NoPokerFace.net

The first thing you notice when you get to the site is the classy look. It steers clear of making you think of yourself as a degenerate gambler. There is a picture of several of the world's top professionals – and members of the PokerStars team – sitting around a table having a friendly game of poker. Contrast that to a lot of poker sites which instantly bombard you with images that make you think you've either walked into a "gentleman's club" or into a mafia board meeting. Or they inundate you with the process of separating you from your money as quickly as possible with links and click-throughs. As a matter of fact, the only thing on PokerStars' home page that even looks like a click-through is the row of tabs across the top.

But my first destination to get my PokerStars career up and running is the big, bright playing card icon on the right half of the page that intermittently says, "Free Download" and "Play Poker." I'm sure there are other links that will accomplish the same thing, but this one is the most inviting to me. The "Click Here" button assures me that I'm heading in the right direction.

With my relatively fast DSL connection, the Run time takes about 2 minutes. What I notice in the background of the download window is a new page that has opened up. It's a friendly help page that explains the download process. But being slightly above "Novice" status, I have successfully begun the process without the help page.

After the download is complete, the initial window asks me to choose a language for reading all information on PokerStars. Is that supposed to impress me that PokerStars speaks so many languages?? Well it does. I choose "English."

Then comes the standard "License Agreement." I suppose it helps to read it, so I do - it's pretty standard.

There are certainly some issues to be familiar with when it comes to poker sites. They're a rare bird because there's an exchange of money involved and there's also public contact, so clauses in the agreement have to address this fact. They have to cover their bases in case there's any fraud involved or attempted, or you use someone's finances other than your own. And then there are other morality issues and "codes of conduct." But since I'm a pretty straight arrow, I'll go ahead and accept their terms. Now it's time to install! Not being any kind of techie, I go with the recommended Express install.

All in all, the installation takes about 20 seconds – until I'm queried to install a "newer version." Oh-kay. I'm sure there's some techie explanation for that extra step, but it only delays things by about 30 seconds, so I'm okay with that.

Now I'm officially into the PokerStars playing site. The first window that pops up is a fairly standard "News and Updates" page. Just about every poker site has something like that that announces upcoming events and tournaments, and how they just surpassed 13 gazillion dollars in money played, plus various other self-congratulatory items. There's actually a way to turn this page off during start up. I'll be sure to find that before I log off (usually in some kind of Preferences or Options link). For now, I'll just close the window.

I'm in

I can basically access any game on any table. Yes, it was that simple. But the truth is, most of the top sites on the poker landscape make it very easy to access their sites and download their software. The difficulties are usually to come.

Generally, when you're "in" on a poker site, you're in the Lobby. Here's where you can see all the games and access all the tables that the site currently has running, as well as sign up for games and tournaments to be played in the future.

The layout for the lobby is fairly basic as poker sites go. And I don't mean that as a compliment. It takes either an advance knowledge of poker site lobbies and/or Excel spreadsheets. That is to say it's confusing, it's compressed, it's convoluted. But it also may be the best way to do it.

PokerStars offers Hold ‘em, Omaha, and Stud games, as well as Draw and some mixed games. Scheduled as well as Sit & Go Tournaments or offered for all types, and a full variety of stakes are offered for each. So how exactly would you organize such a table?? No doubt a daunting task. But would it be too much to ask for a different font?? I'm not sure what it is (Courier?), but it is ugly – even with the green color. (And what's with the names of the tables? Are those Greek gods? Is that supposed to have something to do with the origins of poker? If so, that theme is certainly not found anywhere else on the site. I can understand if that's what Caesar's Palace would do for their poker site.)

Finally, the color scheme of the Lobby is fairly dark. That hue is welcoming and calming on a home page. But here in the Lobby, it's a little disconcerting. I can imagine how difficult this Lobby is to navigate for a newcomer. It's difficult to figure out that this is where you access the games. The one saving grace for them are the bright red activator buttons that indicate precisely which table you're at, and what game you're playing.

The Lobby also sports several pull-down menus that allow you to customize your experience, including changing the color of the deck of cards, and affecting the view of the table. Sifting through all the pull-downs could take a couple hours of exploration. But the one key thing the pull-downs let you do is Create an Account and Deposit money to start playing!

The Account pull-down menu contains the Create Account option. This is where you create an ID or nickname, select an image off your computer - such as one of the poker face offered by NoPokerFace that can be found here - and input all the key information about yourself. While some people like to be silly with some of their answers to protect their anonymity, there are some required fields that are necessary to establish your account.

On the following page(s), you'll be able to enter your bonus codes:

• Pokerstars Marketing Code: PSP8329
• Pokerstars Bonus Code: STARS600

Once your new account is confirmed and verified (by email), you can log in.

Now it's time to buy chips. This is where some of the difficulties can begin. If you choose to use a credit card, understand that some institution-based restrictions regarding online gaming exist. PokerStars offers to assist in solving issues over the phone or by online chat. If you experience such difficulties, the easiest solution they recommend is Instant E-Checks. This allows you to enter bank's routing number and account number and set up a PokerStars account as if it were its own bank account – although you won't be accruing interest.

Please note that online poker for money might be illegal in your jurisdiction. NoPokerFace does not advise nor suggest that you play if it is the case. It is your obligation to conform to the laws of your jurisdiction.