Shane Life

The following is a paid review:

The last few years have seen a huge boom in all things POKER. ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker has really sparked a huge interest in the “sport” (you say sport, I call it more of a game) that has brought on the advent of a whole sub-culture of poker-related products and web sites.

First, it was online poker. Sites like FullTiltPoker.net, AbsolutePoker.com, and ParadisePoker.com have exploded into huge moneymakers and their users have taken the poker world by storm, changing the entire landscape of professional card playing.

That interest has filtered down across the United States in an increase in what most people call “home games”. A home game is a regular game of poker between friends that usually doesn’t cost a ton of money (or it can, but in most cases it costs between $5 and $20). As home games started popping up across the U.S., places started selling poker supplies all over. Even huge retailers like Target started selling tables and chips, capitalizing on the poker boom.

However, the best deals (as is almost always the case) could be found online.

Cardroom Supply, Inc. is an online store that specializes in all things poker. They sell tables, tabletops, chips, cards, even “gaming chairs”. Built on Yahoo! e-commerce technology, the online store has everything that the home game poker player would need. They have high-end poker tables as well as the more affordable folding tabletops that most major retailers sell. If I were to buy a table (and had the money to buy one), I would likely get this nice longer folding table. I like how there’s a padded armrest, but the drink holders are not on the table in the way of the chips, as is the case with this octagonal table.

Their chip selection is pretty good. They even sell the 13g clay chips that casinos use for gaming. Most clay chip sets come with an 11.5g chip or even a 9g chip. If you don’t think you can tell the difference between these chips, you probably shouldn’t come to my home game.

Despite the high quality of some of their products, I found their interface and selection somewhat disappointing. I would think that someone who considers themselves an online wholesaler of card room supplies would have a more vast selection in each of the categories. The selection is adequate, just not impressive. In addition, using Yahoo’s interface is a mistake. As someone who uses the internet to make a lot of purchases, I am always more apt to deal with a company that has taken the time to customize their own e-commerce technology instead of piggybacking on someone else’s. It just give me more of an assurance that the seller takes things more seriously and isn’t out to make a quick buck.

Even so, Cardroom Supply, Inc. sells a great range of products that most new poker players would be very happy with. In addition, there are probably a lot of Yahoo! users out there that appreciate the integration with the Yahoo Store platform. Plus, their offer of free shipping on all orders over $100 is a good one because shipping those heavy chip sets could get very expensive.

I’m not sure if I would shop there for my own personal poker supplies, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t right for someone who is just starting out. It might be just the place.

The following is a paid review as a part of ReviewMe.com.