2006 was a roller coaster for Mac poker players. We had a slow start, then a bunch of great news, followed by some horrible news, and finally at the end of 06 we’re leveling out again.
The Good
Full tilt poker released mac software. – Full Tilt was the second major poker site to come out with a mac version. They were also the first one to make it a downloadable program (compared to pokerroom’s web browser version).
Party Poker released two Mac versions – Party poker took everyone by surprise when they quietly released an online java version of their poker room that could be played on a Mac, PC, or Linux. They surprised us once again a month later with a downloadable Mac version.
Bodog announced Mac software Bodog announced that they will be creating a mac version of Bodog poker by the end of 2006.
PokerStars said they were working on mac software – PokerStars, the largest online poker site, said that they have a team of programmers working to bring PokerStars to the Mac.
The Bad
Bodog delays Mac software – After what seemed like ages of waiting for their Mac version, they said they stopped the project because one of their main software engineers left the company. Now they’re aiming for late 07′.
Congress passed an anti-gambling law A (sneaky) law was passed in the US that made it illegal for banks to directly deal with poker sites. Although it’s always been like this (that’s why we go through neteller), the new law scared a few poker rooms out of the US.
PokerRoom pulls out of the US – As a result of the anti-gaming law, poker-room decided to stop accepting american players. US players were given time to withdraw their money.
PartyPoker pulls out of the US – Nobody saw this coming. PartyPoker immediately stopped allowing US players after the anti-gaming law was passed. Now a once thriving poker room seems like a ghost town compared to its former popularity.
2006 results
US Mac players are back down to having one online poker room to choose from (Full Tilt Poker instead of PokerRoom), while everyone else has a much larger selection. We also have other poker sites like Bodog, PokerStars, and Absolute Poker working on their Mac version.
Overall 06 was a good year. We mostly saw a shift in the popularity of poker sites and an increased attention to Mac poker players.
Check back next week for a news article on Mac poker predictions for 2007.
The Full Tilt client I have to say is the best one for the mac right now. Party Poker’s client is still considered in beta, and doesn’t support their tournaments either. (it’s also ALOT slower than the PC client) but is VERY promising.
Let’s hope the new year brings some more mac support!
I agree, Full Tilt is the best site for macs and even one of the best poker sites in general. I can spend hours a day watching $20,000 pots go back in forth in their high stakes games :mrgreen:. The only poker room I can see taking full tilts place is pokerstars. Hopefully they’ll support Macs soon!
[…] The last entry, wrapping up Mac poker for 2006, showed how active the year was in comparison to previous years. 2007 should be even more fun! This will be a big year for Mac poker players and possibly a defining year for online poker. […]