Party Poker Review

partypoker is a site that has been around for a long time, and its experience shows; they do a lot of things right. However, no poker site is perfect, and I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t give you the full breakdown of both the good and the bad before you decide to sign up and play online poker for real money.

When a site is consistently near the top of the poker traffic rankings as partypoker is, you know you’ll have no trouble finding a game to play. And that’s precisely what I found when I signed up; no matter what I wanted to play, there was always a game running. Current games on offer include:

• No-Limit Hold ’em
• Pot Limit Omaha
• Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo
• No Limit Short Deck, and
• Fixed Limit Hold ’em.

Short Deck is a relatively new game in the poker world and has been taking the high-stakes world by storm. It’s similar to Texas Hold ’em, except all the 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s have been removed from the deck, increasing the potential for big hands. Only a few poker sites offer Short Deck, and it’s a great addition.

Cash Games

partypoker has a terrific cash game scene, thanks in part to its generous loyalty program that encourages players to put in a lot of hours at the tables. It is also one of the few sites that offer heads-up tables to its players–a game type that has unfortunately been dying out over the past few years. As a fan of heads-up games, I appreciate having the option to play this format. Aside from the heads-up tables, the vast majority of games are 6max, with the only exception No-Limit Hold ’em, which also features 8max tables, but these do not see the traffic that the 6max tables do.

One of the features that partypoker offers on some of its PLO and No-Limit Hold ’em cash games is a Real Name Table option. Players on these tables don’t use their screen names but their actual ones. Not only does this creates a more grounded, “in real life” feeling for the players, but players are far less likely to berate and abuse each other in chat when they cannot hide behind a screen name.

This addition is a tremendous breath of fresh air, as I’ve found poker chat rooms to be quite incredibly toxic at times. There are also options for ante tables in PLO and No-Limit Hold ’em if players want to experience a less-solved, more-action-packed game.

The cash games for PLO and No-Limit Hold ’em run from as low as $0.01/$0.02 up to $50/$100. There is always great action at the lower-stakes games, but even the higher-stakes see decent traffic. Fixed Limit Hold ’em runs from $0.25/$0.50 up to $30/60, but this game is one of the lowest-traffic games on the site (is there even anyone under 60 who plays Limit Hold’em anymore?)

Short Deck has a different blind scheme than the other games and has a narrower range of buy-in levels. Still, there are 5 different buy-in levels where players can buy in from $2 up to $500. 

partypoker also has its own version of fast-fold poker, which it calls Fast-forward. In this game, players are grouped into pools based on the stake level they wish to play at and are randomly assigned a table. Then, once a player folds, that player is taken from that table and sat at a different, random table with five other players.

Fast-forward is impatient players like me who want to play a lot of poker in a short time since I can immediately get onto the next hand whenever I want. Fast-forward is offered for No-Limit Hold ’em and Pot-Limit Omaha, though most traffic is in the Hold ’em games. The stakes run from $0.01/$0.02 to $2.50/$5 for both game types. Again, you’ll find that most of the action is at the lower-stakes games, although the higher stakes still see a decent amount of traffic during peak times.

Sit and Gos

partypoker’s sit-and-go lobby focuses on the 1 table No-Limit Hold ’em set up. They don’t offer any of the 18-man or 27-man SNGs that some sites offer, nor do they provide SNGs in any game variant other than No-Limit Hold ’em. This is surprising and disappointing, as SNGs are a cornerstone of any good poker site.

It’s a bit embarrassing for a site of partypoker’s caliber. Still, if you’re a fan of No-Limit Hold ’em SNGs, there’s a wide range to choose from. They have table sizes from heads-up to 9-handed, so no matter how many players you prefer to play with, there’s an option for you. They have Double Up SNGs, Triple Up SNGs, Turbo SNGs, Hyper-Turbo SNGs, Progressive KO SNGs, and Super KO SNGs–you name it–some of which are pretty hard to find on other poker sites these days.

Unfortunately, all SNGs play with turbo or hyper-turbo blind lengths; I’d have loved to at least have the option for slower, more traditional blind levels. Buy-ins range from $1 all the way up to $1000, but 6-max SNGs stop running at the $200 buy-in level, and it’s only heads-up crushers from there on up. 

partypoker also has its own version of the Jackpot SNG with its “Spins” games. For the uninitiated, a Jackpot SNG sits three players at a table, and the prize is randomly chosen before they start playing. It could be as low as 2x your buy-in, but it could go as high as 10,000x!

This is easily my favorite format both because of the additional gamble plus the potential to win life-changing money for only a tiny investment. Buy-ins range from $0.25 up to $500, with the $5, $100, $250, and $500 buy-ins giving the player a chance to play for a cool million! partypoker even runs an “Ultra”’ version of the SNG, with a faster blind structure and shorter starting stack, for players who want to get through as many as possible.

Poker Tournaments

One of the things this site is best known for is its fantastic tournament schedule. Plenty of great-value tournaments run daily, and there’s always some kind of series offering up huge guaranteed prize pools. With millions of dollars in guarantees every week, it’s easy to see why partypoker remains one of the top sites for tournament play. 

One of the tournament highlights has to be The Grand. This one is for the high rollers among you, as it’s a $1050 buy-in and a $150k guarantee. Don’t worry if your bankroll can’t reasonably afford that, though–you can qualify through Phase tournaments for as little as $2.20. You can even satellite into the $2.20 for as low as $0.22! I love having the option of winning your way into bigger tournaments like this, and it’s something that more sites should implement.

For the PLO fans, you’ll be sure to want to play the Chieftain–a $55 buy-in with a $4K guarantee on Sundays. While a $4K guarantee for a tournament might not sound like much these days, I think it offers great value, especially when you remember that on most sites, PLO tournaments don’t get guarantees at all due to how few people play them. Tournaments like this and others in the Daily Legends series offer great value no matter what buy-in level you play.

partypoker has also recently introduced on-demand tournaments to its line-up, where a tournament will start playing as soon as eight people have registered for it. They have a lot of confidence that these will be a popular offering as they’ve included a guarantee on these tournaments, even though they could start at any time.

So if you’re a fan of hunting for value in tournaments like I am, these are ones to keep an eye on. As well as the regular tournaments, partypoker has an impressive range of satellite tournaments to win seats to prestigious live events such as the Irish Open and the Millions Series. For only a couple of bucks, you could win a seat and, maybe, just maybe, take down a life tourney for mad bank. 

What’s it Like to Play?

We’ve done a deep dive into the types of games available at partypoker, so let’s take a look at another important aspect of any online poker room – the software. If you want to play on partypoker, you must download their software and install it onto your device. Unlike other poker rooms, there is no option to play from your web browser, so it’s not as easy to log on to someone else’s device and have a quick session.

Poker Client

One thing I really like about the partypoker lobby is the mix of light and dark colors. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love a dark theme, and partypoker has a healthy mix of light and dark to make their lobby visually interesting. While some of the poker client has what you’d call a classic dark theme, the cash game and tournaments pages have a dark outline and a white middle, making it easier to read the information on your screen.

It’s easy for any site to have a good-looking client, but partypoker understands that you need more than that if you want players to have a positive casino experience. That’s why their software is incredibly easy to use; all of the poker options are clearly labeled at the top of the page, making it simple to find your favorite game and start playing.

Once you do start playing, you’ll find that table set up has a different vibe to the lobby, but nonetheless looks great. It features a lot more bright colors, particularly if you go for the green table felt, red card backs, and four-colored deck like I have! Even if your table is as colorful as mine, you’ll find that all the information is clearly laid out, it’s easy to see your opponents’ hands when they’re all in, and the buttons are nice and big at the bottom of the screen.

I like that while they do promote their sports and casino pages, they’re tucked away in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and don’t dominate the table space like they do on other sites. In that corner, you’ll also find the sit-out option and the run-it-twice option – having these both easily accessible from your table makes grinding a long session so much easier, as you don’t have to keep going into the settings to change your preferences while playing.

Another aspect of the site that I love is the amount of customizable settings they have available. While that may not be the sexiest feature imaginable, for those of us who play poker regularly it’s a Godsend. Being able to adjust your table to be set up exactly how you want makes grinding so much easier, as you’re not constantly battling with the software to get it to do what you want.

Being able to just log on and start playing without having to reset everything to how you like it is a key part of any positive online poker experience if you’re a grinder, and partypoker certainly lets you do that. There are a number of options that make grinding much easier, including the ability to set your bet buttons both preflop and postflop, use hotkeys that perform actions with just one button press, and have multi-tabling supported across multiple monitors.

To sum up, if you’re a poker grinder, partypoker is the site you’ve been looking for. They have a wide selection of games, great traffic numbers, and a number of settings that make it easy to play long sessions.

Features of the Site

I think partypoker has a number of great features that make it one of the best options for hardcore grinders, so let’s take a look at what those are.

• Real-Name Games – While other sites are removing all player names from the tables, partypoker has gone the other way and introduced a number of real-name games to their site. These tables use players’ real names rather than a nickname, with the thought being that people are less likely to be toxic when they can’t hide behind a screen name. Having played on these tables, I found them to be a pleasurable experience, and would highly recommend them!
• Good Looking Poker Client – It can be easy to underestimate how much the appearance of a poker site matters to your overall experience, but it has a huge effect! I mean, no one would want to grind on a site that looks like something that was made by a web student in the 90s would they? Luckily, partypoker has a great-looking poker client that you won’t mind looking at for hours on end.
• Options For Multitablers – In the partypoker client settings, there is a whole page dedicated to multi-tabling options. Here, you can decide when the software alerts you about a new table, get alerts when you get a specific hand or if you’re in a big pot, and multi-table across multiple monitors.
• Variety Of Customizable Options – Finally, one of the things I love most about the partypoker client is the range of customizable options they offer. You can change a whole host of options, including the design of the table and its background, the denominations of your pre-selected bet buttons, and even the color of your stack at the table!

What It’s Missing

While I’ve had a lot of positive things to say about partypoker, that doesn’t mean that it’s a perfect poker site. There are a few things that I think could be improved which would elevate the site to the next level, so let’s take a closer look at what those are.

• Software Speed – One of the most glaring issues I found with partypoker is the length of time it takes to load a table once you’ve decided to play. After registering for a tournament, it can take over five seconds before the table pops up and you can start playing. This is far too long of a delay for a modern poker site, and something that I hope they can improve with further updates.
• Web Client – Another missing feature of partypoker is the ability to play from a web browser, rather than having to download and install a poker client. Being able to play from the partypoker website would give players the opportunity to log on and play a few hands without having to wait for the client to download and install.

Even online poker rooms as big as partypoker need to offer bonuses and promotions to ensure they stay at the top of the online poker food chain. Many sites are judged not only on their welcome bonus but on the promotions/offers they give to their continuing players. Why should people play on a site if it doesn’t treat their regulars well? Here’s what I found when I investigated the current promotions that partypoker has to offer:

Unlike many online poker sites, partypoker has a fully functioning mobile application that needs to be downloaded to play from your phone. You’ll be prompted to download the application if you go to the PartyPoker website from a phone or tablet device. There is an app for Android and iOS devices, so you can play whichever one you have. Once you download and open the app, you can choose to create an account, or you can log in with an existing PartyPoker account.

I found the lobby’s design reminiscent of the old partypoker software design and, as such, could have been better to look at. Newsflash, my dudes–it isn’t 2008 anymore. In a world where dark mode is the preferred color theme for most apps, partypoker’s white-and-silver design is exceedingly bright.

I had to turn down my comp’s brightness every time I played. However, the app’s functionality almost matches the desktop software’s, with the full range of cash games and tournaments available. The app even makes it easy to multi-table with a dedicated space on the left-hand side of the table layout that shows all your active tables. Point blank: If you’re someone who loves to play poker on the go like I am, the partypoker app is functionally one of the best on the market.

One of the best things about playing on a big brand name like partypoker is that you know they will have stellar customer support. Real talk: A brand only gets this good reputation if it looks after its customers. You can contact them by email by filling out a form on their customer support page if your query isn’t urgent. Most of the time, you can expect to hear back from a team member within 24 hours.

If you need to speak to someone immediately, partypoker has a live chat feature where a customer service representative is available 24/7. This is my preferred method, as I found my questions were always answered within a few minutes. PP also has a toll-free support number if you’d prefer to verbally speak with a representative. In my exp, the CS team was super-helpful when dealing with any issues I’ve had, and there isn’t usually much of a wait to get through to one of them.

If you need to speak to someone right away, they have a live chat feature on their site where a customer service representative will be available 24/7 for you to talk to. They also have a toll-free support number if you’d prefer to speak with a representative that way. The customer support team has always been extremely helpful when dealing with any issues, and there isn’t usually much of a wait to get through to one of them. If you have a problem, they’ll be able to resolve it for you.

Phone: Call this toll-free number to speak to a representative at 00-800-7278-9100

Email: Fill in the form on the customer support website or email them directly at info@partypoker.com

Live Chat: Click the “Live Chat” button on the customer support page and a customer support window will pop up where you can speak with a representative.

If I’m honest, partypoker is one site with only a few features unique to its site. But don’t get my words twisted–they do a bunch of things right by focusing on their core features and polishing them to perfection. 

If you had to choose one thing that makes it stand out above its competitors, it would have to be its rakeback offer. With enough volume, you can get 40% of the money you paid in rake that week deposited back into your account. This is HUGE for a high-volume grinder like me. Also, in certain game types, you have the chance to boost the number of points you get, giving you an even better chance of reaching an even higher percentage of your rake back.