One of the most interesting poker rooms online, and extremely beginner-friendly. True Poker is a true-to-life graphics site, so when you sit down at a poker table, you see it from your point of view, not as if you were floating overhead the table. The sounds are in stereo, so when chips clink, it comes from one end of the room or the other; the characters are James Bond types, shady ladies, gunslingers, and they have movements, and these are not hidden. You can watch who looks at his cards how often, and exactly when. So the games provide online players with a few more of those rare things, physical tells. The games will run slightly slower than in non-true-to-life software, but it makes up for it. It's also more fun.
Games offered are: Texas Holdem, Omaha Hi, and Omaha Hi-Lo.
The other features of True Poker games create a fuller experience and help a poker enthusiast keep track of and improve his own strategy. To start with, the Bubble Hints assist new players to become familiar with the functions of the site. These can be turned off when you like. Action prompts continue throughout play. The Notes feature is well thought-out: Here, you can keep a log on any or all other players you encounter, and be able to retrieve it any old time. Just click on a player and your Notes window comes up, and to save time typing, it offers quick one- or two-word descriptions you can click on, to categorize that player, or you can choose to enter a line or so, perhaps noting that you played against this individual once before. A Player Status window can be quickly called up during a game too, that lists the player's name, if they're playing that hand or sitting out, how much they have in chips, and if you have noted a description of how that person plays, that too will appear, to remind you. It's really handy.
Your own player stats are kept in record for you too: how much of the time you check, raise, etc.; when you tend to fold, and so on. This is a great addition to work on your game.
The freerolls offer up to $1600 weekly in prizes. There are daily tournaments every hour on the half-hour, with buy-ins from $6 (+$1 fee) to $30 (+$3). On Saturday mornings there's the Sunrise tournament for 300 players, and every Sunday evening in August, a minimum prize pool of $5000 is guaranteed in the NL Holdem tournament. You can buy in or win a seat for it in the $10 "Sit & Go" tourneys. Other promotions have included a $25 bonus if you get quads in an Omaha real money game. Currently, a 20% bonus on first deposit, up to $50, starts you off right.
Loyal players get assigned points for their play, and the number of points puts you in a level that may entitle you to enter special tournaments, or you can use the points for merchandise, which ranges from caps and shirts all the way up to ocean cruises.
True Poker's Customer service is reported to be excellent, with email replies within 30 minutes. Phone support is also offered. Deposits can be made through Visa, MC, Neteller, or bank wire.
