Friday, April 19, 2024    

 
Poker Site Reviews and Bonus Codes

Party Poker - Currently the largest poker web site and my favorite place to play online.  If you only sign up at one poker site, make it Party Poker.  They often have over 100,000 players simultaneously playing!  They offer Texas Hold'em (limit and no limit), Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo and non-stop tournament action (both single table and multi-table tournaments, including the famous Party Poker Million).  You can play with play money or real money, where limit stakes range from $.50/$1 to $100/$200.

Poker Stars - This popular site has, without a doubt, the best multiple table poker tournaments you can find on the internet.  Poker Stars sent over 1100 players to the World Series of Poker's main event this year through online qualifiers!  Real money games offered include Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7 Card Stud, and 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo.  As far as stakes are concerned, Poker Stars offers games suitable for everyone, with limits ranging from $.01/$.02 all the way up to $100/$200.  This site has a lot of traffic and their high limit games are very popular.  Poker Stars is the site where both Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, winners of the 2003 and 2004 World Series of Poker Main Events, won their entries into the tournament.  Poker Stars support staff is second to none.  This is definitely a site worth checking out.

Full Tilt Poker - The poker site endorsed by the pros.  Come play with Andy Bloch, Chris Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Clonie Gowen, John Juanda, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, and many more big name pros!  Detailed Review coming soon.

Ultimate Bet - This site is endorsed by many of the top pros in the game today, including Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, David "Devilfish" Ulliott, and Antonio Esfandiari.  To be perfectly honest with you, I like this site, but I don't LOVE it.  I have a number of friend who absolutely love this site thought and won't play anywhere else.  Ultimate Bet offers Hold'em cash games (both limit and No Limit) with stakes from $.01/$.02 all the way up to $200/$400.  They also have Omaha, Seven Card Stud, Triple Draw, and even Pineapple games.  The have Sit and Go tournaments running 24/7, and offer large multiple table tourneys regularly.  They also have satellites to various World Poker Tour events, including their very own UltimateBet.com Poker Classic held annually in Aruba.  Ultimate Bet offers a 40% deposit bonus up to $200 for all new players (this is one of the largest bonuses available), and they also periodically offer nice reload bonuses.

Poker Room - No software download is required, but software is available - the downloaded software offers useful statistic tracking that the web version does not support.  This popular site allows you to play with play money or real money.  Games offered include Texas Hold'em, 7 Card Stud, Omaha, Black Jack, Slots, Video Poker, Let It Ride, Chinese Poker, and Baccarat.  Poker stakes range from $.25/$.50 up to $50/$100.  No Limit tables are also available and are very popular on this site.  Both single table and multi-table tournaments are offered, including a large daily guaranteed money tournaments.  Poker Room offers a nice sign up bonus, and they also offer reload bonuses regularly.

Bodog Poker - A long time sportsbook, Bodog has ventured into the poker market.  They offer a variety of games and excellent support, and because they are a relatively new site, many of their "guaranteed" tournaments have huge overlays.  Their initial deposit bonus is also credited to your account instantly (meaning you can wager it right away), which is very nice.

Paradise Poker - Detailed review coming soon...

Pacific Poker - This is a nice site offering Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo, and tables specifically set up for 1 on 1 action.  They have single and multiple table limit Hold'em tournaments running continuously.  Stakes range from $.05/.$.10 to $15/30, and buy ins are as low as $2.50 for their multiple table tourneys.  Like most sites, a software download is required, but no deposit is necessary - you can play for "Demo Money" if you choose to do so.  Traffic on the site isn't as high as some of the other sites, but you can always find the game you are looking for, and with fewer people registered in their multiple table tournaments, they are easier to win.  While I don't play at this site very often, I do recommend it for beginners because of the lower stakes offered.  As for you sharks, you might as well take advantage of their very easy to achieve deposit bonus, like I did.  I made my initial $400 deposit, played at the $5/$10 and $10/$20 tables for less than two hours, and then cashed out for $860, including the $100 bonus they gave me.

InterPoker - This is by no means a great poker site, but they have come a long way in the past couple of years, and the promotions they have make it worth playing here at least occasionally.  For example, they have daily freerolls, which are a good way for new players to gain some experience and build their bankroll with no money out of their own pocket.   This site will also actually pay you an hourly rate to play at specific tables to help get them going.  Waiting for your initial deposit to clear seems to take longer here than at most sites, but they do have 24 hour toll free phone support if you need help.  Traffic to the site is less than the big sites have, but has been growing recently.  Most of the players you see playing here are pretty bad, having come to play from the parent casino site, so there is definitely money to be made.  In other words, they are "gamblers," as opposed to the "poker players" that you will find at most poker sites.  All in all, it's definitely worth taking advantage of the bonus money they are willing to give you and to playing in an easy game now and then.

Titan Poker - This is a brand new poker site, and they are aggressively trying to get new players by offering nice deposit bonuses (100% up to $500) and special promotions, like weekly $1000 freerolls for all real money players.  This is definitely a site worth checking out.

Absolute Poker - This site offers Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo, and special tables set up for heads up action.  They also have tourneys, including freerolls and satellites for World Poker Tour events.  Stakes range from $.02/$.04 to $15/$30, but traffic to the site is fairly light and not very many players play in the higher limit games.  This is a good site for beginners, but because of the lack of action, seasoned players will probably only play long enough to collect their deposit bonus and then move on.  The deposit bonus is VERY easy to earn.  Just play 100 raked hands of $.50/$1 or higher and it's yours.  They have changed their bonus requirements since I first signed up - it takes longer to earn now (you need to play more raked hands), but a $500 bonus is hard to pass up.

Doyle's Room - Detailed review coming soon...

The Gaming Club Poker Room - Detailed review coming soon.

Royal Vegas Poker - This medium sized poker site offers Hold'em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud, and 5 Card Stud.  They also host single and multiple table tournaments, including daily freerolls.  Cash game stakes range from $.05/$.10 up to $100/$200.  You can always find action at the lower limits, but the higher limit tables are often empty.  Earning your full $100 bonus here will require you to play 900 raked hands, which is a lot compared to some of the other sites, but this is a great opportunity for beginners and other low stakes players to build their bankroll.  Even a brand new player should have no trouble coming out ahead if he sticks to the $.05/$.10 tables.

Poker World - Detailed review coming soon.

24h Poker - Detailed Site Review Coming soon.  In the mean time, take advantage of this special offer for TalkingPoker.com visitors...

True Poker - This is the site you may have read about in Maxim Magazine.  They have a very unique 3D game interface that makes playing here as close to playing a real life game as possible.  You can even see when the other players look at their cards, for example.  Personally, I think I prefer playing with other sites' more basic software, but a lot of people really love this and it's definitely worth checking out.  They offer limit, pot limit and no limit games for Hold'em, Omaha, and Omaha Hi/Lo, with stakes ranging from $1/$2 to $15/$30.  They also have single and multiple table tournaments, and you can even win a seat for the 2004 World Series of Poker just for downloading their software.  It will take you a little bit longer to earn your deposit bonus here than some other sites, but this site is still worth checking out.

Planet Poker - This was the first real money poker site, fully operational in 1999.  It is backed by poker guru Roy Cooke.  They offer a number of poker games, including Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo, 5 Card Draw, Razz and Lowball.  Stakes range from $.02/$.04 to $20/$40.  Single and multi-table tournaments are also available.  Traffic to the site isn't nearly as heavy as some of the other poker sites, but the average player here is pretty weak (some of the worst I've ever seen, in fact), and there is definitely money to be won.  It will take you a little longer to earn your 25% deposit bonus here than it will at Pacific Poker, but don't let that stop you - I was able to turn my $300 initial deposit into $1533 (and a free deck of cards) in about 4 hours of play.  You certainly can't argue with that!

Pokertropolis - This is a small but growing site, offering variations of Hold'em, Omaha, and 7 Card Stud.  Real money stakes range from $.25/$.50 to $30/$60 for ring games, and go all the way up to $300/600 for head to head action.  Limit Hold'em tournaments are also available, with buy ins between $.99 and $10.  Traffic to the site is fairly light, but you can usually find whatever game you are looking for.  I don't think the players here are quite as bad as the ones you'll find at Pacific Poker and Planet Poker, but earning your 25% deposit bonus is still easy.  For the maximum $50 bonus, you need to play 200 raked hands.  I made a $300 deposit, played a little over 200 hands of $3/$6 Hold'em, and then cashed out for $705.  Works for me!

Bugsy Club - This site offers the usual poker games, but traffic is very light, and you won't find many people playing Stud or Omaha.  Their Hold'em stakes range from $.05/$.10 to $20/$40, but most players seem to stick to the lower limit action.  Pot Limit and No Limit games are also available, as are heads up tables.  Probably the best thing this site has to offer is their tournaments.  They are very small compared to sites like Party Poker, but they are good practice for beginners... and you could actually win your way into the World Series of Poker for as little as $1.  Earning your full deposit bonus here will take a little longer than the average site (you need to play 100 raked hands per $10 of bonus), but it's definitely doable... and like I always say, free money is free money!

7 Sultans Poker - Detailed review coming soon.

Littlewoods Poker - UK based Poker Site.  Detailed review coming soon.

River Belle Poker Room - Detailed review coming soon.

Lucky Nugget Poker Room - Detailed review coming soon.