Poker Stars - Details

Game Variety (9)

PokerStars offers great game variety, with the world's leading heads-up action and the highest volume in all major games, including of course Limit and No-Limit Texas Hold'em and both Hi and Hi-Lo versions of Omaha and Seven-Card Stud.

The site also offers No-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo games, H.O.R.S.E., H.O.S.E., 2-7 Triple Draw, Five-Card Draw, Razz, 2-7 Single Draw Lowball and Badugi, plus three new mixed game formats – 8-Game, Mixed Hold’em and Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo.

PokerStars also started the micro-limit table trend when they introduced games for as little as 1¢/2¢ in Hold'em and Omaha Hi. At these micro-limit tables, there is no rake. Sit-and-go tournaments as a standard have a 10-minute increase in blinds, instead of the 10-hands limit practiced at many other sites. Players also get $1,500 in chips, resulting in more play and better odds for the good players. For players looking for faster action PokerStars spreads turbo tournaments with faster blind levels.

The Hold'em tournament tables seat nine players, as do the No-Limit and Pot-Limit Hold'em and Omaha ring-game tables. Fixed-Limit ring-game tables seat 10 players. One more aspect of PokerStars that makes the site unique is players can play any type of poker in tournament form, as opposed to most sites where only Omaha and Hold'em are spread in tournaments.

The very large player base ensures action at all varieties and stakes, making PokerStars a great site for all players.

Ring Game Traffic (10)

Ring game traffic at PokerStars is number one in the world. A relatively large amount of the players are also European and Australian, which makes the site very busy at all times of the day. PokerStars has peak cash-game traffic of 22,500 real-money players at peak hours as of December 2008.

Soft Competition (8)

The ring games at the higher limits tend to be pretty tough at PokerStars, and the viewed-flopped percentages at these limits are fairly low - meaning tighter than the industry standard for the same limits. On the positive side, there are many games to choose from and plenty of good players know how to exploit the tighter games.

For example, at the nine-player No-Limit Hold'em tables ($1/$2 and up), the viewed-flop percentage is often in the mid 20s and low 30s. In Omaha, there are some loose games with viewed-flop percentages up in the 40s and 50s, sometimes even in the 60% range (at $1/$2 and up). As a result of the steady influx of new players and the great game variety, the ring games have become softer and softer. In short, there is no problem finding suitable competition for all skill levels.

The tournament player quality is of a more varying level than the ring games and tends to be much softer. Of course, there are mostly strong players in high-stakes sit-and-gos and the main fixed schedule events. However, a lot of non-experts take part as well because, as the online tournament leader, PokerStars attracts many new tournament players.

In short, the competition is of average toughness in the ring games, with softer opposition in most of the tournaments. PokerStars does however recommend players think twice before trying to take on the highest stakes, since they are inhabited by some very talented and aggressive players.

Rake (7)

The rake at PokerStars is slightly below the industry average, with better offers at micro-levels and somewhat better at the highest stakes. All No-Limit games are raked at 5% with a maximum of $1 and $3 per hand depending on the number of players dealt cards at the table. The rake taken at Fixed-Limit tables also varies depending on the limits and number of players dealt cards in the hand. The average rake is 5%, with slightly better rates at the highest stakes tables and reasonable max. rakes at every level.

Support (8)

Overall, PokerStars boasts quick e-mail support bolstered by a knowledgeable and friendly staff. However, there is no live or telephone support at this time.

Financial Security (9)

Excellent. PokerStars has very good financial backing, is profitable, has no recorded financial problems and is the largest poker site in the world.

Deposit & Withdrawal Options (8)

Deposit Options: eCheck, VISA (Delta, Electron, Gift and Prepaid), MasterCard (Gift and Prepaid), Neteller, Diners Club International, ClickandBuy, Moneybookers, Solo/Maestro/Switch, cashier's check/money order/bank draft (minimum deposit of $100), local bank transfer, ELV, online bank transfer, Paysafe card, WebMoney.

Withdrawal Options: Visa, Neteller, Moneybookers, ClickandBuy, WebMoney, check, couriered check, direct bank tansfer.

• Visit Poker Stars
• Direct Download