Should I upgrade my internet if I keep getting packet loss during poker matches?

Packet loss for online poker is a no-no. I would guess that nobody plays poker over dialup. It’s more about latency and stability. Adding server bandwidth may help (as long as its your bottleneck). Do a network stress test on your server. Most normal broadband connections have no problem with poker. What’s important is low latency (under 100ms ping) and stable connectivity. I would tell players to try a wired connection, turn off other programs and check their own ping. If you’re still getting complaints, offer a specialized poker game server with quality of service enabled. Fewer people play poker over dialup now. But some rural customers may have problems with broadband speeds. Have a minimum recommended speed (e.g. 5Mbps up/down and 50 ms ping) that will work for 95%+ of your customers.

If you are having packet loss while playing a game of poker, it’s more likely due to high latency rather than low bandwidth. More bandwidth on your servers will only help if your customers are using dialup, and their ISP’s are congested. What we see from our customers is at minimum 5-10 Mbps minimum stable speed for a decent gaming experience. For example, we utilize some of the most reputable hosting providers such as Softlayer who provide excellent pings to most countries around the world. We suggest you do the same. Also if your players are not sure about their internet connection, we suggest they check their speed via a wired connection vs. Wi-Fi. If packet loss persists, its probably your servers. Check them first. Think of it this way, in poker, we try to focus on the things we can control, the same goes here, plug the leaks first.