Poker forums are the lifeblood of the poker community – but which is best?
Internet poker forums may seem like they’re only a recent trend but the original and one of the most respected forums, Rec Gambling Poker actually dates back to 1995. It was the poker community’s central hub of discussion in its day and attracted such posters as Mike Sexton, John Juanda, Daniel Negreanu and even Men ‘the Master’ Nguyen. Although the site’s influence waned as poker’s popularity increased it’s well worth taking a look at the site (http://tinyurl.com/6slkfe) if only to see how far forums have come since then.
Forums at their best can break news stories like the UltimateBet scandal and at their worst spread unsubstantiated lies – Doyle Brunson’s death has been erroneously announced on several occasions. In between they serve for everything from places to brag, therapy for bad beats, a place for the online kids to organise their next live poker excursion and for us all to gossip about the latest $ 500,000 pot played on Rail Heaven. Here’s our guide to the best poker forums.
Hendon Mob
Layout
Easily accessible from the main Hendon Mob site the forum consists of three boards all displayed on the home page. The main board is the poker forum but there’s a non-poker and sports betting forum too. It’s easy to register or search for previous posts.
Management
With nine moderators there’s always someone on hand should a flame war break out. Also, due to The Hendon Mob’s affiliation with Full Tilt, they can often smooth any out of the ordinary problems that may befall their members
Traffic
Like any site The Hendon Mob has its trolls who contribute nothing of any use but there’s enough intelligent posters to keep a good turnover of discussion on the board and it’s not always the same old posters either. Both Joe Beevers and Barny Boatman have over 700 posts on the site. Vicky Coren and Neil Channing are also regular visitors.
Content
With no sectioning off of the poker forum there’s often a mish-mash of topics on the first page, from hand histories to sweat threads. As with any forum the best threads are never far from the top and there are links to articles on the main site should you miss them.
Usability
The bad news is that if you post a well thought out question or are genuinely after advice on a hand you’ll get a mixed response. The good news is that the best and most constructive posters usually take the time to post their thoughts and you can just ignore any childish or inane responses. There are some good poker minds on the forum though, not least Joe and Barny who’ll often post hands themselves and attempt to clear up any queries.
Famous Poster
Joe ‘The Elegance’ Beevers
Beevers just pips Vicky Coren by virtue of having more posts. Joe is the most active Hendon Mobster on the site and chimes in with strategy advice and much more.
Summary
The UK’s most visited forum (according to Alexa Rank) has been around since 2003. As the Hendon Mob’s own popularity has grown so has the forum. The site is easy to navigate and most days has some good discussion flowing back and forth. That said, it falls down with only having the one board for all its poker discussion as hand histories, bad beats, tournament announcements and more get mixed together. And although there’s an exhaustive FAQ on the site it’s not stickied on the forum.
Pros?
Friendly forum with wide range of poker abilities catered for
Cons?
There’s just the one board for poker content
Overall Score
3.5
Website
www.thehendonmob.com/forum
Punters Lounge
Layout
Seven boards cover everything from tournaments and strategy. One drawback is the sheer number of stickied threads on the boards.
Management
The management are pretty quick to spot spam or trolls. Also hats off to them for providing their members with so many Punters Lounge freerolls and added value leagues and tournaments which helps foster the community spirit.
Traffic
While some would say this is a very cliquey forum there’s little to fear. On the whole they are a welcoming bunch and it’s good to see the old guard weighing in across the board on all matters great and small.
Content
Punters Lounge is often seen as a site for beginners. However, there are some accomplished players on the site.
Usability
One of the most polite poker forums on the internet. The site has a heavy bias on community and chat.
Famous poster
Steven ‘The Mole’ Boyd
The Scottish high-stakes cash
player has famously worked his way up from micro-stakes to $25/$50+ and
in all that time he’s been a member of Punters Lounge.
Summary
A welcoming place that offers you a ton of value added events and freerolls.??
Pros
Tremendous community spirit and freerolls
Cons
Ingratiating yourself ?may mean playing a lot of freerolls!
Overall score
3.5
Website
www.punterslounge.com
Pocket Fives
Layout
While the homepage isn’t pretty to look at it does display all the relevant information clearly. There are links to tournament rankings, the latest articles and the discussion boards.
Management
The three original members – Adam Small, Cal Spears and Riley Bryant are still involved and are contactable by private message on the site. They are assisted by moderators.
Traffic
Considered number two behind TwoPlusTwo, in terms of traffic and importance, Pocketfives has a high turnover of posts on its Poker Discussion board. Their online tournament rankings system attracts many of the top online tournament players to post on the site.
Content
The site has six separate boards but the only two that see any significant action are Poker Discussion and Off Topic. Sadly, despite there being a Bad Beats and a Hand Advice board a lot of this type of material ends up in Poker Discussion. This can make the board very cluttered and leads to a lot of posts having zero replies. The site also has a weekly podcast, live poker updates and a good archive of strategy articles. The main pull is the poker rankings that ranks the top 100 online tournament players.
Usability
PocketFives can often be a bit like a boisterous bunch of teenagers with a lot of unhelpful responses and plain dumb posts. Often, unless you’re a ranked player, or long-time poster your post will not get a helpful critique. However, the site does get some interesting discussion. In the last couple of years it has also been responsible for breaking the JJProdigy scandal as well as outing other multi-accounters.
Famous Poster
Cliff ‘JohnnyBax’ Josephy
Cliff Josephy, or JohnnyBax, as he is
known to members of PocketFives, holds the longest reign of anyone at
the top of the Pocketfive rankings, claiming the top spot for over a
year. The New Yorker has nearly 1,300 posts on the site and PocketFives
is where his online fame grew.
Summary
PocketFives was at its peak in 2005 and 2006. However, since then it has gone downhill slightly. Having said that for any forum junkie it’s an essential bookmark as it is still a useful place to visit to keep up with all things related to online poker tournaments and to see just how you compare to the field!
Pros?
An essential resource for any online poker tournament player
Cons
Can seem very cliquey and full of fanboys, it’s not much fun being on the outside looking in
Overall score
3.5
Website
www.pocketfives.com
TwoPlusTwo
Layout
With so much information, TwoPlusTwo can be daunting for a first time visitor. However, after a few visits you’ll know exactly where to go as you’ll only be visiting a small fraction of the site. That said, the search function is, ironically, hard to find.
Management
There are different moderators for different boards – usually people who post a lot on the relevant board. If you step out of line the ban hammer is usually wielded swiftly and fairly.
Traffic
In terms of posts, members, traffic and page views TwoPlusTwo is the undisputed number one poker forum in the world. With around 130,000 posts viewed a week and over 157,000 members, it’s also the most vibrant poker forum going.
Content
The forum is split into 12 main sections, which are then sub-divided (for example, Small-Stakes MTT, High-Stakes MTT) to create over 70 separate boards. The most popular board is small stakes no-limit, which covers no-limit cash games from $ 0.50/$ 1 to $ 1/$ 2. Most of the boards have an archive of their best threads, which is great for any newbies. TwoPlusTwo also has a monthly online magazine and weekly podcast as well as a back catalogue of strategy books.
Usability
Make sure you are posting in the right place and that it hasn’t already been discussed. The News Views and Gossip and BBV (Beats Brags and Variance) boards can be a bit harsh. But boards such as MTT Community are a more welcoming bunch. Throughout the site you will find ‘In the Well’ threads where a well-known poster will start a thread where they’ll answer anything you ask them.
Famous poster
Greg ‘Fossilman’ Raymer
Greg signed up in September 2002 – almost two years before he won the WSOP main event. He contributes on many subjects, for example, he posted a link to the entire hand history from his $320 WCOOP pot-limit Omaha with rebuys win in September 2007.
Summary
TwoPlusTwo is the king of poker forums. There are others out there that do a good job, but none of them compare in size to TwoPlusTwo. It’s where people visit to find poker gossip and stories and where some of poker’s brightest minds, such as Durrrr, Greenstein and Phil Galfond meet on a regular basis. Whatever the level of your poker game you will find a board you will be able to call home.
Pros
The undisputed poker authority of the internet
Cons
Looks aren’t its strong point
Overall score
4.5
Website
www.twoplustwo.com
Blonde Poker
Layout
One drop down menu and a click takes you to the forum section of blondepoker.com. From here you can access any of the seven main boards and their sub-sections.
Management
With a strong team of moderators, there’s always someone on the site to sort out any bickering – which strangely usually centres around football, not poker. The site is affiliated to the online poker room of the same name and any problems relating to this site are dealt with effectively.
Traffic
There are over 9,000 members, although you’ll usually find around 50 on the site during the day and more in the evening. The turnover of posts depends on which board you visit with the General Poker Discussion board generating anywhere between five to 10 new subjects a day.
Content
With a total of 16 different boards most areas are covered. Unlike a lot of the UK sites Blonde has an active hand analysis forum with contributors from InsidePoker writers such as Alex Martin and other online pros.
Usability
Like any site Blonde Poker has its inner circles, in-jokes, in-fighting and own distinct language. However, it bills itself as a friendly, family orientated site and that is reflected in the welcoming nature of most members.
Summary
You’ll want to bookmark this site, if only for the banter. Mostly populated by people for whom poker is an aggressive hobby, you’ll be in good company if you’re reading this magazine.
Pros
Friendly, excellent live updates
Cons
Perhaps a little cliquey
Overall score
4
Website
www.blondepoker.com
Overall Winner
TwoPlusTwo
There’s nothing to split the three British forums we’ve reviewed, they all offer something different and do it equally well and we feel PocketFives has the least relevance to a British poker audience. TwoPlusTwo – to use forum parlance – delivers.
To sum up:
- Caters for all abilities, both cash and tournaments
- Breaks news stories
- Undisputed number one poker forum on the internet
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