PokerStars Review

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Poker Stars Summary

If you don’t know a full house from a flush, you may be one of the few people who hasn’t heard of PokerStars. Through heavy advertising a few years back, acquisition of some of the biggest names in poker to join their team (such as Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, and Daniel Negreanu), and daily freeroll tournaments that helped pull thousands of new players to their site during the early explosion of online poker, PokerStars is the reigning, defending champion of online poker, with a large share of the heavily contested online poker market. We’re talking well over 100,000 players online even during non-peak hours. Of course traffic is not the only consideration when rating a poker site, so let’s take a deeper look at the site and determine if 100,000 people can’t be wrong, or if they’re all blindly following each other into poker mediocrity.

PokerStars Deposit Bonus

Starting with PokerStars match bonus for first time depositors, things don’t get off to a great start. They offer a 100% match bonus which is fine, and fairly standard for the industry, yet that match bonus is only up to a maximum of $50, which is much less than most competing sites. And while they occasionally offer similar match bonuses on subsequent deposits, these only occur for a limited amount of time, unlike most sites which have permanent bonuses in place. The bonus is earned by collecting Frequent Player Points, with 10 points unlocking $1 of your bonus. This also is a standard system for unlocking bonuses, and as you have a full 6 months, and only $50 of bonus to unlock, there should be nothing holding back any player from unlocking their full bonus.

PokerStars Deposit and Withdrawl Options

Depositing and withdrawing money can be handled through a variety of means, with different countries having different options available to them. Players from the U.S are left with few options though, thanks to government regulations on online gambling. This is consistent with most poker sites, and not a misstep by PokerStars. They’ll accept payments via credit card, bank draft, or e-check, with withdrawals available via e-check or regular check, taking up to 10 days to process. A nice touch is that you can set your own weekly deposit limit, to ensure you don’t get overly zealous in your poker playing.

PokerStars VIP Program

The FPP’s mentioned above can also be used to enter tournaments, including FPP-exclusive tourneys, or can be used at the bonus store, where a large assortment of goods can be purchased. The store is massive, with enough variety in goods that it should please everyone. Should the store not have any items of interest, you can always simply trade in your points for cash. On the promotional front, PokerStars excels. While the site is often considered mainstream due its overwhelming popularity, it is also one of the top sites for serious poker players. There are more satellites and entries into world-class poker tournaments than any other site, including the World Series of Poker, the World Championship of Online Poker, the European Poker Tour, and the World Cup of Poker. In addition to these qualifiers, there are weekly and monthly promotions with more guaranteed cash at stake than any other site, be it the PokerStars Sunday Million, The Battle of the Planets, or the $1 million Turbo Takedown.

PokerStars Games

It pretty much goes without saying that due to the massive amount of traffic, there’s always games to be had in any pot and betting type, and in all available games. Game types include H.O.R.S.E, Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha, and Razz. Tournaments with varying buy-in rates also run constantly, with Hold’em tourneys starting every 15 minutes on average, and even the less popular games getting a new tournament every 1 to 3 hours. In no-limit games, the buy-in amount is 20 times the small blind amount, which can range from $0.01 to $200. One disappoint is that the daily $2,000 freeroll tourneys that were used to great effect to attract new players to the site are no longer available. Freerolls now largely require tickets from other tournaments or the use of FPP’s. Due to the overwhelming number of players, PokerStars players have a wide range of playing abilities. The small money games are almost entirely comprised of weaker players, while moving up even slightly can drastically increase the competition. I’ve found even $0.25/$0.50 games can boast some serious players. The highest money games and tournaments are populated almost entirely by pros and world class players, making them very difficult for a poker layman to adequately compete in.

PokerStars Software

The software is very well done and easy to navigate, though it may prove daunting to newer players due to the sheer number of game rooms and options available. There are a number of handy tabs which can be used to narrow in on the game type you’re looking to play, as well the betting amounts. Once in a game, you’re met with a very pleasing graphical layout in the standard style of being around a poker table. Personalized avatars can be uploaded, which is a nice touch, and the games run fast and smooth for the most part. The poker tools Hold’em Manager and Poker Tracker can be used with PokerStars’ software as well. Despite their weak deposit bonuses, PokerStars excels in nearly every other aspect of online poker. It’s a great site for both new and experienced players alike, and doesn’t look like it will be relinquishing its hold on the poker crown for some time.