Linux Poker Sites
Traditionally online poker rooms have always developed their products for the Windows platform, much to the frustration of those players using OS X or Linux operating systems. However, thankfully the market has become so competitve over the last few years that rooms have been forced to finally take more and more notice of those players using a Linux platform.
While there is still a long way to go before Linux users can be said to have a wide choice of where to play, things have certainly improved over the last couple of years. To encourage the growth of Linux poker further, we have compiled the following list which details those rooms currently offering Java based poker clients.
Linux poker sites
Playing Linux poker:
In order to satisfy those players looking for a Linux platform on which to play, many online poker rooms have started to provide a Java based offering in addition to their more traditional software.
This Java platform is generally not downloadable and takes the form of a lighter version of the poker room's main website which players need to log into through their favourite browser. There are no real system requirements and as long as you have Java installed on your Linux machine, you should have no problem registering with any of the poker sites listed above.
One thing that should be mentioned is that many of the additional features found in Windows based software are often excluded in the Linux version. This is due to the fact that the Java platform can only be accessed through a browser and adding a large amount of additional functionality to the Java platform would lead to a huge lag in game play.
Using Emulators with Linux poker sites:
If the thought of playing poker on a scaled down version of a poker room's software frustrates you, then you'll be pleased to hear there are other ways to play poker on a Linux based machine.
Firstly, you may want to look at Wine - an emulator which will allow you to install a Windows environemnt on your Linux machine. With this installed, you'll be able to download and run poker software as if you were using Windows.
Another option open to Linux users is to install Dual boot capabilites on their machine. This will partition your hard drive allowing you to install both Windows and Linux on their own part of the hard drive. With that done, you will then be given the option of which operating system you'd like to use each time that you boot up. By selecting to run Windows, you'll be able to download and install any poker room you'd like, and run it in a standard Windows environment.
