3D poker sites attempt to bring the feel of a live card room to the online poker experience. As well as having advanced 3D graphics and multiple camera angles to view the action, players can use highly customizable avatars to make their on screen persona unique to them, rather than the standard option at most poker sites of a small static picture avatar.

3D poker feels more like a video game than most 2D online poker sites and has a much more social feel to it. In game the players’ avatars can perform chip tricks and use gestures, taunt their opponents and give off fake ‘tells’ at the table. All of these novel features put a lot of the fun back into online poker and are the main reason why 3D poker is very popular with recreational players.

Where to Play 3D Poker?

Most online poker sites stick with the traditional 2 dimensional overhead view of the table, and there are only a few players in the 3D poker market. The biggest and best of these is PKR, which typically has about 600 cash game players online on average. The other main 3D poker room is True Poker, which is open to US players, but has quite low levels of traffic and less sophisticated software than you’ll find at PKR.

PKR were the first 3D sites, beginning operations in 2006 and experiencing rapid growth. After the UIGEA legislation was passed in the USA, they immediately withdrew from the US market and concentrated on Europe. Today they are sponsors of World Poker Tour events and show the final tables of some of their big online multi-table tournaments on satellite television complete with commentary.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Playing at 3D Poker Sites

One of the best things about playing at 3D poker sites is the number of recreational players with very poor fundamental poker skills that you’ll find at the sites. The way these sites are marketed and the software gimmicks are both very effective at bringing in casual players who typically play live poker and want a similar experience online.

Furthermore, the software is quite busy and the action is slower than you’ll find at other sites, as players spend more time ‘hollywooding’ and performing chip tricks during hands. The result of this is that multi-tabling professional poker players tend to stay away from the 3D sites because they don’t like the low hands-per-hour rate, meaning the tables are mostly filled with fish.

Of course this works both ways and even though you might have a huge edge on the fish, your hourly rate might be a little lower than it would be at a more traditional online poker site due to the slower pace of the game.

Another downside to the 3D poker sites is that they are very resource intensive and will require a relatively modern PC to play on without the software lagging, particularly if you want to play multiple tables. You can play up to 9 tables at the biggest 3D poker site ‘PKR’, but the screen will be very crowded and the display options require some heavy customisation to minimise lag on even the best computers.

System Requirements for Playing on 3D Poker Sites

Traditional poker sites, with their top down view and basic animation, don’t use a lot of processing power and even a basic PC can run most poker software packages without too much trouble. 3D poker sites are a little more demanding. The slick animations and detailed graphics will put a little more strain on your hardware and to enjoy the 3D experience to its fullest, you’ll need a PC capable of dealing with the increased load.

To ensure things run smoothly, you’ll want a processor with a speed of at least 2GHz, and with a minimum of 2 GB of RAM. On top of this you’ll need a good 128 MB Nvidia or ATI graphics card, with DirectX 9 compatible drivers.

The last important thing to note is that you’ll also need a better internet connection for 3D poker. As well as sending and receiving data about your cards and bet sizes, 3D sites will also be transferring other input like chip tricks and player movements, which take up much more bandwidth than standard online poker. We recommend a broadband connection with a bandwidth of at least 1 Mbps for playing 3D poker.