As a writer, like many in the trade, I rely on Mac computers to make my techy world go round. Now, let me get one thing straight: I’m not one of those Apple junkies, who feels the need to have everything with an apple logo attached to it, or the letter ‘i’ in front of it. Okay, I do have an IPOD. But I don’t have an i-phone, or an i-pad, or anything else of the ‘i’ designation. In fact, I think a lot of ‘i’ people are ‘insane. However, I do use…and LOVE… my Mac laptop.

So you can understand why I felt like I was cheating on my Mac every time I put that laptop down to pick up a PC laptop in order to play online poker. You see, until recently, not everyone had Mac platforms for their pokersites, and THAT was frustrating to say the least. I like to travel with ONE laptop, not two, but whenever I was on the road for a writing assignment, I either had to pack a second computer, or simply forgo playing online poker.

So you can imagine my sheer delight when I received a press release from PartyPoker announcing that I could now get their gaming platform for my Macinstosh. Halle-frikkin-llujah!! Now, I’d like to take credit for convincing Party to make the change, but the truth is, I don’t think I had anything to do with it. Unless of course, they could see me through my webcam and understand my rage and frustration at not being able to use my Mac for poker.

So I was pretty interested to see how it worked. The first step was to download the software. I went to the PP site, and less than 60 seconds later, the program was actually installed and working on my Mac. Niiiiiiiice. Good start, Party. Next, came the hard part: the play test.

I logged in and got right to it. For now, just ring games for Macs, but that’s okay. Tournament play is apparently soon to arrive as well. First look, it appeared as if everything was A-ok. A hundred hands in, and I hadn’t given the software a second thought. Seamless. Being able to play on my Mac was like finding Nirvana (the place, not the band).

I did find one small glitch in Party’s Mac software: when I 4-bet with air, the guy I was playing against snap called me. Is there anyway you can put some kind of avatar up there that makes me look meaner? Maybe in the next version? Please?? Ah, I don’t really care. I love my Mac. And now that I can play poker while I work, I love it even more….

PartyPoker.com cash games are now available on your Mac. Download the OS X software now.

In this video, VIP player Quinn “asian_laser” Savage shows how to filter down the PartyPoker lobby and create lists of exactly the games you want to play. Quinn reviews how-to enlarge the PartyPoker lobby for easier viewing, how-to filter for number of seats, disconnect protection, gameplay, avg pot size, number of people on the wait list, and players/flop.

Laser then goes on to show how you use the favorites feature to create a “mini lobby” consisting of only your most favorite game types. Spend less time finding a seat and more time grinding! Also, a glimpse into the always glamorous lifestyle of a poker pro living in Thailand.

Simply download and unzip the theme installers. Feel free to test them all, it’s easy to go back to the defaults.

Classic Black – Simple, elegant, and all about the Tony G. I love it!

Classic Flag - Features my very own flag of my homeland, Lithuania, in the background.

Modern – For you donkeys using the modern table theme.

Settings reminder

To enjoy the full Tony G experience, use these table settings:

Tony G Hot Hand Alert Options

Remember how-to make the comptuer scream Ohhh Parttty Poker? Great! Here’s a slew of Tony G themed alerts you can use instead.

• Two Kings, Baby!
• Never Overplay KJ
• I Played it Like a Set!
• C’mon Russian Get Out
• See You Soon
• Which School Have You Been To?
• You’re a Champion

Today we’ve introduced a brand new range of software features to PartyPoker.com, with the aim of making your time at our tables easier, more enjoyable and more fun.

Here’s what we’ve brought in:

Highlighting pro players – everyone wants to take on the pros and show them what they’ve got. We’ll be making it easier for you track down our impressive roster of players by e highlighting them on the tables and in table lobbies.

Adding MTT/STT lobby to a table’s chat area – for your convenience we’re bringing the tournament lobby onto your table, keeping all the tournament’s vital information much closer to hand.

Rabbit Hunt – the hand’s over after the flop or the turn but you really want to know what the next card would have been. Welcome to Rabbit Hunt! With this option switched on you’ll be able to see what might have been.

All these new features are now live in the client. We hope you enjoy them and don’t forget to let us know what you think.

A guest post by E. Mark Gross.

In the past several years, very few new games have been introduced. Yet this year, as CEO of TableBrain, I am proud to say our company introduced a new game through PartyPoker.com called Double Hold’em.

It gives players more playable hands, more action and bigger pots! It’s a poker game built by poker fans for poker fans.

More continuous action and decisions at the table

But how did we get here? In 2006, I created Double Hold’em with my longtime friend and colleague, math genius Zvi Lando. We’ve spent more time than I could ever figure thinking about our passion, poker.

We’ve played the game, brainstormed endlessly and created several patent pending variations that reflect our core belief — create fun, intelligent games that allow players to have more continuous action and decisions at the table.

For better than three years, we refined our ideas and spoke to many of poker’s leading minds. While we were enthusiastic, in those early years there was a sense that a cloud hung over the industry. We persevered. We put our energy into further game developments and into promoting Double Hold’em.

Each player is dealt 3 hole cards

Now, what makes Double Hold’em fun and different? It’s that each player is dealt 3 hole cards (not 2) and there’s a betting round. After the flop, each player sets his cards in a “V” — the point card plays with each of the other cards BUT the non-point cards don’t play with each other. Each player thus creates two 2-card hands. There’s a betting round, followed by the turn and river cards opening — each followed by a betting round. You play your best hand.

It’s that simple. Still, there’s a great deal going on for novices and experts alike. It’s like Hold’em, but with a decision-step that affects your hand and multiplies your possibilities!

The game has been played extensively throughout the US. Momentum is building now that the game is exclusively at PartyPoker.com. This is a proud moment for our company. It’s also the start of an exciting new era for our industry.

Join us on this journey, and let us know what you think. See you at the tables!

A guest post by E. Mark Gross, the CEO of TableBrain Corp and a professional cash-game player with extensive play in Atlantic City, Las Vegas and around the World.

A PartyPoker software tip from our player LASER_SAVAGE:

In this video I show how to tweak Party Poker so that when you get AA the table rumbles and plays the famous “Ohhhhh Parrtttyyy Poookaaahhh” sound file!

The “Ohhh Party Poker” .WAV File is here. In order to save the file to your desktop, right click the link and choose “Save Target As…” or “Save Link As…”.

The sound file was taken from now infamous commercials. If you enjoyed this tip please let me know and I’ll see you on the PartyPoker tables!

Imagine the monster poker hands you could make if you could play every pot with three hole cards instead of two.

Well, starting today PartyPoker.com is giving players three hole cards instead of two. No, it’s not an April Fool – we’ve introduced a new style of poker called Double Hold’em.

Exclusive to PartyPoker.com, Double Hold’em is Texas Hold’em with a twist. You start each hand with three hole cards instead of two.

Then, after the flop, you nominate one card to be your ‘point card’. This card plays alongside your other two cards, making two separate poker hands. You automatically play with whichever is the strongest. (Unclear? Watch this video tutorial.)

We’re offering Double Hold’em in Limit and No Limit formats, and it’s live in the client right now. You can play for real money, or try it out at our play money tables. PartyPoker.com is the only place where you can play Double Hold’em online, so launch the software today and get used to playing with three cards instead of two.

We will trial a new blind structure on PartyPoker.com thanks to feedback from our players and Facebook fans. The trial blind structure is below with new levels added in red. Please note that all antes have also changed.

UPDATE: Thanks to all those who have given us feedback on the new blind structure.  We are still testing the structure and have added two new levels, highlighted in blue below, in response to the positive feedback we have had on our Facebook fan page and from the rest of our players.

Level Blinds Ante

1. 10/20 –
2. 20/40 –
3. 30/60 –
4. 50/100 –
5. 75/150 –
6. 100/200 20
7. 125/250 25
8. 150/300 30
9. 200/400 40
10. 250/500 50
11. 300/600 60
12. 400/800 80
13. 500/1000 100
14. 600/1200 125
15. 800/1600 150
16. 1k/2k 200
17. 1.25k/2.5k 250
18. 1.5k/3k 300
19. 2k/4k 400
20. 2.5K/5K 500
21. 3k/6k 600
22. 4k/8k 800
23. 5k/10k 1k
24. 6k/12k 1.2k
25. 8k/16k 1.6k
26. 10k/20k 2k
27. 15k/30k 3k
28. 20k/40k 4k
29. 30k/60k 6k
30. 40k/80k 8k
31. 50k/100k 10k
32. 60k/120k 12k
33. 75k/150k 15k
34. 90k/180k 18k
35. 105k/210k 21k
36. 120k/240k 24k
37. 140k/280k 28k

This will be applied to the following tournaments:

• All Super Daily events
• All non-speed guaranteed tournaments from $10K upwards
• $250K Guaranteed Sunday – 18:45 CET
• Monthly Million – which returns on the 5th September

Try it out and let us know your feedback again. It is appreciated.

Looking for play money poker? You can play poker games for free at PartyPoker. This is why you’ll love playing play money poker games at PartyPoker:

• We have lots of great tools to help you learn the game
• You can practice your skills for free on our play money tables
• You can our customizable table and Lobby
• We are secure and fully licensed company

Click here to join thousands of other play money players and start playing poker for free now.