Review of Poker Stars by Jesse McLean |
February 5, 2012 |
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Reviewer:
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Established:
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1998
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Headquarters:
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Isle of Man
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Email:
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support@pokerstars.eu
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Website:
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Software:
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Poker Stars
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Americans:
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no
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Players:
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22000 (average)
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Banking:
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Credit Card, EntroPay, eWalletXpress, Moneybookers, Neteller, Ukash, WebMoney, Bank Transfer, eCheck
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Games:
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Texas Hold'em, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Draw, HORSE, Badugi
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Stars has recently claimed the title of most popular online poker room, with nearly double its closest competators at any one time. PokerStars is also home to a lot of big name players.
Why is Stars so big?
Well, they've got almost everything right.
Stars have a sizeable player base, including a lot of fish who are still being attracted by Daniel Negreanu and Chris Moneymaker (the guy who played a PokerStars super-satellite, then won the online qualifier, then went to the big show and won it all).
Poker Stars have one of the better software packages of all internet poker sites. The tables look good, and the action buttons are huge. The software has proven more stable for me than any of the other sites and allowing personal avatars is a nice touch.
Poker Stars is rightly famous for its tournaments. They have the best selection of events, the most generous starting chips, and slowest blinds increase of all the sites. This means that the events are more about skill, and less about luck.
Poker Stars cashouts are very quick - I have never had one take longer than a day, and most are between 6-12 hours. Support is also quick (I've had emails answered as quickly as 15 minutes before) and knows what they are doing - responses actually answer your questions and are written in English.
Finally, Poker Stars offer much smaller-limit ring games than most other sites, which makes it a great place to start - you can deposit $50 and play in the small games until you've built up a bit of experience and bankroll.
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Bonus Match:
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100%
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Bonus Max:
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$600
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Deposit Bonus Information:
USE BONUS CODE "Stars600"
Poker Stars bonuses clear at about $8 an hour for a $1-2 player (you can try clearing them at the microlimit tables, but below 50c/$1, it's much slower). It's worth having an account prepared to recieve the bonus (plus this is *the* place to qualify for big real world tournaments).
Last Updated: 02/02/2012
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ONLINE POKER REVIEWS
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 | 9.5 | (8.7) |
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 | 9.2 | (7.3) |
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| 8.8 | (7.5) |
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| 8.8 | (8.0) |
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 | 8.0 | (6.4) |
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| 7.5 | (8.0) |
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| 7.5 | (6.5) |
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 | 7.2 | (7.8) |
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| 7.0 | (8.1) |
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| 7.0 | (7.6) |
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| 6.8 | (7.0) |
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| 6.8 | (6.0) |
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Chart Definitions
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| Deposit Bonus |
Ratings |
Match
How much free money the poker room will give you as a percentage of your first total deposit.
Max
The maximum amout of bonus money you can receive with your first deposit.
Online
The average number of active online cash players the poker room has at any one time.
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Software
This is the quality of the program on which the poker program is run. This rating should consider the understandability and usability of the software, plus how quick and helpful their support services are.
Players
A rating of how many players there are, and how easy it is to beat the typical low-limit holdem game against the average one.
Payout
This is a rating of how quickly the poker site processes
withdrawal requests and the overall quality of bonuses rewarded.
Tournys
This rating should consider the frequency, relative value, and organization of both sit-and-go and special tournaments held.
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