Online Poker Room Review Standards
I am no expert at poker however I play all the time and I play at each of the rooms I review to some degree or another.
You are going to find other sites that will give a more detailed review of online poker rooms however I play each of these rooms and because of that I feel I can give a more personalized review than simply notating statistics as other poker review sites do.
Each has their own benefits and drawbacks, which I detail in this section. I can only tell you what I have found to be helpful or a hinderance for me. You need to make your own decisions by playing these rooms yourself.
I will detail out the each rooms real money deposit matching policies, if any, their withdrawal procedures, recharging of play chips (my speciality) and other useful tips for playing at tables and in tournaments.
I will give you details on how to use the software, where the hidden "cool things" are to be found, how to locate and get into the freeroll tournaments, and so forth.
Online Poker Room Review Rating Calculations
In the reviews I look at many factors other than what I use to rate the room. (see below)
I base my reviews on many different factors. There is a maximun of 100 points that can be earned by any online poker room. Currently I am only rating free money games. Once I start playing with real money, those game and tournament types will also be included.
Online Poker Room Review Criteria
I base my reviews on the following criteria:
- Software stability & usability
- Deposit security & ease of withdrawal
- Tournament availability
- Freerolls
- Sit n Go
- Points earnability
- Freeplay options
- Support
I am sure that there are more items that could be listed here but, to me, these are the most important. You must play each online poker room to make your own determination of which room you prefer to play in.
Software Usability
Online poker rooms are only as good as their software. Some software locks up on you, others don't. In this area I will detail each room's software's good points and bad.
Deposit Security & withdrawals
If you play with real money you want to be sure that your deposits are safe and that your winning can be withdrawn easily.
With the restrictions through legislation by the American government on online gambling, it is harder for US players to withdraw their money however each room knows that the US players comprise a large percentage of their customer base. Some rooms simply do not allow US players at all, others have found a way around the new legislation by using online money transfer methods such as EWallet.
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Tournaments
Tournaments are a great way to improve your skills against the various player types (conservative vs. aggressive, solid vs. loose) as well as the potential of winning a large amount of cash &/or points with a small outlay of your own money called the buy-in.
Each player's buy-in is added to the total prize awards. Some tournaments only payout to the 1st place winner but usually they split the pot according to a percentage calculation for each placement. Some tournaments will pay out to many lower levels.
Points
Points are earned in various ways according to each individual poker room. Some online poker rooms have different types of points.
Points can be used to buy into tournaments or purchase merchandise such as T-Shirts and caps from the online store on the poker site.
Freeplay
Being able to play for free is essential for new players. It is through this that you develop your basic understanding of the game and hone your skills in betting, bluffing and competition against other players.
Each room has it's own policies on re-loading your free chips. Some rooms, such as Doyle's Room, will not allow a re-load at all. Other sites, such as Bodog, will allow re-loads at any time you go below a certain amount of free chips in your account.
The policy for each room will dictate how long you can play on that particular site. If you have limited re-loads, or none at all, your time on that site will also be limited when
Support
Whether you play with free chips or real money, the quality of the support offered in the online poker room is very important. To be able to get a quick and concise answer to your question is of primary importance not only to your game but also to the credibility of the site.
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