 Poker Stars is arguably the largest and best poker room on the internet.
Actually, they are the largest online poker room in the world - a title
which they proudly and rightfully display on the homepage of their website. As
for the title of "best", well,
many players do indeed consider Poker Stars to be the best as well. At the time of
this review, there were nearly 100,000 players online and 5,000 tournaments
being played at a single time - one such tournament being the World Championship
of Online Poker (more on that later).But first, let's discuss some important
licensing and regulation issues, which any poker player should look into when
choosing an internet poker room to open a real money account with. Poker
Stars uses proprietary software that has been certified by the independent
testing houses Cigital and BMM International - both of whom have been approved
by the UK Gambling Commission. Given full access to the software source code,
both testing houses have certified that the software RNG (Random Number
Generator) deals cards in an entirely fair and unpredictable manner.
As for licensing and ongoing regulation, this is done through the UK
whitelisted jurisdiction of the Isle of Man, in the British Isles. Furthermore,
Poker Stars is a member of the Interactive Gaming Council. Operating a highly
transparent poker room and website, Poker Stars is forthcoming with just about
every piece of information a discerning poker player could want to know. Through
the "About Us" link on the
Poker
Stars website (located at the bottom of the homepage),
everything from regulation provisions contained in the Isle of Man Gambling
Supervision Council's Online Gambling Regulation Act of 2001 to the
requirements of being a member of IGC, are published in detail.
With all the credentials in place for being a trustworthy place to wager bets
online, many players frequent Poker Stars for the action and money that comes
through here. Every kind of poker game and style of play is available at
Poker Stars, including Texas Hold'em, Omaha and Stud with fixed limit, no limit
and pot limit ring and tournament games.
As mentioned, Poker Stars has more tables and runs the most tournaments of
any poker room on the Web. Put it this way: Poker Stars sends more players to
the World Series of Poker than any other room. They continue to host the Poker
Stars Sunday Million ($1 million prize pool guaranteed), which has become the longest running and largest weekly
online poker tournament on the Web, as well as the Sunday Warm-up tournament
every Sunday, which guarantees $500,000 in prize pool money. And as mentioned,
Poker Stars is home to the largest online poker tournament in the world -
the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP).
Started in 2002, the WCOOP now offers over 33 different events, including
Hold'em, Omaha, Stud, Razz, and HORSE to name a few - many of which have
guaranteed prize pools over $2 million. In fact, if you're reading this before
September 21, 2008, there is a good chance you can enter a satellite tournament
and win a seat for the main event, which is worth a whopping $10 million
guaranteed. Or you can buy yourself a seat if you have the money to put up. The
unique thing about Poker Stars tournaments is that when a player happens to
qualify to any event through an online satellite, he/she has the option of
un-registering, for which they will receive tournament points that can be used
to buy seats to other tournaments.
All players have to do to register for a WCOOP event is
download the software
(or open the Instant Flash version for all you Mac user's), click on the
"Events" link in the lobby, followed by clicking the "WCOOP" link. This is the
same process for entering other tournament satellites, which include the
European Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour, Latin American Poker Tour, World
Cup of Poker, Poker Stars Caribbean Adventure and the aforementioned World
Series of Poker.
If you are just looking for some everyday action, you will find that too.
Accommodating to every bankroll imaginable, money limits range from $0.01/0.02
up to $200/$400. Poker Stars offers both real money and practice money action,
and is always ready to facilitate withdrawals and deposits. Financial
transactions are processed through Rational Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, which
is headquartered in Isle of Man at Douglas Bay Complex, King Edward Road, IM3
IDZ Onchan. Another great thing about Poker Stars is the service through their
cashier. If, for any unlikely reason your deposit is not accepted, Poker Stars
advises to send an email to their support team advising them with a good time to
contact you. They will then call you at the corresponding time and manually
facilitate your deposit.
So what about the perks and free stuff? You would think a poker room as large and
populated as Poker Stars gives their players extra incentives for sticking
around. Well, you would think right. The promotions here begin with a
100% welcome
bonus up to $50 Free. Use the bonus code "First 2008" when making your first
deposit (through December 2008) and earn 10 times the bonus amount in Frequent
Player Points (FPP's) within six months of claiming the bonus to cash out your
bonus money.
Remember, in order to earn FPP's you must sit through an entire
hand - so, don't leave the table before the hand is finished. Players earn 1
point for every $0.40 in rake paid for fixed limit, no limit and pot limit games
with stakes/blinds of $1/$2 and lower, 1-on-1 poker games and $1 in rake paid
for all other games. Five FPP's are also earned for every $1 paid in tournament
fees. If this sounds confusing, be sure to read the promotion terms and
conditions. Otherwise, just know that the more real money hands you play, the
sooner you can cash out your bonus money.
As for promotions for returning players, there are simply too many ongoing
and updated freebies and competitions to list here now, so please visit the
Promotions Page at Poker Stars to view the entire lineup. Also remember that as
a new player, you are not prohibited from claiming the welcome bonus in
conjunction with a new ongoing offer. If you have any questions, contact
customer service, which has been highly rated and is available via email with
quick turnaround responses 24/7. You will also want to stay abreast with
tournament results and poker news via the Poker Stars blog and media outlet,
PokerStars.tv.
Take the Virtual Tour at Poker Stars today and learn how to use the free
software in just a few minutes.
Poker Stars Updates
October 3, 2008 -
Online Poker Stats More
Like Poker "Stars"
September 7, 2008 -
Poker Stars Releases Mac Download Poker Room
|
