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Party Poker - Site Review |
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The Quick
Summary
Party Poker is a monster
among online poker
sites. They are one of
the biggest rooms with
tremendous player action
at any time of the day.
They did suffer a costly
hit to their player base
when they decided to
exclude US customers as
a response to US
legislation towards
online gaming. Party
Poker’s
outstanding marketing
efforts have resulted in
a rebound of player
traffic and they are
once again on the rise. |
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Popularity:
No doubt about it: if
you want action, you got
it at Party Poker. They
have more players than
most any other poker
site. Party Poker got a
popularity boost when
they acquired
broadcasting rights for
the World Poker Tour, an
advantage they have
taken care not to lose
by constantly coming up
with promotions that
appeal to players around
the world. You can
expect to find action at
any table stakes at all
times of the day and
night. |
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Security:
Even with such a massive
volume of players, Party
Poker has not faced any
significant security or
financial breaches. They
are audited by ItechLabs
and – since they are
listed on the London
Stock Exchange Market –
all their financial
information and security
procedures are available
for public inspection. |
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Player
Competition:
The competition at Party
Poker is soft. They have
instituted a very
friendly advertising
campaign equating poker
with a more
light-hearted party
approach rather than a
hard core grinder
mentality. Expect loose
play if not a bit
unorthodox thanks to the
droves of new poker
players brought in by
Party Poker’s marketing
programs. This is mostly
true for the lower limit
games but you can find
soft games even at $2/$4
in No Limit and $5/$10
in Fixed Limit. |
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Site Software:
Party Poker uses
proprietary software,
meaning that it is not
part of a network, but
rather it has been
independently developed
to have unique features
and great functionality.
Tables have a nice
design, but the avatars
and graphics are not
extraordinary. The sound
effects are crisp and
appropriate but players
who prefer it quiet can
turn them off
completely. Players can
also choose from a
selection of cartoon
avatars which goes with
the light-hearted party
theme of the poker room.
The software is fast and
easy to use. The hand
history feature is
functional and useful,
as is the note-taking
feature. The lobby
provides useful
statistics such as
average pot size and
hands played by hour. On
top of this, Party
Poker’s software
supports the automated
import of tournament and
ring-game data to Poker
Tracker.
At Party Poker you can
multi-table up to twelve
tables at the same time,
confident that the
software will run
smoothly and free of
problems or
disconnections. You also
have the option to
resize all tables save
for Omaha and Seven-Card
Stud games. |
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Customer
Support:
Party Poker has great
customer service support
through either 24-hr
toll free number or
e-mail. The phone
support is excellent:
agents are knowledgeable
and friendly, always
reminding players of the
latest promotions and
perks. E-mail support
has been known to
occasionally take too
long to respond,
although replies are
always accurate. A major
letdown with Party Poker
is their lack of live
chat support, which is
very convenient for
today’s busy players. |
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Company Ethics:
Party Poker is committed
to ensuring responsible
gaming. They comply with
all legislations and
regulations. Party Poker
also provides
self-exclusion tools,
customer deposit limits,
as well as not allowing
access to minors. As one
of the biggest online
poker sites, they are
fully committed with
GamCare, a foundation
that develops policies
and practices to target
problem gambling in
accordance with their
Social Responsibility
Code of Conduct. |
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Site Promotions:
Party Poker offers a
good variety of
promotions and bonuses:
given their high player
volume they can afford
more generous bonuses
than smaller sites.
Another attractive Party
Poker feature is their
large number of
exclusive tournaments,
both online – such as
the Sunday 300K
Guaranteed – and live
events, such as the
lavish Party Poker
Million tourney played
every year on a cruise
ship. |
