PokerStars Review

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Overall Score 8.6 of 10 (Editor's Choice) Popularity 9 Security 9 Competition 7 Software 9 Support 9 Ethics 9 Promotions 8 Visit PokerStars Deposit Bonus: 100% up to $50 Bonus Code: First2008

The Quick Summary

PokerStars is the largest poker room in the world. The site offers great promotions and is a leader in cash games and tournaments. The game variety of PokerStars is good; the software has great functionality with fast play and decent graphics. This poker room still accepts U.S. players and has some great customer support. PokerStars received good publicity after the performance of some of its players at the World Series of Poker, for instance, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer and Joe Hachem won the World Series of Poker Main Event back to back to back.

Popularity: 9 of 10 - Excellent

Traffic at PokerStars is massive in all the games, including Limit and No Limit Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi, Omaha Hi/Lo, No Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, Seven Card Stud Hi, Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, H.O.R.S.E., H.O.S.E., and Razz, among others. Full-table games are available, as well as short-handed and heads-up tables. There is no rake at the micro-limit tables.

This poker room hosts a ton of tournaments and freerolls; the high traffic ensures that players looking for a tournament will most likely find what they are looking for. The site runs plenty of satellite tournaments to the World Series of Poker and other major live and online poker events. Every Sunday, PokerStars runs a huge Million Dollar Guaranteed tournament!

The heavy concentration of players guarantees loose and juicy smaller buy-in tournaments, though most of the tournaments that run often have low to medium buy-ins. There are also plenty of $500 or more buy-in tournaments available for the high-stakes players.

PokerStars ranks number one in the world in traffic, this poker site is very busy at all times of the day and night and at any game or stakes. As of May, 2007, the peak real money cash player traffic was over 13,000 which puts them comfortably number one in terms of player volume.

Security: 9 of 10 - Excellent

This poker site currently uses a 512-bit RSA key. The server private keys are updated every three months, which means that PokerStars is secure with a good safety margin. These built-in features ensure the security of the game itself. Private data such as pocket cards is never transferred to other players. Independent organizations such as BMM International and Cigital, Inc. verified if the random number generator (RNG) of PokerStars passed the industry standards for randomness or not. The results confirmed the randomness and security of their shuffle.

Player Competition: 7 of 10 - Good

Finding suitable competition for all skill levels is not a problem at PokerStars. The ring games at the higher limits are tough, and the viewed-flop percentages are tighter than the industry standard for the same limits; however, the ring games have become softer due to the great game variety and the steady traffic.

The player quality at the tournaments is softer, though the competition at the bigger buy-in tournaments is very talented. PokerStars is the online tournament leader and attracts many non-experts as well.

Site Software: 9 of 10 - Excellent

The PokerStars software runs fast even with the immense player traffic of the site. This software is highly reliable, the data and statistics functions allow the player to access information about pretty much everything. The lobby supplies vital information such as notes on other players and statistics on the percentages of action in different hands.

Advanced multi-tabling is supported at up to eight cash games at a time and at an unlimited amount of tournaments. The players have total control of the software; they can choose the size of the tables as well as individual themes for each one. The graphics are highly customizable and easy to understand. The classical PokerStars look can be replaced by a number of more or less useful PokerStars themes. The players can upload images to represent themselves at the table in every game. There is also a useful option to block these player images.

Customer Support: 9 of 10 - Excellent

PokerStars does not offer live chat or telephone support yet, but the players always praise the 24/7 email support of this poker room. The customer support team is knowledgeable and friendly and the answers are quick and outstanding. Answers to game-related questions can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the PokerStars website.

Company Ethics: 9 of 10 - Excellent

The large and loyal player base of PokerStars is a reflection of the financial security and outstanding customer support that the players experience. This poker room collects the lowest rake in the industry. Each player starts the tournaments with 1500 chips, which are slightly above the common number of starting chips at other poker rooms. PokerStars offers other advantages for tournament players, for instance, the blinds go up slowly and the games are more about skill and less about luck.

Site Promotions: 8 of 10 - Excellent

This poker room offers some of the most rewarding promotions in online poker. PokerStars currently offers a 100% first-time deposit bonus up to $50. To earn this bonus, the players have to use the "First2007" bonus code and play on PokerStars to collect the number of Base Frequent Player Points (FPP) equal to 10 times the bonus amount. The Frequent Player Points (FPP) are part of the Frequent Player Program of the site. The players earn the FPP for each qualifying raked real money hand they play. Most of the points come from playing in tournaments and can be used to enter other tournaments or to buy items from the PokerStars FPP Store.

Overall Review: 8.6 of 10 - Excellent

PokerStars leads the market in online poker tournaments and online ring games. The software is made for serious poker players and the promotions reward the loyal players. Some of the professional poker players who endorse PokerStars include Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem, Isabelle Mercier, Barry Greenstein, Humberto Brenes and William Chen.

TightPoker.com official PokerStars review conclusion - TOP Recommended