The Absolute Poker instant play feature is a handy way to play online poker for real money without having to download any software to your computer. All you have to do is visit the Absolute Poker website and you can instant the no-download version of the poker client. I haven’t used the instant play option for a long time but hopped on just now for this article and found the software to be very fast and surprisingly similar to the full download version.

When you play through the Absolute Poker instant play client, you don’t have to download the software to your computer. The poker lobby opens up in your web browser and lists the tables and tournaments there. Every time you open a table, that table opens in its own browser window. It looks just like the normal software except it requires no download.

Absolute Poker Instant Play Features

Absolute Poker’s instant play version is almost identical to the normal download except for a few minor differences. With the instant play version, you get full access to all Texas Holdem, Omaha, Razz and Stud ring games but only Texas Holdem tournaments. You’ll also be able to access single player blackjack if you feel up for a little 21 on the side.

The one real drawback of the Absolute Poker instant play option is that it does not allow up to 20 tables at a time like the download client. When you play through the no-download software, you’ll be limited to just three tables at a time. For those of us who like to play 4 tables at a time, this is a bit of a letdown. But then again, if you’re going to be doing that kind of serious poker action, you should probably be using a computer that you can download the actual client to.

Why Use the Absolute Poker Instant Play Option?

Poker players use instant play poker for all sorts of reasons. One of the main purposes the no download option serves is that it makes it easy to play at someone else’s house or at work, where you don’t want to download the software. I’m not saying you should play poker at work, by the way, I’m just telling you why some people use it.

Sometimes people just don’t like to download poker software to their computers. People get particular about what they want and don’t want on their computers. For these people, the instant play option is the perfect solution. No download, no fuss and no confusion.

Yet other people use the instant play feature because they have Mac computers and don’t realize that Absolute Poker is one of the few poker sites that has a Mac version of its download software. These people are so used to using the instant play feature at various poker sites that they default to it at Absolute Poker as well.

What Are the Absolute Poker Instant Play Requirements?

Realistically, all you need is a computer and a connection to the internet. Almost every web browser out there is capable of running the Absolute Poker instant play software. All it requires is that your browser be Java-enabled. All modern browsers can run Java by default but if you have any problems, just send an e-mail to the Absolute Poker support team. In all likelihood, you won’t have any problems. Just click the “instant play” button and play poker.

As far computer specs are concerned, all you need is 128 MB of RAM. Just about every computer built since the year 2000 has this much memory so you should be fine. If you can read this web page, you can most likely play on the Absolute Poker instant play software.

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