Poker - No Download Five Card Draw Game

First off, I want to apologize as I just realized my sudden switch of the blog theme caused the embedded PokerListings video in the previous post to not be completely visible. Anyway, if it's too anoying, simply head over to their own video archive and find the video on their site.

Now, let's get on to this post!

As we're approaching Christmas, what could possibly be better than getting to know a no download poker game for the most commonly played variant of the game at American kitchen tables all over the country - 5 Card Draw poker? Perhaps 5 Card Draw with a weird, Japanese twist to it?

Or, uh, perhaps that wasn't all too Christmas-y. Well, anyway I've taken the time to review yet another play-money poker flash game, and this one is - simply enough - just called Poker.



Gameplay is fairly simplistic, with the classic rules that every American citizen probably knows by heart. The "cute" anime blobs with angry poker faces that represent you and the three computer opponents get through a basic game with few options to let you screw anything up. However, it was a tiny bit confusing at first - I didn't realize I'd have to click the chips themselves to up the bets but rather only called by pushing the "Bet" and "Next ->" buttons. Also worth mentioning is that they've managed to not get that it's called folding, but instead there's a "Drop" button.

These things don't really affect the gameplay, though. After you've gotten a hang of it, it's a decent game. The AI isn't too bright, so to new players this could be good practice before trying out any real-money poker.

On the downside, the sounds are horribly annoying, so I'd suggest you play this with the sound muted.

Great Poker Strategy Video - Why You Shouldn't Slow Play

I just found the vast video archive over at PokerListings, one of the biggest online poker guides out there today, and in my opinion, one of the best poker sites out there. I plowed through it and as newbeginner online poker player, I took most interest in the strategy video section.

This video is on the subject of why inexperienced players shouldn't slow play hands, and is carried out by PL's in-house strategy writer Daniel Skolovy.

I think he makes very good points and explains in an easy-to-understand way, complete with a number of explanatory hands carried out in a hand-replayer software in the video.

Check it out!

Governor of Poker - the best play-money poker flash game around

This post is dedicated to a game that has already reached widespread critical acclaim as one of the best no download poker games out there today. It's a completely free-to-play, flash based casual game called Governor of Poker. Originally developed and released by Youdagames, it's today literally all over the Internet (just do a Google search for it, and you'll see what I mean).

As casual gaming is growing by the day, this game has helped spread the game of Texas Hold'em even more, and the game is nothing short of fantastic.

You start off with quite a small bankroll, in a small Texas town, and are to build that bankroll up whilst also investing in property. After having cleared out the available tournaments and cash games where you're at, you travel on through Texas, with the one goal of being the Governor of Poker - and, quite literally, the owner of the entire state.

The graphics are top notch for a flash game, the gameplay is good and for the fish out there, you even get some in-game strategy tips!

Try it out today!

Online Poker Rooms with No Download pt. II

It's been a while since part one, but here's finally number two. I'll cover the two remaining rooms who offer a no download poker version of their software, for the convenience of players who are either sitting on a modem to play online poker, or might not be able to download or install software for other reasons.

BEFORE I START - Congratulations to Joe Cada, winner of the WSOP Main Event 2009!
I haven't had the time to update this blog in a while, but still feel I have to give him a shout for his feat!

And now, on to the poker rooms...

1. Paddy Power Poker
PPP is operated by the European, Irish-based gambling operator Paddy Power, who offer both sports betting and an online casino, apart from their card room. Their card room is very popular among European poker players, and has a vast number of players due to its placement on the iPoker network.

As for their no download option, it runs as smoothly as that of Titan Poker (who also uses Playtech software, and belong to the same network). It has been tried before, and it works very well on here, too!

2. Ladbrokes Poker
Ladbrokes is yet another well-renowned, UK-based gambling operator offering everything from sportsbetting to backgammon, and various other fun real-money games. Their poker room offers you the possibility to choose from a traditional online table view, or their exciting, newly developed 3D poker.

Their flash based poker client is reached through clicking the "Getting Started" link on their homepage, and features the 3D version directly through your web browser! Also, they host a multi-table feature that works very well.

That's all for now. And as always, if you have any tips on how I could improve these posts - or if there's something you'd want me to write about - let me know!

Good luck at the tables!

Mike Matusow launches new poker training site!

This is probably old news to some of you, but none the less I think this demands the attention of this blog.

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow has launched a new poker training site, called the Deepstacks University. Apparently, the site is going to offer so called modules, in which the student interacts with educational video instructions and practices hand situations in no-limit Texas Holdem at a virtual poker table.

This is known as RTT, which stands for Reactive Training Technology.

And for those who thought The Mouth was all there was to it - not to say he wouldn't have sufficed - think again. Team Deepstacks include well-known professional players TJ Cloutier, Tom McEvoy and the lovely Liv Boeree, among others.

This is gonna be interesting! What do you think, will you enroll?

Zynga Poker - Texas HoldEm Poker on Facebook

Today, I have personally tested and reviewed one of the most talked about no download poker games out there, Zynga Poker -- well-known simply as Texas HoldEm Poker on Facebook --, and I must initially say I'm surprised.

Zynga doesn't offer real money wagering at all. Instead, Facebook users play using in-game currency known as chips. The game also utilizes what's known as Casino Gold, which you can use to buy gifts for your Facebook friends. Though that part doesn't really have to do with the game at all, it's a nice perk to it. Also, I reckon that Zynga has found a very good way of utilizing the social media craze to hype their game up in this way!

The game tables load up really fast, and the gameplay seems more or less flawless. I played for a little over three hours - and busted my imaginary bankroll when I took a shoot at the "high-stakes" tables, of course - with little to no complaints. The software is great!

The biggest downside to the game, in my opinion, is that the pace feels very slow. This is probably due to the fact that most or all of the players are only playing casually. Perhaps, you shouldn't take the games all too seriously, or you'll most likely become irritated at the table pace sooner or later.

Overall, Zynga Poker is great if you're looking for one of the more relaxed online poker games out there. And if you're a Facebook user - who isn't, by the way? - you'll be seated at a table within minutes at any time!

One i 2.7 billion

This post is about the best form of no download poker - live poker. Kidding, I just thought I'd post this video, because I never get tired of watching it.

Online Poker Rooms with No Download pt. I

Welcome to the first post in this blog! Today, I'm going to go through some of the best major poker rooms that does offer a no download poker option for their player base.

Why would you want to play in a browser, when you can simply download a piece of software, you might ask?

We all have different reasons. I, for one, simply cannot download any software at all, because the only computer I own is a laptop from my job, and my employer has chosen to prevent downloading completely. But I still need to be able to keep a full-ring table going in the background when going through paperwork... because I'm pretty sure no one wants the grumpy, under-stimulated co-worker that I might morph into without it! ;)

Knowing which poker rooms offer a no download option is great, as you can choose one (or several) rooms to make deposits at and be sure you'll be able to play whatever computer you're using at the moment!

Therefore, I've started researching the big online gambling venues and their respective card rooms that offer a flash (or other type of) no download version of their poker software. These are the first three rooms that I've tried out (and approved of, of course).

None of these rooms accept U.S. players - I will try to cover your options in a later post!

1. Titan Poker
This room is a relative newcomer within the online poker industry, but nonetheless have they managed to increase their market share a lot lately. Today, they're one of the big players, and their flash software is one of the better I've used.

Over the three hours that I played, I never experienced any lag, getting seated at a table didn't take much more time than using their proprietary software, and overall I felt comfortable using it.

2. Party Poker
This is a real industry veteran, with its owners PartyGaming having opened it in early 2001 - right by the start of the poker boom. Though their market share drastically decreased when having to shut out U.S. players due to the UIGEA passing the Senate, they're still one of the bigger players.

As for their browser based software, it can be somewhat laggy at peak hours, but other than that it's fine and I experienced no problems.

3. Pacific Poker
Yet another industry veteran, Pacific Poker has long been known as the home of many broke gamblers without a clue. And if you're a serious poker player, you'll know that's a great thing! :D Along with the uprise of today's leading rooms, e.g. Full Tilt, Pacific Poker was one of the rooms to be forced out of the U.S. market, not to come back when the new operators found loopholes enabling them to keep offering their services to Americans.

Their browser based play is a bit dull and unresponsive, though still functional, but the juicy games more than make up for it! I personally recommend PP!

That's all for know. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any tips on how to make it better, please leave a comment! :)