Category archive: Uncategorized

New Network Launches for US Online Poker Players

Players from the US looking for a little online poker action now have a new alternative with the official launch of the Poker Pros Network.

Poker Pros Network, or PPN, is the latest entry into a field that has gotten progressively smaller over the last year or two; first major sites Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars locked out players from the US along with fellow poker websites Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker in the events poker players would come to refer to collectively as “Black Friday.” In the months that followed, a string of smaller sites also shut their doors to US players, leaving those from the region who wished to play online poker with precious few options.

PPN will add another option to the list, but what sort of option will it be? The traffic at the network will undoubtedly be a bit light in the weeks immediately following launch, but there’s no reason that has to be a permanent state of affairs; after all, the Winning Poker Network is a great example of how a group of USA poker sites that all focus singularly on the one market can build reasonable player liquidity in a short amount of time.

The core of PPN at launch is formed by seven separate poker skins, each with a unique theme and target market. The skins range from CheapSeats, a site that is designed to appeal to low-stakes poker, to a proposed live dealer poker site that will feature (no doubt attractive) women dealing the cards instead of an automated avatar. The idea seems solid; enough individual players from small niches could be enough to generate a sustainable player base for the network.

Ultimately the success or failure of any online poker room is going to come down to banking, and in this regard it’s simply too early to give any sort of grade to PPN. It will take players a few months – if not upwards of a year – to feel comfortable with the track record of a new room on this particular point. Along with that challenge is the more basic one of managing payment processing in a legal climate that presents no shortage of obstacles to quick and efficient deposits and cashouts.

The old aphorism “time will tell” is certainly applicable in this case. Players should be happy for another option, but prudent until that option has earned a reasonable history of integrity and reliability.