| Online Poker Room Networks |
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Most online cardrooms don't stand alone. Most of them belong to a poker network of some kind. When an online poker site participates in a poker network it's called a "skin" of that network. Some of these poker networks are large, some of them are small, and many of them are in between. The purpose of this page is to list them and include which poker sites are tied into which networks. These are listed in order of size. (More or less.) Party Poker almost doesn't count as a "network". The only skin they have is Empire Poker, and it's no longer a separate company. Party Poker bought Empire Poker in early 2006. Ongame Network is actually PokerRoom.com, which is well known as being the largest and most popular no download poker site online. But several other sites port players into their poker network, including: * ChanPoker. com - Johnny Chan's new branded poker site. A lot of the sites using Ongame Network are sportsbook-related poker skins. iPoker Network is the poker arm of Playtech software, which is one of the more popular casino software packages online. Playtech powers casinos like Golden Palace Casino, Vegas Red, and Kiwi Casino, among a bunch of others. Some important poker rooms on the iPoker Network include: * Golden Palace Poker Microgaming Poker (Formerly Prima Poker) Microgaming is well known for their progressive slot machines and casino software, but their poker network has been gradually growing larger over the last few years too. Some of their better-known poker brands include: * 32red Poker International Poker Network - IPN Poker - Boss Media Watch for International Poker to get bigger fast, because Yahoo Poker is a part of their brand, and they just announced their foray into the world of real money poker. Other notable online cardrooms on this network include: * Aces.com - (What a great domain name.) IPN Poker is the Boss Media poker software network. I always thought Ultimate Bet was going to be a big deal, but their marketing team and SEO team just can't seem to get them out of the middle of the pack. Maybe someday. They do have some neat brands though, including: * Ultimate Bet Based on the constant rumors of cheating, I think I'll stick with some of the other poker networks online. I think the cheating rumors have done irreparable damage to their brand. I'm not making any comments about what's actually happened there or whether or not it's a reasonable choice at which to play. But it's not my choice anymore. Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet share ownership now, but as far as I know, they're still operating 2 separate poker networks. I'll update this when I find out that this has changed. Other cardrooms on the Absolute Poker network include: * Big Chip Poker Absolute Poker is owned by the same company as Ultimate Bet, so you can see my comments about what's going on there above. Cryptologic is probably best known for powering Intercasino.com and their poker site, Interpoker.com. Other well known poker brands running on this network include: * Playboy Casino Poker Ladbrokes Poker This is barely a "poker network", since it consists only of Ladbrokes Poker and Poker Million. 24hpoker is a network made up for small cardroom brands that you've probably never heard of. I've never heard of most of them either. Some names include: * Backroom Poker CakePoker "CakePoker.com" has to be 1 of the most bizarre names for a poker network I've ever heard. But they have several sites (mostly sportsbooks) included in their network now, including: * AllHorseRacing.com Merge Gaming Merge Gaming isn't an odd name for a poker network, but their flagship poker brand has an odd name: CarbonPoker.com. Other sites on their network include: * IronDuke.com World Poker Exchange The World Poker Exchange powers their own site and another site called TrueMoneyGames. Action Poker powers a number of smaller cardrooms and at least one notable casino related cardroom, English Harbour Poker. * 3lionspoker.com If I've missed any poker networks, please contact me and let me know which one I've missed so that I can add it. |