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Cyber Friends

When I decide to play online poker, with almost no exception, I play at pokerstars.com. There are several good reasons for why it is my poker site of choice.

Firstly, it has a very pleasing layout. It is highly customizable, both allowing customers to chose from dozens of table views as well as allowing user made graphics. It also allows avatars, an option some other sites do not feature. Generally speaking, this is fluff to a real poker player, but it is nice to create an atmosphere that is constantly comfortable.

Then there are the poker reasons. Pokerstars offers a wide variety of games and limits, both in cash and tournament varieties. It has bonuses and free games that are very pleasing to both the beginner and the veteran. It suffers from some of the same problems of other sites, in that if you play at levels that aren’t very high, it’s more of a crapshoot than a show of skill, but that isn’t a knock against it, but rather online poker in general. It has an appropriate amount of beginners to feed the pots, and a fair number of sharks to keep you focused.

The most important draw of Pokerstars has nothing to do with any of the above. The main reason why I started with that site, and continue to play there, are my friends. Two of my closest poker buddies encouraged me to start my online poker experience with Pokerstars, and so I followed them, despite preferring FullTiltPoker.com. Since then, I’ve introduced my cousin to the site, and more friends have signed up as well. Anytime we wish, we can all go to the same table, and enjoy a game just as if it were in our own private room. We regularly sign up for the same tournaments and encourage each other on, or compete to see who finishes best. That we are all on the same site and can experience the game together is really the most important aspect for me.

Really, the experience with friends is the most important aspect of poker. Sure, there are those who play the game for the challenge and perhaps to make themselves money, but with the skill level my friends and I are at, the stories to experience and share with friends is the most important draw. Just like decades of poker players before the internet boom, we are in it mostly to share a friendly and exciting experience when we have a little down time. Even if one of us becomes a big time poker pro, we can and will continue to enjoy the friendly experience of poker, online or in person.