PokerStars Review
PokerStars is the largest poker site online & the biggest games.
With games to suit all players, PokerStars is an ideal for tournament & ring game players. Poker Stars offers also the most WSOP qualifiers online and also boasts 3 WSOP winners.
| Bonus: 100% up to £400 | Bonus Code: STARS400 |
| Peak Players: 45,000 | Network: Independent |
| Fish Factor: 6/10 | Established: 2000 |
Ups: Tournament range, best WSOP / WPT qualifiers online & class site.
Downs: Generally a tougher site with class players at the top, juicy at the lower limits.
Scrawnybob’s Review of PokerStars:
Poker Stars was the breeding ground for 3 World Series of Poker – Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer & Joe Hachem and has the most online qualifiers for the WSOP / WPT. PokerStars has grown past all of the competition including Party Poker and now boasts the highest volume of tournaments online and ring game traffic. With a reputation for having very tough games across the board – It’s massive growth means this isn’t the case anymore. OK the mid to high limit games can be tough but this is generally the same on any site. The lower limit games are many not as easy to beat as some sites but they have got juicier as the site has grown globally. Poker Stars also have micro-limit games which are typically full of weak players.
PokerStars have now increased their bonus to a more competitive 100% up to £400 bonus (or 100% up to $600). Even better players can accumulate the bonus in three deposits as long as all of the deposits are made within the first 60 days of the first deposit. You must use the bonus code: STARS400
UPDATE: (15-04-12) PokerStars has closed to US players effective from 15th April 2011
PokerStars similar to: Independent
PokerStars is not part of a network and has it’s own proprietary software
PokerStars Bonus:
100% up to £400 1st deposit bonus
Use BONUS CODE: STARS400 when you signup and make sure you use the code again on additional deposits with 60 days of first deposit up to the maximum £400 bonus. The bonus is cleared in £10 increments at clearing at $1 per 17 VPP’s earned. There are also regular re-load bonuses.
PokerStars Bonus Code: STARS400
Minimum Deposit:
Easy Win: Juicy in the low / micro stakes. But at the mid / high limits this isn’t the place for beginners – but if your looking for some quality players to stretch and improve your game this site is definitely for you. With the increased volume it has become a bit more juicy at the micro & low limit games – it’s not tough across the board anymore.
Player Traffic: 44,400 Think quality and class. If you play bad poker then you will be punished in mid to high limits – if you want to take your poker to another level this is where to do it. However there are many more fish that there used to be in the low stakes & micro-limit games.
Member Feedback: Player reviews of PokerStars
PokerStars Forum: 4kingpoker’s PokerStars Forum
Software & Graphics: Good solid and playable. Maybe Poker Stars hasn’t got fancy avatars but the software supports massive tournament traffic maintaining very good speed and has good interface for playing on.
Mac Version: Yes, full downloadable version for Macintosh
Random Number Generator (RNG): Cigital Certified
“Cigital analyzed the source code, entropy sources and documentation for PokerStars’ RNG implementation. In addition, a sample RNG output stream provided by PokerStars was subjected to and passed FIPS 140-2 style testing. Using standard methods for exploiting RNGs and having full access to the source code, Cigital found no weaknesses in the PokerStars RNG, concluding that the implementation adheres to the current state-of-the-practice in generating random seed values.
We are pleased to provide extensive expert analysis of the PokerStars random number generator and act as a trusted advisor. Our analysis shows conclusively that the PokerStars RNG used to generate the poker hands dealt on PokerStars.com makes proper use of statistically random sequences. A safe and fair gaming environment is an important part of any online gaming experience, and PokerStars meets those criteria.”"
Poker Games: Good range, massive traffic in Texas Hold-em including short and heads-up tables. Micro-limit games.
Texas Holdem (limit, pot-limit & no-limit), Omaha (hi, hi-lo & nl hi-lo) 7 Card Stud (hi & hi-lo), Five Card Draw, HORSE & 8-Game Mix, 2-7 Triple Draw, 2-7 Single Draw, Triple Stud, Razz & Badugi
Stakes:
Cash Games:
Tournaments: Vast array of tournaments. World Championship of Online Poker & World Cup of Poker. Lots of qualifiers to the WSOP / WPT.
Promotions: Frequent Player Points for entry to special tournaments.
Billionth Hand celebrations does exactly what it says on the tin, every billion hands dealt on PokerStars comes with prizes and bonuses for those sat at the table that each billionth hand is dealt at and with build-up landmark hands getting rewarded too.
Deposit Options: eChecks (Canadian players only), NETeller, Central Coin, VISA / VISA Delta / VISA Electron / Gift and Prepaid VISA, MasterCard / Gift and Prepaid MasterCard, ePassporte, Diners Club International, Solo / Maestro / Switch (UK players only), Cashier’s Check / Money Order / Bank Draft, Local Bank Wire Transfer, Online Bank Transfer (Dutch players only) & paysafecard
Withdrawal Methods: eChecks (Canadian players only), NETeller, Central Coin, VISA / VISA Delta / VISA Electron / Gift and Prepaid VISA, MasterCard / Gift and Prepaid MasterCard, ePassporte, Diners Club International, Solo / Maestro / Switch (UK players only), Cashier’s Check / Money Order / Bank Draft, Local Bank Wire Transfer, Online Bank Transfer (Dutch players only) & paysafecard
Established:
Security: Rock solid biggest player in the market.
Customer Support: 24/7 Email support.
System Requirements:
Verdict: PokerStars is simply the biggest poker site online by a very substantial margin. This means they offer the biggest tournaments, qualifiers and the biggest range of cash games 24/7 but unfortunately no longer for US players.
If your not a big tournament player then there are smaller yet easier to win cash games available at other sites. But ultimately PokerStars does everything you need very well and in quantity.
use BONUS CODE: STARS400 for a 100% up to £400 bonus