Rating categories and weights
Scores are a shorthand, not the recommendation itself. The recommendation should still explain who the product is for and why. For launch-stage reviews, these are the default weighting buckets:
| Option | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Trust and legitimacy | 25% | Brand clarity, reputation, transparent positioning, and signs the product is actively maintained. |
| Free-to-play value | 20% | Whether players can have a meaningful free experience without immediate paywalls or excessive pressure to spend. |
| Ease of setup | 20% | How quickly a player can create an account, start a session, and understand the product flow. |
| Private-game support | 20% | Invite controls, room privacy, tournament tools, and suitability for hosted games with friends. |
| Device and player fit | 15% | Cross-device support, audience fit, and whether the product matches the use case it claims to serve. |
What we test directly
- Account creation and onboarding friction.
- How quickly a private game can be created or joined.
- Whether tournament hosting exists and how it works.
- Browser and mobile usability.
- Product cues that make the experience feel social, private, or overly monetized.
What we do not score blindly
We do not give extra credit simply for being well known. We also do not hide weak private-game support under a strong overall brand. A mobile social app and a hosted private-game product can both be good, but they are good at different jobs.
How often ratings are refreshed
Ratings should be revisited when a product meaningfully changes, when pricing or access rules shift, or when the underlying comparison set moves. Launch-phase pages should prefer clear narrative verdicts over pretending to maintain precision the evidence does not support.
How ownership disclosures affect ratings
If a PokerWorks product appears in a roundup or review, the ownership relationship is disclosed on the page and the verdict still needs to justify itself. Disclosure does not exempt a product from comparison.