Overview Following Paradise Poker and Party Poker, PokerStars now stands as the market leader in online poker tournaments and ring game traffic. Despite its huge size, it is still growing. Poker Stars has the unique distinction of sponsoring three World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winners: Chris Moneymaker, 2003; Greg Raymer, 2004; and Joseph Hachem, in 2005. But the best thIng about Poker Stars is that its random card generator is exceptionally true to a randon deck and closest thing to playing brick and mortar. It is no wonder their players do so well when it comes to WSOP events. On the downside is the competition at this room is quite strong and professional poker players are throughout the site.
Poker Stars Cash Game Tip This tip is for newer players and players that are not having success at their chosen no limit table stakes- Get off the no limit tables and play POT LIMIT. The pot limit rooms on Poker Stars move down a notch in level of competition. They also allow you to see more flops and better control your bankroll.
US Player Public Statement Pokerstars Player's account balances are held in segregated accounts and not used for any operational expenses. These segregated accounts are managed by a leading european bank. These arrangements ensure that Pokerstars can at all times fullfill its obligations toward US players and will provide further reassurance that players' funds are always secure at Pokerstars.
Ease of Competition Maybe because of all the known professionals, maybe because they have so many tables going, but for whatever reason, Pokerstars has attracted many of the better players. Their tables are littered with sharks cleaning out the newbies. They have also continued to do significant advertising directly related to attracting the new player. The result is lots of broke fish. The competition at the upper stakes games at Poker Stars is especially strong, both at ring games and tournaments. Many players wanting to compete at the WSOP come to compete here and the tournament qualifiers are especially fierce and heavily trafficked. But the site is one of the faster growing, which means it has a strong influx of new players at lower stakes and some of the more inexperienced competition can be found at those levels.
Bonuses and Promotions In a current promotion, Poker Stars is giving new players a 100% bonus up to $600. This is a strong promotion as Poker Stars has normally been behind on sign up bonuses.
Here is an example of how to bring this bonus to fruition. You have a pending 100% bonus with a $50 deposit and a 10 FPP requirement. If you made a $600 deposit ($600 bonus) you would need to earn 6000 Base FPPs (10 x 600) to release the bonus. Unless you are playing higher limit games, this is not an easy bonus to bring into your account. But unless you play like a madman, you are sure to grab some of it.
Exclusive to AllOnlinePokerSites.com players, you can expect to get re-load bonuses on a regular basis. While some freerolls are regularly provided on the site, additional freerolls will be awarded to AllOnlinePokerSites.com players. You can use this link to go to Poker Stars or click on any of the banners on this page to go to the site.
PokerStars is the founder of the WCOOP, or World Championship of Online Poker, which is a series of online tournaments that, combined, pay out over $3,000,000. Pokerstars also holds its own WPT event at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas every January. Though PartyPoker has a wider variety limit games available, PokerStars is considered the online poker tournaments leader. The site also sponsors a VIP Club, where members can earn consumer goods including: iPods, high-resolution computer monitors, travel packages, and more. The poker room offers a weekly $1,500,000 guaranteed and new players qualify for a $600 bonus plus daily freerolls for qualifying players. Their biggest headliners include the daily $100,000 Deep Stack events.
Poker Software Poker Stars software is top end of the industry. The software has special tournament features, including: It ensures that there is an even balance of tables for the duration of the tournament; and it prevents the tactical slowing down of the game to avoid play as the money spots get in reach. The player has a great overview of his or her stand in the tournament relative to all other players. PokerStars was the first to introduce note support on other players and also boasts one of the better playing statistics functions. The lobby information includes view flop percentages, etc.
If there is one thing we did not like, it was the text explanation of last hand rather than the immediate understanding and graphics provided by a screenshot of table with cards showing. If you are not multi-tabling, you can just maximize and give yourself an excellent complete screen look.
But the best thIng about Poker Stars is that their software, along with Full Tilt Poker, offers the truest cards to a randon deck and closest thing to playing brick and mortar. You can use this link to Download the Poker Stars software.
Rake/Cashouts/Customer Support While the high limit game rake is quite attractive, the rake at low and micro stakes games is above the industry average (which we dont like).
PokerStars has excellent customer support for US and European customer base available in many languages. If you were to encounter a problem at PokerStars, they offer email customer services at support@pokerstars.com
Traffic and Stakes Peak Hour Traffic: 35,000-45,000 Fixed Limit Stakes: $ 0.02/$0.04 to $100/$200 Pot Limit/No Limit Blinds Stakes: $0.01-$0.02 up to $25-$50 Types Offered: Single Table and Multi-Table Texas Holdem Tournament Buy-Ins: From $1 to $5000
Minimum Deposit: $25
Our Recommendation: This is a can't miss tournament play poker room and its all-around good everywhere else as well. Just stay out of the high stake ring games unless you are already a shark.
7.1875