PokerStars review
Every small period in the short history of online poker is defined by one poker room which surpasses all others in popularity, thus becoming representative of the industry for the given few years. If in the pre-UIGEA period, PartyPoker was the defining force on the online poker market, nowadays that role has been taken over by PokerStars. That’s right, currently PokerStars is the biggest poker room popularity-wise as well as from the point of view of what it offers.
They “rose to power” during 2003-2004, when they were fortunate enough to give the poker world two consecutive WSOP main event champions. Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer both earned their main event seat in online PokerStars qualifiers. They were joined at Team PokerStars a year later by Joseph Hachem (who paid his own buy-in though).
PokerStars’ software is a sturdy piece indeed. While it may not look as good graphically as some of the new-generation 3D clients, it has to be sturdy, because it needs to handle around 120,000 players in peak hours.
The statistics made available are exhaustive-enough, and the interface is easy on the eyes. The lobby features a standard layout, it is easy to navigate and the filters it features make it easy to find a game at the stake/limit one is aiming for.
Multi tabling was probably invented at PokerStars. Their software allows up to 8 tables for cash games, and they don’t have a set limit on the number of simultaneously playable tables for tournament play. Tables are resizable, and everything is in place to aid players with their multi-tabling antics. You’ll find people playing on 20+ tables (don’t ask me how they do it).
The PokerStars bonus might appear a little stingy to some, (100% match up to $50) and it’s not easy to unlock either. You have to generate plenty of FPPs to unlock the two $25 batches the bonus comes divvied up in. The first batch takes 100FPPs, the second one 500, so it is going to take a while… The good thing about the PokerStars bonus system is that it often features bonuses on reloads (25% up to $600).
PokerStars tournaments are the best in the industry. Whichever poker variant catches your fancy, you’ll be able to play it in massive tournaments there. As I’m writing this, I’m playing in a massive Limit 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo freeroll which attracted almost 3,000 entrants. That is something you won’t see often at any other poker room. Razz is played massively too.
Needless to say, tournaments start up every few seconds, piled on top of each other. There are all sorts of freerolls, and qualifiers for some of the biggest live events in the world. In this respect, PokerStars is a lot like New York: it is the place where things happen, and where the best of the best meet some of the worst of the worst. Therefore it is difficult to make an assessment of the quality of the competition at PokerStars, with any sort of accuracy.
Don’t forget to check out their Sunday Million, which is arguably the biggest weekly tournament in online poker.
Unique-features wise, PokerStars is not exactly a frontrunner. Innovations and uniquely original ideas are scarce at the site, but don’t let that bother you. The sheer scale of the operation gives birth to a whole bunch of unique attractions. The Sunday million is one such attraction, but there plenty more of the sort, in their tournament lists. The fact that you can play just about any poker genre for just about any limit is also unique. The prizes involved in some of their promotions are also over the top. If you consider that every poker room is a city or village (according to size) in the online poker world, PokerStars is probably the capitol. Everything is on a larger-than-usual scale here. No rakeback is officially offered at PokerStars, so don’t you believe anyone who states otherwise.
PokerStars does accept US players, as a matter of fact, I’m firmly convinced that this is the main “culprit” in their success story. Many of the American players uprooted by the UIGEA from poker rooms like PartyPoker headed on over to PokerStars. The recipe is simple: make sure everyone knows you’re the largest poker room out there and you accept US players.
Their e-mail support is excellent, response times are short, and the support crew does a great job. I find it quite unbelievable however, that a room of the size of PokerStars doesn’t have some sort of live support system to handle urgent problems. Neither phone nor live chat are currently available, which is a crying shame.
They accept all sorts of payment solutions, some meant to facilitate the access of US players, others (like Moneybookers) are more European-oriented.
Don’t you – for a second – believe these guys only rely on their US traffic.
“Looking for a real edge? Rakeback is all the edge you need!”
