mac compatible poker sites ...

i'd like to think i'm not the only online poker playing mac user ... so for the comrades out there, here is a list of mac compatible poker sites:

sites i have played ...

pokerroom.com - this was one of, if not the first site(s) to offer mac users the opportunity to play. i have done so for years and enjoy playing there ... mid-sized site with active forums, a chat box in the lobby (sometimes very funny ... sometimes people talking about bad beats). the lobby support and moderators are of good quality, but live support is very difficult to deal with. the table graphics are good, one of the better sites i have viewed. player ability at the tables is varied, generally increasing as the stakes do ... standard for online poker overall. 'pokerroom' features two daily $300 freerolls, with 3000 players and the top 30 paid. the deposit bonus was alright when i started, but has declined ... not this site's best feature. the loyalty points program features two daily first and second level games of alternating formats, and weekend loyalty games for all three levels with larger prizepools. status: recommended.

fulltilt.com - well ... we've probably all been there, so won't waste time with details ... except that they have the best hand history format of any site i've seen. status: recommended.

pokerstars - quality site with lots of opportunities for those starting out and looking to build a roll, and lots of bonus opportunities for those who deposit. freerolls of every game format, with weekly finals. good graphics ... largest site on the net for a reason. status: recommended


sites i haven't played ...

pacific poker - of the sites i haven't played, this one has come well recommended. it will probably be the next one i try. will post an update when i do.

hollywood poker - no info.

europoker - no info.

bugsys club - another one i haven't played, but has come well recommended.

absolute poker - haven't played there ... don't plan to, and don't recommend it.


also ... mac users running on osx (jaguar) have the option of installing 'boot camp' ... from which 'microsoft windows' can then be installed ... which should allow you to play on these sites: (i'm considering doing this ... so maybe some updates to follow)

poker.com

titanpoker

sunpoker

paradisepoker

noble poker

ultimatebet - i purposely left this one for last ... and like absolute poker, considered not posting it at all. however, people should be warned about this site (and hey, this goes for phil hellmeuth too) ... the only thing i would do with my ten foot pole is ... whack 'em!

please add your experiences/opinions ...

i'm also considering taking bets of how long, or if my 'ultimate bet' comments will stay on ... they're relevant, but the people who run this site might be scared of losing whatever advertising money they get from 'ultimatebet'. i doubt this because i don't go into detail ... and don't think anybody from 'ultimatebet' will notice my post anyway ... but we'll see how it plays out!

I'll give it 48 hours until your post is deleted, since it is the weekend.

I'm kidding.

I personally have no intention of deleting this post. As I've said before, my intention all along has been to help my fellow donkhards to become the strongest poker players in the game. That's just not going to happen if information is being withheld.

Poker is alot of things. One of the key factors in playing winning poker is leveraging every small advantage to tip the odds in your favor. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the fact that a winning player needs to get the heck out of the way when the odds are against him or her. Take pot odds for example. If your odds of winning outweigh the pot, you play on. But if those odds were reversed, you would get out of the way.
If I were in a game with someone who I thought had a gambling problem, would I help them? Certainly, but after the game. After all, there problem works to my advantage in the game.
When I spot collusion at a table, I'll inform the players at the table of my observations so they can make their own educated decision as to what they want to do next, and then I simply leave the game. I leave because I know my odds of winning are lessened. Even if it's only by the smallest of margins, I'd rather find a table where that slight leverage against me does not exist.

Now when it comes to online poker, it's hard to say with any certainty how on the up and up any site really is. For years I've been hearing people's speculation and doubts about the "randomness" of poker sites' RNG's. If I were tech-savvy enough to run my own online poker site, I'm sure I could also very easily set it up so I can see all the hole cards and maybe even what's coming. And who knows, maybe this is industry standard, and every online poker room has a few "players" who see all. Of course, having a site that grosses so many millions of dollars, the higher-ups wouldn't likely have the need to win money at a poker table. Doesn't mean they wouldn't.

Take the POTRIPPER scandal for example, which I assume is what you were referring to, dijwaila. If any of you don't know anything about it, take a look a this article about the scandal. There's also a video replay of the infamous game on youtube. Now from what I've heard and read, this was an isolated incident, and the execs at Absolute have doled out the proper disciplinary actions and stepped up security to prevent a repeat of this incident.

But I think it's only fair that each donkhard member is informed and allowed to make his or her own decisions about how they'd like to proceed from here.

Like I said, this could have been an isolated incident, or it could be going on at every online poker room. The only difference may be that the others don't get caught. But that's your decision to make.

I personally played poker at AP for years. But I never played very high of stakes there. The largest games I ever got into were the Big Game since back when it was the $100K, which I faired well in, and the occasional $5/$10 NL cash game.

I also played on UB for a short period of time, but didn't stay long or win much. But I did end up about $1,700 by the time I stopped playing there.

I am curious as to what you were referring to about UB. Is it because UB is AP's sister site (yep call AP security, you're also on the phone with UB security), or is there a UB scandal I'm unaware of?

I'd like to say that I would still play at UB if the urge ever arises, and I still play occasionally on AP. All in all, I've ended up ahead on both sites. I've profited despite their questionable histories. But if anyone feels uncomfortable playing there, by all means don't. There are so many poker sites out there, you could easily find one where you feel safe and can enjoy the online poker experience.

TBD

The Big Donk wrote: Jungle folded up their tents a while back, and apparently left alot of their players out in the rain.

(this quote was taken from the 'new online poker site could be a scam' topic in the 'poker scandals' thread)

thanks t.b.d, good to know ... i hadn't known anything about this site yet. it's definitely off the mac-compatible list now!

I have seen several postings regarding your limited choice of poker rooms since you use a Mac. So I did a little research (about 5 minutes) and found these. I am sure you have them and I really don't know if all of them are good.\

Full Tilt Poker
PokerStars
Poker Room
Party Poker
Pacific Poker
Sun Poker
Chan Poker
Betsson Poker
Pitbull Poker
Bugsys Club Poker
GamesGrid
Euro
Hollywood
Absolute
Ultimate bet

Then it dawned on me. Why not use an emulator so you can play any of them.
Microsoft Virtual PC
Guest PC
iEmulator

The Big Donk wrote:
I am curious as to what you were referring to about UB. Is it because UB is AP's sister site (yep call AP security, you're also on the phone with UB security), or is there a UB scandal I'm unaware of?
TBD

i wanted to update the 'ultimate bet/absolute poker' aspects of this topic earlier, but have been quite busy.
the ultimate bet situation is very similar to the absolute 'superuser' situation ... visible hole cards, site ownership in-accountability/collusion (appearances suggest that the new ownership for these sites may be a front for the previous owners) ... plus some suspicious account to account transfers.

there are a lot of details and reading through them again would take time that i don't currently have. much of this information was made public by members of another online poker forum (2 plus 2). for everybody who could have their bankrolls affected by such practices as have happened at 'ultimate bet' or 'absolute poker' ... do search out this information until i (or anybody else) have the opportunity to look through it, learn what else can be determined and post it here.

for now ... i will state that it does not appear the administration of 'ultimate bet' in particular has done anything to prevent such cheating from continuing. rather, they have released statements intended to improve their image while continuing with 'business as usual'. it seems to have been somewhat effective as people still play there, including some of my friends. they play low/middle stakes and seem to think that reduces the chance of being cheated. maybe that's true ... but it still doesn't make sense to support such a site by playing there.