday Million Guarantee tournament, World Championship of Online Poker
Mac Software:
Full Download Available
U.S. Customers:
U.S. Players Accepted!
Overview
If you’re looking for one of the best poker rooms on the planet, all you need to do is visit PokerStars.com. It’s that simple. It’s the largest home for online poker players anywhere and allows you a mix of tournaments and cash games to test your skills. Its tournaments and promotions are second to none and its customer service is top-notch. You can rest assured knowing that when you play on PokerStars, you’re playing with the best.
Section 1: Mac Software Download Overview
Downloading PokerStars on a Mac is pretty simple. I’m an old Windows pro, but luckily Stars has an outstanding support site for downloading the program. If Stars senses that you’re on a Mac, clicking “Download” in the upper left of the site will take you to a Mac only site, PokerStars’ Mac Section. There are simple step by step instructions to follow. Here are a few screen shots walking you through the process to get you started.
Here are the necessary system requirements for the download. Make sure your computer meets these system needs before you begin:
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The Stars Mac software is in Beta mode, so you should be aware things can change over time. That said the installation process is very simple and should take you all of 10 minutes to complete. There’s a giant “Download” link at the top of the site. Just click it and then click “Save.”
[screenshot]
The download, for me, was approximately 13 MB. Downloading on a broadband connection should take you all of a few minutes.
So now you’ve successfully downloaded the software. There will be a PokerStars icon either somewhere on your desktop or in your Downloads folder. For me, an install function asked me to agree to Terms of Service and then I was quickly onto Step 2, which is installing the software. Here’s a graphic description of what you should be doing:
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Next, go check out the applications folder and you’ll find a PokerStars icon. Double click it and Stars will open up on your computer. Here’s what your screen should look like:
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If you have a PokerStars account already, just log in and start playing online poker! If you don’t, you need to sign up an account. Fill out all the information Stars asks for and make sure you use a valid e-mail address, as you’ll need to validate your account using an e-mail you’ll receive. Here’s a look at the registration page:
[screenshot]
You’re almost done! It’s time to validate your account. At the top of the screen, click “Account” and then “Validate E-Mail” and you’re in business. Here’s a screen shot for you complete with Stars’ instructions:
[screenshot]
Section 2: Playing PokerStars on a Mac
Playing Stars on a Mac is a bit different than on playing on a Windows machine. First off, the table look is sleek. Check out a standard empty table on Stars, which, if you’ve played on Windows, you’ll notice is quite different. However, it’s much crisper and less rudimentary than the Windows version is.
At the time of writing, there were 9,125 active tables with nearly 56,000 players. If you’re looking for action, Stars is where you need to head. After all, where else can you go and instantly be connected to 56,000 poker lovers around the world? Did I mention it was also 1am? Even though you’re playing on a Mac, you’re connected with users of all types of operating systems to play.
In the middle of the afternoon, it’s not uncommon to see nearly 150,000 people on Stars trying their luck and testing their skill. If you don’t want to play for money, it’s no problem either. Check out the sleek look of a standard PokerStars play money table. This table is completely empty, but rest assured there are a ton of active tables:
On the real money side of Stars, imposing avatars power over the table as players try to be as feared as possible. You’ll see 15 Scotty Nguyen avatars, a few doze people who think they’re Dolye Brunson, and a variety of hot women permeating the list of avatars at Stars. I especially liked the Clint Eastwood avatar on the table seen below:
The lobby of Stars is easy to navigate and actually resembles the one you’ll find in Windows:
The top bar lists off the types of games you can play: Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, and other games like Five Card Draw, Triple Draw, and HORSE. If you have no idea what the latter is, it’s a game with a rotating feature game of Holdem, Omaha, Razz, Stud, and Stud Eight or Better. The bottom line is there are a ton of games available for you to play, allowing you a well-rounded experience.
Below that on the main lobby of Stars are individual options for each type of game. Off to the right you’ll see who’s playing in each game along with their chip counts. Stars makes it easy to survey the land before you sit down.
Section 3: Depositing on Stars
Stars has a variety of deposit options available. They vary based on your location, but the overall list consists of:
• eChecks - Available in US and Canada.
• ClickandBuy - Available to players from any country other than US.
• Moneybookers - available everywhere, except in US, China, Malaysia, Israel, Turkey and Ukraine
• NETeller - (no longer available for players in the US, Canada and Turkey) Deposit in USD, EUR or GBP
• VISA / VISA Delta / VISA Electron / Gift and Prepaid VISA - Deposit in USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, SEK, NOK, DKK, AUD
• MasterCard / Gift and Prepaid MasterCard - Deposit in USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, SEK, NOK, DKK, AUD
• Diners Club International
• Solo / Maestro - available in UK and Northern Ireland only
• Cashier’s Check / Money Order / Bank Draft - Minimum deposit only $100
• Local Bank Transfer - available in Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, Vatican City and Viet Nam.
• ELV - available in Germany only
• Online Bank Transfer - available in Austria, Germany and Netherlands
• paysafecard - available in Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and UK
It’s a pretty exhaustive list, so hopefully you can find a method that works for you.
Section 4: PokerStars Promotions
Part of what makes PokerStars such a great place to play is the wide variety of tournaments available. Here’s a quick overview for you along with some of the highlights of each.
The PokerStars Sunday Million
The Sunday Million is the premier online poker tournament on the net every week. There’s a million dollars guaranteed every week and first place regularly makes over $100,000. If you’d rather not fork out the $215 buy in, there are a bevy of satellites that are both economical and enjoyable to play. The Sunday Million attracts the very best online poker players anywhere, so be on the lookout for past and future champions.
The World Championship of Online Poker
This is the granddaddy of all online tournament series. Millions of dollars and a variety of tournament types and buy in amounts comprise the WCOOP, which just completed its sixth year. In 2007, more than $24 million in prizes were awarded. Yeah, you read that right: $24 million. The WCOOP is where the best online players make a name for themselves. Just ask mig.com, strassa2, and J.C. Tran. All made a name for themselves by beating out an enormous field and taking home an enormous payday. If you’re looking for some of the best action anywhere, look no further than the WCOOP.
The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure
Close your eyes for one minute and imagine you’re on a beach in the Bahamas. Blue sky surrounds you and clear water runs beneath your feet. The Atlantis Hotel and Casino towers against the horizon and you watch tourists slide down a speed slide into a shark-infested tank. It sounds too good to be true, right? It’s not. Every year, PokerStars holds an $8,000 buy in tournament in Nassau to crown a PCA champion. Satellites constantly run on the site in the months leading up to the event. This is a premier tournament for PokerStars. Don’t miss out!
International Tournaments
PokerStars is also involved with three international tournament tours, meaning Mac users from around the world can travel to a tournament right in their backyards! PokerStars has made its presence felt in tournament tours in Asia (the Asia Pacific Poker Tour), Latin America (Latin American Poker Tour), and the European Poker Tour. Satellites are available on Stars, which makes getting there easy.
PokerStars Frequent Player Points
No review of PokerStars would be complete without discussion of Frequent Player Points, or FPPs as they’re known in the poker world. You can earn FPPs for playing in ring games and tournaments, making for an exciting time as you rack up points just for playing poker. When you’ve racked up enough FPPs, you can head to the FPP Store to start spending. For 1,800 points, you can nab a cotton polo shirt. You can grab a variety of poker-related books for 2,000. A 60” plasma HDTV can be yours for 270,000 FPPs. The bottom line is there are a variety of great gifts that can be had.
So what are you waiting for? Head over to PokerStars today and check out the action.