The dawn of the 21st century ushered in a new era for poker. It all started in 2003, when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker through an online tournament. The victory opened the floodgates for the discovery of fresh poker talent through the Internet, and poker was never the same again.
It’s been less than 20 years since then, and the world is already experiencing another poker boom. COVID-19 changed poker as casinos around the globe were forced to close their doors, online poker filled a void by giving poker fans the opportunity to play from home. Today, it continues to be a favorite alternative for those who can’t head to the nearest poker table on the fly.
If you’re an aspiring online poker player yourself, you may be wondering what kind of gear you need to get started. You might be happy to know that you can get started with a sturdy and reliable laptop! Below are a few suggestions to help you start your own online poker journey.
HP 15: the budget-friendly starter
Try the HP 15 if you’re looking for a cheap and effective way to get started. It’s equipped with an 11th Gen Intel i5 processor, a 15.6-inch HD micro-bezel display, upgradeable 8GB DDR4 RAM and 128GB SSD storage, and even ten-finger multitouch support. All you need is $500-700 to call this laptop your own — and you’ll be rewarded with a lag-free and immersive online poker experience. Though you may encounter issues with the quality of its plastic build, it’s still a great starter laptop for the budding online poker player.
Lenovo Flex 5: the two-in-one option
The Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook is great if you want to play online poker on the go. It’s powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U mobile processor and a Radeon graphics card, has 8GB DDR4 RAM, and 128GB SSD storage, and is extremely portable. Its battery life isn’t as jaw-dropping as the laptop below, but it lasts for 10 hours and can be fully fast-charged in a little over 60 minutes. It’s therefore a great way to take poker with you wherever you go — even though the graphics aren’t above-average.
LG Gram 16: the all-nighter champion
You’ll love the LG Gram 16 if you’re the type to play online poker through the night. It boasts a whopping 17 hours of battery life, a high-end 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 quad-core processor, Intel Xe Plus graphics card, 16GB LPDDR4X 4266mhz memory, and 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. At just under $1,500, it’s significantly pricier than the HP 15. Yet its enhanced specs make it the best laptop by far for multitasking, so you can use it for one of the best features of online poker available: multi-tabli
Acer Predator Triton 300 SE: the gaming giant
When getting into serious gaming, you’re probably looking at gaming laptops. PC Launcher explains that these can be expensive because they’re built to handle more demanding video games. That’s why we’ve previously recommended the budget-friendly Triton 300 SE. For $1,350, you get an Intel 4 Core i7 processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4GB Graphics card, 16GB RAM, and up to 1GB of storage. It’s great for tackling online poker tournaments lag-free — and with anti-eye strain Comfortview Technology, you can dive into other game titles straight after.
Online poker can be just as fun and rewarding as the real thing — but to start, you at least have to get a laptop. Hopefully, these 4 recommendations help inform your decision as you equip yourself for online poker success.