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Your questions, our answers

"Experiencing difficulties with Absolute Poker?   Whatever your issue is, we’ll quickly get you back in the game."

Technical Support FAQ

We know how frustrating technical issues can be.  You just want to use your software and you shouldn’t need a degree in computer science to get it working.  Luckily, you can quickly resolve most issues by referring to our Frequently Asked Questions guide below.  Feel free to email support@absolutepoker.net and our dedicated team will be glad to assist you with any issues not addressed below.

1.How do I install the Absolute Poker software?

You can install our software by following these simple steps.

  • Click on download.
  • Click on save.
  • Choose your desktop.
  • Double click on the installer (ap+version).
  • Click on run.
  • Leave the installation path as C:\Program Files\Absolute Poker Basic.
  • Click on next and wait.
  • Click on done. You may either leave the check mark to launch the software right away or uncheck it to play later on.
  • Delete the saved installer file found on your desktop.
  • Empty the recycle bin.
  • Enjoy the endless poker action at our tables.

 

2.What kind of computer hardware and software do I need to run the game?

The recommended minimum system requirements are:

  • PC: Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista (Windows 98 and ME)
  • Modem: 56K modem connection speed*, 128Kbps DSL, cable modem or better
  • Processor: Pentium III 400mHz
  • RAM: 128-256 MB
  • Sound card: 8-bit or better
  • Screen resolution: 800 x 600 16-bit color or better
  • Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or better
  • Disk Space: 40 MB
*Not recommended

 

Official statement about Windows 98/ME and Internet Dial-up Connections

Thanks to recent technology advances, Absolute Poker is moving forward.  We strive to provide you with the best online gaming experience.

More than a year after the Microsoft "End of support" statement for Windows 98/ME, Absolute Poker is no longer supporting these platforms. Since November of 2007, Absolute Poker is no longer responsible for isolated issues experienced by Windows 98/ME users that are not related to our game application or servers. Further details can be seen here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/support/endofsupport.mspx

Dial-up connections are designed to work with 56 kbps as their upper limit bandwidth, but they normally use 49 kbps (even less if your connection has some dirt or humidity between the cable terminals).  As a result, Absolute Poker is not responsible for individual disconnections from Dial-up users who may be running other applications concurrently with AP software.

3.Absolute Poker is telling me that I am being blocked by my firewall. What is a firewall?

All your firewall questions can be answered by clicking here

A firewall is a software or hardware solution that manages your connection to the internet. It restricts both incoming and outgoing data to protect your computer. A firewall can prevent viruses and trojans from sending data to your computer. Firewalls also help protect against malicious connection attempts by 3rd party users to gain access to your computer. When a firewall is active, you may be presented with a pop up window whenever you run a new program for the first time. You can then decide whether you want to grant your new program access to the internet.

Unfortunately, firewalls occasionally block the Absolute Poker software on your computer from properly accessing our servers. This can occur in several different ways. The initial connection of your game lobby might not be able to connect to our servers, giving you a pop up error indicating that a firewall might be blocking your connection. Depending on the way your firewall is configured, you might be effected in less obvious ways. You might join a table only to find that nothing is happening (there are no players, no cards, and no ‘take seat’ buttons on the seats). This can happen if your firewall blocks our table programs rather than the main poker lobby program.

In most cases a firewall is software installed on your computer, although your physical router can also have its own firewall.  The changes that you’ll need to make will depend on whether you have a software or hardware firewall.

It’s easy to configure your firewall, but you’ll first need to find out which firewall you’re using.  Most firewalls have an icon in the lower right corner of your screen in the Task Bar.  If you move your mouse over the firewall icon, the name of the firewall will be displayed. Please click the link below with the name of your firewall for instructions on how to set it up.

4.There is a new live update available.  Why won’t it run properly?

You probably have an anti-spyware program such as Microsoft Anti Spyware, Spyware Doctor, Spybot, or Spysweeper. These programs can interfere with Absolute Poker and other live updates.

To prevent live update problems in the future:

Please temporarily disable your Microsoft Anti Spyware, Spyware Doctor, Spybot, Spysweeper, or any other anti-spyware program that is on your machine before clicking "OK" to accept the update. Most of these programs have an icon in the lower right corner of your screen in the Task Bar.  Right click on the little icon, and select "exit" or "disable".

After the live update is complete, you can re-enable your anti-spyware program.  If you had to exit the program, it should be re-activated when you restart your computer.

If the live update still fails, or if you experienced this problem but do not have an anti-spyware program on your computer, then a firewall could be causing your issue. If this is the case, let us know what firewall you are using, and we will gladly send you instructions for configuring it with Absolute Poker.

To fix a failed update, please follow steps 1 through 11 below to reinstall your game:

Note:If you uninstall the software using steps 1 through 11 below you will also erase your hand history, player notes, and stats that are saved on your hard drive.

You can keep a back up of this information by following these steps:

    1.
  • Right mouse click on the Start Button
    • 2.
  • Click on Explore
    • 3.
  • Click on My Computer
    • 4.
  • Click on C:
    • 5.
  • Click on Program Files
    • 6.
  • Click on Absolute Poker
    • 7.
  • Click on Hand History
  •  

This will take you to C:\Program Files\ Absolute Poker Basic \Hand History which is the path where your hand history is stored on your computer.

Copy the folder(s) from the hand history folder by right mouse clicking and selecting copy.

Choose a different location such as My Documents to save the files. Paste them by right mouse clicking and selecting paste.

You now have made a backup of your hands played.

If you wish to keep a back up of this information, please go to the following location on your computer:

  • "My computer", C:\Program Files\Absolute Poker Basic\Hand History

The above address is where your hand history is stored on your hard drive. Copy the folder or folders inside the hand history folder and paste them in a different location to make a backup of your played hands.

  • "My computer", C:\Program Files\Absolute Poker Basic\ data

The above address is where your player notes and game stats are stored. The "note" file stores the notes you have placed on the players and the "stats" file stores your game stats. Just like with your hand history, go ahead and save both of these files in a different location before uninstalling the software. This way you will be able to restore those files after installing the software again.

Now that you have saved a backup of your data, please follow the steps below to remove the application and reinstall the software:

    i.
  1. Restart your computer. After rebooting, do not open up Absolute Poker.
    2. ii.
  2. Click on the Start button.
    3. iii.
  3. Select Control Panel.
    4. iv.
  4. Select Add / Remove Programs.
    5. v.
  5. Select Absolute Poker and remove the program.
    6. vi.
  6. Open the My Computer icon located on your desktop or in the Start Menu.
    7. vii.
  7. Open C:\Program Files and delete any Absolute Poker Basic folders that you can find in Program Files.
    8. viii.
  8. After Absolute Poker has been uninstalled, open the Internet Explorer Browser.
    9. ix.
  9. Click on Tools in the menu bar and select Internet Options.
    10. x.
  10. In the Temporary Internet Files section, click on Delete Files, this may take a while, after that click on Delete Cookies.
    11. xi.
  11. Go to http://www.absolutepoker.net/ and click on the Play Now button. Click Run and wait for the download to complete. Click Run again and then at the purple screen, click Start Install.
  12.  

After you have completed the steps above, paste the hand history files that you previously backed up into:

C:\Program Files\ Absolute Poker Basic \Hand History

To restore your player notes and game stats, replace the files that you previously saved back into the folder that they came from:

My computer, C:\Program Files\Absolute Poker Basic\data

There will already be default files with the same name, which is why you will have to "replace" them with the ones you saved before as a backup.

5.I have configured my firewall but I still can't access Absolute Poker. Could my router be the problem?

Your router, rather than a program on your computer, might be blocking your connection.  Routers are used most commonly to split your Internet connection between multiple computers. If you connect to the internet using Cable or DSL, and there is another box or device between your modem and your computer, that is most likely your router.

Here is a list of common router brands:

If you use a router to connect to the Internet, please visit our router configuration page by clicking on the following link [Click Here]

Unfortunately, if you are connecting from work, school, a library, an internet cafe, or any other strictly "public environments", you may not have the ability to fix your connection issues. Most network administrators at these environments will have a firewall set up that closes off many ports before you will even receive the connection. As a result, you will rarely be able to alter your connection settings.

If you are not using a router to connect to the Internet, you may need to ask Technical Support how you can resolve your issue. You can email support@absolutepoker.net for assistance.

6.I was playing and the game froze (or I was disconnected), how can I get back to my table and what happened with my chips?

If the tournament is still in process you can rejoin it.

Click on the Tournaments menu option located on the grey strip at the top of the main lobby screen.

Select Registered in Tournaments and a window with a list of tournaments you are registered in currently will pop up.

From the list, double click on the tournament you were playing in. You will be directed to the tournament's lobby.

Click on Take my seat to return to your table.

If you still have a chance to rejoin a tournament, click on the "Tournaments" menu option located on the grey strip at the top of the main lobby screen and select "Registered in Tournaments". A window will pop up with a list of the tournaments you are registered in at that moment. In the list, find the tournament that you should be playing in. Double click on the tournament listing and you will be taken to that tournament's lobby. Click "Take My Seat" and you will be taken back to your table.

An alternate option would be to click on the “My Account” tab and open the Last Played Games feature. A window will open showing you the most recent games you played. Double click on the most recent one to be taken back to the table you were playing at.

Please realize that Absolute Poker only makes up about 10% of your connection at most. Your computer's connection to your ISP makes up about 40% of your connection. The other 50% of the connection is all the servers that relay the data back and forth. On average you will probably "hop servers" up to 20 times before your connection reaches our servers, depending on your geographic location. The network path (the chain of servers/machines) chosen is dictated by your ISP, however it is still subject to geography. The network path between you and each destination site you visit is different based on your location. That is why you may experience problems with one site, but not others.

In a browsing/checking email/instant messaging environment, the servers in between handle traffic with no problem. This is because your traffic with them is only momentary and then it rests "idle" for most of the time. You would not be affected by periodic slowdowns or high traffic.

Certain connection types are more likely to be disconnected. Wireless and dial-up have the most disconnection issues. A wireless connection isn't always stable because the internet is being transmitted as a signal from the wireless router to your PC. If the transmitted signal becomes weak, then your computer will lose the internet data stream and become disconnected. The amount of time that you are disconnected will vary depending on the situation. In many cases, the disconnection will only be for a second or less.

You might not notice this when displaying a web page, but you would become disconnected if you were playing Absolute Poker in real time. Dial up internet users will experience more disconnections because dial up does not provide a fast connection speed and is not as stable as broadband (cable or DSL). Modem communication protocol "handshaking" problems can also occur. If you are using dial up and are experiencing these issues, it may help to try a different internet provider or upgrade to DSL or Cable.

There can be many causes for freezing, with the main one being the system the game is being run on. It is extremely important to keep your system clean and free from viruses and spyware. It is also a good idea to keep your hard disk from becoming fragmented. You can de-fragment your hard drive using software built in to Windows. This is usually called "Disk Defragmenter" located in Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools. There are plenty of free antivirus and anti-spyware software packages available on the internet. Keeping your system clean can go a long way to create a stable environment when playing online poker in real time.

7.I keep getting the message "We're sorry. You don't have enough chips to sit at this table." I know that I have enough chips. What can I do?

Sometimes when you leave a table improperly (due to a game freeze, disconnection, or by closing AP without first leaving your table) your chips can become "stuck in play". This is because the server did not receive your request to leave the table and so your chips are still at that table. However your game client is receiving the request to sit at the table as denied because your bankroll of fun chips does not currently have the amount. This is the same thing as if you were trying to play 2 tables at once but you already bought into the first table with all your available fun chips.

Generally, you do not have to wait very long for the server to send your chips back to your account.  During peak times, however, it may take as long as 3 hours for your chips to be reset. It is always best to exit a table before attempting to do anything else so that your chips get properly reset back to your account.

8.Can family members in the same household have their own accounts?

Absolutely! Each Absolute Poker player is only allowed one player account. If more than one person per household wants to play, you will need to contact Support for assistance in setting up the accounts. Two people can play at the same time from the same household, but not at the same table. This is to prevent collusion.

For example: You have the IP 123.456.789.013 and your friend has the IP 123.456.789.015.

Our servers recognize this likelihood as possible fraud and automatically block any attempt to connect to the same table, which is the only restriction that you may have playing with someone in the same household.

9.Can I play on a Mac computer?

At the moment we do not have a .NET Mac version of Absolute Poker.

10.How do I properly reinstall the poker application?

To receive step by step guided instructions click here.

If you want to manually reinstall our software, follow steps 1 through 11 below.

Note: If you uninstall the software using steps 1 through 11 below you will also erase your Hand History, Player Notes, and Stats that are saved on your hard drive.

If you wish to keep a back up of this information, please go to the following location on your computer:

  • "My computer", C:\Program Files\Absolute Poker Basic\Hand History

The above address is where your hand history is stored on your hard drive. Copy the folder or folders inside the hand history folder and paste them in a different location to make a backup of your played hands.

  • "My computer", C:\Program Files\Absolute Poker Basic\ data

The above address is where your player notes and game stats are stored. The "note" file stores the notes you have placed on the players and the "stats" file stores your game stats. Just like with your hand history, go ahead and save both of these files in a different location before uninstalling the software. This way you will be able to restore those files after installing the software again.

Now that you have saved a backup of your data, please follow the steps below to remove the application and reinstall the software:

DISCLAIMER: THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOR WINDOWS XP, IF YOU ARE USING WINDOWS VISTA, USE POKER APPLICATIONS INSTEAD OF PROGRAM FILES AND PROGRAMS AND FEATURES INSTEAD OF ADD/REMOVE.

    i.
  1. Restart your computer. After rebooting, do not open up Absolute Poker.
    2. ii.
  2. Click on the Start button.
    3. iii.
  3. Select Control Panel.
    4. iv.
  4. Select Add / Remove Programs.
    5. v.
  5. Select Absolute Poker and remove the program.
    6. vi.
  6. Open the My Computer icon located on your desktop or in the Start Menu.
    7. vii.
  7. Open C:\Program Files and delete any Absolute Poker Basic folders that you can find in Program Files.
    8. viii.
  8. After Absolute Poker has been uninstalled, open the Internet Explorer Browser.
    9. ix.
  9. Click on Tools in the menu bar and select Internet Options.
    10. x.
  10. In the Temporary Internet Files section, click on Delete Files, this may take a while, after that click on Delete Cookies.
    11. xi.
  11. Go to http://www.absolutepoker.net/ and click on the Play Now button. Click Run and wait for the download to complete. Click Run again and then at the purple screen, click Start Install.
  12.  

After you have completed the steps above, paste the hand history files that you previously backed up into:

C:\Program Files\ Absolute Poker Basic \Hand History

To restore your player notes and game stats, replace the files that you previously saved back into the folder that they came from:

My computer, C:\Program Files\Absolute Poker Basic\data

There will already be default files with the same name, which is why you will have to "replace" them with the ones you saved before as a backup.

11.Why can’t I access the registration page?

If you can’t access the mini browser window, then one of two things is usually happening:

    i.
  1. A personal firewall like Norton or McAfee is blocking the mini browser window from connecting to the Internet, causing it to appear blank or with the error message "Action Canceled" or "This web page is unavailable". It may also appear completely blank, but not because of a firewall.
  2. To fix the above issue, please visit our firewall section for more information on configuring firewalls for play at Absolute Poker.
    3. ii.
  3. Sometimes, your Internet Explorer browser is not configured properly for the mini browser. Please use the steps below to make sure IE is configured properly.

In Internet Explorer go to "Tools", select "Internet Options", and select the Privacy tab. Make sure the slider is set to medium. Next click on the "Security" tab, click on the "Default Level" button, and make sure that it is set to medium.

Also in the Security Tab, click on the "Trusted Sites" icon and then the "Sites" button. Make sure that the "Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone" box is not checked.

Please enter www.absolutepoker.net in the space beneath “Add this website to the zone:” and select add.

If altering this setting does not immediately fix the blank page, then please follow these directions:

  • Make sure your AP game is closed and click on Start.
  • Choose Control Panel.
  • Select Add / Remove Programs.
  • Remove the Absolute Poker Basic program.
  • Re-boot your PC.
  • Open My Computer.
  • Open C:\Program Files and delete any Absolute Poker folders that you can find in Program Files.
  • Open an Internet Explorer window (little blue "e" icon), select the "View" menu (next to File and Edit), then select Encoding, and finally select "Auto-Select" (a check should appear next to "Auto-Select" after this).
  • From the Internet Explorer browser, click on "Tools" in the menu bar and select "Internet Options".
  • Then, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click on Delete Files, this may take a while, after that click on Delete Cookies.
  • Go to http://www.absolutepoker.net/ and click on the "Download" button. Download the program and reinstall it from scratch.

You should be able to fix your blank page with the above information.

I can't find a specific kind of tournament (such as freerolls) in the Main Lobby and I can see all the other tournaments.

In order to be able to see all the tournament that we offer, you should open the Absolute Poker application and click on the Tourneys tab.  Next click on the gray Filter tab.

Make sure that you have all the options checked, you should be able to see all the multi table tournaments that we offer.

12.Every time I try to join a table I receive a Game client error message, what should I do?

The Absolute Poker Game client error is related to a corrupted installation or update in your computer, to fix this problem we normally recommend reinstalling the application.

In order to restore our program defaults, we suggest you follow these steps:

    i.
  1. Restart your computer. After rebooting, do not open up Absolute Poker.
    2. ii.
  2. Click on the Start button.
    3. iii.
  3. Select Control Panel.
    4. iv.
  4. Select Add / Remove Programs.
    5. v.
  5. Select Absolute Poker and remove the program.
    6. vi.
  6. Open the My Computer icon located on your desktop or in the Start Menu.
    7. vii.
  7. Open C:\Program Files and delete any Absolute Poker Basic folders that you can find in Program Files.
    8. viii.
  8. After Absolute Poker has been uninstalled, open the Internet Explorer Browser.
    9. ix.
  9. Click on Tools in the menu bar and select Internet Options.
    10. x.
  10. In the Temporary Internet Files section, click on Delete Files, this may take a while, after that click on Delete Cookies.
    11. xi.
  11. Go to http://www.absolutepoker.net/ and click on the Play Now button. Click Run and wait for the download to complete. Click Run again and then at the purple screen, click Start Install.
  12.  

Note: If you uninstall the software using steps 1 through 11 below you will also erase your hand history, player notes, and stats that are saved on your hard drive.

If you wish to keep a back up of this information, please go to the following location on your computer:

  • "My computer", C:\Program Files\Absolute Poker Basic\Hand History

The above address is where your hand history is stored on your hard drive. Copy the folder or folders inside the hand history folder and paste them in a different location to make a backup of your played hands.

  • "My computer", C:\Program Files\Absolute Poker Basic\ data

The above address is where your player notes and game stats are stored. The "note" file stores the notes you have placed on the players and the "stats" file stores your game stats. Just like with your hand history, go ahead and save both of these files in a different location before uninstalling the software. This way you will be able to restore those files after installing the software again.

These files should not be restored after reinstallation, as it is possible that some of them might be corrupted.

13.Why is the game telling me to use an administrator account to continue?

Absolute Poker requires a Windows Administrator account in order to work correctly.

Several files need to be written on your hard drive whenever you launch Absolute Poker.  Unfortunately, Windows guest accounts don’t have the proper rights and permissions to access the files.

To use our software, we strongly suggest that you contact your computer administrator to have your rights and permissions modified.

Attention Vista Users: If you are already the computer administrator, then right click the Absolute Poker icon on your desktop and select the "Run as administrator" option.

14.How do I enable and disable table sounds?

To enable or disable the table sounds you need to open a table and click on the Options button.  You can click on the appropriate option to check or uncheck sounds at the table.  Be sure to click okay when you are finished.