Yeah, this stinks. I've had this happen before also. I think most people that play online have had it happen. I had it happen for a $1000 pot before and needless to say I was really pissed.
There are a few things I would recommend to anyone who takes playing online seriously, especially at higher stakes where one disconnect can cost you hundreds or even thousands
- Get the best connection possible for you area. High Speed Cable Modem, DSL, or FIOS (fiber optic from Verizon I believe). The small cost of opting for the best connection is easily covered by just one disconnect per month
- Redundancy - If you are playing high limits I would highly recommend having two Internet connections. For example you have your standard Broadband connection and an alternate connection method like dialup, Cell Phone Modem, or even another broadband connection. To use myself as an example. I buy the monthly internet plan on my cell phone (att). If I am playing I can "tether" my cell phone internet connection to my desktop using bluetooth. This provides my computer with two connections to the internet, so if one goes down the traffic can get routed through the other
- Have a dedicated computer that you use exclusively for playing poker. Super Clean Install, no garbage programs, basically nothing except the poker software you use and the internet connection. Don't surf the internet, web pages, etc. I realize this isn't practical for everyone but you can get a basic computer for a couple hundred dollars that will work extremely well for just playing poker. Setup the Exclusive Poker Box right next to your desktop and do your browsing, email, etc on you normal desktop.
Jason
