Online Poker Room
How
to Choose
by J.
Phillip Vogel
Choosing an online poker
room a few years ago was a fairly easy process—there were simply barely
enough
of them around to make it a challenge.
Oh, how things have changed.
The
past few years have spawned a multitude of online poker rooms, all
boasting
some combination of tournaments, satellites, ring games, and more.
Indeed, it’s almost
become a major obstacle just to choose a site that fits you the best.
Quality online poker
rooms have specific features that can help you to determine if the room
is
worthy of your attention or simply a “Johnny-come-lately” looking to
take a
share of the $200 million poker bonanza.
Here’s what to look for when selecting an online
poker room.
Games,
games and more games
Although the game of
choice for right now is Texas Hold ‘em, you might want to try and find
a site
that has pushed past that singular craze to offer a selection of other
not-so-trendy poker classics such as Five Card Stud, Seven Card Stud,
Omaha, Omaha
8/B, Triple Draw,
Crazy
Pineapple, and Five Card Draw.
Also,
wherever possible you’ll want the choice of selecting from limit, pot
limit,
and no limit games, as well as ring, single table, heads-up (limited to
two
opponents) and multi-table tournaments both with and without re-buy
(purchasing
more chips during play) options.
Player
Volume
In addition to wanting a
solid selection of games and game formats (i.e., single table,
multi-table,
limit, no limit, etc.,) the ideal site must also have an ample stable
of
players accessing the site around the clock.
Why do you want to have so many players constantly
streaming in? Because
there’s nothing worse than having the
itch to sit down at a table and start playing only find a room full of
empty
chairs.
The curse of many new
poker sites is that they often lack a large enough membership to allow
for
continuous play. You
may have to sit and
wait for quite some time—possibly even hours—just to have enough
players to begin
certain single table tournaments, while in established rooms with
20,000-50,000+ members the seats fill up quickly.
A Wide Range of
Limits
Poker rooms differ in
the betting limits, and it’s important to be able to play in a room
that offers
the widest possible range—something like $0.02/$0.04 to $100/$200.
The reason you want a
large gap in limit structure—especially for you new players—is to be
able to
accurately adjust your game according to your bankroll and skill level.
Although there is some
debate as to the appropriate bankroll for an online poker player, as a
rule of
thumb solid players want something on the order of 200 to 300 times the
value
of the big blind.
That
means that if you
want to play comfortable at a $2/$4 table you’ll need a bankroll
somewhere
between $800 and $1,200. As
you go
along, you make adjustments to your table limit based on your bankroll
and
success at a particular level.
So if you’re playing—and
losing—at a $1/$2 table, you might want to drop a level or two to
recoup some
loses and enter a game that’ll suit you better.
That’s why it’s always good to be in a room that
offers the widest range
of table limits.
Player
Incentives
Of course, free cash is
always a very nice feature that can make a big difference in your
bankroll and
ultimately your sustainability at the tables.
Ideally, whichever poker site you select should offer a
combination of
incentives to help keep your bankroll healthy throughout your play.
Standard comps
include a new player bonus
(initial deposit bonus), VIP points (also called “Frequent Player
Points” in
some sites), and monthly deposit bonuses (these are sometimes announced
sporadically on sites).
As you examine each
site, make a note of what comps are given out, how often you’re
entitled to
them, and the rules regarding their usage and availability.
Also, create a
checklist and compare the comp
options from site to site, to see which ones are currently offering the
most
lucrative rewards. Don’t
forget to take
into consideration your probable play frequency as this can drastically
affect
the value of your comps over time.
For example, let’s
suppose that site X offers a 100% deposit bonus, but no additional
comps, or
re-load cash for returning players.
Site
Y, on the other hand, offers a 40% deposit bonus followed by an
additional 20%
re-load bonus every month.
Assuming you were to
deposit an additional $200 each month, which site do you think offers
the more
lucrative program in the long run?
Take
a look.
| Site
| Initial Deposit
| New Player
Bonus | Total Starting
Bankroll | Monthly Bonus
6 months
| Total Comps
Earned |
| X
| $200.00
| 100%
| $400.00
| $0.00
| $200.00
| | Y
| $200.00
| 40%
| $280.00
| $40/month
| $320.00
|
As you can see, in the
end players who chose site Y are earning substantially more comps than
players
who went for a much larger new player bonus.
However, if you do not
plan to stick around for too long and are only looking to get your feet
wet
online, site X with its 100% bonus would be the better option.
Multiple
Banking Options
As with online casinos,
a quality poker room provides ample banking options designed to suit a
wide
range of player preferences. If
you hate
to wait for your money to reach your poker account, make sure that the
site
offers at least one option that provides immediate funding.
A
Dedicated Support Team
Because problems can
happen at any time—the server might be down during a crucial stage in a
tournament, or your bankroll shows less than what you deposited—you’re
going to
want to be able to secure help in a moment’s notice.
The best sites offer
numerous contact options that include live chat with a room host, 24/7
toll-free telephone numbers and multiple e-mail addresses.
Pleasing
Graphics
Despite the technical
advances, online poker rooms are not completely accurate
representations of
traditional poker rooms. You
don’t see
live images of your opponents, can’t read their faces or watch them
intently
for any sign of physical tells.
You’re staring at a
screen full of avatars (simulated player images) placed to represent
who’s
sitting at the table.
These
images vary
from site to site, some appearing as nothing more than bland
placeholders,
while in others they border on the cartoonish.
To make your play as
enjoyable as possible, opt for the sites that support the best games
with as
realistic software are you can find.
This will help to better recreate the poker setting,
adding an increased
level of entertainment and comfort to the experience.
Special
features
When making your
decision about which room to frequent, be sure to take into account any
unique
features a site offers.
For example, if you’re new to the
game you might like
access to a strategy library where you can learn all of
the nuances of
the game.
If your dream is to
become a poker legend, you might want to factor in the availability of
satellites to major terrestrial poker events such as with the World
Poker Tour
or the granddaddy of ‘em all, the World Series of Poker.
Online poker rooms all
offer their own mix of each of these features, so be sure to note which
elements are most important to you when selecting a site.
For example, some
poker rooms offer:
Single and multi-table
step tournaments that allow players to win their way up to big money
tournaments and/or players may request statistical data on their play
for
analysis.
As you can see, there are many factors that go into choosing
and online poker site.
While no one room can legitimately
boast superiority in
every crucial category indicative of a great site, the best ones offer
a
mixture of compelling features that set them apart from the late-coming
riff-raff who care less about providing quality gaming than they do
about
getting a piece of the poker pie.
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