Overall: 4.5
Party Poker is the staple of online poker,
mostly known for its enormous volume of players and some
of the loosest players online. While you shouldn’t
choose a new poker site based solely on popularity, this
site is strong on other merits such as their large
number of inexperienced players, an extremely busy
tournament schedule, and good customer service. They're
always first or second in terms of player traffic, and
their biggest advantage over the competition is the
sheer volume of filled tables at all limits on their
network. Since they regularly top 70,000 players at peak
hours, you don’t have to wait for new tables to open up.
I also appreciate the new effort to cater to new players
through deposit bonuses and other promotions, while
still upgrading their loyalty program to regulars.
Scoring high in our ratings, this is a well-rounded site
overall.
Bonus: 4.5 ($25
free or 20%)
Unfortunately they don’t publicize a deposit bonus
directly through their home page. However, you’re
eligible for two exclusive bonuses through our site.
Firstly, you can get a $25 flat bonus on any deposit. To
receive the $25 free, visit the
Party Poker homepage, download the software,
and use bonus code “PP25CASH”. I like this bonus
since it is awarded regardless of how much you deposit.
If you’re deposit more than $100 or so, it might make
more sense to go with our second bonus. It’s a 20%
bonus, which can get you up to $100. To receive the 20%
bonus, visit the
Party Poker homepage, download the software,
and use bonus code “HP20”. Both of these bonuses
don’t require much action on your part to cash it out,
so I give it a high score.
Promotions: 5
Being such a large poker site,
Party Poker offers a bunch of promotions to
its players. Firstly, you can enter a $5,000 freeroll as
a new player. You’ll be up against a large field, but
it’s pretty generous for a freeroll. Another new feature
is the assortment of “Beginner’s Tables”, which are
played at limits down to 2/4 cents. Note that you’ll
only be able to play these micro-limit tables for a few
weeks. After that, you’ll need to move up to the normal
stakes. They also run a weekly $200,000 guaranteed
event, which is double what many sites offer. The Sit ‘n
Go Step tournaments are also fun, which is a ladder-type
event that allows top finishers to move up. If you don’t
do very well, they give you another shot at the same (or
lower) level. Also, they run satellites for the
PartyPoker.com Million, which is a huge WPT-sponsored
event that takes place annually aboard a cruise ship. It
seems like a cool event, but does it have to be limit
Hold‘em?
Fish: 4
Party Poker seems to have the reputation of
being the fish tank for online poker. While they do
attract plenty of inexperienced players via their
advertisements, the tables aren’t overflowing with
pathetically second-rate competition. That being said,
these tables are still some of the loosest that you’ll
find online. Average pot sizes and flop percentages are
both generally higher-than-average, and most players are
easily beatable for even average. If you’re new to
poker, you’ll still find plenty of players at your skill
level here. Most players don’t know when to give up
bottom pair, and the bluff percentage seems to be higher
at
Party than other sites. Of course, you’ll
find the occasional tight-aggressive player at your
table, but you should be able to tag and avoid him for
future hands.
Tournaments: 5
Party Poker is probably in the top two for
both multi-table tournaments and Sit ‘n Gos. Because of
the huge number of players at this site, you can always
find a Sit ‘n Go at all stakes waiting to be played. An
interesting idea that only works on such a big site is
the multi-table Sit ‘n Go, which actually get going
pretty quickly. Even limit tournaments are popular here.
In terms of larger multi-table events, they do offer a
good amount of mini buy-in events under $10 for players
on a small bankroll, but serious tournament players will
still find several hundred opponents in larger buy-in
events. The $500,000 guaranteed event is their biggest
weekly tournament promotion. The buy-in isn't huge, so
serious tournament players should appreciate this event. Finally, you can find
scattered freerolls that can only be entered with Player
Points, which limits the field and makes skill more
important.
Software: 4
To sum it up, the
Party Poker software isn’t super-advanced but
it does have the necessities. On a side note, I’m
constantly surprised at how important casual poker
players think that the software is. If it is stable, has
decent graphics, allows you to easily find a table, and
plays at a quick pace, what else do you really need?
Anyway, the graphics are decent here, and the hand
history feature is pretty extensive. You’ll be able to
everyone’s hole cards at the showdown even if they
mucked the hand, so that is one advantage. The lobby is
also laid out in a logical format, so you can find your
desired game pretty quickly.
Party has recently upgraded their software to
include features like Blackjack, side bets on the color
of the flop, and the ability to make tournament deals.
While the tournament feature is handy, I recommend that
you stay away from the other new features since they
always have a house edge. Other new positive upgrades
include listing all tables by the amount of the blinds,
an upgrade in the overall presentation, a more logical
lobby layout, and best of all, the ability to cascade,
resize, and tile multiple tables.
Best Features
-The most players online. The biggest advantage of this
site is that you'll never have trouble finding full
games at your desired variation or limit.
-Busy high-stakes action. Larger players will find
plenty of active tables.
-Very loose tables. Still attracting plenty of new
players, this is still a very fishy site.
-Good deposit bonuses. You have a couple of choices and
I like the flat $25 bonus as it is good regardless of
how much your deposit.
-Plenty of tournaments. With their massive traffic they
hold some huge events.
Cashouts: 5
Obviously,
Party Poker wouldn’t jeopardize their
enormous player base by annoying players with sub-par
cashouts. You’re now able to directly link up your bank
account with them, so you can easily deposit and
withdraw your money without any fees. Cashouts are
generally processed within 12-24 hours, so you won’t run
into any problems in this category.
Customer Service: 4.5
They automatically get a good score for offering
telephone support, which is a step up on many poker
sites. E-mail support time is decent, but I recommend
giving them a call if you have an immediate concern.
Game Selection: Hold'em, Omaha, Stud
Limits: Fixed Limit: .50/$1 - $100/200
No Limit: .10/.25 - $10/20
Tips
Playing at
Party Poker, you’ll often be up against
frequent bluffers or opponents who bet out with weak
draws. While I usually recommend a tight-aggressive
strategy in which you should probably have a good draw,
top pair, or better to continue after the flop, you may
run into a few interesting situations playing here. If
you have position on your opponent and you’ve flopped at
least one pair, you can consider just smooth-calling
your opponent. You should usually do this against just
one opponent, since you’ll usually be beat against more
than that. If you think that your opponent is
over-betting the pot, or you’re up against a frequent
bluffer, it is often profitable to call him down. You
may improve on the turn or river, and you might even
consider throwing in a raise on the flop to see where
you stand in the hand.
Click
here to visit Party Poker.
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