Empire Poker FAQ

Pictures of Empire Poker vs Party Poker

Empire News Flash! February 14th, 2006

Empire Poker has actually been bought out by Party Poker as of today. The previous platform for Empire has now moved over to Noble Poker.

Is Empire Poker the same as Party Poker?

For all purposes, yes. Empire Poker and Party Poker share the same players, same games and same support staff. The only difference is that they have different multi-table tournaments. (October 2005 Update: Note that this is no longer true. While Empire Poker still uses Party Poker's software and shares a poker network with four other sites, Party Poker's players no longer participate on this network. Thus, the players play on separate sites, but use the same software.)

Are there any other differences between Empire Poker and Party Poker

Empire Poker offers Player Rewards and a VIP club that rewards you the more you play, similar to a casino comps. Party Poker does not offer any rewards to it's players as of yet. (Update: Party Poker now does indeed offer a player reward club now, similar to Empire Poker.)

Can you elaborate more on Empire Poker?

Empire Poker is commonly referred to as a Party Poker 'skin'. This is because Empire Poker uses the same software as Party Poker, but simply has a different look to the site. As you can see in the picture above, everything is the same except for the color schemes.

So does Party Poker own Empire Poker?

Yes. Party Poker is developed by a parent company called iGlobalMedia (now called PartyGaming). Previously, Empire Poker belonged to Empire Online and was one of their poker sites which they re branded and marketed as their own. After a dispute between the sites late in 2005, Empire Poker, along with the other Party Poker skins were forcibly separated from the Party Poker network (known as the WPC network) and segregated into their own section. A few months later, most of the sites ended up being bought out by various larger sites and merging into those networks. Empire was bought out by Party and merged back into the WPC network as of this writing.

What is offered through the player rewards system?

You can use player reward points to enter tournaments or get merchandise. Empire is also currently offering a $5,000 Freeroll for new players, has daily $500 Freerolls and is doing a $35 sign up promotion for new players. To get the promo, use the Empire Poker bonus codes at the bottom of the page.

Again, the one difference between the skins is that Empire Poker and Party Poker have different multi-table tournament games. By all accounts, multi-table tournaments are easier on Empire Poker than Party Poker, so you have a better chance of winning tournaments on Empire Poker. That said, Party Poker does have larger tournaments.

Can I play at both Empire Poker and Party Poker?

It was pretty popular in the past for players to grab accounts at both sites. Regulars would do it to double up on their bonus deposits, while pro players would do it so they could have a known name and a lesser known name. However, policy changes have more or less stopped this.

October 2005: This is no longer true, now that Party Poker has left the network. You are now able to play at both Empire Poker as well as Party Poker.

March 2006: It may be up for contention again, whether or not players will be able to play properly at both Empire Poker and Party Poker. So far, there seems to be no problem playing at both of the sites for players.

I can't create an account at Empire Poker / Party Poker

This used to be an issue with players, but is no longer a problem any more. If it still is, uninstalling the Party Poker software, installing the Empire Poker software, then re-installing the Party software should take care of this issue.