With all the noise and confusion surrounding the banishment of US players from many online poker rooms it’s easy to forget that life goes on for the rest of us non USA-based Hold’em Hounds.

The market positioning and even the solvency of many online poker rooms has changed considerably as sites vie for their share of a smaller pool of poker players. As a player you should keep an eye on the financial stability of the site/s at which you play. (The #1 deciding factor for gambling site testing specialists, PokerLabRat.com, in recommending a poker room is confidence in the poker room operator’s ability to professionally manage player funds. Full stop. No b-shit avatar graphics, dinky little table features or tempting joining bonuses even come close to the significance of this #1 criterion).

That said, we are treading cautiously with all the talk of mergers and acquisitions in an industry where customers – that’s you and me – are simply considered cattle (well, rolled up into the company asset sheet anyway). Online gambling customer loyalty is an interesting challenge for these businesses as players are highly mobile and services are often difficult to differentiate.

The betting and gaming companies jumping ship on their existing poker network providers to retain the ability to offer US action is also a worrying trend. We will be monitoring the transitions to new providers accordingly.

Publicly traded companies make life easy for us. Their books are relatively transparent and their plans and actions are documented so their shareholders can make informed decisions about investment. This should also make it easier for you to make informed decisions about where to play your poker!

Elle

Two sites we all rate and recommend are UK’s bet365 Poker (top site on the iPoker network – Europe’s busiest and best) and Bookmaker Poker, a savvy Costa Rica based poker room on the WPN Network that offers US-based players excellent tournament opportunities.

A poker room guide on online gambling advisory site www.goonersguide.com