Party Poker
Their witty commercials and huge televised tournaments quickly made Party Poker a household name and the largest online poker room in the world. However, after deciding to stop accepting US players, Party Poker saw more than half their player base disappear. Even so, Party Poker has managed to beat out many sites that continue to be US friendly to remain as one of the biggest poker rooms and well recognized names in the industry. Players will still find plenty of traffic, excellent tournaments, great game selection, and some of the softest competition around.
The birthplace of multi-table SNG’s and “shootout” tourneys, Party Poker is one of the best places for online tournament action. Players will find no shortage of regularly scheduled MTT and SNG’s, tons of satellites/qualifiers to major poker events around the world, and special tournaments including the famous PartyPoker.com Million with its huge guaranteed million dollar prize pool.
For such a large site, the game selection at Party Poker is only decent. All the usual suspects are on offer: Texas Holdem, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven-Card Stud and Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo. Games vary between No-Limit, Pot-Limit and Fixed-Limit, with table limits starting from $0.05/$0.10 up to $100/$200. Given Party Pokers size and traffic, players would be able to find decent table action for all games at any hour.
Party Poker’s software was updated in late 2008. The new software revealed improved graphics, more intuitive navigation, and faster smoother game play. New custom features include a quick-seat feature, live action previews, hand histories, advanced player statistics, personalized avatars and a number of enhanced multi-tabling options. Most players will find the update a nice change from the rather “plain” look of the old software; however, those that prefer to stick with the old and familiar have the option of easily switching back to the classic view.
During their heyday, more than 18,000 ring game and over 95,000 tournament players (Sept 2006) would flood the rooms at Party Poker at peak hours. Those days are long gone, since the shut out their US players, but Party Poker still manages to pull in a very respectable 9,500 ring-game and 60,000 tournament players (May 2009) during their peak hours. Player competition at Party Poker still remains fairly soft, compared to other large poker rooms, but no where near as “fishy” as they once were.
Customer support at Party Poker is pretty good and available 24/7 via telephone (free toll-free numbers) or email. Their phone agents are generally very helpful and very knowledgeable; however the response times for email inquiries can sometimes be a bit long. It would be nice to see them add a live-chat feature at a later date.
Party Poker is still one of the largest and most popular online poker rooms in the world. With new and improved software, some of the best guaranteed tournaments online, and lots of excellent promotions and bonuses, it is no wonder the site remains a player favorite with thousands of players flocking to the site daily. Whether you’re a first time amateur or a seasoned pro, you’re guaranteed to find something to suit your tastes and skill level at Party Poker.
