Macs And Poker
 

This may be a stupid question, but with the huge popularity of online poker, why is there no interest from online poker sites to add Mac users to their clientele? We have PokerRoom/Hollywood and some Victoria's Poker to pick from, and with PokerRoom's site pretty much self-destructing as of late there's not much choice. Not a rant post, just seriously wondering if there's something about Mac programming and the internet that I am totally missing out on.

wanna

Re: Macs And Poker
 

The cost/benefit analysis of developing mac software doesn't work from the poker site's perspective. The market for online poker simply isn't as large as the markets for the software that is developed for macs. So it isn't worth it for the sites to invest in the development of mac software.

I used to own only a mac. I was frustrated by the fact that I couldn't use any of the software, and Virtual PC ran pretty slow on my machine. So I invested in a pc, and boy has it been worth it. For not much money you can buy a computer that will run the simple poker software just fine.

Re: Macs And Poker
 

Thanks jrobb - that's what I thought, but given the amount of money some of these sites rake in, you'd think that the benefit would greatly exceed the more-or-less one time cost of implementing Mac software. But apparently it doesn't, and thanks for your insight.

wanna

Re: Macs And Poker
 

I believe PokerRoom is web-based. That would work.

Re: Macs And Poker
 

Pacific also has a Java client I believe.

Even with a monopoly on the Mac players, you don't see VC or PokerRoom overtaking Party any time soon.

Re: Macs And Poker
 

[ QUOTE ]
given the amount of money some of these sites rake in, you'd think that the benefit would greatly exceed the more-or-less one time cost of implementing Mac software.

[/ QUOTE ]

These sites barely have the expertise to program windows software competently, I can't imagine what the mac software would be like. Plus it's not a one-time cost. There is certaintly maintenence costs of the software, keeping it up do date with the windows version, etc.

Ancient PC:
[ QUOTE ]
Even with a monopoly on the Mac players, you don't see VC or PokerRoom overtaking Party any time soon.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly.

Re: Macs And Poker
 

I only and ever owned a PC, but lately I've really been interested in getting a mac. Without poker abilities I am really hesitant to get one though. Anyone think I should get one anyway just because they are so sweet and own both a pc laptop and a powerbook? I think some people would think this is pointless and make me look even more spoiled [even though it would be from my own poker money.]

Re: Macs And Poker
 

Does anyone else here currently run Virtual PC on a Mac and play on non-Mac sites? I'm wondering if that's an alternate route to playing PokerRoom....

Re: Macs And Poker
 

I'm a mac guy, and previously only played Pokerroom. I installed Virtual PC a few months ago, and have since started playing Party, Stars, Full Tilt etc. I've had no problems even though it just a bit(barely noticeable) slower. I use the 1 GHz power book G4 with 512 MB memory.

Re: Macs And Poker
 

Thanks foldingmachine - it seems a lot more profitable to be playing more than just PokerRoom - 1.25 GHz G4 (eMac) here. Did you end up getting it with XP Pro/XP Home/or neither?

wanna

Re: Macs And Poker
 

...I have XP home. I have 6 sites loaded....I only have money in 3, but there has been zero problems so far.

Pacific Poker Java
 

have u tried the java version at pacific? im dying to play there but wen i try to go to a table it loads blank, with sound but blank...ive emailed them asking if maybe their type of java doesnt work for mac - but got no reply. the lobby loads properly and everything. if any mac users could give it a try and get back to me id appreciate it. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Re: Pacific Poker Java
 

Try using a different browser. For example, when I was playing at pokerroom I often had difficulty playing there using Safari, but I never had problems using Internet Explorer.

Re: Pacific Poker Java
 

ive tried using netscape and internet explorer, safari is the only one that will load the lobby, but then like i said the tables r blank. (pure black screens). if anyone with a mac is willing to try opening the java version using safari id be eternally greatful!! ive been trying different tweaking things but if i can find out that it just doesnt work on mac then i can finally give up...

Re: Pacific Poker Java
 

Well I have tried with both Safari and Opera with no luck. I got as far as creating an account but whenever I would try to load the lobby it would always just sit around 70% complete.

I have always hated pacific anyway.

Let me know if you have any progress, because I would rather not have to play through Virtual PC.

Re: Macs And Poker
 

I have a powerbook 667 with 1G ram and VPC 6 is painfully slow.

Re: Macs And Poker
 

Yup. It's going to be slow no matter what. Doesn't really matter unless you are playing multiple tables. In that case it's probably just a better idea to buy an extremely low end PC for a couple hundred bucks.

Re: Pacific Poker Java
 

at first i was only able to get it downlaoded to 70% too, then it started loading fully, but only with safari. IE still only loads to 70%. i dont kno why it loads with safari now, and i really dont kno y the tables r blank!! arg. wen i emailed them they said that wen it stops at 70% thats due to firewalls and blocked ports, but they didnt answer my question about the blank tables in safari. ive emailed 3 times in the past 2 weeks.

the reason i really wanna get this to work is also cuz i dont wanna have to use VPC all the time. altho it runs very well on my ibook, it eats up the battery twice as fast and makes the fan go on way more often (annoying).

Re: Macs And Poker
 

that's what I ended up doing, and even my ancient poker pc is way faster than vpc6. vpc7 is supposed to have been a big improvement. it does suck having a separate poker computer though.

Re: Macs And Poker
 

there's a theory out there that poker sites are scared of mac users because obviously we must be much smarter than PC users, so we would have an unfair advantage. at least, that's what i read on the internet. so it must be true.

or maybe they just don't want us saying stuff like "iFlush" or "iRiver". beats the hell out of me.


oh, and emptying the safari cache sometimes works on pokerroom, it might for pacific as well.