Mac Compatible Online Poker

Online poker has been around for quite a few years now and there are many poker rooms available online. The majority of them, however, require that you use Windows. If you aren't sitting at your desk with a pc running Windows, you couldn't step into the virtual poker world.

If there is one thing that has been constant in the internet it has been change. Today is a different world and online poker room operators looking for an edge on the competition seek to serve market niches that have been neglected. Serving the non-windows market is such niche.

The first offerings for non-windows online poker enthusiasts came in the form of Java applets. PokerRoom.com was the first major online poker room to offer a Java based poker client. This light version of their gaming software didn't have all the features of their windows client but allowed anyone with a Java 1.1 compatible browser to play online poker without having to download software. This solution was still an iffy proposition for some Mac OS9 users but Mac OS X and linux users could easily connect and ante up. Mac OS9 users could also run the program so long as they had installed Macintosh Runtime for Java 2.0 or better, which you can download from the Apple website. Of course, the light version was also an option for Windows users that didn't want to download software to play at PokerRoom.com. PokerRoom.com was first to offer online poker to Mac and Linux users but their monopoly of this part of the market didn't last long.

Party Poker was for a long time the biggest poker room on the internet. Since they stopped allowing players in the United States to take part in their real money games they have lost this claim to Poker Stars. The world of online poker continues to thrive without being open to the United States and Party Poker continues to be a market leader. Their offering for Mac users is also a
Java based solution. PartyPoker Anywhere is still a beta but has progressed to the point where Party Poker real money games are now available. Not all the features of their Windows client are available to PartyPoker Anywhere users but most of the missing features are eye-candy and how many serious poker players really care about smooth animation or fancy avatars? Here is a link for a January 2008 Party Poker Bonus Code so you can get up to $200 free when you open your account.

Mac users are a different breed of computer users and are a loyal bunch. While the Java based solution let them join the fun, it was still another case where Mac users are treated as second class citizens. Macintosh is a first class operating system and Mac poker players deserved a full fledged online poker client and Full Tilt Poker was the group to do it. Full Tilt Poker is the first major online poker room to create software just for Mac users. The software is free to download and both play money and real money games are offered. New players can also can an amazing bonus of up to $600. This is one of the most generous sign up bonuses available. To guarantee your eligibility for the largest bonus you need a Full Tilt Poker bonus code such as PKRCASH which you will enter you complete your registration form.

Which poker room is the best for you depends on your needs. If you live in the United States and want to play at the real money tables then Full Tilt Poker is your only choice. If you only want to play for fun you are welcome at all three poker rooms and the choice is a matter of preference and the best way to determine which is best for you is to try all three.

Check out the Mac poker page at www.poker-bonus-review for more information including sign up bonus codes for free cash.