Overall: 4
Absolute Poker is another fairly new site
that has been attracting a decent number of new players
due to their huge deposit bonus. While it may be a nice
initial promotion, you should always remember to look at
the all-around aspects of a poker room before deciding
to sign up. Moving on, I have been impressed with the
professional nature of this site and it was neat to see
their sponsored player (Mark Seif) win a couple of
bracelets at the 2005 WSOP. Best features include a good
software package, a decent deposit bonus, and the
players are very timid at both ring games and
tournaments. Overall, this is a new-player-friendly site
that best excels in fixed-limit games
Bonus: 4 (200%
up to $200)
The actual amount of the
Absolute bonus is pretty large at 200%. You’ll
need to use bonus code “BTFBONUS” at signup to
qualify for the bonus. You can use this up to $200, so
depositing $200 would get you the maximum bonus amount.
Low-limit players may have a tough time earning the
bonus, as you’ll need to play 100 raked hands (of at
least 25c in rake) to clear each $10 of bonus. If you
are playing at the micro-limits, you might want to look
for tables with higher average pots, and/or play
multiple tables to clear this bonus. For larger players,
this can be a nice promotion that will clear pretty
quickly if you play mainly on this site for a while.
♣ Bonus code "BTFBONUS" will get you a
200% bonus, good up to $200.
Promotions: 4
Absolute does offer a decent amount of
promotions like the initial deposit bonus. Other
promotions include an extensive player loyalty program,
which mainly rewards players with freerolls and free
merchandise (hats, shirts, etc.) through their store.
The store offers some quality items, so I give
Absolute points for rewarding regular
players. Also, the freerolls that require player points
are much more desirable than the no-requirement events.
They are usually limited to 200 players or less, which
makes it a little less of a crapshoot. This site also
offers a ton of $50 lucky-draw free-for-all craziness
freerolls every day, and I’m constantly amazed at how
popular they are. You’ll usually be up against 2000
players and playing for 5 hours to win $10 if you get
lucky. Stick to the actual buy-in events, or put in a
few bucks and play a micro-limit ring game.
Fish: 3
For the most part, players at this site seem to be
weak-tight even at the lower limits. At
Absolute, I’ll open up my game a bit and
steal more blinds against timid players. The benefit of
constantly raising weak players is that at times you
will have a monster hand and the self-imposed sheriffs
of the table will try to push you out of the pot. You
will find a maniac or two usually at the tables, but the
flop percentage usually runs about 35-40%. They do offer
a decent no-limit ring game selection, but you usually
won’t find many tables going at decent stakes during
off-peak hours. However, fixed limit tables seem to be
more popular and fill up at higher stakes at all hours.
Tournaments: 4
Tournament action is decent at
Absolute, and they do offer a pretty good
range in terms of buy-ins. Small-stakes players will
find 200-300 entrants for events under $10, and larger
buy-ins do attract a good amount of traffic. This site
is also one of the better choices if you’re looking for
WSOP satellite action. Sit ‘n Go tourneys are also
pretty popular, so you won’t be waiting long to get a
game going. The freerolls are very popular, which run 15
or 20 times daily, but they are for very small prizes
and aren’t usually worth your time. Overall, the
tournament variety and traffic is strong at this site.
Software: 4.5
I find the graphics and color to be pretty attractive at
Absolute. Players have the ability to upload
their own image for use as their avatar, which helps you
be original at the table. The lobby is very easy to
understand, and most games run very quickly. The hand
history shows a complete graphic of the table and
everyone’s cards if they stayed in to the showdown, so
that is another positive. Overall, the software is very
playable and is one of the best features of the site. I
just wish that they would’ve kept around the “snack bar”
feature.
Best Features
-Good deposit bonus. While it can take a longer to
clear, the actual bonus amount is large.
-Weak player base. The best way to describe them is
weak-tight.
-Player rewards program. Earn points for playing on the
site.
-Attractive software package. A smooth interface with a
good hand history feature.
Cashouts: 5
I have initiated a number of cashouts to my NETeller
account from
Absolute, and they’ve always been very prompt
(within the next day). One feature that I like about
their cashouts is the ability to cashout to a different
method than you deposited through.
Customer Service: 4
They only offer e-mail support, and I’ve had better
response times. They have always been helpful when they
do get back with me, but it may take them a little
longer than other sites.
Game Selection: Hold'em, Omaha, Stud
Limits: Fixed Limit: .02/.04 - $50/100
No Limit: .05/.10 - $5/10
Tips
Even though the majority of
Absolute Poker players seem to be weak-tight,
I often find the resident maniac at my table. If you
have the choice, you always want maniacs sitting on your
right and tighter players on your left. Why? If you have
a maniac who’s always raising on your right, you can
easily drop mediocre hands and get to reraise your big
hands. If you have tighter players on your left, you can
easily force them out with a raise and thin the field.
If you’re constantly getting raised by the table maniac,
play even tighter and snap him off when you do hit a
monster. Consider slowplaying maniacal opponents, since
they like to take control of the hand and you can
extract more money from them.
Click
here to visit Absolute Poker.
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