ReplayPoker allows you to play in your browser, without having to download an application.
While this offers the advantage of being accessible from any PC or laptop and thus allows players to enjoy a quick round of poker, even away from their homes and usual machines, it also forces users to utilize a crappy browser plugin the Adobe company chose to call FlashPlayer. This package of inferior code has the annoying tendency to crash at the most inopportune moments (when getting your daily dose of pr0n or, worse, when you’re just about to place that huge bet on the boat you just flopped), freezing the webpage you enjoyed just a second ago.
However, there is a way to minimize the risk of being force-folded as well as getting rid of the lag which frequently occurs when playing on RP and which makes multi-tabling virtually impossible.
Here’s what you do:
1. Your browser a) If you are using Internet Explorer : It has more security holes than you can shake a stick at. Close it, remove any quick start icons from your desktop or taskbar and never use it again. Download Firefox from the Mozilla Website and use that, hehe. b) If you are using Chrome : It’s a Google product, spying on you … see “a)”. c) If you are using Firefox : Congratulations. Proceed to “2. Preparation”. d) If you are a Linux user (never mind the browser you use): You know your stuff and don’t need my advice.
2. Preparation I have made it a habit to ensure the browser and the FlashPlayer plugin are up to date before every ReplayPoker session: Open Firefox and click Help > About Firefox; you’ll see whether your browser is current. To check on the Adobe plugin, click Tools > Add-ons; a new tab will open; click Plugins and then Check to see if your plugins are up to date. Yet another tab will open, giving you information about the status of every plugin installed with Firefox. If necessary, update FlashPlayer.
3. Caches If you experience lag during a session, adjust the size of the FlashPlayer cache allocated to ReplayPoker by clicking here (this link can also be found in the ReplayPoker Help Center’s FAQs). Once on the webpage, click “replaypoker.com” to activate/highlight it. Then use the slider located above and adjust the cache size from 100KB to 1MB. Close the tab. This setting is saved automatically, so you won’t have to do this every session. Now clear the cache of your browser by clicking Tools > Options; in the tab that opens click Advanced and then, in the middle section, Clear Now.
Once you have executed those steps, lag should disappear or at least drastically diminish. If after an hour or so the table starts lagging again, clear the browser cache once more.
4. General I have stopped multi-tabling on ReplayPoker completely, since FlashPlayer simply can’t handle it. I never have more than a single table open, not even to observe a game or be on two or more waiting lists. Once I’m done with a table, I log off RP, close the browser and restart it, before playing another table. Together with my settings of clearing caches and cookies automatically whenever Firefox is being closed, this has proven to be quite effective in eliminating lag. It is a bit of an effort, for sure, but the few seconds it takes to log off, restart Fox, and log on again have made me enjoy ReplayPoker a great deal more.
Have fun, and good luck at the tables.
Cheers, FLAB