Every online poker room has its perks and drawbacks, but one of the most tiresome issues for serious online poker players is a slow game pace. Players like these will have a more enjoyable experience at poker sites with fast deal of cards.
We consider the players experience to be the number one priority. But not all players are created equally. That’s why we cover so many different topics in our poker articles, such as this one.
You can probably imagine just how many poker players never even considered the speed of card dealing when playing at an online poker room. It’s not until you’ve participated in poker games at a range of different sites that you become aware of the differences in game pace.
One good example would be PKR poker, known for its incredible 3D graphics and realism, and also for its terribly slow game play. PKR is all about the visual, eye-candy experience, not the intense action that professional online poker players are looking for.
The time take to deal the cards isn’t the only issue with a painstaking pace of play. Every player is given a time limit in which they must play. The time to act can vary from one poker site to another. Inexperienced poker players generally want more time to act, while veterans prefer a very quick game with little time to act.
Our resident researchers have lots of combined experience at different online poker sites, and we’ve put together a list of online poker rooms with the fastest poker deal. We’ve also taken this into account the amount of time given to act, since this is the most dominating factor in the speed of a single, average poker hand.
Fastest Poker Deal
We’ve chosen what feel to be the two fastest online poker sites, in terms of fast game pace. The first is Absolute Poker, an the second PokerStars.
Absolute Poker
Absolute poker has a very fast software platform, with downloads available for both PC and Mac users. The poker deal is extremely fast, instantly passing out each players cards in a second flat. Players are given only 25 seconds to act.
When the time clock drops to 15 seconds remaining, the player is given a sound-effect warning that their time is running out, which often causes players to go ahead and take an action, rather than waiting for the last 15 seconds to tick away (or face instant folding of their hand). The only way to get extra time is if a player is disconnected, and reconnected, within the 25 second time limit. In this case, they are given 10 extra seconds to act.
PokerStars
PokerStars is another quick-paced online poker room, where the action stays pretty fluent at the tables. Like Absolute Poker, PokerStars offers a PC and Mac poker client for download. However, PokerStars has received much more praise for its software platform, setting the bar for others to follow. Even at a full table, the “flip-flip” sound effects that correspond with the dealing of cards last only a second before each player has seen their hand.
The time to act at PokerStars varies by the game and limit being played. Fixed Limit games follow the quick 25-second rule. Then again, Pot Limit and No Limit games, where most veterans and pros can be found, allow an extra 10 seconds (35 seconds total). If you like FL games, you’ll find a much faster game pace overall.
Quicker Game Pace Tips
For those of you who can’t seem to find a quick enough game pace a your favorite online poker room, may we suggest multi-tabling? Try opening two poker tables at the same time and switching back and forth between them. This will alleviate the ofttimes extensive waiting period between actions. A lot of online poker rooms will allow for 4, 8, 12 or even unlimited simultaneous poker tables. Find the number that suits your pace best, and enjoy!
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