When online poker first exploded on to the scene, anybody wanting to play needed to have a PC running Windows software. At the time, WIndows was the Operating System of choice and was used by the vast majority of users who had access to the internet.
Thankfully though, things have now changed. The Apple Corporation has grown so quickly that there are more Mac users accessing the web than ever before, and poker rooms have been forced to sit up and take notice of them.
Whereas ten years ago, Mac users wouldn’t have stood a chance of being able to play online poker, today they have a wide range of options which is growing almost on a monthly basis.
Best Mac Poker Site
If you’re looking to play poker on your Mac, then your first stop should be Bodog.com. One of the biggest names out there, Bodog Poker offers all new players a bonus worth up to $1,000 when they make their first deposit.
On top of that, they have some of the largest tournaments out there and a whole host of regular promotions ensuring that every cent of your bankroll goes as far as possible.
How to play poker on a Mac
If you’re a Mac user looking to play online poker, you have two options available to you:
Mac Poker Download
A large number of poker rooms will now offer a Mac Download option on their site. Similar to the standard Windows download, this Mac option will download a DMG and then install the necessary software to your Applications folder.
The process is very simple. You simply need to download a small file, which will usually only take a couple of minutes (based on the speed of your internet connection).
You’ll find the file in your ‘Downloads’ folder. Simply open the download file up, and you’ll be asked to drag the contents of it into your Applications folder. From there you can open it up at will or alternatively add it to your Dock to allow you to find the application more easily.
Play in your Browser:
Unfortunately, there are still a number of poker rooms that haven’t got round to developing software especially for the Mac.
Luckily though, that doesn’t mean that they’re not accessible to Mac players. A lot of these rooms will actually allow Mac users to log into their account directly via the web browser, meaning that there is no need to download any specific software.
Therefore, rather than looking for a download link, look for a ‘Play Now’ or ‘Login to your Account’ button. You’ll simply need to enter your username and password into the form and you’ll be directed to the poker sites lobby, from where you can choose which table you want to sit down at it.
It’s just like playing from your desktop, only you haven’t had to install any software.
Is downloading software better than playing in your browser?
To be perfectly honest, there’s not a whole lot of difference between playing from your desktop and playing from your favourite browser.
You might find that the downloading the software means that the games run a little quicker and that the graphics look marginally better than in your browser, but there’s really very little in it.
We would suggest that if you think you’re going to be playing poker largely from one machine, then download the software (if possible) and take advantage of the slightly smoother game play.
If you think you’re going to be travelling around a lot and playing poker from a number of different machines, then simply play in your browser. It’s a lot quicker to set up and much easier to access while you’re on the move.
Is there any difference between Mac Poker and PC Poker?
It’s understandable why many people would want to know this, but the simple answer is that there’s absolutely no difference between playing online poker on a PC or a Mac.
When it comes to downloadable software, many poker sites will simply take their existing software and re-code it so that it’s compatible to run on a Mac machine. All of the existing features will be carried across in the transfer and the graphics will look exactly the same.
Equally, there is no need to worry about whether you’ll be excluded from any poker tables or tournaments simply because you’re accessing a particular poker room from a Mac computer.
It makes absolutely no sense for a poker room to restrict the tables or tournaments that a Mac user can see. They want you to play and get involved as much as you can, so you can be rest assured that when you install Mac poker software, you’ll be getting everything that a poker room has to offer you!
