The early days of online poker saw two players take the lead very early on.
Party Poker
and Paradise Poker
started offering online poker play in 2001 and 1999 respectively and
quickly grew into the leading two poker rooms, which they remain today. Casino
on Net (otherwise know as 888.com) launched Pacific Poker in late 2002 and also
took the early mover advantage.
Other group quickly realized that to take advantage of the Online Poker
phenomenon, they would have to get clever. It's all about volume. If a poker room
does not have enough active players, they will not survive. It's the classic
chicken / egg scenario. Nobody will stick around if the right games are not
available and the tables are empty.
To counter this problem and move fast, a number of software providers implemented an
online poker network model.
They license the software to their operators (also referred to as "skinning" of
the software), but all the traffic goes into a centralized online poker network
or "pool".
In this way the economies of scale allow a poker room to grow faster. Although the
individual operators may not have substantial player numbers to be viable on
their own, the
combined traffic makes the network viable. Some of these online poker networks
are catching on fast.
You may wonder what makes one operator different from the others if they all ultimately lead you to the same room? The answer lies in their financial viability, the promotions they offer and the quality of their customer service. Some are small and cannot offer compelling enough promotions. They are further hampered by their reliance on makeshift service. It is therefore important to choose the operator carefully, regardless
of the backing of the network itself.
We review the leading online poker network operators below.
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The Prima Poker Network |
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The Prima Poker Network was founded by the big daddy of the online casino
business, Microgaming. Many felt that they would be the only serious
challenger to the dominance of Party and Paradise Poker. Microgaming took some
early criticism for the quality of their software but it has come a long way. They
now have some of the largest casino and sports betting operators in the world
feeding the network. The Prima Poker network has over 40 operators and is
probably about third largest in terms of traffic. Royal Vegas Poker is
reported to be the largest on the Prima Poker operators, and is in our opinion
streets ahead of the rest. Another very good "skin" is Golden Tiger Poker. |
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Play at Royal Vegas Prima Poker
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The Cryptologic Network |
Wagerlogic, a subsidiary of the NASDAQ listed Cryptologic Inc, started
licensing its online poker software in 2002. Although they only have a handful
of licensed operators, they are all large UK sports bookmakers and a couple of
very large online casino operators. The Cryptologic Network is growing fast
due to huge numbers of sports bettors and casino players being converted. The
software is simple, efficient and most games are on offer. We recommend
Caribbean Sun Poker as our preferred Cryptologic powered poker room. |
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Play at Cryptologic
Caribbean Sun |
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Playtech iPoker Network |
Playtech is a late entrant into the online poker market and faces a tough
battle to make it to the top. However, there are a couple of reasons why they
are likely to become a significant player. Firstly, the quality of the
software, as with the Playtech online casino platform, is some of the best
you'll find, with superb graphics and great features. Secondly, some of the
operators are very large online casinos with huge marketing muscle. We
recommend Noble Poker as our recommended iPoker Network Room. |
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Play at iPoker Noble Poker |
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Tribeca Tables |
Tribeca Tables is an interesting company that focuses on Poker only. It has
licensed over 100 operators, albeit many small ones. The traffic on the
network is slowly picking up and was given a boost through the licensing of
the software to some large casino and sportsbook operators. Software is
pleasing and very stable. Some players love this software and swear by it. We
recommend Doyle's Room (owned by the legend himself), two of
the largest Tribeca Tables operators. |
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Play at Doyle's Room
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Related Poker Articles And News Items:
> A Beginners Guide To Online Poker
> Online Poker Room Bonuses
> Online Poker Room Deposit Methods
> Guaranteed Online Poker Rooms
> Why You Should Trust The Insider
> Online Poker Room Evaluation Criteria
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