When you are using something frequently (a pen, mobile phone, poker software) , usability is becoming an important factor. Last week I was playing poker for more than one hour per day at Absolute Poker. I found small annoyances and decided to propose some enhancements to the Absolute Poker software. When I finished this review I understood that it’s pure criticism. (Players that need a detailed absolute poker review with bonus information and payment methods for us players may visit Absolute Poker Review)

Keyboard Shortcuts

You are spending most of your time at the tables, so let’s dissect the Absolute Poker table. The first thing that annoys me is the lack of handy keyboard shortcuts! I think that it would be easier to move only a finger and not the whole hand. Actually, I’m used to hit F5 - F9 buttons with the right hand. It means I should use both of my hands. Furthermore, it seems that hot keys are working only when it’s your time to make a decision. i.e. in the figure illustrated below hot keys are not working.

Figure 1. Multiple Choices

I propose the following shortcuts: C - Call, F - Fold, R - Raise, B - Bet. Notice that F, C, R buttons are situated vertically in a row on the keyboard, and the B key is near them: now you are able to play with a single finger! (Figure 2)

Figure 2. hit F, C, R or B

Regarding the situation in Figure 1: pressing F, C or R will check one of the options in the first row: Fold/Check, Check or Raise ($10.00). If you hit the same button twice, it will select the option from the second row. The third time you press the same button will uncheck your choice.

I also wonder why the ESC button is not working in Hand History or Options windows? It should be equivalent to the Cancel button.

Window Sizes and Positions

Almost any software remembers the position and size of its windows… When you start Absolute Poker, the lobby is always desktop centered, I’d like it to be at the same position when I closed AP. The problem get worse with the tables. I’d like to configure the position and size of a table and never waste time with repositioning/resizing it.

The D button at the top-right corner of the table have a hint: Default Size. Well, nice: it’s a useful button, but stop, why it changes the position of the table instead of reverting only to the default size? In this case the hint should be “Default Size and Position”.

Miscellaneous Remarks

I was confused when I selected the Classic View … where is the Options menu ?! I was very amazed when I finally found it hidden in the poker chips (Figure 3)

Figure 3. Can you easily find the Options menu in this image?

I like Absolute Poker graphics, the smoothness of the software. But I found a micro visual bug When you resize the table and make it a little smaller than the default size, you may notice that the “clepsydra” that displays the remaining time is not “clean” inside: see the green points inside the circle in Figure 4 (the image is 8x magnified). Of course it doesn’t affect the game too much, but for pedants like me it’s annoying

Figure 4. Dirty clepsydra

Another disturbing thing are promotions popups. I don’t like to be distracted when I’m taking the decision to bet a solid amount of money. It would be better to have a checkbox: Display Promotions Yes/No. I like the fact the you can hide Blackjack from the lobby My Account menu. By the way, My Account should have an Exit submenu item.

I don’t get the idea of displaying the Type column in the tables list in the lobby? Fun and real money tables are separated, so this column is not informative.

Conclusion

It was more criticism rather than analysis. I’ll play in other poker rooms and after that I’ll be able to give some comparison overviews. I just tried to outline that there is room for improvement for Absolute Poker. I’d be glad if other people will agree with my remarks and AP will take into account this.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS