So guys, when you were doing your research, you picked the site depending on...what?

I mean, what exactly were you looking for at a poker site? What convinced you to play on that site?

They let americans play.

I played before the ban, but I still chose pokerstars for my first site. Basically for deposit reasons before the ban. American reasons after. I play the big sites because they are far more trustworthy than the smaller ones.

I Thrird it, but I also like to see the size of some of the tournaments. Not having a lot of time, I also like to look at the buy-ins since I'm limited with my funds. I play a lot at Carbon

for me I was first and foremost lookin at sites that let Americans play, then I was lookiing at the ones that have most freerolls because I started off as no deposit so I had to build up my bankroll in the beginning, then I also look for those who have not so many donks but thats is merely impossible

I like the big sites. Sites which allow cash outs without having first deposited. Allowing Americans is also needed. Usually I've added different sites mainly because of different poker forums.

TBH i had no idea about poker sites and poker overall, i just checked out fulltiltpoker.net after i watched some poker and played there.

Did you download from FullTiltPoker.Net? If you did, do you only play play money?

I thought you couldn't even find freerolls in the .Net software and definitely couldn't play cash. If you do just play play money you should still download the .Com software so you can play freerolls and even a $40 tourney with 500k play chips. I think this was cause of some US law so they advertise the site where you don't play for money.

my chose in a site came rather easier i started playing on world poker tour website ages ago when they had a pretty good setup there for playchips then i found fulltilt as the first poker site i noticed that was big liked the interface so i played there

yea i have the .com now, they updated it or something while i was opening it and i only used to play play money chips. That 500k play chips was also my first freeroll experience used up all my play money and got teh 2$. Now I only play freerolls FTW!!

After playing on a few different sites on a PC, I purchased a MAC and had to close my accounts on sites which did not support the MAC, and had problems with most of them when withdrawing funds. As a result, a very important factor when signing up for a site would be the deposit and withdrawal restrictions. An e-wallet such as Moneybookers provides a common method on many sites for deposits and withdrawals that works for me.

All my buddies played on FT.

I take all the sites they let Americans play at put them in a hat and let my 2 yr old daughter choose for me.

Started with play money on Full Tilt before I really knew what was going on - probably saw an ad for it on ESPN, then started playing Rounders Radio Friday free-for-alls. Played a bit at Doyle's Room before they booted Americans the first time. Graduated to PokerStars when I really started playing seriously. Play Carbon only because there's convenient CC games on it.

Rarely play Bodog, and Ultimate Bet because I never really liked their interfaces.

I started on FT - because it was the only one I heard about until then.

After joining CC I opened accounts on all the sites (exept titan) cc has freerolls on (go figure ).

First of all I like to play MTTs so I'll choose a site that has some good tournaments like Titan or Full Tilt...

pkr mainly because of all the bonuses they offer (as they are a new program) and also the novelty of the 3d graphics

I choose sites 5 or 6 years ago based on the ergonomic feel of the tables. This was before the UEGIA, so the whole internet poker world was still open to me.

At that time I preferred Paradise Poker. And Party Poker. There were many sites that just didn't cut it for me from a 'comfortable' POV.

The last holdout for those uncomfortable sites to sit at seems to be Bodog. I only play there when I have to, and thus seldom do good there because I don't like the ergonomic feel of the place.

So my criteria was comfort. As I built a bankroll, other factors, most importantly security, came into play. Then opportunity (ppl per site, and variety per site).

But I still play the sites I feel most comfortable at.

FWIW, I have got most of my sites looking almost exactly the same using each sites table view options. I prefer a Stars shaped table, with the darkest background I can get. Cartoonish avatars for me are fun, but absolutely unimportant. Balloon chat is a waste of computer resources.

started on full tilt on name recognition, and a few recommendations, other sites i joined have been thru word of mouth and or research still wish i knew about rakeback before i joined a few. shoulda did more research

First and foremost: Reputation.
Traffic, customer support and games availability

Thank you all for your kind answers. You helped me a lot.

I read Chris Ferguson's $0-$10,000 article and figured if Full Tilt was good enough for him then I'd give it a crack.

I've since stayed because I like the interface (I like it a lot more than Stars) and the action's good. But that article was what first got me to sign up there. Only wish I had've known about rakeback when I did...

I play at Stars and FTP mainly because they allow American players but also becauzse of what i had read here on CC prior to making my deposits.

I just played them ALL lol.

My favourites are Full Tilt and Titan though.

Never got into Pokerstars for some reason.

Thanks everyone for your answers. Much appreciated.

anyone looking for advice on sites to avoid: DOYLESROOM.COM HAS MADE ME WAIT OVER 6 MONTHS FOR MY CASHOUT.

they constantly lie to me about it being sent.... stay away. SCAM SITE.

Rakeback percentage plus good deposit bonus.

Usability. PokerStars has this annoying "feature" where when you are playing multiple tables you have to click a window twice to for the controls to work--once to give the window focus and once to manipulate the controls. That was enough to tip me over to Full Tilt.

Rakeback wasn't an issue because unfortunately I already had a Full Tilt account.

i got a check today from doylesroom... after 6 months, nothing... complain on internet forums, and get aggressive with phone support = paid in about 2 weeks.

it's sick that this is what it took for this transaction, when these transactions are fundamentally the only REAL product all online poker sites offer.

(side note: i had received a check in the past, and it bounced, so stayed tuned a few weeks to see if i have any more problems.)

Go spam somewhere else

I first started playing at Poker Stars and then Full Tilt because a friend had suggested they were the best sites. He was wrong of course, there are other sites where it is easier to make money on. The prize pools may be smaller but there are a lot less donkeys to avoid.

Titan has good tournaments?? I had no idea. I've got an account on there but have never played any of their MTT's. I'll give a few a try.

Personally I picked the two sites I'd seen advertised the most on TV - Pokerstars & Fulltilt, figuring they must be reputable if they're running advertisements a few dozen times per day (in my region). I guess I just got lucky with my choices.

I had a similar thought process as poker orifice. With all of the advertisements for Full Tilt and pokerstars, I thought I would be relatively safe.

FTP has always been pretty prompt with their payments to me. I've requested checks 3 times (never more than $300) and I received it within weeks in each case.

I had heard about Doyle's Room dragging their feet on payment, so I stayed away.

Can't say anything about Doyles - never played there but I can say that FT and Ps have payed out / transfered all the money I requested within days....

i will give any u.s. friendly site a chance. every site is a little different so its good to check out them all and see what fits you best. i like ring games on some sites and mtts on others. its great to have multiple sites so you can have a little choice depending on the mood your in.