Member Avatar for mrlebanese

Is it just me - or is every single online poker room non mac compliant

It is such a huge pain in the ass having to remotely connect to my wife's Windows machine every time I want to play online poker. HELP!

Edited by happygeek because: thread closed
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This thread captures the classic pain: (and others) having to use a Windows box to play poker while , and pointed to early Mac-friendly rooms and Java clients. The landscape has changed a lot since 2005, and there are now reliable technical paths rather than forcing a Windows PC every time.

Practical options ranked by ease and compatibility:

  • Use a native web/HTML5 client when the site offers one (no install, best cross-platform compatibility).
  • Run Windows apps via a compatibility layer: CrossOver (commercial Wine-based solution) can run many Windows programs directly on macOS and supports Intel and Apple silicon Macs. (support.codeweavers.com)
  • Try PlayOnMac (free Wine front-end) to test Windows clients without buying Windows; compatibility is hit-or-miss and some antivirus programs may flag Wine components as false positives. (playonmac.com)
  • Virtualize Windows: Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion let you run Windows inside macOS (Parallels is an authorized route for Arm Windows on Apple silicon; VMware Fusion now has Apple silicon support as well). Virtual machines give the best compatibility for Windows-only poker clients. (parallels.com)
  • Boot Camp remains the most compatible option for Intel Macs (native Windows install), but it is not available on Apple silicon Macs. (support.apple.com)
  • If you already have a Windows PC, using a remote-desktop solution to stream the client to your Mac is a simple fallback. (learn.microsoft.com)

Troubleshooting tips: always test with a free/play-money account first; allocate extra RAM/CPU to VMs for smoother graphics; enable hardware acceleration or DirectX passthrough if the VM product supports it; check the poker site’s help/FAQ—anti-cheat or TOS rules sometimes block Wine/VM setups. Play it safe and confirm current compatibility on the site before depositing.

This advice updates and extends the original recommendations from , and others while focusing on technical workflows that are still practical today.

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Member Avatar for mrlebanese

Is it just me - or is every single online poker room non mac compliant

It is such a huge pain in the ass having to remotely connect to my wife's Windows machine every time I want to play online poker. HELP!

And yes, I'm aware you can use virtual PC to play poker... but I'm looking for the web-based software - I know there is some out there!

Member Avatar for matrix_x

Yea, there are very few poker rooms that work on Macs :cry:

lists two of the major ones that do, which have worked out great for me. Down the road I'm hoping more poker rooms will see the Mac market for what is really and make their software compliant.

Member Avatar for pokermac

Hey,

I think the site you meant is www.poker-mac.com.

I built the site with real info for the mac based poker enthusiast. It's called Poker-Mac. There is info there about OS X clients, Java clients, statistical analysis (have you seen Mac Poker Pro yet?) and other stuff.

Check it out. And email me if there is something I should include on the site..

Thanks

Member Avatar for matrix_x

Nope, I meant :confused:

Member Avatar for TheGaffer

PokerRoom.com are the best out there by a mile if you're a mac or linux user looking for some online poker action - three $500 freerolls a day and loads more stuff, but most importantly the client works with no fussing.

The Gaffer -

Member Avatar for mrlebanese

Nope, I meant :confused:

Great site, thanks :)

Member Avatar for dubbb

Try , they got good overview of the matter, and fairly objective reviews of Mac friendly poker rooms. :twisted:

Member Avatar for ThePotatoeMan

Yea, there are very few poker rooms that work on Macs :cry:

lists two of the major ones that do, which have worked out great for me. Down the road I'm hoping more poker rooms will see the Mac market for what is really and make their software compliant.

Yea - it blows my mind how such a large number of potential customers (Mac users across the globe) are being ignored by most poker sites. Now that Pacific (one of the biggest online poker rooms out there) offers mac compliancy I imagine others will eventually follow suite.

Member Avatar for dubbb

Try , they got good overview of the matter, and fairly objective reviews of Mac friendly poker rooms.

Its Unbelievible, they say Mac users are more than 8 % of Web surfers, still we have to search for downloads like some underground cult.

Member Avatar for matrix_x

Its Unbelievible, they say Mac users are more than 8 % of Web surfers, still we have to search for downloads like some underground cult.

Yep. The problem is we are too accomodating, instead of flat out refusing to use non-Mac software, we (instead of the software provider) go out of our way to be able to use it

Member Avatar for matrix_x

Yea, there are very few poker rooms that work on Macs :cry:

lists two of the major ones that do, which have worked out great for me. Down the road I'm hoping more poker rooms will see the Mac market for what is really and make their software compliant.

Oh, and I forgot to mention - if you do join Pacific, check out the "Mac Users" freeroll tourney that happens every week... I play when I can, its alot of fun and as friendly a tourney as you will find out there (aka lots of playful trash talk and joking around) :lol:

Member Avatar for dubbb

There is a new room, PokerGrid, that has a download Mac version, haven't tried it yet, anyone has?

Try , they got good overview of the matter, and fairly objective reviews of Mac friendly poker rooms.

Member Avatar for matrix_x

There is a new room, PokerGrid, that has a download Mac version, haven't tried it yet, anyone has?

Yep, I wasn't too impressed though! I generally stick to the ones on , and then some of the ones with virtual PC just because I still have accounts there from my windows days. Rumour is Paradise Poker might be developing a mac compliant program available early in 2006, which could be cool!

Member Avatar for dubbb

Have tried the gamegrid app, it is fine. the trafic is a bit slow though.

Try , they got good overview of the matter, and fairly objective reviews of Mac friendly poker rooms. :twisted:

Member Avatar for matrix_x

Have tried the gamegrid app, it is fine. the trafic is a bit slow though.

Nah, not a big fan!

mentioned something about a Mac Users only tourney, any idea when those are?

Member Avatar for maxter

I've just tried www.bestpoker.com and works really good for mac. Sign in and get 100% deposit bonus. Just use the code bonus100

/M

Member Avatar for mrlebanese

Nah, not a big fan!

mentioned something about a Mac Users only tourney, any idea when those are?

I played in one a few weeks ago, every other Sunday maybe?

Member Avatar for pokermac

Have tried the gamegrid app, it is fine. the trafic is a bit slow though.

Hey FWIW there are some new options out there.

Check out the .

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Playing at:
PokerRoom

Member Avatar for spooner24

Nah, not a big fan!

mentioned something about a Mac Users only tourney, any idea when those are?

They have Full Tilt Poker listed now - NICE! I've been waiting for their Mac Beta for some time... tried it out and it is amazing. I didn't realize how much better the downloadable software was than a Java based browser version :eek:

Member Avatar for doctor

can poker be played in mac ? virtual pc maybe a solution for it ...

Member Avatar for pty

I didn't read the whole thread so I dunno if this has already been mentioned but I use pokerroom.com's java client. Its pretty decent

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