POKER
Golden
Tiger Poker
Golden
Tiger Poker was launched in October of 2002 and is still one of
the smaller, but more active poker rooms on the 'net. Since launch,
Golden Tiger has delivered over 500,000 hands to their customers, primarily
for Texas Hold'em, but also 5 and 7 Card Stud Poker. The advantages
and disadvantages of a “smaller” poker room are just two sides
of the same coin: Fewer people make it a more friendly atmosphere, since
you keep seeing the same folks whenever you play, but fewer people usually
means it's harder to find a game other than Texas Hold'em during non-peak
hours.
The
interface and the “play” of Golden Tiger is consistent, the
number of seats at a table varies from 2 for 1 on 1 Hold'em, to 8 seats
for 5 and 7 card stud and 10 players to each Texas/Omaha Hold'em, tables.
The lobby allows you to view open tables, by the type of game. Each
game list allows you to view the stakes for the game, the number of
people playing and when relevant and the number of people waiting to
play. You'll be able to choose the betting limits you're comfortable
with. Texas Hold'em stakes range from $.50/$1 to as much as a $50/$100
table. Once your in there, you'll see a table and chairs - but only
names for players, not Avatars (people) like at most poker rooms. Right
click a players names for more info on them and the ability to keep
notes.
All the games are great if you like that particular version of poker.
Texas Hold'em is typically the most popular variation, with 7 Card Stud
following closely behind.
Golden
Tiger also has a $250 prize for highest Texas Hold'em hand every day!
Virtual
City Poker
Virtual
City Poker is another operator of the Prima Poker Network and has
been since March 2003. The benefit of playing on the network is the
continual strong flow of players, a result of many poker sites all feeding
through to one big room. Because of the size of Prima, they also spread
a good variety of games from very low limit (easy pickings!) to high
stakes pot limit and no limit (great if you’ve got the bankroll
or good to just watch)
Graphics
/ Software
Call
me old fashioned, but there is much that you can do to convince me that
I’m anywhere but sat in front of my computer looking at cards on
screen. (I’ve tried True poker, but it’s just too slow.) The
graphics are clear here and your hole cards are easy to see. When the
flop comes, the cards are always visible, and they even have an indicator
that shows who has acted and what they did.. I did have a few issues
with the software when they first introduced the Multi Table Tournament,
as it always seemed to freeze and was really slow, but I think after
constant calls from thousands of players, they have ironed out these
glitches
Cashout
/ Bonus
The reason that I chose this site was due to the fact that there are
so quite a few different sites that operate for the prima network, but
Virtual city is one of the few that has the backing of a large casino
group. When putting down my hard earned dollars, I feel that security
of information and credit details are a huge part of where I play, and
knowing that Virtual City comes under the highly professional banner
of CasinoRewards and is therefore heavily monitored, I am safe in the
knowledge that all is secure, and when it comes to cash out it comes
safely and without hassle. The bonus was the first thing that attracted
me to Virtual City, as I did not want to have to put up $100 that some
of the other sites have as a minimum deposit. $30 for $30 is good for
me. As well as this Virtual City offer a daily prize of $250 for the
highest hand and a bad beat jackpot of a minimum $500.
Customer
/ Support / Security
Customer
support is important to me as things in the online world inevitably
go wrong. The Poker room shares the same support as the casinos attached
to it, so there is always someone on the phone 24/7, and even though
for big technical issues, the support has to contact the Prima network
(why the player can’t contact Prima Poker direct, I don’t
know) you usually have any questions resolved within a 24hour time frame.
Most quick questions I had about my account or cashout, were answered
right there on the spot.
Live
Games
This
site has 5 Card Stud !! Not many online poker rooms cover this game
anymore, but as an old school player, it’s great to find a site
that not only has it, but also has a whole bunch of players ready and
willing to play. Virtual city has all the big games such as Holdem,
Omaha and as mentioned above 5 Card and 7 Card Stud. It also has a whole
spread of games with heads up action, so if you can find a willing partner,
you can sit at a private table and go back and forth.
Limits
I’m
a middle limit player so Virtual City is right up my alley, but they
do have all limits, from very low 25c/50c all the way up to pot limit
50/100. A lot of people I come across say that they like the micro limit
(2c/4c) games offered at other poker sites, but I find that no one is
willing to lay down a hand at that level, so I’d rather stick to
playing for fun than playing for such small limits.
