Types of Online Poker Rooms - Web-based

Web-based Online Poker Rooms are sites at which players can directly play poker games without having to download and/or run any software from their own computer. Poker games are mainly represented in the browser plug-ins Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Shockwave, or Java and require respective browser support. So, users actually must have considerable bandwidth to load the graphics, sounds, and animations since these all come from the Online Poker Rooms itself and require the web-browser plug-ins (which most internet users already use anyway for all kinds of other web sites, online newspapers, entertainment sites, etc). A very small number of Online Poker Rooms allow games played through a plain HTML interface and the graphics on these sites are generally quite inferior to those provided through down-load based Online Poker Rooms. Another huge difference is the speed of games, as this is generally hampered by bandwidth restrictions, traffic, etc. Disconnection problems can be a huge disturbance as well and generally speaking, most of the bigger Online Poker Rooms prefer to use download-based software and you will find a much larger choice of games and options with these sites.

Types of Online Poker Rooms - Download-based

Download-based Online Poker Rooms are the most common and popular poker sites on the web. Here, users have to download certain software in order to play that poker games. Once the software is installed, it connects to the Online Poker Rooms’ service provider and handles contact without browser support. The biggest advantage here is speed, as all the graphics and animations are included in the software and run from the computer instead of the Internet. The only downside, of course, is the initial download and the need for the installation of the program, in addition some people worry as well about the risk of downloading a virus or spyware but so long as you are acquiring software from reliable Online Poker Rooms and use a solid anti-virus program, this should not be a problem. In any case, read the fine print before downloading any of this software and if you find something you do not like, choose another Online Poker Room - there are many out there.

Etiquette at Online Poker Rooms

The brief guideline should serve as a valuable introduction for newcomers to the Online Poker Rooms’ experience while simultaneously providing seasoned-players with a ‘refresher’, or even update, concerning the type of behavior expected from participants at Online Poker Rooms. Players new and old, more often than not through no fault of their own, may not be aware of many of the codes of conduct associated with online play.

1) Be considerate of your fellow players - Keeping this general concept in mind at all times should make many of the other etiquette issues appear obvious and generally easy to follow.

2) Be courteous to other players - All guidelines for etiquette procedures build from this obvious rule and, accordingly.

3) Know the rules of the game before you play - With Online Poker Rooms, this is fairly easy because most sites offer the opportunity to initially play for free with fake money and, therefore, become familiar with the appropriate rules and procedures.

4) Maintain the speed of the game - Online Poker games are often much faster, and thus more appealing to many players, than live games. Do your best to keep up with the speed of the game, as breaks and moments to think are normal, but you should avoid consistently slowing down the game as a courtesy to other players.