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Poker.com Review by Jake Thompson
Poker.com: The Review
By Jake Thompson
Signing Up:
The signup process was painless as can be. It was pretty much standard stuff. Took a few minutes to download the software and enter my information and that was that. If you are depositing via credit card, they do make you complete a quick phone call for security. You tell the automated system your name and state, as well as entering in the 7-digit code given to you when the screen prompts you to make the call. Took all of thirty seconds and my deposit was in my account and I was ready to play.
The Layout:
This took just a few minutes getting used to but is not an obstacle at all. When you log in, the top 3 options are “Poker Tables”, “Blackjack”, and “Tournaments”. The freerolls (we will definitely discuss these later on) are listed under “Tournaments”, and you can find any size game you want with numerous blinds/limits under “Poker Tables”. A great feature of the site is, under “Tournaments”, you can join a customized tourney. Everyone pitches in 5 bucks or whatever the amount is set at, and you go at it with either 6 or 10 people with 1000 imaginary bucks. Top 2-3 spots split the cash. If you like final tables but don’t want to sit through 2000 guys to get one, you’ll appreciate this. Finding one of these is extremely easy as they appear to be popular.
Further down you find “Options” where you can customize your settings including your star rating. You gain the stars by playing games and tournaments as well as winning good hands. So far I am up to two bronze stars. Silver and gold are next up when I complete my bronze. If you have a few gold stars and don’t want people to know you have played quite a bit, you can disable the star rating under “Options”.
“Cashier” and “Player Admin” are the next ones down. Under cashier, you can deposit, withdrawal, and check the coupons (related to the freerolls, you’ll see). “Player Admin” takes you to the actual Poker.com website to log in and mess around with that. They have a forum, blog, and quite a bit of other information on the website. Only thing is, the Poker.com client takes up a lot of memory so on my computer the website slows my computer a little bit.
The Game Play:
Everything is set out pretty easily to figure out if you have watched or played any poker before. You have your standard check, bet, check/fold, raise, etc… If you don’t know what one means, it is explained on the website’s FAQ.
Another great thing (which I just now noticed) is that at the bottom of the screen they display recent big pots that have been won by their customers. The only reason I noticed it is my name flashed by on the bottom as I was writing this. Not a bad touch. When the hand is decided you can do the standard show or much, as well as a rabbit feature which shows everyone your cards as well as what the rest of the communal cards would have been. I love to bust out the rabbit when everyone folds and I’m left in the big blind with my unsuited 2, 5.
I have only really played the lower-limit games thus far but I’ve been doing fairly well. I now have twelve times my original deposit in about ten days of playing. You can usually find me at .25/.50, .50/$1, or $1/$2 tables for now. The next move up is $10/$20 so I’m trying to strengthen my bankroll a little before I start in with the big boys.
The Freerolls:
Perhaps my favorite part of my experience at poker.com is the freerolls. They offer tons and tons of these bad boys. The $200 freerolls seem to pop up about every 2 or 3 hours and usually have around 2000 people in them. Good to join and see what happens but it’s not the greatest way to make cash unless you win. However, like I said, it’s free. I like to go all-in a few times at the beginning and then leave the game alone. Eventually I’ll come back an hour later and there will only be 100 guys left.
They also have $500 daily freerolls that players need a coupon to get into. I can’t figure out if the $500 coupon is based on being online that day or raked hands, but either way, the requirement is pretty easy to achieve to get in. Usually about 1000 people in these and the prize money is better.
Then we have the big daddy. The daily $3000 freeroll which I believe takes around 300 played raked hands that day to get into. This is the moneymaker. Only about 300 or so people jump in this one on average and the top ten prizes are sweet. If you happen to be in the top spot at the end of this one, you net $780. These are daily, and free if you play enough raked hands. Great promo and I try to never miss one of these.
The Customer Service:
I’m still a little leaning on this one but for the most part it has been great. I have been bugging these guys with all sorts of dumb questions and have always gotten quick responses. The only thing that has bothered me is that I emailed them my information for my withdrawal (more on this below) and it was apparently lost or not processed. Luckily I had saved a copy so it wasn’t a big deal and not all players even have to go through this process so it’s somewhat of a moot point.
Overall, the customer service folks were very helpful so I’ll give them the A-minus on this one. Sorry for bugging you guys!
The Withdrawal Process (READ IF YOU USE A CREDIT CARD TO DEPOSIT):
This one was kind of a pain only because I did not read the rules before I started playing. If you deposit via a credit card and plan to withdraw the cash, they have some strict security checks to determine you are who you say.
I had to fill out the form of all my information (which I mentioned above under “Customer Service” and then I had to fax them a copy of the front and bank of both my drivers’ license and credit card. The Kinko’s guy did it for free for me so it wasn’t too much of a pain, but plan on having to do this if you deposit with a credit card.
The only other thing that bothers me a little is that they do not do withdrawals into your bank account, or at least I can’t find it. I have to go through Neteller to get out my money so it just takes a day or two more than normal. If anyone knows how to withdraw to my bank at poker.com, let me know. Thanks.
Playing Some Hands:
I have been playing a lot and been making money but so far my best hands have been 4 of a kind in both Kings and Jacks.
Playing at the freeroll, I saw back to back straight flushes which were pretty neat. Unfortunately, I was not part of the pot on that one.
Bad beats are somewhat common at poker.com as a lot of people like to play their cards to the last spot but you can definitely make money playing there. One of my bad beat stories which killed me was betting the pot big with 5, 5 after the flop came A, 10, 5. I was feeling good and was ready to try to get those with A’s and 10’s to make a big bet and they definitely did. Anyway, we got the pot built up nice and big only to have another Ace come on the river to beat me. Anyway, I played solid poker and don’t feel too bad about the lost money on that one.
Overall:
I really have enjoyed my stay at Poker.com and will continue to play there. Although it seems some things are a little bit harder than they need to be, ultimately it is for my own safety and security that they do them, and I’m okay with that.
The poker games are great and you have a ton of options. Customer service (guy that responded was actually named Harry Pitts, how great is that!) has been superb as well. I like this a lot better than what I’ve seen at Ultimate Bet.
All in all, a great experience and I would recommend this one to pretty much anyone. Old and new, experienced and inexperienced, rich or poor. It really has everything that I need and these guys definitely have earned an A in my book.
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