Pacific Poker Review

888poker Review

888poker.com also known as Pacific Poker was launched in 2002. In 2006, it banned US players reducing its huge revenue earnings to half. However, the site weathered the storm by building up the non-US based players. Today it ranks among the top fifteen poker rooms in terms of player traffic. Of course, being a part of the Online Gambling network Casino-on-Net.com has proved to be beneficial as 888poker receives the cross traffic from the casino side of the business as well. If you are a poker fan, you can rest assured that this is a site that will be around for a while considering the progress it has made during the recent years.

888poker offers Omaha Hi/Lo, Omaha Hi pot limit games as well as Pot limit and no limit Texas Hold’em in various formats such as Sit and Go, ring games and Multi table tournaments. It is one of the softest player bases you could find online and it has the capacity to let you play at 16 different tables at a time. At 888poker, all types of players can find games suitable to their skill sets and bankrolls, which I think is one of the reasons for this poker room’s popularity.

The software at 888poker.com is fairly easy to comprehend and use. It is provided in both the downloadable version and the no download poker version, suitable for Mac users. The site predominantly uses the green color which I found to be quite pleasing to the eye. New players might well practice poker at the play money tables so as to get familiar with the software before playing with real cash. The lobby is a little complicated for table selection since it lacks some of the essential statistic displays like Players/ Flop percentage.

After the recent upgrades to the software, you can now play at up to 16 tables – good news for the multi-table players. You can customize your table views and use the various options to keep track of your game play. The “Write Notes” option allows you to keep a track of the other players and the Tournament Info Tab helps you with the tournament information without actually going to the tournament lobby. Although the software performs reasonably well, in my opinion, it does not come up to the level of upgrades made by some of the other online poker rooms.

Even though the player traffic may not have built up to the levels before the US player ban, it is certainly getting there. Today, with a number of players from the casino section of the site moving to the poker rooms, 888poker has an average of more than 3000 poker players at the tables at any point in time. The number can increase dramatically during peak times, especially weekends. Most of the traffic is for the cash games and you will likely find bad players at all games and at all levels of play.

A large number of players are attracted to 888poker’s first deposit bonus, another reason for this poker room’s popularity, apart from it having the reputation of being one of the softest player bases. The first deposit bonus is 100% up to $400 with 25% of the bonus being credited to your account instantly. The balance amount of the bonus is released based on the bonus points you earn while playing at the site. $1 of the bonus money will be released for every 10 points you earn. You can earn bonus points by paying tournament fees, rakes or by betting at the casino. Also, you are able to keep track of how far you need to go to earn your bonus with the ‘Bonus Progress Meter’ appearing on the left hand side of the table.

Plenty of cool promotions at 888poker keep the player traffic flowing as well. A loyalty program known as the Frequent Player Points (FPP) add up like the poker bonus points you accumulate. Just as the bonus points accrue at the rate of 2 points for each $1 you spend on rakes or tournament fees, so also the Frequent Player Points. FPP can be turned into cash. Players also get referral incentives where you can refer a friend to the site. Weekly random bonuses are handed out to players which you could be lucky enough to win by just playing at 888poker regularly. There are also plenty of poker jackpots to be won by real money players.

You will find the usual tournaments at 888poker which include Sit and Go, Multi tables, Heads up, Satellites and Fast tournaments. The tournaments pay out a total of approximately $750K each month. There is the $20K Guaranteed held daily, the $80K Guaranteed with a buy-in into a qualifier tourney or a monthly Micro Satellite tournament. Besides these, the poker room offers free roll tournaments namely the $50 and $100 free rolls where you only need to register to play. Players depositing more than $50 can play in the $1000 Depositors Free roll which is a weekly event.

When you talk of customer service, 888poker is top class in the field. When you need help the service team is available 24/7, either through chat, email or telephone support. You will find a question template at the website which you can email to the customer support to have your problem solved. The security system at the site is also top grade. There are no issues as to the deposit and withdrawal facilities on the site. Taking into account the diversity of the players from all over the world, 888poker offers various international payment methods. These include debit and credit cards, NETeller, Moneybookers, checks, bank transfers at various locations, and many more options, all of which would be difficult to mention here.

With its somewhat slow software as well as a lack of options compared to the other sites, 888Poker.com may not appear to be as classy as some of the other online poker rooms. However, they are way ahead of the competition in terms of the instant cash bonuses and the great promotions being offered. I’m happy that I decided to try out 888poker and I‘m sure you’ll feel the same way too.

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