Tis' the season for giving, and Macintosh users are getting a big end of the year gift from PokerStars. For a long time now, one major qualm people have had with Macs (or one major qualm that people have had with poker sites, depending on who you ask) is that Macs are not compatible with many of the poker sites. For a devoted Mac user, switching to a PC was never an option, and if they were an avid poker player, they were in a tough spot.

On Friday all of this changed, as PokerStars released a beta version of their real-money software for Macs. A play-money version had been around for some time in anticipation of one day releasing the real-money version, and that day has finally come. This will enable Mac users to eliminate the use of a third-party "PC emulator." In terms of appearance, the beta version is quite similar to the original Windows version, apart from the fact that it does not include the Layout Manager or the Preferred Seat options, but those types of things are sure to come.

The minimum requirements needed to run the PokerStars Mac version are as follows:

* PowerPC G4 or G5 or Intel Mac
* 512MB Ram
* 1024×768 screen resolution or higher
* 60MB free disk space
* 56k dial-up Internet connection

PokerStars continues to be a pioneer within the industry, constantly working hard to please its customers, and as a result we've come to expect nothing less. If you don't already have an account with PokerStars and wish to sign up, you can do so by clicking here.