Pokerstars Review – The Biggest Poker Site Online By A Long Way
Note: This review has been fully refreshed for the summer of 2012 with news of Zoom and the latest tournament offerings. I have also covered how you can get three separate welcome bonuses at the biggest poker site online! Continue reading
Update: The ever changing world of online poker has given us another piece of news. Everest Poker are now part of the iPoker Network, joining the top (good) tier of betting brands and providing some nice extra liquidity for the games at this huge network of poker sites.
| Pros | Cons | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Big Choice of Soft Games | Only Texas Hold’em and Omaha | 100% Match Bonus of up to $500 |
| Customer support in many languages | Not US-Friendly | $10 Extra Tokens, With Bonus Code 10for10 |
| A very soft competition at all stakes | Summit Points Reward system |
Everest Poker focused on international markets even before the UIGEA started the US on the path that lead to Black Friday. It surprises many players that this is now the 4th largest site worldwide, behind only Stars, Party and iPoker. What you will find is that a large proportion of the players at this cool poker site are enjoying the tournaments – while the peaks of 1700+ for the cash game tables look small, they host up to 23,000 players at peaks when you take into account all the tournament traffic.
One key thing you will notice when you start playing at Everest is that the games are soft, and friendly! Instead of multi-tabling pro-grinders berating every ‘bad’ play, you will find a very mixed international field who are there to have a little fun while competing for the money!
While you do get the occasional $5 / $10 game, most of the cash game action is at the smaller stakes, with the peak at 25c / 50c and 50c / $1. You get to choose from Holdem and Omaha (with the usual betting variations). I would rate the standard of play as generally softer than at many other sites – though without so many obviously crazy players that you find at networks like OnGame, where there is lots of ‘sports betting’ cross over traffic.
Tournaments (and to a lesser extent Sit N Goes) is where the action is at on Everest Poker. What you will find here is a large number of smaller buy-in games (think $2 through $22) with smaller guarantees (think $500 through $7500). What I like about these tournaments (other than the soft play!) is that the fields of a couple of hundred mean you do not need to stay up half the night to finish the games! You will find all the usual variations of rebuy, turbo and deep stacked games – and with a monthly $250k guaranteed can walk away with some big prize money too.
Nothing wrong with the software at all… This client runs smoothly, is easy to get around and the play is simple too. Unfortunately in the competitive world of online poker that’s probably a slight negative!! Oh well, not a big deal, and if (like me) you prefer to focus on enjoying the game and actually winning some money – then this is a great place to play.
Customer service at Everest is multi-lingual and very highly rated – a gold star for that.
At the moment Everest are offering an extra $10 in what they call eTickets (tournament tokens to you and me!) on top of their welcome bonus – which is a 100% match up to $500 on your first deposit. To claim this extra you can use bonus code 10for10 when you register.
Once you clear the bonus the main rewards will come from the loyalty program which involves collecting Summit Points for tournament entries and extra bonuses. This is pretty similar to what you will find at most poker sites, with tiers for the high volume players leading to some big rewards.
Leaderboards, satellite qualifiers (Everest did sponsor the World Series for a while) and races make up the promotions. I can not give Everest a high score for imagination on this front – however the combo of bonuses, loyalty, promos and those soft tables make this site as profitable (if not more so) than anywhere else you might want to play! Check the Everest Poker website for the latest promotions and offers.
Everest are the Dark Horse of online poker, slowly building a huge player base by ignoring the troublesome US Market. Their software is in 15 languages, their games soft and their promotions good enough to keep you topped up while you make a killing at the tables!!
Don’t forget you can claim $10 in tournament tokens on top of your regular 100% t $100 bonus with bonus code 10for10 when you register. Click now to check out Everest Poker for yourself!
While there are hundreds of poker variations played at kitchen tables worldwide, it is relatively rare for a big online poker site to release a brand new game. Party Poker have done just that with the all-new ‘Double Holdem’.
In this game each player is dealt 3 hole cards, pre-flop betting goes as normal and when the flop comes one of the 3 cards must be selected as a ‘point card’, which pairs with one of the others leaving each player 2 combinations.
Here is an example: Player A is dealt A-K-J with the king and jack both hearts. After the flop he selects the King as the ‘point’, giving K-J suited and Ace-King as two playable hands. Note that the Ace and jack do not work together here in combination with the board.
Double Holdem is available in fixed limit and no limit betting format, and in 6-max and 10 player tables. There are many interesting strategy considerations for the new game, including the higher value of drawing hands (connected cards can potentially flop big combination straight and flush draws) and a higher chance of 2-pair hands on the flop.
How quickly a player chooses their point cards, in combination with betting size and speed may also become ‘click tells’ – though be careful here in case players set out to deliberately manipulate these.
I liked Double Holdem a lot, as a fan of Omaha the multi-way draws are already familiar and the new games always attract a lot of recreational players at the start. New players at Party Poker using our bonus code PBKLUB will receive a 100% matched bonus up to $500 on their first deposit – and many more bonuses will follow from this excellent site, check out Party Poker for yourself now!
More On Party Poker:
This article covers the main deposit methods at Party Poker, first of all we will show new depositors where to use the Party Poker First Deposit Code EASYPKR to claim the improved 100% to $500 match first deposit bonus.
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US Players are currently not allowed at Party Poker, which also means that there are very few restrictions in the deposit methods which can be used at this leading site. The list below covers the 3 key ways of depositing:
Simply using your credit or bank debit card is the easiest and fastest way of depositing at Party Poker by far. Valid cards will generally be accepted immediately, and the money will be made available to take to the tables straight away too. All the major credit card brands, including many country and region specific providers are accepted by Party. This would be my first choice for quick, simple and effective deposits.
You can imagine eWallets as being an intermediate stage between your bank account and online poker sites (or many stores). Many people like to use these systems as they provide an additional layer of security between your bank and the internet. Many brands will be familiar, including Neteller and Moneybookers – again many regions variations on this theme exist including Russia’s Webmoney.
Setting up is simple, you verify your account then transfer from your bank. Once your Electronic Wallet is active you can move money around whenever you wish – making them more than worth the set up time.
Old-school methods of moving money around still work at Party Poker and can be very useful for those players who wish to deposit larger sums of money or are unable to access the methods covered above. Bank wires can be local or international. While good old fashioned paper checks still work this will seem slow for those used to the instant approvals of today’s internet.
Party is not only one of the easiest online poker sites to deposit at, it is also one of the fastest to withdraw from too. I recommend credit / bank cards for the speediest deposits possible, don’t forget that bonus code EASYPKR when you deposit for the first time will get you an improved 100% to $500 match welcome bonus! Click now to see the easy Party Poker games for your self.
More On Party Poker
- Read Our Party Poker Review Here
- Double Holdem – Party Poker’s New Game
- Ipoker Network Info (great alternative to Party for European players)
Before we get to the list, first time players should ensure they collect the maximum available 100% to $600 bonus matched to your first deposit. To claim yours enter Full Tilt Poker referral code EASYPKR in when you register your account. We show the screen to do this below:
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Your credit and bank cards are the first choice for poker deposits from inside the US. You will be surprised how often these are accepted, if your main card does not work then keep trying, a backup one often will. Pre-paid cards are also very popular, and are available at gas stations and convenience stores nationwide for a small fee.
If you are outside of the US then there are no banking restrictions, any of the popular brands of debit or credit card are the fastest way possible to deposit into your Full Tilt account.
eWallets (or ‘Electronic Wallets’ to use the full name) are 3rd party payment systems which act as an intermediate step between your bank and online poker sites – or in fact any online merchant. Brands accepted by Full Tilt include Neteller, MoneyBookers and UKash. US restrictions make these out of bounds for US players at the moment, however for those outside of the States eWallets make a great solution for players who like to move their money between sites or make regular deposits.
Paper checks – only without the paper is the best way to describe eCheck poker deposits. You fill out an electronic check which your bank will then honor – and have the funds credited to your account immediately. This is currently one of the fastest and easiest ways for US citizens to deposit. There is one restriction, since these virtual checks take 10 days to clear with your bank you will need to wait this long before you can make any withdrawals.
Players wishing to make bigger deposits can use direct bank transfer or one of the big brand cash transfer services. Banking restrictions will apply for US players, and those outside of the US will usually face charges (from your bank, not Full Tilt). However, when it comes to transferring large sums – for the high stakes games for example – then Bank Wires make a lot of sense.
Countries throughout the world have their own preferred systems and brands for making internet purchases. With no legal restrictions on the banks, Full Tilt have been able to support as many of these as possible. Rather than list them all here I suggest you check out Full Tilt Poker’s website and choose your country from the list.
Full Tilt are one of the easiest stand alone sites to make a deposit at – and support a great range of US options. Remember, to use Full Tilt Poker Referral Code EASYPKR when you register to claim that 100% match up to $600 on your first deposit – check out Full Tilt Poker for yourself now!!
Here we will summarize tournaments in 3 categories, smaller buy-ins, higher buy-ins and satellite qualifiers. For more information you can visit Pokerstars.com and click the ‘Poker Tournaments’ link in the top menu. New players can use Marketing Code PSP3108 to claim a 100% match on their first 3 deposits (within 90 days!).
Starting with the completely free tournaments – a number of freerolls run throughout the week which award seats in a ‘weekly round 2’ event with real cash prizes. This is in addition to many free tournaments associated with various promotions. VIP freerolls for real money players are very generous indeed, up to and including the $1,000,000 monthly ‘Turbo Takedown’ event.
Tournaments start at just $1 at Pokerstars and include many forms of poker and different structures including turbos and rebuy events. Popular levels include the $3 and $5 rebuys and $11 entry guaranteed events with prize pool guarantees going right up to $250,000. Expect very large fields in many of these events attracting several thousand entrants. Players who prefer smaller fields can head for the 180 player SNGs or 360 cap tournaments instead.
With huge numbers of tournaments in the $5 through to $33 range having guaranteed prize pools it is impossible to do the schedule real justice in a short article. I recommend checking out Pokerstars.com for more information.
Pokerstars is one of only two online poker sites where a bigger buy-in tournament player can find a full schedule of games (the other one being Full Tilt Poker Tournaments). The best known of the big buy-in events is the Sunday Million, which has a prize pool of $1,500,000 every week and regularly pays out $250,000 for the winner. This $215 event has satellites running all week so everyone has a chance to qualify. Sundays are actually packed with events, including the Sunday Warm Up, Sunday 2nd chance, Sunday $500 and many more.
If these were not enough, Pokerstars also feature a range of games in the $55 to $500 range running throughout the week. These range from the soft fields of the ‘Nightly $90k guaranteed’ to the comparatively tough $100 and $200 rebuy events.
Twice a year, Pokerstars run huge tournament events known as the Spring Championship Of Online Poker and the World Championship of Online Poker. Both feature 3 weeks of big buy-in tournament events with some eye-watering guaranteed prize pools. Check out Pokerstars.com for the dates of the next events now (don’t forget Marketing Code PSP3108).
It can be hard to ignore the number of satellite qualifiers available at Pokerstars, especially as they tend to list them all on the main tournament tab listing in their lobby. Since Stars own many of the major tour brands such as the European Poker Tour, NAPT and LAPT, you can expect the biggest and best selection of satellites anywhere.
Buy-ins for the qualifier events start low ($1 in many cases) and the variety of games is absolutely huge. I can definitely recommend Pokerstars for anyone looking to qualify for either a larger online event or one of the many live tournaments held around the world.
I hope that this has given you a flavor of what is available at Pokerstars. The variety of tournaments really is too huge for a detailed article. Stars are the biggest poker site for a good reason, they are also the best at providing the games and prizes that players are looking for. This is simply an excellent poker site, and with 100% matched up to $600 on your first 3 deposits with Marketing Code PSP3108, there really is no excuse – check out Pokerstars for yourself now!
This article will give an overview for smaller bankroll players, then cover the $55+ events, before covering special events and satellites at Full Tilt. If you have not yet discovered this site for yourself I recommend you download the software and check it out for yourself – bonus code EASYPKR will get you the generous 100% match bonus up to $600 on your first deposit. Click now to visit Full Tilt Poker.
Smaller buy-in players are well catered for at Full Tilt Poker, and as you will see – the emphasis is very much on moving you up to the bigger events. Free events do run, often specific to countries / regions and offering places in paid tournaments for the top few percent of finishers. You can by into many tournaments with Full Tilt Points, many offering nice cash prizes as well as tickets to regular tournaments.
Buy-ins start at just $1 and there are plenty of events laid on for beginning and smaller bankroll players which can see you walk away with a large prize. Tournaments to note include the Daily Dollar which is a $1+ rebuy event with a $10,000 guaranteed prize pool. The ‘Daily Doubles’ are $6 entry events which pay out a huge jackpot to anyone final tabling both events. In addition there are a variety of $3 to $33 tournaments with many structures and game variations. Knockout tournaments are a popular variation at Full Tilt, where you win a bounty every time you knock an opponent out of the game.
I rate this site as a ‘must see’ for tournament fans, check out Full Tilt Poker now – referral code = EASYPKR for your 100% match bonus.
Again players are spoiled for choice at the bigger buy-ins, with only Pokerstars Tournaments coming anywhere close to rivaling the variety of bigger buy-in games. The showcase Sunday Tournament is the $750k guaranteed, this attracts big fields and often exceeds its guarantee, ensuring a very lucrative final table. Satellites run throughout the week, giving all players a shot either for cash or Full Tilt Points.
With several other Sunday events including the Sunday Brawl, Sunday Mulligan and big buy-in rebuys running, high stakes tournament fans will find themselves with a fantastic choice. Weekday events at $76+ are common too, with many game varieties and structures at the highest levels.
Full Tilt’s big tournament event is the ‘Full Tilt Online Poker Series’ (FTOPS) which runs several times each year providing a festival of big buy-in events. Recently a ‘Mini-FTOPS’ aimed at smaller stakes players has been taking place after the main events. With $18 million (and growing) guaranteed in prizes these events can make the winners seriously rich. Full Tilt ensure the fields are packed with a huge number of satellites starting from just a few dollars.
Finally, Full Tilt are an excellent place to qualify for those big live events. Their tournament dollars system mean you can win your way into the supersatellites incrementally – and events such as ‘Main Event Week’ show this site have a commitment to helping their players reach the limelight.
A must see for tournament fans both for their excellent software and sheer variety of poker tournaments. I recommend you download Full Tilt now and check them out for yourself.
Remember you can get off to a flying start with a 100% match bonus, just use referral code EASYPKR when you register at Full Tilt Poker today!
Full Tilt Poker Review Pros |
 Cons |
 Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| US-Friendly With Huge Player Base | VIP Club Not The Very Best | 100% Match To $600 For New Players (Ref Code=TD600) |
| Excellent Software Client | Small-Stakes Pros At Cash Game Tables | Iron Man Freerolls |
| Innovative Games / Lots Of Regular Tables | Many One-Off Promotions And Bonuses |
Full Tilt Poker are currently number #2 in terms of popularity, with a huge 80,000+ concurrent players at peak times. This review asks the question of whether this US-friendly site are the best stand alone (non-networked) poker site of all. We will, as usual, go into some detail on the game selection, software + service and then the offers and bonuses available to players. For those who would prefer a smaller version, we have distilled this into 3 bullet points at the end of this page under the heading ‘Summary + Next Steps’
Visit Full Tilt Poker Now!
Referral Code: TD600
Full Tilt Poker are very strong for both cash games and tournaments, with one of the largest selection of games online and some serious innovation and thought put into the games which they do offer. While you can watch the big-name pros play at the cash game tables at Full Tilt, there are many smaller stakes games – starting at just cents – for those learning the game. 6-max No-limit Holdem is biggest of all, with literally 100’s of tables to choose from at the smaller to middle buy-in levels at any one time. Omaha and Stud also have a great choice of games.
Unique to Full Tilt is the ‘Rush Poker’ variation, in this game you are moved to a new table as soon as each hand is folded or completed. The addition of a quick-fold button which allows you to leave the hand instantly cuts out the dead time waiting for other to complete the hand. This form of poker really lives up to its name as you can play 250+ hands per hour in this format, which is available in NLHE and PLO format. Other innovations in the cash games at Full Tilt include a huge range of mixed poker games and ‘Cap Limit’ tables which are like no-limit with a cap on the total any one player can bet on each hand.
Tournament players should consider Full Tilt a must-have, with a range and breadth of tournaments on offer which is comparable only to Pokerstars. Starting small the 90 player knockout SNGs are hugely popular, as are the wide range of multi-table tournaments in the lower to middle stakes which include turbo, hyper turbo, re-buy and knockout structures. Higher stakes games can be entered directly or you can win a satellite qualifier. These include the Sunday $750k gtd and ‘Sunday Brawl’ in addition to the regular online poker tournament festival known as the ‘FTOPS’.
It is hard to do justice to the excellent game selection at this site in one small review – check out Full Tilt Poker’s website now for more info on their offerings!
This section will be a game of two halves – as the plaudits for the excellent Full Tilt software contrast with the customer services. We will start with software, which is colorful and even cartoon-like, with some of the best game-play online. You can play up to 16 tables simultaneously and resize them to suit. With a choice of cartoon avatars at the tables the fun feeling should not distract you from the important goal of winning your opponent’s money.
Service does not have a great reputation, with many allegations of slow replies and vauge information. Our personal experience has been fine, with next day responses – however the prevailing opinion is that you should set your expectation level a little lower than at some other sites.
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Well in line with the offerings of some of the other poker sites, Full Tilt offer new players a generous 100% up to $600 on your first deposit with Full Tilt Poker referral code = TD600. This clears in useful $20 increments. Full Tilt do offer a VIP loyalty scheme, though you will need to play poker most days to extract any significant value from this. The ‘Iron Man’ monthly freerolls pit the winners at various levels against each other in a SNG tournament – the winner of this then gets to play Full Tilt Pros heads-up for big money.
It is the one-off promotions which Full Tilt are best at, these are varied and often aimed at players of specific variations. For example, SNG Madness rewards players of 1-table tournaments with special prizes a few times each year while tournament players enjoy the ‘Full Tilt Online Poker Series’ (FTOPS) a several-times a year online poker tournament championship. Cash game players are also well looked after, with points happy hours too. Check out Full Tilt Poker now for the latest and greatest promotions!
We recommend you keep an eye on the Full Tilt Poker Website to see the latest promotions for yourself.
We love Full Tilt Poker and think that the combination of great software, cool bonus offers and a brilliant (and innovative) game selection make the 2nd largest site a must-see for any serious poker player. Our 3 bullet summary below explains:
We would vote Full Tilt Poker as the best stand alone poker site – download Full Tilt Poker now and find out what makes this site so hugely popular for yourself!
Party Poker Review| Pros |
Cons |
Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Huge Selection Of Tables With Easy To Beat Games! | Not Open To US Players | 100% Match Up To $500 On First Deposit Bonus code: EASYPKR |
| Generous Bonuses, Includes Reloads And VIP Rewards | Lacking Many Poker Variations | Regular Reload Bonuses Offered |
| Satellite Qualifiers Open To Players Of All Bankroll Levels | Excellent VIP Rewards Scheme Now In Place |
Party Poker were around at the beginning of online poker games – and are still going strong today. Party are the largest stand alone poker site who do not accept US based players, and are the 4th most popular site overall behind Pokerstars, Full Tilt and the iPoker Network. This review looks in detail at the games, software and promotions at Party Poker to answer the question – ‘Is Party The Best European Poker Site?’ – though we of course acknowledge that they welcome visitors from many countries around the globe. For those who prefer, we have our usual ‘3-bullets’ summary of the review at the end of the review.
Visit Party Poker Now!
Bonus code: EASYPKR
Party Poker have some of the easiest games to beat anywhere online – though the number of poker variations available is limited to Holdem, Omaha and 7-Card Stud. Tables start with buy-ins of less than $1, with many levels to climb all the way to high-stakes tables where you can bet $1000’s in one hand! No-Limit Holdem is by far the biggest game at Party – though Fixed Limit Holdem does get a larger following than at many other sites and Pot-Limit Omaha continues to gain in popularity.
Tournaments, including SNGs are huge at Party – these range from just a couple of dollars to enter right up to the biggest events such as the Sunday $300k and Monthly Million with that cool million guaranteed. Party Poker recently bought the rights to the World Poker Tour and so work hard to ensure that as many players as possible qualify through their site to these prestigious events. Sit N Go fans should check out the infamous ‘steps’ which offer players a chance to progress to a huge payday through a ladder of 1-table tournaments starting from just $3!
With a big change in their software client, Party Poker have caught (and even passed) some of the leaders in the poker world. Not only does the Party Poker client look great, it scores very highly for usability too – with a ton of cool features and customization options. If you have not seen the Party Poker client recently we recommend that you check it out for yourself soon!
Customer service is available via e-mail and offers the usual round the clock service. We have heard good things about the knowledge and professional approach of the support staff – though have never had a reason to contact them ourselves.
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As if great software and easy games were not enough, Party Poker offer their players a great range of bonuses and loyalty promotions. This starts with a 100% match on your first deposit up to a max of $500 with Party Poker Bonus code EASYPKR. After you have completed this you will find a wide range of offers designed to keep you topped up and playing at those Party Poker tables. This includes reload bonuses, a VIP club with tiered rewards and one-off and special promotions which seem to be starting every single week. Party are simply the best when it comes to looking after players who are loyal to their site – grab yourself a slice of the action today!
We recommend you keep an eye on the Party Poker Website to see the latest promotions for yourself.
Once you see the juicy cash games and crazy guaranteed prize pool tournaments at Party Poker you will likely wonder why you have been playing anywhere else. Here is our ‘3-bullet’ summary from the Party Review:
Check out Party Poker for yourself today and see how easy profiting from online poker can be – we’ll see you at the tables.
Bonus Code: EASYPKR
