PokerBros, PPPoker, Upoker – An in depth review of the best independent poker apps

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PokerBros from the USA, PPPoker from China and Upoker from Malaysia are similar but also vastly different in their own unique ways. This article will provide an in depth analysis and review of the 3 best independent poker apps in the market right now. Analysis will be made from a player and host’s point of view using a rating system for all 3 apps.

 

A brief history of independent poker clients

PPPoker was first introduced to the market in 2015. It quickly gained a huge following in the online poker industry as it was the first app of its kind. It allowed people to host games and run their very own clubs. It quickly gained traction and people started their own poker businesses from the app. Upoker followed in PPPoker’s footsteps in 2017 with pretty much the same app in terms of functionality but with improvements in design and app performance. It is mainly used by hosts in South East Asia and also South America. In 2019, the Americans gave birth to PokerBros, again a similar app but with certain never been seen before features compared to PPPoker and Upoker.

 

User Interface and Graphics
PokerBros wins this one hands down. If it were a boxing match, PokerBros would win via KO in the first round! That’s how well built their app is in terms of user interface. PPPoker and Upoker uses custom pictures as avatars while PokerBros went for a pre set high resolution 3D avatars similar to Fulltilt Poker in the past. This is a breath of fresh air.

Table layout is another area where PokerBros excels. PPPoker and Upoker have standard table layouts while PokerBros allows users to change table, cards and dealer button appearances to suit their liking. Fully customisable features tailor made to players liking.

PokerBros give players a more modern take on poker apps. Its graphics are more 3 dimensional while its counterparts are still in 2D. It is definitely more pleasing to the eye for anyone who plays long hours on their mobile phones. Having said all that, the graphics on the other 2 apps are still insanely good compared to other poker apps out there. Remember, we are comparing the 3 best apps of its kind!

 

Ratings

PPPoker – 6/10

Upoker – 7/10

PokerBros – 9/10

 

Functionality and Features

They all have very similar flow from logging in to choosing your club and then viewing the club’s lobby. At a host level you get to create a club and create or join a Union. Credit goes to PPPoker for innovating. They were the first to come out with some incredible features such as Union which allows clubs to merge and share tables. All 3 apps allow clubs to give out agent passes to agents for easier management.

One thing that PokerBros might lack here is that players are not able to check their statistics. It is understandable as to why they do this because the app is built to be recreational. Only pros care about statistics. However, this is a drawback as many players at the very least would  want some kind of tracking of their performances.  PokerBros does have a page for general statistics. Players however cannot clearly see how much they have won or lost.

 

From a host’s point of view, PPPoker and Upoker allows a club to join 2 unions while PokerBros only allows 1 union per club. Clubs with 2 Unions means that players in the club gets more choices. PokerBros could definitely do better in this area.

One area that PokerBros has innovated is tournaments. They have enabled different Unions to merge tournaments and share tournament tables and prize pool. More players, increased prize pool. Many of PokerBros tournaments have smashed the guaranteed amount due to this single function. Tournament prize pool goes as high as 300,000 for a mere $10 buy in!

PokerBros have also added a twist to players HUD tracking. PPPoker and Upoker relies on career statistics for players Vpip stats while PokerBros refreshes a player’s Vpip every 10 hands. This is an interesting change to make the games as recreational as possible and to prevent grinders from gathering too much information from players.

Upoker and PPPoker allows players to see table statistics and the winnings of all players on the tables. PokerBros merely uses a Hot to Cold chart on players without exact numbers. Again, statistics and data is for serious players while recreational players do not want to see those numbers. No clear winner here as both has its merits.

PokerBros also does not allow players to sit on a table after observing the table for more than 5 minutes. This is to prevent grinders to go from table to table in search for someone weak to prey on. It’s these little details from PokerBros trying to make the app as recreational as possible that makes its player pool way softer compared to its predecessors.

Ratings

PPPoker – 8/10

Upoker – 8/10

PokerBros – 8/10

 

Software Performance and Gaming Certificates

All 3 apps have one thing in common, they are certified by Gaming Labs. A reputable gaming certification company. Kudos to all of them for passing Gaming Lab’s strict certification tests. This shows that the apps are authentic with proper random card generator. PokerBros goes beyond Gaming Labs by having an iTech Labs certification as well. This is huge because it clearly shows the level of commitment from PokerBros in maintaining a fair poker software.

Performance wise, they out perform any other poker apps in the market. PokerBros’ software is by far the smoothest and loads the fastest of the 3. It could be because they are still new. PPPoker and Upoker might have the occasional lag and timeout but you rarely ever see that on PokerBros. This round clearly goes to PokerBros.

Ratings

PPPoker – 7/10

Upoker – 7/10

PokerBros – 9/10

 

Conclusion

It is amazing to see the evolution of independent poker apps through these 3 apps. If you were to compare it to social media, PPPoker is akin to to Friendster, Upoker to Myspace and PokerBros would be Facebook. As we currently stand, PokerBros edges its competitors due to its superior graphics and software. Its many features to make the app as recreational as possible is also something to be admired. Upoker is not far behind and have taken huge market share from from PPPoker especially in the South East Asia Region. All in all, if you want to find recreational games, PokerBros is for you. If you are a more serious player who rely on stats and data to make decisions, you can opt for PPPoker or Upoker!

Overall Ratings

PPPoker – 7/10

Upoker – 8/10

PokerBros – 9/10

Poker Players That Put Malaysia On The Map

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3. Richard Yong

Yong is Malaysia’s at the top of Malaysia’s all time money list as of 2018. He won his biggest tournament in the Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge beating poker pros Eric Seidel and Scott Seiver in the final table. His tournament career earnings to date is in excess of $11million. Yong is also a familiar face at the Triton Poker cash games locking horns with poker greats such as Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan and Daniel Negreanu to name a few.

 

2. Mervin Chan

Chan made his mark in 2013 becoming the first Malaysian to win the Aussie Million main event! His triumph sent shockwaves back in Malaysia and many credits Chan for the boom of poker in the country. His total tournament earnings is at $1.6million.

 

1. Paul Phua

Perhaps the most well known poker player in Malaysia. Phua was a successful businessmen in his early life, running a VIP junket business in Macau which made him his fortune. Phua is currently placed 3rd in the money standings in Malaysia. He is notorious at the high stakes cash games tables around the world. He recently won the biggest hand in cash game poker history with over $2.6million in the pot against Tom Dwan. Phua is a legend in his own right back in East Malaysia and is truely a poker hero to Malaysians.

Review of The Top 3 Poker Sites In Asia

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3. PPPoker

PPPoker is not your conventional poker site. It is not exactly a platform where players gather and play on the app itself. Its app, available on Android and IOS enables users to create their own ‘Club’. In other words, create their very own poker room where they are able to create tables and run games. Players need to gain access into the respective clubs to be able to play.

PPPoker is popular in Asia due to its home games vibe as mostly familiar faces play against each other everyday. As we speak, there are close to 500 active clubs across Asia varying in sizes. Small being clubs with about 50-100 active members. Large club could consist of anywhere from 1,000 to 3,000 players or more.  In order to play, you need to first gain access into a club via agents. Different clubs have different policies in regards to payment. Therefore, the operating procedure really depends on which club you decide to play in.

PPPoker has recently unveiled its Union feature which allows club owners to merge with other club owners in order to share tables. Meaning, players from different clubs can play on the same table. This enables club owners to have a longer life span of their clubs as there are more in flow of players and the club does not die down easily.

Go to PPPoker

Our Verdict – 3.5/5

We love the user interface and the seemingly stable app. However, getting access into clubs and looking for a trusted agent to work with is a hassle. It’s differing policies amongst clubs usually deters players from joining. Nonetheless, if you can solve the above issues, you should be having lots of fun at PPPoker.

 

2. Super Poker

An app mainly catered to the Chinese market, Super Poker is China’s hottest poker app at the moment. With plenty of games running from micro stakes to super high stakes, poker players should feel easily at home here. The app is fast and user friendly. The only down side is the look and feel of it does not match up to other more establish poker apps. The user interface looks fairly amateurish to say the least.

Super Poker serves the Chinese market. Hence, its app is entirely in Chinese. Users who can’t read Chinese will find it hard to operate the app. Its games are relatively easy to beat as most people from China have just started to pick up poker. If you can get access into Super Poker, the sky’s the limit. Sit tight and you should win!

Go to Super Poker

Our verdict – 4/5

Games that are easy to beat far outweigh its limitations of the app. If you read Chinese, Super poker should be your go to place to satisfy your poker needs!

 

1. Pocket9 

We’ve tested almost all of the poker sites in Asia in 2018 and we’ve come to a conclusion that Pocket9 is indeed the best poker site Asia has to offer at the moment. Part of the IDN Poker Network, the second largest poker network in the world, Pocket9 has everything a poker lover needs.

Pocket9 allows for deposits and withdrawals almost instantly in app. Its app is fast, reliable and has a perfect user interface for poker players. It offers micro stakes to super high stakes games. When it comes to fishes, no where else in Asia beats Pocket9. Its database of players comes mainly from South East Asia. Countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietname etc, its hard to find a place where so many players who are new to the game flock to. More than 500 active tables and 20,000 online players at its peak time, IDN Poker is the largest poker network in Asia.

Pokerstars is the biggest poker company in the World. IDN Poker comes second only to Pokerstars in terms of its player base as reported by PokerScout. The only down side at Pocket9 is that it only caters to the Asian market. Player IPs outside of Asia are blocked making it an exclusively Asian poker network.

Go to Pocket9

Our verdict – 4.5/5

We think that Pocket9 is a near perfect poker platform. Its seamless app coupled with its ease of use gives players a peace of mind in game. If you are from Asia, signing up and getting started easy making it the most accessible poker platform in Asia. If you’ve played on any Chinese network and found it easy, you’d be in for a huge surprise when you play on Pocket9. Just sit tight and play your premium hands correctly and chances are you’d get paid off handsomely!

 

Complete Guide to Playing Online Poker in Malaysia

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The Law

Malaysia has extremely strict laws when it comes to gambling. Apart from a few government licensed lottery companies and the sole casino operator in Malaysia, Genting, it is hard to find a place one can safely and comfortably play any form of card games in the country.

 

Live poker Rooms in Malaysia 

Live poker rooms in Malaysia still exist as of the writing of this article. However, it is hard to locate an active card room, as most do not market themselves due to legality issues. Hence, players rely on their own network of friends to get into games. Safety is the main concern here as there have been cases where poker rooms were raided by the authorities. Therefore, it is not advisable to play at live games in both Malaysia because technically, the authorities does not recognise it as a legal business. The safer bet would be organising your own home games with friends where only your inner circle of friends play.

You can find live poker games with a simple Google search which would lead you to forums or closed Facebook groups. Getting into the live games without knowing anyone in the inner circle is a huge challenge due to tight security measures at the venue.

 

Online Poker

Online poker in Malaysia has seen a huge spike in players in the past couple of years. Since many top poker sites such as Pokerstars or Full tilt does not cater to the South East Asian market, many local players have emerged.

Players can safely play without worrying about any issues as online players mostly stay anonymous. Many have chosen online poker as their top choice for playing poker. Players are not limited to their own group of friends to find a game; they play with people all over the world at multiple blind levels.

The majority of Malaysian players play at a lower blind level. These are mostly recreational players. A small percentage of players play at the higher stakes. A select few websites cater to both crowds.

As with the rest of the world, Texas Hold’em is the game of choice for most Malaysians with a a minority preferring Pot Limit Omaha.

 

Advantage of Online Poker

Online poker is fun and has many upsides. Here are some of the reasons why many poker players in Malaysia choose to play online

  • Ease of finding a game.
  • You play more hands. Speed of the game is significantly faster than live poker.
  • Players get to play on multiple tables at the same time.
  • Players play and test their skills against other players from different countries.
  • Players can play anywhere anytime.

 

How to get started playing online?

First and foremost, you have to do your homework on which sites you would like to play on. Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself when choosing for the right online poker company for you.

  • How reputable and safe is the site? Does it have the required licenses and random number generator? This is essential for fair gaming. Never play on a website that is not certified for RNG.
  • What are the stakes on the website? Bigger and more reputable sites would have games for all blind levels. Smaller websites generally only have either big games or small stakes.
  • Depositing and withdrawals. Do these companies provide instant withdrawals? Never play at a website that does not provide instant withdrawal services. If a site does not provide this service, it shows a lack of good management within the company. Remember, the money belongs to you; you should have the right to get it instantly.
  • Do you prefer to play on your PC or mobile?
  • Last but not least, do you think you can consistently win on the platform chosen? In other words, choose a platform with the most fishes. Through our experience, there are ways to spot a site with many fishes. Firstly, fishes like to play at the lower stakes tables due to obvious reasons. If a site offers many tables at low stakes such as $0.5-$1 blinds or lower, this shows that the site is potentially filled with beginners who are just trying out the game.
  • A perfect example would be Pocket9. This platform has games for all blind levels. From the micro stakes to $20-$40. They have about close to 500 tables running catered to the lower stakes and about 50 tables running catered to mid and high stakes players. This shows that this platform could very well be filled with fishes. Stay away from websites that offer mostly high stakes games as there will be many grinders waiting to pounce on you.

 

Payment method

The market in Malaysia relies a lot on agents providing credits to players. While playing on credit may sound like a good deal, there are downsides to it. Firstly, players tend to get out of control during bad runs and end up losing more than they can afford to pay. The second reason is more prevalent in Malaysia. Agents do not pay up your winnings. Imagine playing thousands of hands the whole week and winning a few thousand dollars only to have your agent bail on you during payday. Hence, we do not recommend playing under agents. Find a platform that receives deposits and provides instant withdrawal. There are only a handful of poker platforms that provide this service in Malaysia.

 

Tournaments and Sit n Gos

Most reputable poker sites offer some form of tournaments and sit n gos. Look for a site that provides daily freeroll tournaments to its players. Who doesn’t like freebies?

 

Is The Platform Part of a Poker Network?

A poker network is a group of online poker rooms that share the same software and players. The network of poker rooms keep the tables alive and active. Usually, a poker Network consists of poker rooms from all over the world. The companies have different branding and skins in different regions of the world. Choose a poker room that is part of a huge and reputable network for a peace of mind while playing.

A perfect example would be Pocket9 which is part of the IDN Poker network. IDN poker is the largest poker network in Asia and the second largest poker network in the world. Pocket9 caters for IDN’s South East Asian Market. The games run 24/7 across all blind levels. It is truly your one stop solution for all your poker needs.

Conclusion

As you would already have noticed by now, playing poker in this part of the world can be quite the challenge. Do your homework and make the correct choice for your online poker needs. Good luck, and may the flop be with you!

 

How to find a poker game in Malaysia

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Malaysia is renown for its food, beautiful scenery, hospitable people and much more. A tourist roaming this part of the world however would find it hard to find a poker game. Simply because any form of gambling is prohibited in this country except for the sole casino in Malaysia, Genting Highlands.

Here are 3 ways a tourist in Malaysia can easily find a poker game:

  1. Do some online research and you should find some home games available on a weekly basis. The downside to these home games are that they usually do not allow outsiders without any connection to their inner circle to join the games.
  2. If you have enough people to kick start a game. Say you are travelling with a few friends, try to set up a game a week in advance and try to get others to join. This could be a better solution compared to the above.
  3. Go online. It’s as simple as that. There are many online poker providers in Malaysia. Cash in and  cash out anytime. It’s a sure fire way to get a game in this part of the world.

Contact us if you’d like to know how you can start playing instantly!