The online poker login web page has changed drastically over time.
From simple login pages with just a username and password to complex pages that track your comings and goings to the site and offer personalized bonuses and package deals.
And from an industry-wide perspective the login process has become increasingly important for operators as they try to navigate a labyrinthine regulatory maze while still serving their customer base in an ever more intricate black- and white world.
We took a look back at some of the login pages from the "good old days" as well as a few current ones to see how far we've come.
no deposit casino sign up bonusTake a walk with us down Memory Lane and perhaps shed a tear or two for the online poker industry as it was and, hopefully, as it will be again one day soon.
Old School Poker Logins
There are poker login pages and then there are poker login pages. Let’s take a quick peek at a few of the latter. Starting with the granddaddy of them all.
888 Poker (Down 95%)
As soon as the pop music-inspired loading music starts up you know you're in for something special. Add in the flashing neon letters and you half expect Shawn Carter to jump out from behind the "888" dressed in a pink Ralph Lauren Polo shirt and a pair of Big Poppa Chips earrings.
Except maybe not the Big Poppa Chips earrings. That might confuse the CNBC set a little too much.
2023's Best PayPal Casino Sites (UK First) - Top Online PayPal CasinosIf memory serves (and it often doesn't after multiple late-night sessions trying to get past this particular login) 888poker's desktop software went straight for the jurisdictional jugular right away so they could get you into the client as quickly as possible.
While the current version is decidedly more subdued it still asks where you're logging in from before you actually get to the login screen.
888poker currently down 95% since its peak in 2004.
According to PokerScape, 888pverage since 2013.
In 888poker's defense, and that of the other early-day logs, internet speed wasn't what it is now and cramming oodles of information onto a login page was neither desirable nor feasible.
But still. The music. Oh, the music.
High 5 Casino Hacks & Secrets (Promo Code + More)Paradise Poker (Down 100%)
Creative. Simple. To the point. A brief Come on in! followed by the standard un/usernames and password. A smiling man with a cocktail waitress serving, appropriately enough, paradise Reggae Sunsplash lounge music in the background.
What more do you need? Oh yeah - a functional poker site. Too bad Paradise Poker didn't have that when everything when dark in 2005. Creator Boss Media had stopped maintaining the code and Chad Brown and the rest of the management team had moved on to smaller, maintainable COTA-based poker site called Absolute Poker.
When the code for PP finally got disassembled it was found that the entire poker client had been ripped off from another defunct poker site called Sporting Poker. Oops. The domain name for Paradise Poker is now owned by BetPoint Group Ltd and used for a topical poker news site.
Ways to Use Promo Codes at Online CasinosParadise Poker is currently down 100% since its prime. Traffic on PokerScape paints a grim picture with traffic dwindling to practically nothing since 2013.
Partypoker (Down 90%)
Want to reminisce about the heady days of 2004? Just spend an hour banging your head against the party-themed login "fun" of party poker.
An insipid jingle playing over and over again as you struggle to break through party's multi-layered security system. First they wanted your username and registration number. Then they wanted the registration number again and your password.
Fortunes Slot Review - RTP, Best Casinos & Free PlayThrow in a couple of security questions and you'd probably arrive sooner imagining you were Schmidt in '' than gaining access to party's poker tables.
Once you were in, though, it was worth it. party was the Bad Boy of poker lands, a hedonistic playground that pushed every boundary it could find (who could forget Robert Fisher's ""?) while building one of the biggest and busiest online poker sites in the world.
Not surprisingly party also pioneered many of the early deposit bonus offers. If memory serves correctly entering a special code word at the login page would unlock a variety of different bonuses.
Today party is a pale imitation of its former self after GVC Holdings in 2016. PokerScape numbers show party is down over 90% since its peak in 2006.
Luckily for GVC party icon Mike Sexton is still around to help polish the brand. Party is currently ranked 7th in .
The Facebook Era of Online Poker Logins
The next wave of poker logins looked to the social media giant for inspiration although none ever came close to offering poker players the option of logging in via their Facebook account.
🏆 Best Bet Rivers Casino PA Promo Code (& App Review) 2023Perhaps wisely. In hindsight it's difficult to imagine any operator willingly handing over that much info about its customers to anyone let alone .
Full Tilt Poker (Down 96%)
Full Tilt Poker's login was a study in minimalism - a simple Full Tilt logo with the usual un/user names and password. Once you were in it was the old-school Hall of Champions showcasing the site's biggest winners along with the much-copied (but never duplicated) "My Table" feature that allowed you to create your own customizable table with specific seating and game settings.
Full Tilt was unique among the early poker logins in that it eschewed the music altogether and instead served up a rotating series of surreal, arty graphics that would make Salvador Dali proud.
It was all style and very little substance but who cared? The site worked smoothly, the software was stable and everyone from Phil Hellmuth to Tom " durrrr Challenge" Dwan was a shareholder. What could possibly go wrong?
free online casino real moneyOh.
For a more detailed trip down FTP memory lane check out:
Full Tilt is down over 96% since 2009 and currently ranked 9th on PokerScape.
PokerStars (Down 27%)
PokerStars login was always a model of efficiency - an understated red, white and blue color scheme with the usual un/user names and password.
One subtle yet effective feature was listing the top tournament winners for the current week, month and all-time. If you were a tournament player the list inspired awe and, sometimes, despair. How did those players consistently finish so high? And why couldn't you be more like them?!
Eventually the PokerStars login added additional features including a prominent place to track and access your spare change that could be used to enter tournaments. It was also one of the first operators to offer geo-location software to comply with the ever-increasing regulatory maze.
PokerStars currently sits at #2 in the rankings and is down a comparatively mild 27% since its peak in 2012.
For a trip down memory lane regarding PokerStars, check out:
UltimateBet/Absolute Poker (UltimateDemise & Absolutely Gone)
The defunct UltimateBet and Absolute Poker opted for similar logos but different approaches once you were in.
UB featured a less-than-subtle attempt to appeal to the Hollywood lifestyle complete with red carpets, images of famous actors/actresses and blurbs about various celebrity events.
AP meanwhile offered tips on topics like "How to Maximize Your Bonus." Both also offered the opportunity to score bonus money by answering basic security questions.
Sadly for everyone involved both sites eventually succumbed to theft and cheating scandals that saw millions of dollars disappear. Ultimate Bet is now completely defunct while Absolute Poker lives on in much diminished form as a secondary skin on Bovada.
turning point casinoHere's a more detailed look back at the rise and fall of AP and UB:
Current State of Online Poker Logins
So how has the online poker login evolved since the demise of the early poker sites?
Most of today’s login pages offer a more personalized experience with information about your latest bonuses, freerolls, recent activity and location-specific information. Here are a few examples:
partypoker
partypoker
PokerStars
PokerStars
888poker
888poker
No Deposit Casino Bonuses 2023 - Top Free Spins & Cash Bonus OffersGGPoker
GGPoker
Unibet Poker
Unibet Poker
Nordic bet365 Poker
bet365 Poker
Regardless of the direction each individual site chooses to go there’s no denying the online poker login has come a long way, baby, since the early heady days of loading music and come-ons to maximize your bonus.
As the industry struggles to find a foothold in an ever-shifting regulatory landscape maybe there’s a lesson to be learned in the simplicity of Full Tilt’s login page. Style is nice but substance is better.
Image credit: antpik / Shutterstock.com
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