Information On Microgaming
Microgaming is the largest provider of online gaming software in the world. Its network of over 100 online casinos began all the way back in 1994, and they quickly attained a dominant position in the market which they have maintained ever since.
They expanded their operation into online poker in 2003, and currently are one of the largest poker networks online, with over 40 online poker rooms teaming up to offer one of the best online poker experiences around.
For years they were called the Prima Network, and have developed a very good following in spite of being a collection of some very obscure sites. The name recently became changed to Microgaming to bring it in line with the rest of their operations. While there a number of skins on the network, here are our picks for the best poker rooms on the Microgaming Network:
The Best Sites On The Migrogaming Network
Rank | Logo | Site | Download | Mac | Linux | Bonus | Visit Site |
1 | NordicBet | €1000 | www.NordicBet.comRead Review | ||||
2 | Betsson | €1000 | www.Betsson.comRead Review | ||||
3 | BetSafe | $2500 | www.Betsafe.comRead Review | ||||
4 | 24hPoker | €1000 | www.24hPoker.comRead Review | ||||
5 | BetVictor | €500 | www.BetVictor.comRead Review |
Microgaming is perhaps the best example of the power of a poker network. There’s probably only one poker room on the entire network that would even have a chance of surviving on its own, with the rest being too small and unknown. However, through the power of teamwork, any and all of their partnered poker rooms now become not only an option, but a great option.
Microgaming is located on the Isle of Man, and is regulated by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission, considered one of the most trusted and vigilant regulators in the world. These are the same folks who regulate industry giant Poker Stars, and although in many ways Microgaming is a much more solid operation, they managed to keep Poker Stars in check enough to have them survive the vicious attack on them by the U.S. government, one that destroyed lesser regulated poker sites.
Microgaming has never engaged in such risky practices though and got out of the U.S. market years ago, so the combination of tight regulation and conservative business practices really has your money very safe with them. To add to this, the total size of their operation, which the poker side only comprises a fairly small part, adds even more stability to the equation.
What really sets the Microgaming Poker Network apart from other poker sites and networks is their heavy population of casino players who play poker there. While some other sites and networks do attract a lot of casual poker players from their casinos and sports betting operations, there is usually at least a few fairly well known poker rooms on their network which do supply a fair amount of actual poker players.
With the Microgaming Network though, there really isn’t a single well known poker room on there, and very few poker players are even aware of the existence of the Microgaming Network. This is a perfect situation though as it ensures a very high percentage of fish, which is exactly what we want.
You can count yourself in the know here as well now, given that you are reading this review. This is a very good poker network on all counts, and the fact that online poker players as a rule don’t even know about it makes it all the better, as we want more of the crazy money that gets thrown around there for ourselves.
Software At Microgaming
The company that owns the Microgaming Network is Microgaming Software Ltd. Microgaming made their mark over the years with their state of the art online gambling software, so having great poker software isn’t just a sideline consideration, it’s a very big deal, and their success in this area is the main reason why this poker network exists in the first place.
Their software is designed for both performance and playability, and they don’t sacrifice one for the other. Some poker software programs are so complex that it tends to be both slow and less reliable, and others are fast but on the spartan side when it comes to features.
Microgaming’s years of experience and vast expertise really comes through in their software program, which is certainly one of the best out there. This really isn’t as big a deal to us players, but it definitely is to them. Being able to easily use the options without having to worry too much about things like disconnects is certainly a nicety to players though.
Rake At Microgaming
The rake and fees at the poker rooms on the Microgaming Network follow the industry average, and the amount of rake that a poker room charges has really become a non issue these days. It used to be that some poker rooms charged more, but this is such a big deal to players that they simply stopped playing there, which forced these rooms to bring their rake in line with what other poker rooms were charging.
What does still differ though is the amount of rake and fees that poker rooms give back to players. The level of generosity that the Microgaming poker rooms have extended to their players over the years has been among the highest in the industry, a trend which continues today.
New players are also given some nice start up bonuses, which allows first time depositors with them to really hit the ground running. Taking advantage of welcome bonuses is a great way for players to build their bankroll, and given that as newer players learn the game, they tend to struggle more with taking money from other poker players, when a poker site looks to give you free money like this, it doesn’t make sense to say no to this.
Available Games And Variants At Microgaming
While most poker sites provide their players with a nice selection of different games and variants, at Microgaming, they want their players to be able to play what they want, not just the most popular forms.
Everyone offers Hold’em and various forms of Omaha these days, and a lot of poker sites still offer 7 card stud. Games such as 5 card stud and draw poker have pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, however Microgaming still offers them, and it doesn’t even matter if you don’t even like to play these old time variants, as this speaks loudly for how much the Microgaming Network cares about its players being able to play what they want.
So whatever you want to play, in terms of not only game types but different formats as well, chances are you will find exactly what you want on the Microgaming Network, and if you can’t find it here, you probably can’t play it anywhere.
Traffic Statistics For Microgaming
The Microgaming Network is the fourth largest poker network in the world in terms of cash player traffic. As far as overall traffic goes, which includes both cash and tournament players, they are right up there with the largest networks.
So the traffic here is more than adequate and more than enough to make it a poker site that you definitely want to have an account at. It has enough to make it a very good choice as your sole site starting out, and once you build up your bankroll to where you are able to have accounts at several sites, having an account here becomes even more of an irresistible choice.
A lot of players make the mistake of thinking that it comes down to ultimately going with a single poker site to play at. Microgaming is certainly worthy of doing this at, and at the very least players need to try it out to see for themselves how awesome of a poker site this is.
However, once we get established, our goal really needs to be to provide ourselves with the opportunity to play at the best games out there at any given time at our game and stake. So having accounts at several poker sites makes perfect sense.
This is especially the case as you move up stakes and the number of available tables at your current stake start to thin out, as they do at every poker site. So several accounts serves to make your main poker site a lot bigger in essence, and this is definitely a big advantage.
So the goal here should be to add poker sites which have high traffic levels and ease of competition first, and then as you go along you eventually become able to add accounts at some of the smaller trafficked poker sites. So Microgaming is in the category of the first choice poker sites where even if you can just play at a few, this is one of the ones you need to be able to play at.
So regardless of your circumstances, whether you are a new player looking for your first poker site, or an experienced vet with a large bankroll and can really spread it around at many sites, or anything in between, both the amount and quality of traffic at Microgaming is something you owe it to yourself to check out.
Are The Players Any Good On Microgaming?
There are two main types of poker sites in terms of the difficulty of competition there. The first is what we could call a poker only site. All they offer is poker and the players they target are poker players. As you might expect, these sites have the toughest competition and really should be avoided.
The other type gets most of their players from their other forms of online gambling that they offer. Of these, those which have the highest percentage of casino gamblers have the softest competition. Casino gamblers tend to be the poorest of poker players, they are used to playing poor odds, and they generally don’t mind losing a lot of money consistently.
There is perhaps no other place which has such a high rate of casino gamblers than Microgaming, which is the main reason why this poker network is so famously fishy. The worse the players that you play against, the better you do. It’s as simple as that. So if you want to do well, and I know that you do, you’ve found an awesome choice with Microgaming.
Microgaming Casino, Bingo, And Sports Betting
Aside from getting to play against a lot of sports bettors, casino gamblers, and bingo players, Microgaming offers you the ability to play these other forms of internet gambling as well. These other games can be a lot of fun, and while not all poker players take advantage of them, it’s certainly nice to know that at Microgaming you can if you wish.
Not only can you gamble at these other games, but if you choose to, you’ll be doing it on an award winning platform that has more online gamblers playing at it than any other internet gambling site in the world.
So this speaks loudly for the quality of this operation, as the ultimate measure of how good a gambling site is comes down to how many players play there, and in that regard, Microgaming is the undisputed world champion.