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POKER STARS INFO |
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POKER STARS SCORE |
 4.75 / 5.00
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| Poker Reviews: |
4.75 |
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| PokerRoomReview.com: |
A+ |
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| PokerListings.com: |
9.2/10 |
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Minimum $50.VISA, Master Card, FirePay, wire transfer, bank draft. They cover the transfer fees associated with the online wallets. The payout's are very prompt compared to other rooms. As fro check withdrawals, you have a maximum of 1 check per 7 day period. Checks can take up to 15 business days but are usually faster. Player to Player funds transfers are also an option.
If you are a US citizen, there are 4 different deposit options:
| a) |
Deposit by VISA/Mastercard: A majority of credit cards can still be used to make a deposit at PokerStars, although some banks prohibit online gaming transactions. There are also pre-paid Visa cards available from various retailers, and some of these will work at PokerStars. If your bank allows gaming transactions this deposit option is practically instant. (Minimum $10 - Maximum $600) |
| b) |
Deposit by ePassporte: This option allows you to sign up for a virtual Visa card which can easily be funded through your regular Visa card. You can also transfer funds into your ePassporte account using your bank account. Once the virtual card is loaded you may transfer funds to and from PokerStars from the ePassporte option in Cashier, again instantly. (Minimum $10 - Maximum $600) |
| c) |
Deposit by Western Union: Players can make deposits via Western Union transfer from any Western Union agent. Instructions on doing so are available through the PokerStars cashier. (Minimum $50, Maximum $2,000 - Deposits will take an hour approximately, within WU opening hours - 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. EST). |
| d) |
Bank Draft/Money Order/Cashier's Check: Instructions on who to make a check payable to and where to send it are available on demand from Support. (Minimum $100, Maximum $5,000) Deposits will take as long as it takes a registered mail to arrive from your address. |
For withdrawal by US citizens, there are three options that the PokerStars customer service center laid out for me, two of which are very easily managed:
| a) |
Withdrawal by ePassporte; ePassporte is a third party eWallet, similar to NETeller which is no longer available to US players. This option is only available to players who have deposited using ePassporte. Cash-outs take up to 72 hours. No upper limit. |
| b) |
Withdrawal by check: this can take up to 15 business days. The upper limit is $5k but multiple checks can be sent if payout is above this. (Minimum - $25). |
| c) |
Withdrawal by PayTru card: This option is only available to players who have used a PayTru debit card in the past to make a deposit, however PayTru is no longer accepting new applications, so this cash-out option will not affect a new player. |
These are the only available cash-out options for US players!
It is well known that the tournament players here are rated right up their as the toughest in any online poker room. However, in cash games, PokerStars players do not fit any one particular stereotype or category. There are so many rooms, with so many players, any night could pose a loose group of cowboys or a tight gaggle of doctors. There are great players and there are fish – using tells to help you figure them out is a must. I’d say, if you include the whole pot of players, your average player is, well, average. In other words, the Ring Games can rely heavily on your table selection. However, this “searching for the right table” thing has always vexed me. Truthfully, if you play good poker – you’ll be a winner. Here and there, you lose, and that’s the way the game works – but if you play good hands, and learn your opponents, you’ll do just fine here.
PokerStars.com has all the poker play options you could ask for. The Limits start at 1 cent and go up from there. The minimum buy-in for limit tables is ten times the small bet (the bet on the first two betting rounds). For example, on a $10/$20 table, the minimum buy-in would be $100. For no-limit poker games, the buy-in is twenty times the small bet.
Limits: 2c/4c up to $100/$200 (or more) No-Limit: 1c/2c up to $100/$200 (or more)
Games Selection: Texas Holdem, Omaha Poker, Omaha High-Low, Seven Card Stud, Five Card Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, Seven Card Stud High-Low, Razz, HORSE, Poker Tournaments.
Tournaments: PokerStars is well known for the best online poker tournaments in the business. They are frequent with large and small buy-ins alike. The loads of players means gigantic prize pools. They offer multi-table tournaments from $0.10 to $10,000 again in their full set of games, and again with most of the larger tournaments being No Limit Hold'em. The larger buy-in events usually have more starting chips, and the precise structure is always available in the Tournament Lobby.
While PokerStars insists that their freerolls are solid, many complain about the lack of payout and the lack of “freeness”. However, Poker Stars may very well have the best range of freerolls around. They have $100 and $200 freerolls, as well as a Weekly $1,000 Freeroll which players can qualify for. There are also real money free rolls that can be entered by using their point system (points are acquired by participating in real money games). Those who don’t like Poker Stars’ freerolls, don’t like them because they aren’t known for giving away money for doing nothing. But they have plenty of options for their freerolls.
Sit and Go: Pokerstars’ SNGs are probably the best of all the online SNGs because of the slow blind increases and a large amount of starting chips. However, there are SNGs in turbo format. Buy-ins range from $1.10 up to $5,500. Single and Multi table variations of all the same games they offer in ring game play are almost always available. Games spread are Hold'em (Fixed Limit, Pot Limit, and No Limit), Omaha Hi (Pot Limit), Omahi Hi-Lo (Fixed Limit and Pot Limit), Razz, Stud Hi, Stud Hi-Lo, 5 card draw, 2-7 Triple Draw, HORSE and HOSE. The structure remains the same for all buy-ins in our Sit & Go Tournaments
Fast Tables: If you’re in a hurry, PokerStars also has a high number of Fast Tables. Your reaction time is cut by 10 seconds in a limit poker game, and 15 second in a no limit game. You have only a second to show or much hands, and the pot is immediately pushed to the winner. Auto-blind-posting is also required while sitting at these tables. You can always choose to sit out a couple hands.
I am a firm believer that the PokerStars.com software is the best in the business, because after you add in stability and performance to the review, the product never fails. While most sites have problems with some users acting in a reasonable fashion, it seems that even players with bad connections act quickly. Not only is the game play speedy, but the software is also loaded with features. Cash games have a "time bank", which is exactly what it sounds like; a set amount of extra time that a player can use when they are having trouble making a difficult decision. What a great feature. I don’t know how much it helps me win money, but every site should have this. Their lobby has very detailed information about all types of games, both tournament and cash. Player note taking support, instant hand history, and your current session playing statistics are all there for your use. The Avatars are solid as well.
At 3:00 AM EST, the site showed more than 40,000 players, 6,700 tables, and 2,040 tournaments playing at Poker Stars. It is the largest poker site in the world. PokerStars’ tournaments are ranked 1st on the web for sheer numbers, and 2nd highest for ring games. It doesn’t matter what time of day or night, you can always find a plethora of games to play at the biggest poker room in the world.
PokerStars is a registered legal business located in San José, Costa Rica. They abide by the laws and regulations where they do business. PokerStars began business as an internet card-room in 2001, and has been the largest online poker site since 2006. There has been notable growth in every year since they opened and that growth is still moving on up. As PokerStars is not a publicly listed company they don’t make their financial information available. They keep all player balances in segregated bank accounts and never use them for day to day business. Basically, they are the meaning of reliable.
Pokerstars still allows US players to play. They assured me that the US legislation is not aimed at players and does not change the legality of playing online poker. Player deposits are held in a separate bank account so that they remain completely isolated from all other aspects of their business.
Team PokerStars boasts 3 of the last 4 No-Limit Texas Hold’Em World Champions, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, and Joe Hachem. Among many others, the team of pros also includes Barry Greenstein, Daniel Negreanu, and Humberto “This is my little sharky coming to get you” Brenes. In other words, these guys are good.
The best thing that this super-site has going for them is that they still allow US players. If anything, that has brought in more and more people by the day.
PokerStars receives compensation for hosting poker games by taking a rake, or a small portion (5% to a maximum of $5) of the pot. The rake at Poker Stars is very similar to just about every other site I’ve reviewed. The Maximum rake of $5 is for the $200/$400 limit games, while the maximum rake for $25/$50 up to $100/$200 is $3. The rake differs from $.02/$.04 to $1/$2, starting at a max rake of $.04 and ending at $1.
There is never a problem finding room, as there is a (theoretically) infinite number of tables available for almost every game. If a player sits down at the only empty table of a particular game and limit then a new empty table is created.
Pokerstars used to be very weak in the promotions area. However, they've just recently launched a 100% first deposit bonus up to $50 - which is fairly easy to clear. They also run the occasion small reload bonus. PokerStars run the World Championship of online poker and many other special events to boot.
They offer fairly regular bonuses several times a year and they are very easy to clear except at the very lowest limits. A player playing $1-$2 limit or $0.50-$1.00 Pot/No Limit should easily clear a $50 bonus in a few hours play. They also offer a VIP program.
There is no refer a friend bonus on PokerStars.
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