Choosing the right Poker Room for you!

Originally posted by NIVEKii
* European room (or predominantly € tables)
* Good first deposit bonus for a €300 bankroll (>100%)
* Easy clearing of the bonus
* Rakeback (preferably one that is not hit by the clearing of the fdb)
* Decent traffic for 10nl/25nl SH.
* No bugs with HEM
* Fast withdrawals (after verification ofc)

Hey NIVEKii,

Quite a difficult list of requirements there ♦

With the exception of Merge and Cake, all of our rooms are Europe facing, though the majority still operate in USD because it has been a consistent currency.

For the FDB, I would have to suggest you try Ongame (Betfair) since you have all of the iPoker rooms, which tend to have some of the best FDBs. The traffic at your limits should be fine and they have a pretty good VIP system and FDB.

Normally I would suggest that you try 888 or PKR. PKR have 30% flat rakeback and the tables are really soft, however the first deposit bonus is 120% up to $800, but doesnt seem to clear very quickly. It also doesnt support HEM unless you use a mod created by one of our members on PokerStrategy. If you go back in the thread a bit, you should find the link for the mod if you are interested.

Be aware though, the rake at the lowest limits at PKR is 10%, which 20bb per 100, which is why they are happy to offer the 30% flat back.

888 are also very soft, with good software which I believe supports HEM. The traffic here is also just behind iPoker and Party, who are about equal with each other. The down sides are the VIP system gives very little rakeback (maybe 5-8% at your limits) and the First Deposit Bonus takes a while to clear, meaning it isnt amazing value for money.

My final alternative would be PartyPoker. Good all round software, a deposit bonus that is actually clearable and gives a fair amount of value back and traffic that will mean you will never lack for a game to play. Downsides are that the VIP system is pretty poor and you would likely only ~8-10% rakeback. But you can cash it out relatively quickly.

Hope this is useful mate.

Looking for a decent room to play HUNL on. looking for soft traffic over rakeback.

*must accept moneybookers/skrill
*preferably have a deposit bonus that can be partially cleared (don't need to clear entire amount to get $)
*rakeback if poss
*must have decent traffic on HUNL tables.
*HEM1/2 compatible if possible.

Originally posted by gemcxx
I tried to create a MB account, not sure how to do it through PS though.

When I tried to send money to my account, it asked what transaction is for. Non-Gambling use, or gambling use. It says if you don't select gambling use, the funds cannot be used to with gambling merchants. Clicked OK and then it says denied by my bank.

Starting to tilt....

Hey, I had this exact same problem recently and actually contacted Visa about it today. Essentially, they won't budge on their anti-gambling site policy under any circumstance (even though I have a huge limit with them and have never missed a payment) but the workaround is that the guy on the phone told me the a pre-paid visa gift-card would NOT be denied. I can't yet confirm this but I'll be trying it some time this week or next, if you give it a shot before then let me know how it works out. Hope it helps!

Originally posted by conall88
Looking for a decent room to play HUNL on. looking for soft traffic over rakeback.

*must accept moneybookers/skrill
*preferably have a deposit bonus that can be partially cleared (don't need to clear entire amount to get $)
*rakeback if poss
*must have decent traffic on HUNL tables.
*HEM1/2 compatible if possible.

Hey Conall,

Two suggestions for you mate:

- Party - Good traffic, including HU tables for NL 1/2, good software. First deposit (100% up to $500) bonus is released in pieces of 10% (so always able to get some of it) of the total and equals an additional 20% rakeback for every piece released. You also gain Party Points which can be traded in for cash, which is another 8% rakeback approximately. Definitely accepts MBs. Much softer than Stars, but tougher than say PKR or 888.

- iPoker (William Hill) - Good First Deposit Bonus (200% up to $2000) which should give a return of at least 25% rakeback and isnt too hard to clear when playing HU. The VIP system will give you a good return each month as well, I would expect at least 15%, which is obv double what Party offer. Traffic is pretty much equal to Party, but I would say the tables are just a tiny bit softer. Also definitely accepts MBs.

I was thinking that it might be good to suggest 888 or PKR as they have really soft tables, but the reason I didnt was because:

PKR doesnt have a huge amount of HU traffic as far as I know, plus the rake is really high. You do get 30% flat rakeback there, but that isnt enough to offset the rake. If you were playing FR or even 6 max, then it might be different due to how many flops you are going to see in any number of hands dealt. The first deposit bonus isnt too great (or too bad either I guess), but it takes a while to clear.

888 also have soft tables, but I couldnt see any HU tables running at your limits. Add to this that their VIP system would give you very little rakeback, I felt it better to go for a room that will give you at least a good deal on all of the areas you mentioned.

So I suggest William Hill or Party mate. Not as soft as some of the other tables out there, but they have consistent traffic and clearable FDBs and VIP systems.

Hope you find this useful!

Originally posted by CaptainReivax
Hey, I had this exact same problem recently and actually contacted Visa about it today. Essentially, they won't budge on their anti-gambling site policy under any circumstance (even though I have a huge limit with them and have never missed a payment) but the workaround is that the guy on the phone told me the a pre-paid visa gift-card would NOT be denied. I can't yet confirm this but I'll be trying it some time this week or next, if you give it a shot before then let me know how it works out. Hope it helps!

Thanks for this Captain

If anyone else has experienced this and found it to work, please let us know so that we can spread the news and help our other members.

Cheers,

DC

thanks D, you didn't say anything groundbreaking. oh well

Originally posted by conall88
thanks D, you didn't say anything groundbreaking. oh well

Lol

Yeah I am afraid I am no poker messiah or anything as cool as that. Just work out what is most suitable based on logical deduction and my knowledge of the bonuses, traffic, VIP systems and table softness.

Still, hope it helped anyway

Originally posted by DtotheC

Originally posted by NIVEKii
* European room (or predominantly € tables)
* Good first deposit bonus for a €300 bankroll (>100%)
* Easy clearing of the bonus
* Rakeback (preferably one that is not hit by the clearing of the fdb)
* Decent traffic for 10nl/25nl SH.
* No bugs with HEM
* Fast withdrawals (after verification ofc)

Hey NIVEKii,

Quite a difficult list of requirements there ♦

With the exception of Merge and Cake, all of our rooms are Europe facing, though the majority still operate in USD because it has been a consistent currency.

For the FDB, I would have to suggest you try Ongame (Betfair) since you have all of the iPoker rooms, which tend to have some of the best FDBs. The traffic at your limits should be fine and they have a pretty good VIP system and FDB.

Normally I would suggest that you try 888 or PKR. PKR have 30% flat rakeback and the tables are really soft, however the first deposit bonus is 120% up to $800, but doesnt seem to clear very quickly. It also doesnt support HEM unless you use a mod created by one of our members on PokerStrategy. If you go back in the thread a bit, you should find the link for the mod if you are interested.

Be aware though, the rake at the lowest limits at PKR is 10%, which 20bb per 100, which is why they are happy to offer the 30% flat back.

888 are also very soft, with good software which I believe supports HEM. The traffic here is also just behind iPoker and Party, who are about equal with each other. The down sides are the VIP system gives very little rakeback (maybe 5-8% at your limits) and the First Deposit Bonus takes a while to clear, meaning it isnt amazing value for money.

My final alternative would be PartyPoker. Good all round software, a deposit bonus that is actually clearable and gives a fair amount of value back and traffic that will mean you will never lack for a game to play. Downsides are that the VIP system is pretty poor and you would likely only ~8-10% rakeback. But you can cash it out relatively quickly.

Hope this is useful mate.

Hey D,

What are your thoughts on Pokerheaven?

All the best,

NIVEKii

Originally posted by NIVEKii
Hey D,

What are your thoughts on Pokerheaven?

All the best,

NIVEKii

PokerHeaven has Euro tables, which was one of the things you were looking for, as well about 8-12 SH tables running at any one time. They are also pretty soft on Boss Media/IPN.

The down sides for me are:

The software on Boss makes me tilt, not a big fan at all. But that is my personal opinion. Secondly, their FDB isnt very good. SnG players would get 13% rakeback from it, meaning that Cash Game players get even less.

The plus side though is that you do get 30% flat rakeback through the VIP program, which is just a Points for Cash system. No matter what your VIP level or how much you trade in, you always gets 30%.

We do always run a nice rake race however which is pretty soft. Recent months have seen it won with 3.5k in rake which gave a 1200 euro prize and a TV Championship package.

The TV package ends this month though, so I expect the prize pool will increase to compensate. The race is really good value if you rake enough to cash in.

So ultimately it depends; rake over 2k and PokerHeaven is good value, since you get your 30% flat, plus another ~20% from our race, plus the tables are fairly soft.

As long as the software doesnt cause you to tilt, then you are golden

IPN is nice if you play 5 max or small field MTTs imo. I used to grind the 10 euro rebuys and the 40 euro deepstack MTT. the fields are mega soft.

The HUNL tables are pretty reg filled now, even at 50NL due to the lack of traffic at the HU tables.

9 max is pretty soft there too though.

They offer an FPP reload bonus also, at least to longterm players, not sure about new signups, but it is hard to clear any of it unless you are playing 100NL or something.

Hi there!

I play NL 6max;
I'll be playing between 10-30hours week; depending on how much work and study I have to put in for uni!
I'll be starting as low as Nl2/4 but I intend to climb it fast and become a nl50/100reg!
I intend to play 6-8tables.

Right now I'm in doubt between Partypoker and ipoker; I want a room that will allow with a small starting roll to move up the ladders and become a reg at nl50/100.

I did this on stars but now I cant play on that account(lets say higher entities are tracking it and Im not shouldn't be playing there!)

So I know I'm capable of crushing the micros up to nl50 and then stablish there!

So I would like to know in terms of software; multi-tabling, softness of games; support and cashing out; which one of these two rooms would be the more suitable to me

I'm not very intrested in rakebackn deals for starters; because firstly I want to climb up and I'm only looking for what I would gain after I get to nl50 and I been comparing and it seems pretty close between the 2!

I'll start up with 50$!
So far Party drawback's are the lack of nl2 sh which will screw up a bit of my BRM if I start up there though I dont think at nl2 it will be such a big deal!
But Party seems to be very well established in the market and they seem to care a lot about keeping a legit image which seems very good given the times we're facing in poker.
I'm not very familiar with iPoker network yet I know that they and party have almost the same traffic for cash tables; titan seems to have a very good software and support and iPoker has nl2 which is good for me to start given my BRm and the ammount I want to deposit.

I'm registered in Party already(no deposit yet) via PS and will do the same for iPoker if I end up going there.

From what I read in your posts above(though you are talking HU) iPoker seems to have a bit softer tables.

Also if iPoker is better what skin would be the best? the one that caught my attention was titan but I don't have much info on it yet; so don't really know which one would be the best!

TLdr: I want to start up with 50$ and become a reg at nl50/100 playing nl6max; which site would be better ipoker or party poker?

Anyway any/all help would be deeply appreciated.

Hey johnny,

I am just running out of the office, but I will log on when I get home and see what help I can offer. Assuming there is no act of god or otherwise dastardly intervention, then you will at least get an answer tonight

Originally posted by DtotheC
Hey johnny,

I am just running out of the office, but I will log on when I get home and see what help I can offer. Assuming there is no act of god or otherwise dastardly intervention, then you will at least get an answer tonight

Alright thanks!
Well I only intend to get started next Monday so hoping nothing bad happens I'll gladly wait till sunday night for an answer better yet if I only have to wait for tonight ♠_cool:

I play nl25-50, but im planning to switch to FIX LIMIT. Im planing to start from FL 0.25/0.5. Got a little experrience with FL. Any ideas?

Originally posted by johnnyanghell

Originally posted by DtotheC
Hey johnny,

I am just running out of the office, but I will log on when I get home and see what help I can offer. Assuming there is no act of god or otherwise dastardly intervention, then you will at least get an answer tonight

Alright thanks!
Well I only intend to get started next Monday so hoping nothing bad happens I'll gladly wait till sunday night for an answer better yet if I only have to wait for tonight ♠_cool:

So much for well laid plans :/ I didnt even make it home until very late last night, so my apologies for not being able to post as intended.

Ok, for you the best room is definitely William Hill on iPoker. Loads of traffic at your stakes and table size and the tables are slightly softer than at Party. More importantly for you, you will also get a good First Deposit Bonus, which will add ~25% rakeback, plus you will earn at least 20% through the Points for Cash system.

At Party you could expect to get approximately half of that in terms of %. Personally I prefer the Party software, however iPoker still supports your required amount of tables without any difficulty.

One big selling point for me is that William Hill also have semi-regular raked hand races. At your limits and volume, this is perfect and would definitely add some additional to % to your value back.

If you were lower volume, I might suggest 888, however their VIP system isnt hugely rewarding, so it would be mainly an increase in Win-Rate which would serve as the incentive to play here. Given your relatively high volume and playing time, I think William Hill is the most beneficial for you.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have about William Hill and I will do my best to answer them

Originally posted by DtotheC

Originally posted by conall88
Looking for a decent room to play HUNL on. looking for soft traffic over rakeback.

*must accept moneybookers/skrill
*preferably have a deposit bonus that can be partially cleared (don't need to clear entire amount to get $)
*rakeback if poss
*must have decent traffic on HUNL tables.
*HEM1/2 compatible if possible.

Hey Conall,

Two suggestions for you mate:

- Party - Good traffic, including HU tables for NL 1/2, good software. First deposit (100% up to $500) bonus is released in pieces of 10% (so always able to get some of it) of the total and equals an additional 20% rakeback for every piece released. You also gain Party Points which can be traded in for cash, which is another 8% rakeback approximately. Definitely accepts MBs. Much softer than Stars, but tougher than say PKR or 888.

- iPoker (William Hill) - Good First Deposit Bonus (200% up to $2000) which should give a return of at least 25% rakeback and isnt too hard to clear when playing HU. The VIP system will give you a good return each month as well, I would expect at least 15%, which is obv double what Party offer. Traffic is pretty much equal to Party, but I would say the tables are just a tiny bit softer. Also definitely accepts MBs.

I was thinking that it might be good to suggest 888 or PKR as they have really soft tables, but the reason I didnt was because:

PKR doesnt have a huge amount of HU traffic as far as I know, plus the rake is really high. You do get 30% flat rakeback there, but that isnt enough to offset the rake. If you were playing FR or even 6 max, then it might be different due to how many flops you are going to see in any number of hands dealt. The first deposit bonus isnt too great (or too bad either I guess), but it takes a while to clear.

888 also have soft tables, but I couldnt see any HU tables running at your limits. Add to this that their VIP system would give you very little rakeback, I felt it better to go for a room that will give you at least a good deal on all of the areas you mentioned.

So I suggest William Hill or Party mate. Not as soft as some of the other tables out there, but they have consistent traffic and clearable FDBs and VIP systems.

Hope you find this useful!

Nothing about the rake?

imo the first thing you should be looking when you play HU is the rake you pay on the diff rooms because rake is high generally speaking but can be huge depending on the rooms and good rakeback deal etc would be secondary.
PokerStars has the lowest HU rake all stakes (starts at NL50 but you don't want to play less than NL50 anyway because of the very high rake)

Originally posted by qsiex
I play nl25-50, but im planning to switch to FIX LIMIT. Im planing to start from FL 0.25/0.5. Got a little experrience with FL. Any ideas?

Hey qsiex

I have a couple of ideas of what you might want to do if you are going to try out FL!

Recently iPoker lowered all of their rake at the lower limits of Fixed Limit tables on their network. This is really great news for FL players for a number of reasons, mainly because it makes it easier to be remain profitable. Variance is high FL and having high rake as well at the micro/low stakes made it a tough game to beat.

My recommendation would be William Hill, as their deposit bonus is good and their VIP system also rewards lower volume/lower limit players. My contacts who play FL have told me that there is enough traffic in the evenings to keep them busy, however it is pretty quiet during the day. So I would recommend that you try your hand at FL by playing a couple of hours in the evening on iPoker.

If you decide you want to play it full time, then ultimately you will need to go to Stars, since they are the only network with enough FL traffic to support a full time player. But for this starting period, William Hill will definitely offer you better value and softer tables.

Originally posted by Dublimax
Nothing about the rake?

imo the first thing you should be looking when you play HU is the rake you pay on the diff rooms because rake is high generally speaking but can be huge depending on the rooms and good rakeback deal etc would be secondary.
PokerStars has the lowest HU rake all stakes (starts at NL50 but you don't want to play less than NL50 anyway because of the very high rake)

I agree that the rake is an important factor for HU games, since it directly impacts your overall profitability. However, Stars also has the toughest tables of any network, so your actual win-rate will be lower there than anywhere else. Between VIP rakeback and increased win-rate, you can offset the increased amount of rake outside of Stars, especially when you add in affiliate promotions for the rooms.

Sometimes I have the freedom to encourage people to focus on win-rate, which imo is far more important than rakeback, but if they specify that they would like somewhere that offers that facility, then I do my best to oblige, whilst still making sure that they get the most value back.

I think Stars is a good all round choice, but you can squeeze more value out of the smaller networks, despite the less than perfect rake structures they use. Ofc, this is just my opinion and I want to offer the best guidance I can overall, so I appreciate the input.

Originally posted by DtotheC

Originally posted by Dublimax
Nothing about the rake?

imo the first thing you should be looking when you play HU is the rake you pay on the diff rooms because rake is high generally speaking but can be huge depending on the rooms and good rakeback deal etc would be secondary.
PokerStars has the lowest HU rake all stakes (starts at NL50 but you don't want to play less than NL50 anyway because of the very high rake)

I agree that the rake is an important factor for HU games, since it directly impacts your overall profitability. However, Stars also has the toughest tables of any network, so your actual win-rate will be lower there than anywhere else. Between VIP rakeback and increased win-rate, you can offset the increased amount of rake outside of Stars, especially when you add in affiliate promotions for the rooms.

Sometimes I have the freedom to encourage people to focus on win-rate, which imo is far more important than rakeback, but if they specify that they would like somewhere that offers that facility, then I do my best to oblige, whilst still making sure that they get the most value back.

Yeah for sure, you obliged to players requests which you have done very well.
I just though that mentioning rake was very important for HU because the difference in terms of bb can be as high as 7-8bb/100.

Originally posted by Dublimax
Yeah for sure, you obliged to players requests which you have done very well.
I just though that mentioning rake was very important for HU because the difference in terms of bb can be as high as 7-8bb/100.

Yeah completely agree. Not being HU player myself, it can easy to forget just how big a difference it can make in terms of BB per 100. It is one of the reasons I don't send many HU or higher volume players to PKR, because the rake is 10% at the micros. If you play just 1-2 tables for a few hours a week, then I think the big increase in win-rate still makes it a more profitable room than Stars though.