Summary:

Huge $600 sign-up bonus at 100% deposit match! Full Tilt Poker is an ambitious poker room that was launched in July 2004. Full Tilt Poker has a number of world-class poker pro endorsers, such as Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey, John Juanda and Erik Seidel. Unfortunately thee pros are not seen playing very much at the site. The most action is at the low stakes no-limit Holdem tables and no-limit Holdem fixed schedule tournaments. The graphics are innovative with cartoon style avatars. The software is good and different, however not quite in line with the very best in terms of functionality. Real money player statistics - April, 2006: 2,000-2,200 ring game players at peak hours, 6,000-6,800 tournament players at peak hours.

Graphics:

Full Tilt Poker's graphics have a different and fun look and feel. Each player chooses an avatar, which can display different emotions to add some spice. The player can choose among different background environments. The software runs quickly and reliably when we have tested the play money tables. Notes on players are supported. The statistics function is OK with decent information details. The software is compatible with Mac. Overall, Fill Tilt Poker has good software.

Touranment Traffic:

Full Tilt Poker has an initial tournament traffic of 6,000-6,800 real money players at peak hours (April, 2006).

Rake:

The rake is slightly higher than the average of the industry. The rake is 5% and taken in tight intervals. Full Tilt Poker has a "No Flop - No Drop" rake policy, like most sites. A maximum of $1 is taken out of the pots up to $1/$2 games. At higher limits, $2/$4 and above, Full Tilt Poker has a max rake of $3 and the rake structure is analogous to most other sites.

Game Traffic:

Full Tilt Poker just started in mid July 2004, but has decent traffic right away. The volume is very concentrated to low stakes no-limit Holdem. There are typically 2,000-2,200 players at peak hours, out of which at least 90-95% is in the Holdem section (April, 2006).

Game Variety:

Full Tilt Poker has a decent game selection, with Holdem, Omaha Hi and Hi-Lo, 7-Card-Stud Hi and Hi-Lo. There are no-limit and pot-limit in Holdem and pot-limit in both Omaha variants.

Sign-Up Bonus:

Full Tilt Poker offers a 100% deposit match bonus up to $600 for all first time depositors. another good thing is a 50% up to $300 re-load bonus. Playing at for example one $0.5/$1 NL table you will typically earn about $3-$6 in bonus per hour. The fine print. For each dollar raked from a pot, every player who was dealt cards for that hand will earn one point. You can earn partial points if less than one dollar is raked, and you can earn up to three points per hand. Each point is worth $.06, so you can earn up to $18 per hundred hands. The bonus is released to your cash account into increments of 20% of your initial deposit. So if you do a one-time deposit of $100, with each $20 you earn, it will be released into your account.

Loyalty Bonus:

Decent point program where players earn Full Tilt Points which can be used for purchasing merchandise and for freeroll tournaments. For tournaments you get 7 points for every $ in tournament fees.

Promotions:

Promotions are good at Full Tilt Poker. Besides the nice sign-up and re-load bonus, there exists a number of other good promotions like WPT/WSOP qualifiers, guaranteed $ tournaments, and other free money giveaways.

Deposit & Withdrawal:

Deposit options: VISA, MasterCard, NETeller, FirePay, and Money transfer/eMoney Transfer

Cash out options: NETeller, FirePay and credit card (with the usual restrictions), Money transfer/eMoney Transfer

Support:

Good, but currently only email support and FAQ section on the website.

24/7 support: Yes
Support Features: Email
Email confirmation/receipt: No
Speed: Fast
Knowledge: Good
Avg. NETeller pay out time: 24-48 hrs

Summary:

PokerGameTonight.Com is clearly aiming to be a serious player in the world of online poker. They have created an overall high-quality poker room, and offer a well-organized and thorough website. PokerGameTonight.Com is a medium to large size poker room where the action concentrates on Texas Hold'em, in particular short handed games. The software is of good to very good standard, with most advanced features, such as 'find a player', playing statistics, hand history, etc. PokerGameTonight.Com allows you to play at multi-tables simultaneously and this feature runs quite smoothly. The action at the tables is decent, with high 'viewed flop percentages' at the lower stakes tables.Real money player statistics -3,000 - 5,000 ring game players during peak hours, 8,000-10,000 tournament players during peak hours.

Graphics:

The software is vary quick and reliable.The lobby is easy to use, with standard design and functions.The 'private tournament' option, however, is a great feature that allows players to bring their friends or co-workers together for a private online tournament.

Tournament Traffic:

PokerGameTonight.Com has tournament traffic of 8,000 - 10,000 real money players during peak hours

Rake:

PokerGameTonight.Com uses a pretty standard 'no flop, no drop' policy, meaning that they do not take out any rake from pots where there was no flop. The rake is at 5% on all types of games (from all limits and number of players) and stops at a maximum of $3

Game Traffic:

PokerGameTonight.Comis typically in top10, in terms of ring games traffic. The number of real money players in ring games is typically reaching 4,500-5,000 at peak hours. The traffic is quite well spread out over all types of games (compared to many other rooms where traffic is concentrated to Hold'em only).

Game Variety:

PokerGameTonight.Comhas a good game selection, with Hold'em, Omaha Hi and Hi-Lo, 7-Card-Stud Hi and Hi-Lo, Pineapple and Triple Draw 7-2. There are no-limit and pot-limit in Hold'em and pot-limit in both Omaha variants. There are 1-on-1 tables in both Hold'em, Omaha and 7-Card-Stud. The site was one of the first sitesto introduce Pineapple (a variation of Hold'em where you get three hole cards and have to discard one card after the flop).

Sign-Up Bonus:

PokerGameTonight.Com is one of the true leaders in Sign-Up Bonusmoney offering 100% match bonuswith your first deposit.

Promotions:

PokerGameTonight.Comhas some of the bestpromotions of all the online poker rooms, starting withthe Win a Hummer give away and the bestrefer-a-friend program online today. There are quite a few free rolls and frequent player free rolls. Maybe once per quarter there is a re-deposit bonus of about 25% up to $200.There arejackpots awarded every day 24/7.PokerGameTonight.Comruns continuous WPT qualifiers and the refer-a-friend program gives you up to $100 per friend!

Deposit & Withdrawal:

Deposit options: VISA, MasterCard, NETeller, FirePay, Citadel (US only), wire transfer, bank draft, cashier's check

Cash out options: NETeller, FirePay and check.

Support:

The lights are always on as the response time for most emails are under 10 minutes.The staff is very nice and knowledgeable.

24/7 support: Yes
Website FAQ: Yes
Support Features: Email
Email confirmation/receipt: Yes
Speed: Very fast
Knowledge: Excellent
Friendliness: 90%
Avg. NETeller pay out time: 24-48 hrs
Withdrawal smoothness: 90%

Summary:

On October 9th, 2005, Party Poker cut off their four skin sites and began to act independently (not sharing same player base). But still Party Poker boasts the world's highest traffic in ring games. In addition to the huge traffic there are many other advantages with Party Poker, such as loose games, great promotions and loyalty program, special events and a membership referral program. There are quite a few juicy games at Party Poker with loose action even up to the $30/$60 limits. However, you don't get the statistics to easily locate those games. Recently (October, 2005) black jack, side bet (bet that the flop comes with all red cards etc), and deal making features was implemented in the software. Real money player statistics - April, 2006: 12,000-13,100 ring game players at peak hours, 55,000-60,000 tournament players at peak hours.

Graphics:

PartyPoker's software is quite good, with a number of upgrades during both 2003, early 2004, October 2005 and February 2006. We are not big fans of the graphics, but from a practical standpoint the playability is good. With its phenomenal growth, Party Poker has added servers and increased bandwidth in order to secure full reliability at 100,000 simultaneous players. However, a few players have complained over delays and disconnections at certain tournaments. Overall though, Party Poker has very good quality nowadays, in line with or better than most competitors. Four simultaneous tables per player is allowed. Unfortunately, the view flop percentages are not presented, neither are hands per hour rate. (This has the benefit though, that the looser games are "protected"). You see the average pot size of the last 20 hands. The personal playing statistics function is somewhat rudimentary, but works well. Player notes function is included as well as instant hand histories. In October 2005 a new platform was launched which removed the Party Poker players from the skin sites and now lets them play et their own private tables. Also new features like black jack, deal-making, and side bets are available while playing at a poker table. A nice feature is the very smooth table resizing option (which is especially good if you play on a lap top or other small screen). You have the option to "auto resize" all open tables meaning will resize and spread out evenly on the screen by the click of your finger. Resizing does not work for Omaha and 7-Card Stud games. In sum, the software is good today after improvements to support the record-braking traffic.

Tournament Traffic:

Party Poker traffic at the tournaments is the highest in the world. Beside no-limit and limit Texas Holdem, there are lots of tournaments in both 7-card stud and Omaha. Party Poker probably hosts more than 70% of all fixed limit Texas Holdem tournaments in the world! The traffic reaches somewhere between 40,000-60,000 (April, 2006) real money tournament players at peak hours. The drop in traffic (about 15%-20%) is due to the latest update were Party Poker cut off their 4 skin sites from the network.

Rake:

PartyPoker's rake is not so attractive, as it highly disfavors the low limit games. The higher limit games actually have a comparably low rake. The rake runs as high as 10% in $0.50/$1 and $1/$2 games, as 50 cent is raked when the pot reaches $5. This holds true also for the tournaments, where good value only is provided at the higher stakes. 20% fee in $5 games and 8% fee in $100 games.

Game Traffic:

Party Poker became the world's largest site in ring game traffic already by late 2002/early 2003, after its legendary launch campaign. They are keeping up the ultra aggressive marketing and the traffic keeps climbing to new record levels every month. April, 2006 there are about 12,000-13,000 real money ring game players at peak hours. The drop in traffic (about 15%-20%) is due to the latest update were Party Poker cut off their 4 skin sites from the network.

Game Variety:

Good, thanks to the leading volume in all games hosted; Holdem, Omaha and 7-Card-Stud in both High and Hi-Lo. However, Party Poker does not offer certain games such as heads-up matches, draw poker, crazy pineapple, etc. Sit'n'Go tournaments are offered from $200 levels down to $5. Stakes offered in the Holdem section are (1) Limit Texas Holdem from $100-$200 down to $0.5-$1 and (2) No-Limit/Pot-Limit Holdem from $10-$20 down to $0.10-$0.25. There is currently no shorthanded Omaha games available.

Sign-Up Bonus:

Either 20% bonus match up to $100 (bonus code PLIST100) or $25 flat bonus with minimum deposit of $50 (bonus code PLIST25)requires 125 hands to release via our landing page at Party Poker. Plus $5,000 Poker freeroll to all new users signing up. The freeroll is played out during the second week of the following month after the sign-up. On top of that, expect to get surprise re-load bonuses on a regular basis (exclusive to Poker players.) All new users also get a complimentary cap sent out from Party Poker! For the max $100 bonus you need to play 500 raked hands within 30 days to get the $100 (equals 5 raked pots per bonus dollar). You will also have the chance on a monthly basis to be entered into our ongoing private free rolls for loyal players which we run for new players.

Loyalty Bonus:

It gets better and better, now there are both a big frequent player points program as well as numerous re-deposit promotions in which you get 15%-25% up to $100 maximum.

Promotions:

Party Poker is one of the leaders in promotions. In terms of big events, they host the flagship event PartyPoker.com Million annually. The regular clients are offered several types of promotions, based on the raked hands they have played. They have a standing membership referral scheme where you can get up to $50 for each referral.

Deposit & Withdrawal:

Deposit options: VISA, MasterCard, NETeller, FirePay, Western Union, Citadel (US only), eChecks (by iGM-Pay)bank draft, cashier's check, money order, check. Cash out options: NETeller, wire transfer, check, eChecks (by iGM-Pay).

Support:

The support is since late 2004 much better at Party Poker, in particular the 24/7 telephone support now often responds in under a minute! The support is nowadays very knowledgable on promotions and other trickier issues. Email has worked OK, even though the response times were a bit long. Upgraded to very good score in Jan 2005.

24/7 support: Yes Website FAQ: Yes Support Features: Email, phone Email confirmation/receipt: No Speed: Ok Knowledge: Ok Avg. NETeller pay out time: 24-48 hrs Withdrawal smoothness: 90%

Summary:

Pacific Poker has grown tremendously during last year to become the favorite poker room for many Texas Hold'em players looking for very 'juicy' high-action tables and frequent promotions. No-limit and Pot-Limit cash games have been launched , with the usual loose/wild action, strongly recommended for players looking to have a good chance at winning. There are many special promotions (such as money added and free rolls). Pacific Poker is part of the group behind the world's largest casino - Casino-on-Net since - so there are a lot of "wild" casino customers at the tables! At the limit Hold'em games on Pacific Poker, the view flop percentage in full ring games often is in the 60-ies and 70-ies - even up in the 80-ies!!! The no-limit games so far are often in the 50-ies. The traffic is concentrated to the Hold'em games. The action and promotions are great. Real money player statistics for Pacific Poker - April, 2006: 3,200-3,600 ring game players at peak hours, 3,600-4,000 tournament players at peak hours.

Graphics:

Pacific Poker software is good nowadays and it has improved quite a bit in 2005. It's a bit on the slow side but with decent graphics. A player can now play at up to 5 tables at the time. There are reports of disconnect problems if too many tables are run. However, improvements are being done and in 2005 no-limit ring games has been added, short-handed tables and note taking support. The software runs very smoothly. It also has the advanced buttons like check/fold etc to make your playing experience relaxing. The lobby has information on view flop percentage and hands played per hour. There is a hand history statistics function which enables you to play up your old hands. You also have the option of choosing between a male/female dealer voice.

Tournament Traffic:

Pacific Poker boasts tournament traffic of 3,600-4,000 real money players at peak hours (April, 2006).

Rake:

The is about average of the industry, with better offers at micro-levels and higher rake at the highest stakes. Pacific Poker has a "No Flop - No Drop" rake policy, like most sites. This means that Pacific Poker only rakes the pot when the flop is reached. A maximum of $1.25 is taken out of the pots up to $1/$2 games. At limits below $1/$2 the house takes less than $1, which gives good value for low limit players. At higher limits, $2/$4 and above, Pacific Poker rake max $4 and $5 on the $50-$100 tables

Game Traffic:

Great, but it is very concentrated to two areas fixed limit Holdem ring games and Holdem tournaments. There are typically 3,200-3,600 players at peak hours, out of which at least 85-95% is in the Holdem section (April 2006). Most of the other traffic is in Omaha Hi-Lo and 7-Card-Stud High.

Game Variety:

Good, as there are now also no-limit and pot-limit versions in the ring games. There are Holdem, Hi and Hi-Lo in Omaha and Seven-Card stud. There are also 1-on-1 tables. There are micro-limit tables down to $0.05/$0.10. Max limit is $15/$30 in all games, except for 1-on-1 ring game which still has only $3/$6.

Sign-Up Bonus:

Special sign-up bonus via our link, with 25% deposit match up to $100 (you get the full $100 bonus via $400 deposit or more). The conditions to get the bonus are quite harsh. You must wager 20 times the bonus amount, totaling $2,000 to cash-out max bonus of $100. No requirements on raked hands.

Loyalty Bonus:

Every $10 bet on raked hands earns you 1 Bonus Point, 100 Bonus Points can be converted to $1. Whenever you play at Pacific Poker your comp points accumulate automatically. Each and every bet you place on raked hands, adds more points to your Comp Account. These points can be converted into cash and added to your Poker Bankroll anytime. Also you get a $50 bonus for each referred friend and the referral gets $25.

Promotions:

PacificPoker has quite a few great promotions in general. Plenty of guaranteed money tournaments, WSOP/WPT qualifiers, Royal Flush/Bad Baet jackpots etc. Great $50,000 guaranteed tournament every Sunday (buy in $65).

Deposit & Withdrawal:

Prompt cash outs and no fees. Very secure transactions. Deposit options: VISA, MasterCard, NETeller, Citadel, FirePay, Wire Transfer, bank transfer, PaySafeC.

Withdrawal options: NETeller, Wire Transfer (direct Bank Account Transfer) and Bank Draft (Cashier's Check).

Support:

Great response times at the email support as well as live chat and phone.

24/7 support: Yes
Support Features: Email, Phone, Chat
Email confirmation/receipt: Yes
Speed: Fast
Knowledge: Ok
Avg. NETeller pay out time: 1-3 business days
Withdrawal smoothness: 70%

Link:

Summary:

AbsolutePoker is clearly aiming to be a serious player in the world of online poker. They have created an overall high-quality poker room, and offer a well-organized and thorough website. AbsolutePoker is a medium sized poker room where the action concentrates on Texas Hold'em, in particular short handed games. The software is of good standard, with most advanced features, such as 'find a player', playing statistics, hand history, etc. AbsolutePoker allows you to play at three tables simultaneously and this feature runs quite smoothly. The action at the tables is decent, with high 'viewed flop percentages' at the lower stakes tables. Presently, the site is endorsed by poker player Mark Seif who won two (!) 2005 WSOP bracelets. Real money player statistics - April, 2006: 1,000-1,200 ring game players during peak hours, 4,600-5,100 tournament players during peak hours.

Graphics:

The software is fairly quick and reliable although it has a bit of a 'pinball machine' feel to it, including a few annoying sound effects. The lobby is easy to use, with standard design and functions. Another irritating detail is that you cannot eliminate the 'fun money' games from the lobby. The 'private tournament' option, however, is a great feature that allows players to bring their friends or co-workers together for a private online tournament.

Tournaments:

AbsolutePoker has tournament traffic of 4,600-5,100 real money players during peak hours (April, 2006).

Rake:

AbsolutePoker uses a pretty standard 'no flop, no drop' policy, meaning that they do not take out any rake from pots where there was no flop. The rake is at 5% on all types of games (from all limits and number of players) and stops at a maximum of $3.

Game Traffic:

Traffic has not reached considerable volume and currently play is concentrated on low stakes No-Limit Hold'em ($1-$2 down to 2c-4c games). A majority of the ring games are 6-handed tables. There are typically 1,000-1,100 real money ring game players during peak hours, out of which at least 90-95% are in the Hold'em section (April, 2006).

Game Variety:

Their game variety is essentially industry standard. The games offered are Texas Hold'em (1 on 1, PL, NL, Limit, and short-handed), Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven-Card Stud, and Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo. These games range from 6-handed to 10-handed games in No-Limit, Pot-Limit and Limit style. Their fixed limit Texas Hold'em games vary from $50/$100 down to $0.02/$0.04 although most games are concentrated on the micro-limits. AbsolutePoker's NL games vary from $5/$10 down to $0.25/$0.10, but again most action in the micro-limits. Almost all of the action is focused on the Texas Hold'em tables.

Sign-Up Bonus:

AbsolutePoker offers a sign-up is bonus of 200% up to $200 to every new player on their first purchase. The bonus will automatically be added to your 'Pending Bonus' account where it will be held and automatically released to your cash account based on the following requirements; for each raked hand (minimum rake of $0.50) you play you will receive 1 point, and you will receive 1 point for each $1 of tournament buy-in fee. At 100 points $10 will be transferred from your 'Pending Bonus' account to your cash account. Money in your pending account will expire 60 days from the time it was awarded unless it has been transferred to your real money account by meeting the hands played requirements. You can view your point total and bonus amounts at the 'Cashier'. You will continue to earn points until you have received all of your bonus money.

Loyalty Bonus:

AbsolutePoker offers the 'Absolute Rewards Loyalty Program': While playing for real money you earn points, so called Absolute Rewards Points (AR Points). Points are earned in two different ways; either through hands played at real money ring games, or from tournament buy-in fees. Points are earned as follows: (1) one point is awarded for every hand played in a real money ring game with a limit of $2/$4 or lower that has collected at least the minimum rake ($.25); (2) two points for every hand played in a real money ring game with a limit of $3/$6 or higher that has collected at least the minimum rake ($.25); (3) four points for every dollar in the tournament buy-in fee ($10 $1 tournament would earn 4 points); and, (4) special tournaments that award points to the winners. In addition, once you have played a minimum of 500 hands, AbsolutePoker will mail you an 'Absolute Reward Card' which reportedly gives the holder VIP-treatment at live tournaments, etc.

Promotions:

In addition to the 'Absolute Rewards Loyalty Program' they offer a good refer-a-friend program. Once your friend registers a new player account, deposits a minimum of $25, and plays in 100 real money raked hands, you will be credited with $50 and your friend's pending bonus account will be credited with $25. They also offer many good free rolls, WSOP free rolls, and re-load bonuses. For example, they offer a weekly re-load bonus.

Deposit & Withdrawal:

Deposit options: NETeller, CentralCoin, FirePay, VISA, MasterCard, Electronic Check, Bank Draft, and Wire Transfer. Cash out options: NETeller, FirePay, and Check.

Support:

Currently, the only support function available is via email. Their respond time is fairly quick and accurate. Their website is informative and covers most important topics.

24/7 support: Yes
Support Features: Email
Email confirmation/receipt: No
Speed: Very fast
Knowledge: Good
Avg. NETeller pay out time: 24 hrs

6. InterPoker.Com

Link:

Summary:

Inter Poker is a very popular poker room, managed by the world's second largest casino - Inter Casino. The poker tables have wild and loose games and now the world's largest $100 monthly loyalty bonus. Inter Poker uses CryptoLogic's platform, with a shared player base. The games are among the loosest today, so if you are looking for soft games this is a good place to choose. The player volume is the world's fastest growing among the top poker networks and has more than four-doubled in 2004, as they have introduced no-limit and pot-limit, as well as multi-table tournaments. The software has good functionality, but the graphics are not as nice. The monthly re-load bonus of $90 is awarded after a new deposit of $90 and then playing 450 raked hands, which typically takes about 25 hours at one single table. There is also an open "proposition player" program, where you get paid to start up new games or play in short-handed games. Real money player statistics - April, 2006: 2,200-2,400 ring game players at peak hours, 2,200-2,400 tournament players at peak hours.

Graphics:

Inter Poker uses CryptoLogic software and network, with a shared player base with the other room operators, among other William Hill. The software is not so visually appealing, but the functionality is quite good after several updates. The time clock requires the players to act quite quickly, which is good for players who appreciate fast games. The site has nice voice options.

Tournament Traffic:

InterPoker's traffic at the tournaments is good nowadays, with 2,200-2,400 players at peak times (April, 2006). This is over a 1000% increase since one year ago!

Rake:

The rake at Inter Poker is slightly less attractive than the average of the industry for standard games. For the big bet tables the rake is relatively low. A rake of 5% is raked on every pot over £5/$5, up to a maximum of £3/$3. There is a "no flop - no drop" policy for hands not reaching the flop.

Game Traffic:

InterPoker has 2,200-2,400 real players at peak times, growing at a fast pace (April, 2006).

Game Variety:

The game variety at Inter Poker is OK, with Texas Holdem, Omaha Hi and Hi-Lo and seven-card stud - besides fixed limit games, there are no-limit and pot-limit offered in Texas Holdem and pot-limit in both Omaha versions. Games can be played in dollar, pound or euro. There are super high limit tables with £100/£200 in fixed limit and £5/£10 in no-limit Texas Holdem. The $0.50/$1.00 games are the smallest limit.

Sign-Up Bonus: The monthly match-deposit bonus will credit to your account as soon as you make your deposit, however you will not be able to use the funds in the poker room until the requirements are met. Please see below for information on how to keep track of the requirements as you play. To clear your bonus in poker you need to play 5 (five) times the bonus amount in raked hands. For example a $100 bonus will require only 500 raked hands to clear. A raked hand at InterPoker is defined as any hand where at least $1 (or £/Û, depending on the table) is taken as rake. This is equivalent to a $20 pot (InterPoker takes 5% rake up to a maximum of $3 (or £/Û, depending on the table)). Every hand you are dealt cards and the total pot is $20 or more, a raked hand will be counted towards your bonus. You do not have to contribute to the pot for the hand to be counted as raked. Further to this, every hand you play where between $0.25 and $0.99 (or £/Û, depending on the table) rake is taken will count as 1/4 (one quarter) of a raked hand.

Loyalty Bonus:

Monthly deposit bonus of $100 for all deposits of $25 or more. Poker Point system (known as MPP's) earned via raked hands and tournament fees. Can be used or entry into freeroll tournaments.

Promotions:

Quite a few "skin specific" promotions for InterPoker, with WSOP promotions and Caribbean Poker Classic etc. Maybe the best feature is all the money-added or money guaranteed tournaments. Also, there is the open proposition player program for all real money players, where the player get $10-$30 pro rata (i.e. $1-$3 per six minutes) for any amount of time playing at specified table. Each specified table only pays the player for a maximum of two hours ($20-$60). There is also a progressive bad beat jackpot.

Deposit & Withdrawal: Deposit options: Via Ecash Direct, you can deposit with VISA, MasterCard, debit card, EPC, check, certified check, wire transfer, money order, Citadel, NETeller, FirePay, TeleBuy, Basic 900pay.

Cash out options: (A PIN code required to cash out and is sent out by standard mail immediately after the first deposit, this may take a week or two before arrival) Credit card, debit card, EPC, check, Citadel, NETeller (Inter Poker charges a 1$ fee for Neteller withdrawals), FirePay, wire transfer.

Support:

There is telephone as well as email support.

24/7 support: Yes
Website FAQ: Yes
Support Features: Email, Phone
Email confirmation/receipt: Yes
Speed: Quite slow
Knowledge: Ok
Friendliness: 70%
Avg. NETeller pay out time: 1-3 Business day
Withdrawal smoothness: 70%

7. ParadisePoker.Com

Link:

Summary:

Paradise Poker has one of the best software around and boasts very high traffic in both cash games and tournaments. Paradise Poker was the pioneer in online poker and its software has served as model for the entire industry. Paradise Poker has great game variation with almost all games, as well good sit'n'go tournament coverage and plenty of heads-up games. Security and email support is good as well. There are a few drawbacks ; low bonus offers, few promotions and very tight games. Real money player statistics for Paradise Poker -2,500-3,000 ring game players at peak hours, 12,000-14,000 tournament players at peak hours.

Graphics:

Paradise Poker is widely regarded as a poker software leader (together with Poker Stars and Ultimate Bet) with its clean, sleek and reliable graphics and software. The platform is one of the most quick and stable in the industry. Paradise Poker supports notes on other players and has good statistics functions. The precise pot size is not provided numerically, unless you run the cursor over the pot. Some players have complained that the software can get a little messy, if the computer does not support all needed plug-ins etc, mentioning problems with the interface and some functionality. Most people praise the software though.

Rake:

ParadisePoker's rake is less attractive than the average in the industry, at least when it comes to lower limit games. This holds true also for the tournaments, where good value only is provided at the higher stakes.

Game Traffic:

Paradise Poker was the world's largest poker site for years. But with the rapid development they lost the top spots and are now at position 3 to 5. However, the traffic is still much higher today than back then, as the online poker market has exploded. The number of real money ring game players at peak hours is currently 2,500-3,000.

Game Variety:

ParadisePoker's game variety is one of the best in the industry, including no-limit and pot-limit at most standard games and more rare games such as five-card draw, five-card stud and crazy pineapple.

Sign-Up Bonus:

The 25% deposit bonus, limited to $50 is under average. Play 500 raked hands, in which you just get dealt cards, within any time limit to get the $50 (equals 10 raked pots per bonus dollar). Partial bonus in $10 increments is paid out. $1,000 backdoor freeroll exclusively for all new players coming via PokerListings in May and June (to be played in early July). Must use promotion code "PList".

Loyalty Bonus:

Paradise Poker offers a refer-a-friend program where the referrer gets a $50 bonus and the referral also gets $50 bonus (minimum deposit is $50).

Promotions:

Overall the standard promotions are OK, but there could still be a bit more considering the very high traffic. Typically, landmark hand number bonus is used. Lately they have guaranteed prize money in tournaments and some promotions for frequent players. It is getting better!

Deposit & Withdrawal:

Deposit options: VISA, MasterCard, NETeller, FirePay, wire transfer, bank draft.

Cash out options: VISA, NETeller, FirePay and check.

Support:

Paradise Poker has great email support, extremely quick and always professional. You often get an answer in a minute. However there is no live or telephone support.

24/7 support: Yes
Website FAQ: Yes
Support Features: Email
Email confirmation/receipt: Yes
Speed: Good
Knowledge: Good
Friendliness: 80%
Avg. NETeller pay out time: 12-24 hrs
Withdrawal smoothness: 80%

8. TitanPoker.Com

Link:

Summary:

Titan Poker is the new leading poker room in the 'iPoker network' initiative by PlayTech. The software comes in English, French, German, and Italian. Games are loose with lots of casino players and there are high value promotions (especially considering the moderate volume of players). Titan Poker and the iPoker network have been successful in quickly building a strong network, with the strategic backing from the world's second largest casino software provider. Titan Poker's software has an innovative and good interface, with colorful graphics. The functionality is good and the early minor glitches in the software are now fixed. There exists Holdem and Omaha (High and High-Low) ring games, as well as heads-up, sit-and-go and multi-table tournaments. - April, 2006: 1,100-1,300 ring game players at peak hours, 2,200-2,500 tournament players at peak hours.

Graphics:

Titan Poker's software and players base is part of iPoker, which in turn is developed by PlayTech. It's available in four languages, English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. The graphics are nice and clear and the functionality is good. Titan Poker has a buddy list function, game history function, player notes, several options for/sounds/etc, pot- and no-limit ring games, live floor managers and all types of tournaments. There has been an update made and the software is now much more playable. The games run smoother and faster. As soon as traffic has been built up and, this will be a quite nice room to play at. It is possible to play at 3 tables simultaneously.

Tournament Traffic:

The traffic at the tournaments is higher than at cash games when real money traffic can reach somewhere around 2,200-2,500 players at peak hours in April, 2006. Sit'N'Go tournaments are heavy promoted with Jackpot offers when you win 4-6 consecutive tournaments depending on what type pf Sit'N'Go ($2,000-$25,000 in extra cash).

Rake:

The rake at Titan Poker is actually better than the average online. The general policy is the standard 5% rake taken in increments up to $3. But on several types of tables there are lower max rakes. On fixed limit tables up to $1/$2 there is a $1 max rake. More importantly all tables with 2-3 players have a max rake of $1 and tables with 4-5 players have a $2 max rake - which also includes no-limit and pot-limit short handed games! There is a "no flop - no drop" policy for hands not reaching the flop.

Game Traffic:

Titan Poker and the iPoker network has about 1,100-1,300 ring game players at peak hours.

Game Variety:

Titan Poker has moderate game variety with Texas Holdem and Omaha Hi-Lo and High, which are available in both limit, pot-limit and Texas Holdem in no-limit as well. Table stakes are from $0.5/$1 to $30/$60 in the fixed games, with $0.25/$0.50 up to $10/$20 in pot-limit and no-limit versions (the fixed limit Omaha games have a bit lower maximum limits). There are both heads-up, sit-and-go and fixed schedule multi-table tournaments.

Sign-Up Bonus:

Bonuses are paid in $10 increments and paid out on a daily basis, which is also very good. Standard promotion is 100% deposit match up to $500 bonus. There is a 90 day time limit to reach the required hands. For each played hand (getting dealt cards) in a raked pot a player earns 1-8 Stars depending rake taken. Stars are awarded as follows, $0.25/$0.50 rake give 1 Star, $0.51/$1.00 rake give 2 Stars, $1.01/$1.50 rake give 4 Stars, $1,51-$2,00 rake give 6 Stars and $2,01-$3,00 rake give 8 Stars. For each $1 in tournament fees 20 Stars are awarded. Each 1000 Stars give a $10 bonus, 1400 Stars 10 Euro, and 1800 Stars 10 GBP. Hence in order to clear the entire $600 bonus you need to have earned 60,000 Stars.

Loyalty Bonus:

Titan Poker uses a Player Point system as part of their good VIP program. Loyal players get entered into special free rolls and can get high value re-load bonus offers. For each played hand (getting dealt cards) in a raked pot a player earns 1-11 points depending on rake taken and the players VIP level (Silver, Gold, Platinum-levels). Points are awarded as follows (Silver level), $0.25/$0.50 rake give 1 point, $0.51/$1.00 rake give 2 point, $1.01/$1.50 rake give 4 points, $1,51-$2,00 rake give 6 points and $2,01-$3,00 rake give 8 points. For each $1 in tournament fees 20 points are awarded (25 for Gold members and 30 for Platinum members).

Promotions:

Overall there are a lot of promotions at Titan Poker as they are building up volume with their new network. There are quite a few free rolls among others a weekly $1,000 free roll. There are high hand and bad beat prizes as well as Jackpot Sit'N'Go's. Recruit-a-friend earns you $75 per qualified friend and your friend receives a $25 welcome gift. The Referrer will receive an initial $25 bonus as soon as the Referred Friend has downloaded and installed the Titan Poker software and opened an account, and made a first deposit of at least $50. The payment of this $25 bonus will be made automatically, usually within 48 hours of the Referred Friend's opening of an account. The Referrer will receive an additional $50 bonus as he earns Stars at Titan Poker's ring games.

Deposit & Withdrawal:

Deposit options; VISA, MasterCard, NETeller, Citadel, FirePay, Moneybookers, InstaCash, InstaDebit, EcoCard, UseMyBank, wire transfer, bank draft and personal check.

Cash out options; NETeller, FirePay, Moneybookers, InstaDebit, EcoCard, bank draft express and wire transfer.

Support:

Great options with 24/7 telephone support as well as live online and email support at Titan Poker.

24/7 support: Yes
Website FAQ: No
Support Features: Email, Phone, Chat
Email confirmation/receipt: Yes
Speed: Very fast
Knowledge: Good
Friendliness: 75%
Avg. NETeller pay out time: 48 hrs
Withdrawal smoothness: 80%

9. PokerRoom.Com

Link:

Summary:

PokerRoom is the world's leading no-download poker room, with a unique and sleek design and good traffic. There is a download version as well which has very nice graphics. PokerRoom has managed to get real soft games the last 12 months with their huge traffic increase. The focus is more on 6-handed tables than most other top rooms (together with InterPoker). PokerRoom.com is the best choice for Mac-users, who can play without any special installs. PokerRoom offers great statistical analysis of your game and an open database of the hands played at the site. There traffic is very concentrade to the Holdem and tournament section. A large proportion of the games are short-handed tables with 5 or 6 players. The sign up bonus is huge coming from our site, but the rake is slightly higher than industry average (partly due to all short-handed games). The games have become very juicy lately where soft games are found even up to $5/$10 no-limit Texas Holdem which is impressive. Real money player statistics - April, 2006: 3,500-3,800 ring game players at peak hours, 12,000-13,000 tournament players at peak hours.

Graphics: PokerRoom.com has a high-end software with its clean, sleek graphics, multi platform compatibility and reliability in uptime, etc. On the negative side, many players do not like the "playability" on PokerRoom.com, as it does not lend itself well to multi-table play (buttons too close, easy to time out, hard to see winning hand, etc) The software is available as both Java applet and as standard Windows download. The Java version is a great feature for Linux and Mac users who otherwise need a Windows emulator. The Java version is also for certain users who cannot download programs to the computer. The statistics functionality on your played hands in the various games is good, with extra features such as hourly win/loss rate and Big Bets won or lost. There is a random delay in the automated pre-selected actions a client can take, not to give away any extra information via an immediate check. Another nice feature is hand match up percentages in all-in situations during play. The lobby information is a little tricky to use, as you need to click on each table to get the full statistics. Recently added in the software update autumn 2005 is a lobby chat where all players logged in can share thoughts. PokerRoom also allow all their players to download poker games for mobile phones, called "Mobile poker". The software allows players the option to create private tournaments where you can choose your own buy-in, starting time etc. A nice feature is that you can create Team Tournaments where teams consisting of five to 10 players are created by a "Team Manager" and can participate in leagues.

Tournament Traffic:

The traffic at the tournaments at peak hours reaches currently between 12,000-13,000 real money players (April, 2006). There are big daily free rolls, which draw very large crowds.

Rake:

The rake at PokerRoom is above average when viewed as a percentage of the pot but shares the average maximum of $3.00 per pot. The formula they use to calculate the applicable rake is based on 3 variables - type of game (fixed-limit or pot & no-limit), the number of players in the hand, and the size of the pot in terms of Big Blind multiples. The difference being that No-Limit and Pot-Limit games can rake a little more on the larger pots; where the fixed limit game maxes out at 1 big blind for 5-10 players or a maximum of $3 on pots with more than 12 big blinds the No-Limit and Pot-Limit have a 2 Big Blind or Maximum of $3 at 5-10 players and 32 or more big blinds in the pot.

An example of where this system gets expensive is when playing with 3-10 players and having a small pot of 4-12 big blinds. Foe example, if the pot is at 4 Big Blinds there will be a 0.4 BB charge, which amounts to a 10% rake. On larger pots, for example a $200 pot at $2/$4 No-Limit, there is less of a charge ($3 here is equivalent to 1.5%).

Overall the effective size of the rake is going to be determined by your style of play. If you are playing a tight aggressive game, being involved in few pots but being heavily involved when you do play your rake is going to be low and you could be averaging below 2%. If you are involved in a lot of smaller pots you are going to have a higher rake, even as high as 8-10%

Game Traffic:

The traffic at peak hours is currently 3,500-3,800 real money ring games players. The high limit tables in particular have grown very much since last year.

Game Variety:

Good variety, but traffic very concentrated to Texas Holdem. Finally pot- and no-limit games as well as Omaha and seven-card stud (both Hi and Hi-Lo) were launched in the spring and summer 2004. (Omaha is both available in fixed-, pot- and no-limit where the no-limit version is rather unusual for Omaha, in particular in the Omaha High version). Five-Card Draw has been added in a software update, autumn 2005.

Sign-Up Bonus:

You need only 7 points to convert each bonus dollar. Hence, you need 2,100 points for raked hands (where you just get dealt cards) within a 60 day time limit to get the full $300 at a 50% deposit match. 0.07 points are awarded for each $0.10 in rake. In a pot with $3 rake each player is awarded 2.1 points. In addition all new players get a free $2 ticket into a real money beginners tournament called the "Shark Cage".

Loyalty Bonus:

PokerRoom has a good player point program. Points are awarded for every raked hand in which a player participates. The points can be converted into cash (Player Points Payback) or used as buy-ins in one of the many free roll tournaments (Player Points Freeroll). Each 100 points is converted to $1. Also on a daily basis there is a $1,000 split up on the top fifty player points earners. A refer-a-friend program is also available where the referrer gets $50 and the referral gets $25.

Promotions:

There is a good level of other promotions as well, including guaranteed events, WPT qualifiers, refer-a-friend scheme, player points free rolls, and a royal flush bonus worth $5,000. One unique policy is that players scoring the most points any given day are eligible for cash prices, ranging up to $250. Also check out the new super promotion of becoming a full paid poker pro via PokerRoom for one year with an up to $240,000 package!

Deposit & Withdrawal:

Deposit options: VISA, MasterCard, NETeller, FirePay, 900Pay, PrePaid ATM, MoneyBookers, Delta, Switch and Instacash

Cash out options: NETeller, FirePay, PrePaid ATM, courier check, normal check.

Support:

Support can only be contacted by e-mail.

24/7 support: Yes
Support Features: Email
Email confirmation/receipt: No
Speed: Ok
Knowledge: Good
Avg. NETeller pay out time: 24-48 hrs

10. HoldemPoker.Com

Summary:

HoldemPoker.com is one of many poker rooms owned and operated by the Swedish based Ongame group. It is a fast and good looking poker room with excellent tools for the serious player, like easy to use statistics and player notes. HoldemPoker.com is a good choice for Mac or Linux-users, who can play the java version without any special installs. HoldemPoker.com offers great statistical analysis of your game. There traffic is concentrated to the Holdem and tournament section. A large proportion of the games are short-handed tables with 5 or 6 players and the rake is slightly higher than industry standard. Real money player statistics - April, 2006: 3,500-3,800 ring game players at peak hours, 12,000-13,000 tournament players at peak hours.

Graphics:

HoldemPoker.com has high-end software with its clean, sleek graphics, multi platform compatibility and reliability in uptime, etc. On the negative side, many players do not like the "playability" on HoldemPoker.com, as it does not lend itself well to multi-table play (buttons too close, easy to time out, hard to see winning hand, etc) The software is available as both Java applet and as standard Windows download. The Java version is a great feature for Linux and Mac users who otherwise need a Windows emulator. The Java version is also for certain users who cannot download programs to the computer. The statistics functionality on your played hands in the various games is good. The lobby information is a little tricky to use, as you need to click on each table to get the full statistics. Recently added in the software update autumn 2005 is a lobby chat where all players logged in can share thoughts. The software allows players the option to create private tournaments where you can choose your own buy-in, starting time etc

Tournament Traffic:

The traffic at the tournaments at peak hours reaches currently between 12,000-13,000 real money players.

Rake:

The rake is on par with the industry with 5% of the pot up to a maximum of $3.

Game Traffic:

The traffic at peak hours is currently 3,500-3,800 real money ring games players. The high limit tables in particular have grown very much since last year.

Game Variety:

Good variety, but traffic very concentrated to Texas Holdem but Pot- and No-limit games as well as Omaha, Seven-Card Stud (both Hi and Hi-Lo) and Five-Card Draw are available. Outside of poker there are BlackJack tables for the gambling enthusiasts.

Sign-Up Bonus:

The first-deposit bonus must be claimed within the first 60 days and it takes 10 player points for every $1 bonus earned. For example; to get the full $150 bonus you will need to deposit a minimum of $100 and earn 1,500 player points. The points are awarded according to a system based on the rake of the hand you are participating in. You can receive anywhere from 0.07 to 2.1 player points for participating in a hand (for a complete table of player points distribution see HoldemPoker.com website).

Loyalty Bonus:

HoldemPoker.com had a system that awards points to players based on the rake of the hands they participate in. The points can be used to collect various bonuses.

Promotions:

HoldemPoker.com has two standard promotions; a player referral program and the Royal Money promotion. The player referral bonus lets you refer a friend to HoldemPoker.com and for every friend that accepts your invitation and earns 100 player points they will add $20 Friends Bonus to your account and $10 to theirs. You can introduce up to ten friends every seven days which means you could potentially release up to $200 every week. The Royal money bonus means that when you participate in a showdown with a royal flush and at least one of your hole cards help make up the flush you automatically receive a bonus 100x small blind or limit. The bonus is limited to $5000 and only in ring games.

Deposit & Withdrawal:

Deposit options: VISA, MasterCard, NETeller, FirePay, Click to Pay, FPS Passporte Deposits Instacash

Cash out options: NETeller, FirePay, PrePaid ATM, courier check, normal check, FPS Epassporte Cash outs and Click to Pay.

Support:

Support can be contacted via web-e-mail which is fast to answer. Also 24/7 telephone support is available. Recently live support has been added. The support also seems relatively untrained and mostly refers to the FAQ on the website even when it does not in fully cover the questions asked.

24/7 support: Yes
Website FAQ: Yes
Support Features: Email, Live Chat, Phone
Email confirmation/receipt: No
Speed: Quite slow
Knowledge: Good
Friendliness: 80%
Avg. NETeller pay out time: 1-2 business days
Withdrawal smoothness: 85%

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