PokerListings Blog

In case you haven’t heard (really?), Google has re-invented the wheel, and is gearing up to release their brand new Operating System.

Until this year (it’ll like be released in the second half of 2010), there have been three choices for operating systems:

• Windows (PC)
• OSX (Mac)
• Linux (Geek)

Yes there are hundreds of different flavors and versions, but there really are only three main OS’s being used by any sort of numbers.

That is until Google announced they’re going to change the world with Chrome OS. Since it’s not out yet, it’s not possible to tell you everything about it, but we already know a lot. Here are the facts:

• Open source, this means it’s free.
• Is built to run on specific hardware with no local data storage.
• Requires the internet to function.
• No programs are installed locally; all applications used must be Web Apps.
• There are no program updates, patches or viruses, since nothing is actually stored on your computer.
• You can never “lose” data, since it’s always stored on Google’s servers.

Regardless of how often you play online poker, installing TableNinja might be the greatest thing you can do for yourself.

And by greatest, I mean it’s pretty sweet - and you’ll at least be happy you did.

TableNinja is a poker shortcuts app similar to the “Poker Shortcuts” app used for the Rock Band Wireless Poker Controller video.

The idea is simple: Instead of having to use your mouse or type out the amount of your bet, you can hit one key and have the program do the rest.

When you think about it, you only typically make a small number of actions at a poker table:

• Fold
• Check/Call
• Raise min
• Raise 3bb
• Bet Pot
• Bet ¾ pot
• Bet All in

For most of the poker players in the world, this list is almost 100% of all the actions you’ll ever make.

When it comes down to it, using your mouse is always going to be a lot slower than using your keyboard.

For those of us with uncontrollable aggro monkey-tilt problems, we understand that when the bad beats come our computers are at serious risk of getting smashed, punched, thrown or crushed.

I’ve seen mice crushed, monitors thrown, cases kicked and keyboards smashed repeatedly. Not all of these as a result of poker (I used to play a lot of Counter-Strike back in the day), but poker has been known to deal out its fair share of computer carnage.

If your rage problems extend to the point of throwing notebooks in pools or snapping the screen from the body, then I probably can’t help you. But for the desktop users around the world who suffer from tilt-induced gorilla rage, this article is for you.

Anyone who uses two or more monitors is well aware of a common annoyance with YouTube videos: you can’t watch them full screen and use your computer at the same time.

The problem is of course clicking on anything on the second screen makes the video instantly shrink back down to regular size.

For those of us who like to watch full-screen video while playing online poker, this is certainly an annoyance. So here's a quick tip which many of you may not know (I know I didn't until recently).

Update!! Click here to play real-money poker on the iPhone and iPad at Switch Poker! If you want more information before signing up, check out our review of playing iPhone online poker at Switch Poker.

Even though Apple refuses to allow any iPhone (or iPod Touch) app used for gambling, it's still possible to play real poker on the device with a little help from Jaadu.

If you've read some of my other blogs, such as Quick Guide to Poker on the iPhone, you'll already know that it's possible to play real-money poker on your iPhone using a VNC or RDP app.

This blog is going to show you exactly how to do that, with some video to show you what kind of performance you can expect.

James over at CodingtheWheel.com has written two really fantastic posts on how to use color coding on Full Tilt to revolutionize your table selection.

As James says in the first blog, "What's arguably the single biggest deficiency of the losing poker player at any limit? Poor table/game selection."

This solution helps you identify at a glance the quality of players on Full Tilt tables.

My father once taught me a very important lesson: Always use the proper tool for the job.

If playing online poker is your job, or even your hobby, you're going to want the right PC.

The first thing to know is that you don't have to buy the most expensive computer and accessories to get what you need. You just need to know what you're looking for.

If you do it right, getting the optimal grinder's PC won't actually cost you all that much.

All true geeks of the world share an understanding of one very important principal: no matter what it is, it's always better after it's been modded, customized and hacked.

Being a true geek, I've come to the conclusion that using the standard images and sounds that ship with the standard Full Tilt client just won't do.

The beauty of modding your Full Tilt client is that it's actually very simple and will only take as much time as you're willing to put into it.

The first thing to understand is this is 100% legal. Full Tilt ships its software with its sounds and images unprotected and easily accessible. Only you can see the changes you make and it does not affect the game play in any way.

Over 21 million people in this world own an iPhone. If just 1% of those people play poker, that's over 210,000 people who should read this blog.

The original "quick guide" to poker on the iPhone went over some of the best and worst iPhone poker apps available in the app store. At the time I had ranked Zynga as the best poker app available, while Imagine Poker was the absolute worst.

In all seriousness, Imagine Poker really is the worst poker iPhone app I've ever used. Who decided that playing poker against the Mona Lisa or Napoleon is something anyone would be interested in?

Just thinking about having paid for that app tilts the living shit out of me.

When people talk about the first online poker room, they're usually referring to Planet Poker - the brainchild of Mike Caro and the site that dealt the first ever real-money online poker hand on Jan. 1, 1998.

What most people don't know is the idea for online poker had been around and functioning for years before then.

In 1988, Finnish programmer Jarkko "WiZ" Oikarinen invented IRC (Internet Relay Chat). IRC was the first online "chat room" allowing anyone to set up an IRC server and anyone on that server to create his or her own chat rooms (or channels as they're known).

Over time IRC grew in size and functionality, eventually allowing users to do things like send files and, more importantly, create and run scripts - basically computer programs that operate within the parent program itself.

The thought came to me sort of like this: I'm lazy, and I like the idea of playing poker while sitting on my couch watching TV.

Originally, I developed a system to play poker online using voice-control software, but this isn't very useful if you want to chat with your roommates or eat a BLT while you play.

The next logical step would be using the wireless poker controller, but I just don't like the idea of paying for something I can build myself for free.

The Rock Band (and Guitar Hero) instruments are, basically, wireless controllers. You hit a button on the guitar and it sends that button-press to its little receiver hanging from your Playstation's USB port.

I saw no reason why I shouldn't be able to plug the instrument into my computer and use it as my very own wireless poker controller. And besides, playing poker by using a guitar … that's just rad.

Have you ever been so lazy that having to use your mouse to play online poker was just too much work?

Me neither. And when I first decided to put together a fully functional system for voice-controlled poker, I was doing it simply as a novelty.

Surprisingly while testing it out, I found that voice-controlled poker can actually be pretty useful.

There are times where I want to sit on my couch, watch TV, and play a table or two of online poker. Nothing too serious, just something to kill time. I've always hated using laptop touch pads, and voice control ended up being a perfect option.

This system I've set up is 100% functional. You can start your poker client, find a table, log-in, buy-in and post your blinds.

Once you're on a table you can do everything you would normally use your mouse for - freeing up your hands for more important tasks.

There are hundreds of misconceptions and rumors about poker bots around, including what they are, how they work and if you should be worried about them at the tables.

Poker bots are nothing new. The concept of artificial opponents was originally developed for the game of chess. Over time, programmers were able to create computerized opponents that can defeat the world's greatest chess-playing humans.

But, luckily for us humans, No-Limit Hold'em is a far more complicated game to teach an A.I. than chess.

Limit Hold'em, however, thanks to its primarily mathematical nature, is a bit easier for bots to wrap their silicon heads around. Programmers at the University of Alberta are well known for creating Polaris, the first bot that can actually give humans some real competition in this variant.

But as of yet, no programmer has managed to create a truly competitive and competent bot for No-Limit Hold'em.

Update - it's here!! Click here to play real money poker on the iPhone and iPad at Switch Poker! If you want more information before signing up, check out our review of playing iPhone online poker at Switch Poker.

Every iPhone-wielding poker player wants to know the same thing: How can I use my iPhone to play poker?

As most poker-playing iPhiles already know, Apple will not approve any application which can be used for "gambling."

For this reason, no poker sites have written native iPhone poker software. But that doesn't mean people aren't trying to find a way to work around the problem.

In-Browser Poker Rooms

Lots of poker sites offer full-featured play from inside a standard web-browser. Since the iPhone comes equipped with Safari, you might be thinking that you're home free.

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple.

Ever wondered how poker sites randomly shuffle the deck? Here's everything you need to know about RNGs, but were too afraid to ask.

Before we get into the generators, the first step in understanding how a poker site shuffles its decks is to understand what the word random actually means. The actual definition of random is very simple:

For years, only the people who supported the Microsoft Empire could play online poker on their computers, leaving Mac and Linux users out in the cold.

With the vast majority of the computing world running Windows, poker sites originally decided that it wasn't worth the development time and cost to create software for other platforms.

Only recently has M$ Windows dropped below a 90% market share, mostly as a result of increased sales of Apple computers. Using this statistic as their inspiration, three of the largest poker rooms have created Mac-specific software allowing Mac users to play on their sites without any restraints or hindrances.

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