First, if you're an anti-download sort of cat, then Poker Room is for you. Their savvy programmers have designed all of their games for play within your browser. Nonetheless, they've managed to make the graphics nice and the games speedy even though there's no download required. Pretty amazing if you ask us. Poker Room does offer a downloadable version as well if you'd prefer to play that way.

A bit more on the graphics point. The graphics are extremely cool in our mind. Poker Room fills their tables with a diverse assortment of 3D characters, including a Telly Savalas look-alike chomping on a cigar and a woman who we imagine would have difficult seeing her cards over her chest in real life. But that's beside the point. Anyway, the graphics are rich and clean, but not too distracting in our mind. But as we've said elsewhere, the graphics question is very much a matter of personal preference, and you'll figure out over time what type of playing environment you prefer. Some players like fancy 3D graphics that simulate a real life playing experience, while other players wish the online casinos would spare them and simply deal the cards. Having said all that, Poker Room does offer both a 3D rich graphic version as well as a "lite" version with smaller, somewhat more cartoon-ish (but still fun) graphics.

Though its name might suggest otherwise, Poker Room offers games other than poker, including blackjack, slots, baccarat, and craps. We checked out the games briefly, and they're nicely done no-download games, but in our opinion these games feel a bit out of place in a casino that's really about poker. We understand why Poker Room would want to add games to increase its potential revenue base, but come on guys. It's called Poker Room after all. Like eating lobster at McDonald's. Then again, a lot of folks (ourselves included) who like to play poker also like to play other games, so they're here if you're interested.

Poker Room also offers poker games that most other poker sites don't. For example, you can play Chinese Poker at Poker Room, a game in which you assemble your two best 5 card hands and one best 3 card hand from a thirteen card deal. Not a very common game by any means, but if you're into it, you can find it here. Just thought we'd let you know.

We do think that Poker Room can be a pretty confusing website to interact with. There are a lot of options to sort through when you first arrive. For example, what's the difference between Texas Hold 'Em and "Poker 4?" We had no idea, and had to click on everything to sort out what was what. So you may have to be a bit patient at first and spend a few minutes navigating their site to get a handle on what's what.

Nonetheless, we believe that the positives far outweigh the negatives at Poker Room, and that the playing experience and player traffic warrant giving this place a look, especially if you're into no-download gaming.