The MLB World Series is one of America’s most popular events. From the chilly October weather to the traditional Sox vs. Yankees clashes, this fall classic has everything for a successful televised event.
But another World Series has been attracting much coverage over the last years.
In fact, the World Series of Poker is now the most prestigious set of poker tournaments in the world. Millions of poker players are engaging in pre-entry tournaments hoping they might somehow elude all the competition and find themselves on national television.
Well if you want to better your chances of joining this prestigious poker tournament, you should consider playing on Poker Stars. The online poker games site, #2 for player traffic, has issued 3 of the last 4 World Series champion players.
Batter’s up, are you ready to go in? Following is an online poker review done by Star Reviews.
What’s new?
- First Deposit Bonus Promotion-Until the end of 2007, receive a 100% bonus up to $50 when making your first-ever real money deposit. Use bonus code: First2007
- New online poke games: Confirming its reputation of providing one of the largest selection of online poker games, Poker Stars has released two new games, 5 card draw and 2-7 triple draw.
- Team PokerStars-Poker legend Daniel Negreanu just joined Team Poker Stars.
Reasons to play on Poker Stars
- Frequent Player Points: Build your loyalty by winning FPPs (frequent player points) interchangeable against merchandise in the online store. Hint, you can even buy a Porsche or Aston Martin Vantage V8!
- Slow Internet connection indicator: This feature is for everyone who went through the frustration of playing with opponents on dial-up. Find out how slow is your opponent’s connection by moving your cursor on top of his name.
- Poker hand statistics: Tired of having your butt delivered to you on a silver plate? Analyze your latest games by going through your last 200 hands, and try to see how you can improve your game.
- No Limit: Poker Stars have the reputation of being a tough playing field. Strictly for the best online poker players, Poker Stars offers you the chance of testing your big-bet poker skills at its no-limit Texas Hold’em game.
Star Reviews Favorite Feature: Add your own picture to your player:
True poker players know the importance of seeing your opponent’s face. Ok you can’t do any bluffing, but at least you can see who you are going against, as players can add their own personalized photo to their character.
Interface and playability:
Many months ago, Poker Stars was renowned for having one of the most unstable poker engines. The online poker games site listened to its critics, and the result is now one of the best online poker software in the industry.
After a smooth download and installation, we were browsing the lobby for some online poker action. The graphical layout is pleasant, as you can choose within a humongous choice of ring games and tournaments. The Seven Card Stud, a variant of the Stud game, is one of the most popular online poker games on Poker Stars.
The main strength of Poker Stars is the ability to customize your poker experience. You can choose between ten original themes for the room’s appearance, and add your own picture to your character. There is also a tables resizing option that you can use to enlarge or shrink the table to let you see more than one table at once.
Security is taken seriously on Poker Stars. From securing the software download with a certified key to using SSLv3 protocol for its engine, Poker Stars wants to make sure your online poker experience stays safe.
Playing fees
Online poker doesn’t work like a casino. You are playing against other opponents, and this is where the opportunity to make money is. For Poker Stars, their money is made by imposing a rake fee on every pot won.
The standard rake fee is 5% to a maximum of $3.00, depending on the limits being played. We invite you to consult the rake structure on their website.
Poker Stars loses points on the bonus promotions, as contrary to many of its competitors, they don’t give a bonus on signing up. The FPPs are an alternative, although it would have been nice to see an added incentive behind enrolling at Poker Stars.
Customer service
In what is a deceitful trend in our online poker reviews, Poker Stars doesn’t advertise a customer support hot-line on their website. With many pokers players being from the “old school” era, we can see this becoming a problem as most of them prefer speaking to a real person instead of waiting after e-mail.
Speaking of the e-mail support, we sent a general inquiry to test their promptness in responding. The result? A reply within thirty minutes. That’s fast service!
Their website is average for the content. We appreciate the pages describing each of their online poker games, but we thought their FAQ could have a bit more meat. This means the best (if not only) option is waiting after the e-mail support team.
Poker Stars is known to produce quality poker players, ready to tear apart anybody standing in their way. This is not the best ground for the novice player, although you will have to learn fast, unless you like having your wallet thinned.
We loved the customized features of Poker Stars, as adding our own picture to our player gave us a realistic feeling when playing online poker. Customer support needs improvement although if you are looking for one of the best online poker experience you should give Poker star a try.
Upside: Poker room themes –Adding your own picture – Great choice of games
Downside: No sign-in bonus – Average customer support