Well, this is finally one of the  real   poker rooms.  What people notice after playing PokerRoom.com is that,  first of all,  the games are good,  fast, and competitive;  so if you’re looking for decent competition,  and good players you’ll find them.  Among its customers you’ll find far fewer complaints of bad beats which occur because inexperienced players got too lucky with the wrong hands.  Here,  good hands and smart play combine,  and get the expected result.  A number of poker greats play here.  A poker rooms forum member said he just played Daniel Negreanu here the other day,  for instance.

The graphics are 3D and attractive  (without slowing down play!) ; pick a profile for yourself from many faces when you sit in.  PokerRoom has both  downloadable  and  Java games.  Downloads take approx.  10-13 min. PokerRoom has these games: Texas Hold’em,  Omaha,  Omaha Hi/Low,  7-Card Stud and 7-Card Stud Hi/Low.  And now,  it offers No-Limit tables.  You’ll find them under the  “Try New Games”  section.  This will please players in poker rooms who enjoy a little richer action.  The games tend to be faster-paced than many casinos.  This is good for skilled players,  or for the impatient.  They’ve recently added other casino games to the site besides Poker:  You can stay onsite and play Blackjack,  Baccarat,  Chinese Poker,  Slots,  Let It Ride,  and VideoPoker.  The promotions and bonuses stay good for these games too.

You’ll get a bonus of 20% on your first deposit,  up to $100.  This is twice the bonus limit that most poker rooms offer;  I was surprised that a good site like this was giving it.  Then,  there’s the weekly Spot Cash Giveaway:  You can win $50 extra if you’re the winner at a randomly-chosen table.  This program awards $8500 every week.  Then,  in tournaments,  $2500 is added to the prize pool on certain days,  and winners are awarded portions of the pool according to a table scale.  Your winnings could get a boost of $20 to $700. As in every casino or poker room,  there’s a perk if you refer a friend.  The Invite-A-Friend bonus is 500 play money credits,  then 4000 when that friend actually signs up.

While you’re playing you can keep a log of information you notice about other players,  their tells,  their strategy,  as tips to keep for yourself.  Simply click on the head  (avatar)  of that player and type in the info,  which is stored with your account so you can use it later when encountering that player again.  There’s also an option to track your own gameplay and your stats and retrieve it when you want.  And of course,  you can request and get Hand Histories to see how play progresses at a table,  or to check your own strategy.

There is Lobby Chat enabled,  so you can talk to other players before playing – which is a nice switch.  Get the scoop on surrounding players before you sit down!  PokerRoom allows you to play more than 1 table at a time,  whether it’s in regular games or tournaments. There’s less rake on this site,  just 5% of the pot,  up to $3. PokerRoom runs on systems using Windows,  Macintosh,  or Linux.  Besides being one of the very few sites that make poker work for the Macintosh user,  PokerRoom offers games that work on many older or slower systems.  You can open an account using Visa,  Mastercard,  Neteller,  Prepaid ATM,  Firepay,  or 900Pay,  which is a telephone cash-transfer service.

Support is available 24 hrs. If you are disconnected during a game,  you are automatically  “All-In,”  meaning that you are treated as if you ran out of chips before the betting finished:  Your hand stays in the game,  but you won’t be eligible to win any more than was in the pot when you last made a move.
PokerRoom runs a Thawte Secure Site,  its poker rooms transactions protected by Secure Socket Layer encryption.
The independent testing agency BMM,  an accredited testing facility,  has analyzed their games and software to declare its randomness and fairness.  I’ve seen PokerRoom actively monitoring player activity and behavior to prevent cheating and collusion  (team-playing)  at its tables.  This is encouraging,  since this type of abuse is seen more and more often.