Party Poker

Party Poker - One of the largest players in the online poker world is Party Poker. With it’s large variety of games, limits, tournaments, and large community of players, it certainly appears to be a great place to burn some time in the play money section, or try your hand in the real money online rooms. Party Poker boasts many attractive features; a claimed $4,000,000 per day in tournament pots, multiple play and payment options, and the credibility of having been operating since 2001. They also feature a 24/7 tech centre available by phone or email which I found to be quite helpful when needed.

My impressions of game play were mostly positive; the servers were reliable, however the graphics and layout look cartoonish and simple compared to some of the other large sites. All the structured rooms worked well, and the chat feature is good despite being carefully edited. The control panel was also useful as it allows you to keep track of your buddy list and who is online when, as well as the ability to locate your buddies based on room. The wide variety of games is nice, as well as the detailed instructions that are provided. Overall it is a very good site technically and functionally, however the dated look holds it back in my view.

I know everyone is wondering about the money, so let’s address that part; First off, the rakes are very reasonable and it is inversely scaled, going from 10% of a $5 pot, down to 3% of a $100 pot which seems quite reasonable. It’s also clearly stated in a page about rakes so there is no confusion as to how much your winnings are going to cost you. There is also a page about minimum buy-ins, split pots, and other items of interest, which is prominent on the menu, not hidden into obscurity.

Payment is generally quite prompt, however in one instance it took an unusually long time for me to collect in my account, but to their credit, Customer Service quickly settled the account. The wide variety of payment options is also quite useful, as you do not need a credit card to get online with Party Poker. They also offer some very good incentives to refer friends to the site, such as the $50 free I collected for referring my poker buddies!

Overall I really enjoyed my time at Party Poker. The site appears very secure and professional, and they’ve done a very good job of making sure there are enough players and rooms to go around. I like the easy to use layout, the quick simple software download, and the fast and versatile payment options. My only minor complaint is the graphics and gameplay, which kept Party Poker from the top of my favourites list.