Poker Stars Review
Poker Stars Poker Site Review - Pokerstars is the largest online poker site in the world. They offer over $6 million in guaranteed tournaments every month and they maintain close to 120,000 real-money players during peak hours. The software at Pokerstars is privately developed and they have been around for a decade. The poker giant understands how to cater to players and they provide an intense environment with non-stop action. In addition, Pokerstars has four professionals who have won the WSOP (World Series of Poker). They recently had the youngest winner ever with the fresh new professional, Joe Cada. Other past winners include Chris Moneymaker, Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer. Pokerstars also has well-recognized pro Daniel Negreaunu on their team.
- Online Since: 2000
- Poker Stars Rake %: 5%
- US Players Accepted: Yes
- Excluded Countries: None
- Currencies: US Dollar for game play (deposits and withdrawals are allowed in other currencies with a fair conversion rate)
- Software Provider: Pokerstars
- Specialty: Poker
- Deposit Bonus: 100%
- Signup Code: Stars600
- Rakeback: VIP
- Network: PokerStars
- Mac Friendly: No
Poker Stars Bonus
New players at Pokerstars will receive a lucrative bonus for their first deposit. First deposits will be matched 100% and the maximum bonus allowed is $600. To take full advantage of the bonus, new players would need to deposit the full $600. The new player bonus is released in increments of $10. As players play at the Pokerstars tables, contributing rake through ring games or tournaments, they are earning VPPs (VIP Player Points). 17 VPPs equals $1 in bonus money. In other words, 170 VPPs (17 x 10) need to be earned to release $10 of bonus money. The higher the stakes are, the more rake that is taken out and therefore, more VPPs are awarded.
Bonuses at PokerStars are automatically credited, but use this marketing code to be sure of the latest offer.
Game Selection At PokerStars
- Texas Holdem
- Seven Card Stud
- Omaha Hi/Lo
- Omaha
- H.O.S.E
- 2-7 Triple Draw
- Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo
- H.O.R.S.E
- Razz
- 2-7 Single Draw Lowball
- Five Card Draw
- 8-Game
- Badugi
- Mixed Holdem
- Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo
PokerStars Compatibility
The software is available as a Windows or Mac version and Pokerstars competes with Full Tilt as the leading poker room for Mac players. They also have continued to allow US players since the 2006 UIGEA legislation. This decision pushed Pokerstars to become the world's largest poker site, surpassing Party Poker, the leader at the time.
Poker Stars Banking Methods
Deposit Methods:
- eCheck
- MasterCard
- Visa
- Visa Delta
- Visa Electron
- Diners Club
- NETELLER
- Moneybookers
- Clickandbuy
- Switch
- Maestro
- Solo
- Money Order
- Cashier's Check
- Bank Draft
- ELV
- Online Bank Transfer
- Paysafe Card
- Local Bank Transfer
- WebMoney
Withdrawal Methods
- NETELLER
- Visa
- Moneybookers
- WebMoney
- ClickandBuy
- Check (Mail/Courier)
- Direct Bank Transfer
- Echeck
PokerStars Software
Pokerstars software is available for download at http://www.pokerstars.com. The software can be downloaded for Windows or Mac. Once the software has been downloaded and installed, new players will need to register for an account, while existing players will only need to login. The software itself and the setup process are very simple. The software provides players the opportunity to customize a solid number of features and options. Players can multi-table with ease and stats allow players to discover vital information for proper table selection.
Players can view the percentage of players to the flop, the average pot size and the hands per hour. A detailed hand history is also an available feature at Pokerstars. Players can tile or cascade their game windows along with custom profiles that remember how players prefer their multi-table setup. Players have the ability to upload photos to customize their avatar at Pokerstars. The graphics are clean and the lobby is very easy to use. Other player images can be blocked and there are a number of table layouts to choose from.
The primary focus at Pokerstars is Texas Holdem and Omaha. However, Pokerstars offers a wide variety of other games, many of which are mixed games. The standard betting limitations for poker are limit (fixed), pot-limit and no-limit. All three of these are offered at Pokerstars. Games at Pokerstars are offered as sit n go's, multi-table tournaments (MTTs), sit n go's, heads-up matches or multi-table sit n go's. Omaha is only available in pot-limit and limit. Texas Holdem is available in no-limit along with limit and pot-limit.
Poker Stars Tournaments
Pokerstars has the largest guaranteed tournament in online poker. Every Sunday, Pokerstars has a $1.5 million guaranteed tournament. Pokerstars runs satellite tournaments for players to win seats in events such as the weekly $1.5 million guaranteed. Pokerstars also sends the largest amount of players to the WSOP every year through their satellite tourneys. Pokerstars provides many opportunities for the WCOOP (World Championship of Poker) and the SCOOP (Spring Championship of Poker). In addition, they offer satellites to the Asia Pacific Tour, European Poker Tour, Latin America Poker Tour and the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure.
Pokerstars has daily guarantee tournaments for all stake levels. They also offer a wide variety of tournament formats to include deep stack, turbo, re-buy/add-on, sniper (bounty) and guarantees. The full tournament schedule can be viewed at pokerstars.com under the tournaments section.
Poker Stars Real Money Promotions
Pokerstars is constantly adding new promotional offers. They regularly hand out FPPs (Frequent Player Points), which can be used to buy gear and electronics through the Pokerstars store. They also offer a loyalty program that players can advance in through a leveling system. The higher your level, the more perks you receive. The players with the most prestige gain tournament entries, electronics, apparel and promotional pricing or free tickets to certain events.
Pokerstars is currently offering the Baltic Festival which awards seats for a live event in Tallinn, Estonia. Players can also win a seat into the Romanian Poker Championship live in Bucharest. Other promotional opportunities include the Big Game TV show, Dream Job Australia, Monte Carlo PRO Expedition (Nordic/Baltic players only), the Luxury Ladies Poker Club, Turbo Takedown and the Battle of the Planets. Pokerstars also runs a nightly $500 giveaway. All of the promotional offers are located at http://www.pokerstars.com under the Promotions section.
PokerStars.com Customer Support
Support is definitely a weak point of Pokerstars. Pokerstars only provides e-mail support and does not offer a telephone or live chat option. The response time is quite good via e-mail and players continue to flock to Pokerstars regardless of the single support option. Players are asked to check first with the frequently asked questions (FAQ) section. Questions can often be answered through this section as thousands of players have most likely had the same question before you. This section can be found under the Help tab by clicking Customer Support at http://www.pokerstars.com. Players should e-mail any general inquiries or banking transaction questions to support@pokerstars.com. A submission form can also be found under the help tab (Contact Support Option) within the Pokerstars client (downloaded software).
Players Opinion Of PokerStars.com
There is no question that the action is intense at Pokerstars. There are a lot of sharks that hang out in the mid to high stake levels. The low/micro tables are filled with new players and experienced players can hang out at this level and make some money playing very tight and aggressive. The software performs smoothly and the multi-tabling capabilities really impress experienced players. The table layouts and viewing options, in combination with the traffic and game selection, make Pokerstars one of the best poker sites out there.
