Paradise Poker Review
Paradise Poker is one of the oldest poker rooms on the internet. During the poker Boom in the early part of this century, Paradise Poker had the reputation of having tight, solid US Players. In the late part of 2006, the UIGEA was passed (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) and with that in mind Paradise left the US market until further notice. This has had an impact on the number of players at its website.
The sites owners (SportingBet PLC) have recently decided to join the International Poker Network which has led to both an increase in traffic and a larger variety of games.
However, is it any good to play on? Does it look nice? Does the software work well? Is it too slow?
Can you play in the game's you want when you want?
In all of these reviews we will list what we consider to be the good points and the bad points of each of the poker sites. Liking a particular poker site is pretty subjective and we will all have our favourites but some sites manage to make the experience a little nicer than others.
SCREENSHOTS
;)
;)
;)
POSITIVES
Large selection of games
Pretty much every kind of poker game is available at Paradise Poker. Another great feature are the low starting limits for newer players. In NL Hold em stakes start as low as $0.02/$0.04 and go to €300/€600 at the higher limits.
Below is a table detailing the available games currently available on Paradise Poker:
| Game | Lowest Limit | Highest Limit | No Limit | Limit | Pot Limit | Game Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Holdem |
$0.02/$0/04
|
€300/€600
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Always |
|
Omaha Hi
|
$0.05/$0/10
|
€300/€600
|
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Always |
|
Omaha Hi/Low
|
$0.05/$0/10
|
€300/€600
|
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Always |
|
7 Card Stud
|
$0.10/$0/20
|
€30/€60
|
No |
Yes |
No |
Always |
|
5 Card Stud
|
$0.02/$0/04
|
£10/20 |
No |
Yes |
No |
Always |
|
5 Card Draw
|
$0.02/$0/04
|
£10/20 |
no |
Yes |
Yes |
Always |
|
Sit N Gos |
$1 +$0.10 |
€10,000 + €500 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Always |
|
Tournaments |
€0.10 + €0.02 |
€1000 + €50 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Every 30 minutes |
Deposit / withdraw
I have to say this is probably one of the best things on the website.
Really easy to use with a variety of payment options:
- Debit/Credit Card
- CLICK2PAY
- NETELLER
- Moneybookers
- Moneytransfers
- Bank Transfers
I even got a phone call from security on my first deposit which is always reassuring.
Bonuses
There are 4 types of bonus to choose from:
€50.00 / €100.00 / €200.00 up to €500.00 Bonus each with a corresponding BonusCode to enter when you make your first deposit. A certain number of FPP (Frequent Player Points) points need to be achieved. These points can then be used either for tournament buy-ins or for cash.
Features
There is a nice statistics feature whilst you are playing available at the bottom left of the screen through the menu. It gives details on the number of games played, percentage of games won , percentage of number of flops seen, percentage won without showdown, percentage won when flop was seen and percentage of showdowns won. From the same menu interface, you are also able to see statistics for the table you are on: Things like average pot size, number of players seeing a flop and the number of hands per hour.
When writing notes on players it brings up a window where you can jot down notes on everyone at the table just by clicking on them rather then having to click on each of them individually. You are also able to resize the tables at will (a very important feature for players wishing to multi table)
Support
There are excellent support options with Paradise Poker. Live support is a feature employed recently to good affect. You literally click on the link and wait for a customer support person to ask you how they can help.
You have the usual e-mail queries in as well as the FAQ area. The support area also gives you access to your hand history and any bonuses you may be entitled to.
NEGATIVES
Player Pool
Although SportingBet have attempted to rectify the issue of traffic numbers going to the website they are still lagging behind the bigger fish in the online poker scene. If you are looking to play some of the less popular poker games (like Omaha Hi/low and Stud), depending on what time of day it is you might end up with a lengthy wait.
Hand History
In order to see your hand history you are re-directed to a web page that opens in a new window. Not as seamlessly designed as on other poker rooms where important features like that might be accessed a few times a session are more easily available.
Overall Design and Feel
Maybe I'm being a bit picky here but the web design / layout feels a little bit dated. The Graphics don't look as smooth as they do on other websites.
If you want to sign up at Paradise Poker then click to get Paradise Poker Rakeback
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