The history of modern online poker is more than two decades old. And if at first playing online poker for real money seemed a strange activity, or even adventurous because of the childhood diseases of the first poker rooms, nowadays such a game no longer surprises anyone.
And it was not an easy task as we had to spend many days researching them and playing thousands of hand games to be able to assess the poker room’s potential.
Of course, we have also looked at many other poker sites, and we have to say that not all poker rooms are equally useful.
As trite as it may sound, every poker player needs a poker room that is perfect for him.
Some are looking for the biggest poker bonus, others like great and clear graphics, and some are looking for weaker opponents.
Some players prefer no-limit Texas Hold’em on low limits or limit hold’em altogether, while others yearn to improve their level in more challenging games like Pot Limit Omaha or Seven Card Stud.
That’s not counting factors like bonuses, promotions, customer support software features, and financial security, to name a few.
How we rate poker sites
There are many criteria for rating poker rooms in our ratings (in other words – toplists).
Below you can find the most important ones:
Software
Every poker room has its downloadable client; you can start playing poker for money once you install it.
Good poker software is fast, stable and safe for long poker tables with high-level graphics and smooth operation.
On top of that, some of them offer additional features like hand history, the ability to find a seat at the tables quickly, and many filters and options that make navigation in the client easier and allow you to search for the game you need more easily.
So, you need the best poker software to play poker for real money comfortably.
Player Traffic
Some poker sites are huge, with tens of thousands of players playing online at all hours of the day. However, traffic to other good sites can be orders of magnitude smaller.
So, the industry leaders offer 24/7 action at cash tables of any limit, while others focus on the best poker tournaments.
However, even the smaller poker sites offer more aggressive promotions that can bring quite a few bonuses to novice players, all the more so because the general level of players in such poker rooms is much lower in terms of poker skill.
Level of play
By the way, this is the following evaluation criterion – the level of play in a poker room. And in poker, unlike in most other games, you don’t strive to compete against the best players at all.
In other words, the worse your opponents are, the bigger your profit.
Choice of Games
Every poker room has no-limit Texas Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha, but if you want to play rarer games such as Triple-Dro, High-Lo Omaha and Seven Card Stud, you’ll need to do some searching.
Take this factor into account when choosing a poker room in advance.
Bonuses and Promotions
Probably the best thing a novice player has is a deposit on the first bonus, which can usually make a big difference.
Poker rooms know this and try to offer lucrative and exclusive bonuses. Again, the smaller the poker site, the steeper its real money poker bonus.
Secondly, each poker room has its loyalty or rewards program for regular customers, which allows you to get more prizes and other bonuses depending on how much you play at the online poker tables.
Before choosing the right poker room, you need to know for sure that it is reliable and has not been involved in unsightly financial transactions, and has not had any valid complaints from players.
After all, you are risking your money, so you are entitled to be sure that it is safe.
The best sites should also have 24/7 customer support, including communication channels via email, live chat or phone.
