Best Mac Poker Sites
Mac users can have a difficult time when trying to play online poker. Most poker sites only offer Windows-based software. Thankfully, there are two major sites that not only provide Mac-based software, but are also some of the absolute best poker sites in their own right. These two sites are Full Tilt Poker and Pokerstars. In addition to these sites, many other poker sites provide web-based gaming that can be used without having to download any software, thereby allowing Mac users to participate.
Mac Poker at Full Tilt
The first poker site that offers true Mac software is Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt is one of the major players in the online poker world. At any given time, there are at least 1500 people participating in poker ring games and around 6000 people participating in tournaments. Even professional poker players have been known to play at Full Tilt. Full Tilt offers a wide variety of games, including Texas Holdem, Omaha (standard and Hi/Lo), Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, all of which can be played for real money. Most of the real-money players are found in the small-stakes Texas Holdem games. Full Tilt offers some great software as well. The graphics are great, and the games run quickly and smoothly. Full Tilt also accepts players from the United States, which is a great relief for anyone from America who has been experiencing difficulty when trying to play poker online. Also, Full Tilt provides a first-time depositor with a 100% bonus up to $600.
Full Tilt has been developing their Mac software for a while, and they now offer an actual downloadable package for Mac users. This affords Mac users the same features, graphics, and game play that any Windows user would get. To get the software, simply go to Fulltiltpoker.com and click on the “download” button. The download should start automatically, as Full Tilt will have recognized what format Mac users need (a .dmg file rather than a .exe). If it does not automatically start, the “download” link will take you to a page where you can manually begin the download by clicking a link for Mac software.
Mac Poker at PokerStars
The other best site for Mac poker is PokerStars. PokerStars claims to be the largest poker site on the Internet. It is certainly one of the most well known sites, perhaps partly due to the fact that world-class poker players such as Chris Monymaker and Greg Raymer got their start at PokerStars. The website features the most real-money traffic out of any poker site on the Internet. During peak hours, there are over 9000 players in ring games and around 75,000 players participating in tournaments. PokerStars has an easily navigable website and great graphics. Many different poker games are available, and they can be played at no-limit, pot-limit, or fixed limit variations. There are also money bonuses for first-time players, and they accept U.S. players.
When using a Mac at PokerStars, you will have to download their software package. The process is very similar to Full Tilt. The only thing that a Mac user should have to do is click the “download” link. There is a chance that PokerStars will not automatically realize that your computer is Mac, so you may have to visit the FAQ and follow the “Mac download page” link. Once the download is complete, double-click the .dmg file. You should then be taken to an installer that will quickly get the PokerStars software onto your system.
Other Mac Poker Sites
There are a number of other sites that Mac users can play poker on. Besides PokerStars and Full Tilt, any poker site that currently claims to be Mac-compatible is simply offering a no-download version of poker. Many poker sites will have a “no-download,” “instant play,” or “flash play” versions of their games. These games run on either Java or Flash, both of which enable poker sites to have web-based platforms that are designed to work on most computers. Therefore, a Mac user can play at any site without having to attempt to use Windows software, which is the typical software that poker sites use. Be advised, however, that “no-download” games can often have less features and simpler graphics than the fully-fledged Windows software provides. Luckily, the features that are left out of no-download games are often not particularly important to the average poker player. Reputable sites that offer these types of games include: Pacific Poker, Hollywood Poker, Party Poker, Sun Poker, and Absolute Poker.
If you are a Mac user and you want to experience the full package at a site that does not offer Mac software, you can try using Wine. Wine is a program that allows Windows-based software to be executed on a Linux-based system, such as MacOS. The results are not always stable, but the Wine download is free and may be worth a try.