THINGS WERE VERY DIFFERENT IN 1999, when the then fledgling PokerRoom.com was launched.  Back in those days, PokerRoom didn’t even offer real-money games, probably unaware that they were among the trailblazing pioneers in what would become the biggest online-business success story of the 21st century’s opening decade.

In August 2001, following two years of tirelessly refining their format, PokerRoom.com took the plunge and began to offer real-money games. Although at this time they only carried No-limit Texas Hold’em, they had the edge over many of their emerging competitors and retained a substantial, loyal customer-base thanks to the knowledge and experience built up through trial and error in the preceding years. In 2003, they overhauled the system and went all-in with Nolimit, 7-stud Omaha , Hi, and Hi-lo. Earlier this year saw further software enhancement, and the addition of less familiar games, such as Pai Gow and Chinese Poker.

PokerRoom.com is visually striking. In place of the evocations of tropical islands or plush casinos favored by other cardrooms, PokerRoom opted for a cinematically-sleazy aesthetic which, in this reviewer’s opinion, makes it the coolest looking site around. Its clear-cut, vivid identity conjures up the gritty, smoky poker dens of yesteryear portrayed in, say, The Cincinnati Kid, or The Sting. The interface itself is pretty plain, no-frills stuff, but that just ties in perfectly with the whole old-school feel.

Graphically, the games are superior, offering smooth, uninterrupted play. PokerRoom like to inject a bit of playful humor into the roceedings and so, rather than playing from a ghostly empty seat, you can choose from a selection of avatars, or comic characters (our favorite is the wiry oldspinster type), which really help to animate the play. Player chat comes in the form of speech bubbles directly from the characters’ mouths. And while it’s certainly not the biggest poker site out there, there are usually several thousand players online at any one time, which means plenty of different games to choose from.

PokerRoom is also one of the few sites available in a playfor-money, no-download version, a pretty efficient set-up that doesn’t seem to suffer significantly in terms of speed and graphics. It’s also one of only a limited number of sites that is Mac friendly. It’s an oft-heard lament from legions of Apple Mac users that there’s an online poker craze going on, and for some reason they’re not invited. Many sites still don’t use the Java applet, but PokerRoom offers an altogether more flexible package for everyone.

What started out as a play-for-fun site still does a nice line in playing for fun and low-stakes games, making it the perfect choice for poker newbies. There is also a ‘ Poker School ’ offering comprehensive advice on improving your game (and your confidence). You get the impression that it’s about more than just the rake, and these guys genuinely care about poker.

Seasoned players and novices alike can take advantage of the excellent statistical information available, with reams of detailed analysis of hands, variables and probability percentages. There is also an energetic online community at the site’s ‘Pokah’ forum, filled with lively discussion threads on everything poker.

And, as if you needed any incentive, sign-up bonuses are pretty good too, with a 40 percent first-deposit bonus on anything up to $200. Poker fans come in all shapes and sizes, and, with a plethora of tournaments on offer, from freerolls to the big-money variety, there’s something for everyone. In fact, there’s everything a poker fan could possibly want from a cardroom here; it’s an all-round winner. It’s good to see that one of the original online cardrooms is refusing to be engulfed by the recent flood of new sites, just by continually offering something a little bit different.

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