The 888 Poker room operates on its own proprietary software, and the new software update seems to have led to an increase in the player numbers on the site in the last six months.

888 Poker Bonus

First things first, the 888 Poker bonus is still as good as ever, offering up to $400 at 100% deposit match. One very good point to note about this bonus deal is that you get 25% up front, without having played a single hand of poker.

This is not the standard bonus that most other online poker rooms offer. So if you decide to play online poker and make your first deposit for the maximum bonus and deposit $400, then with this bonus deal you will actually have $500 to play with. You can release the remaining 75% of the bonus by earning player points at the table. You need to earn 10 Bonus Points for each $1 of bonus money. Another good thing about the 888 Poker bonus is that you can earn bonus points for both cash and tournament play.

888 Poker Software

The recent software update included what they call ‘ghost cards’. This is the feature that shows you a faded version of your hole cards when you have folded so that you can see what you might have filled if you had stayed in the hand. You can also turn this feture off if you prefer.

Some other changes include the way that play money and real money are handled. Previously players had to choose which play they wanted before logging in to the site. Now the software uses the more standard system where you can choose the play money tables or real money tables with the same login.

Other areas that have been upgraded are the cashier system and the players bonus page, both of which are now a bit more user friendly.

To be fair here, I don’t think there ever was much of a problem with the old 888 software, but even so the new upgrade makes the whole experience more pleasing.

888 Poker Tournaments

One area that did not need any improvement is the 888 poker tournaments schedule. Even so, they have added Double or Nothing tournies which have seen amazing growth in popularity in recent times.

One other addition to the tournament schedule that is worth noting is the new ‘Challenge’ series of tournies. These tournies run every day with varying gauranteed prizes, the largest of which is the Saturday Challenge with a gauranteed prize pool of $50,000. The buy-ins to these tournies vary also,with the lowest being the $1.00 +10c buy-in to the satellite to the Thursday $10K GTD Challenge.

Vegas Poker 247 – CLOSED

Sadly, less than a year after its launch, VegasPoker247 has closed its doors. All existing players at VegasPoker247 have been
sent to AbsolutePoker now (January 2008). We’re leaving this review here for reasons of posterity.

The Vegas Poker 247 bonus is released in increments of $10. For each 75 player points, $10 bonus will be transferred
to your cash account and you have 60 days to clear the full bonus amount.
You can, of course, check your point total and bonus amounts in the Cashier at anytime.

Vegas Poker 247 software and network

Vegas Poker 247 uses the AbsolutePoker software and player base. Some of the promotions at Vegas Poker are different than those at Absolute Poker, but other than those, most everything is the same.

There is little point in repeating what has already been said about Absolute Poker here. If you are not familiar with the software or netowk please see the
Absolute Poker Review.One point to note is that if you have an account at Absolute Poker you can still
open a new account here at Vegas Poker 247, and claim the large deposit bonus.

The games stakes at Vegas Poker range from a high of $150/$300 limit and $10/$25 no limit, with Holdem, Omaha, 7 card Stud and Razz available, as well as Blackjack.

Banking Options

Vegas Poker 247 have many deposit and withdrawal options available.
These include major credit cards, Click2Pay, Moneybookers, Neteller and UK debit cards.

It should be noted that Vegas Poker 247 recently reduced their credit card deposit limits from $50 to $25.

Deposit limits
Visa and Mastercard minimum deposit of $25, maximum deposit of $600.
neteller and Instacash minimum deposit of $20 and maximum of $25,000.
ePassPorte minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $1,000.
Moneybookers minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $10,000.
Click2Pay minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $2,000.
Add Funds minimum deposit of $25 and maximum deposit of $750.

Western Union minimum deposit of $50 and maximum deposit of $2,000.
UK debit cards minimum deposit of $50 and maximum deposit of $600.

Banking Options for American Players.

Deposit Limits
Deposit methods available to American players are limited to the following;
Visa and Mastercard minimum deposit of $25, maximum deposit of $600.
ePassPorte minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $1,000.
Add Funds minimum deposit of $25 and maximum deposit of $750.

The withdrawal methods available to Americans are limited at the moment to checks and, if you have made a deposit by ePassporte, then ePassporte.

Ultimate Bet Poker Bonus details at a glance

Ultimate Bet Poker – $650 bonus

Make your first deposit at Ultimate Bet Poker and get up to $650 bonus at 100%!

There are many different ways to earn Ultimatepoints. Points earned from real money play will convert the bonus at the rate of $1 bonus for
every ten ultimatepoints. Points are also awarded for tournament play and these convert the bonus at the rate
of $1 bonus for every 30 points.

You can also get ultimatepoints for starting a new real money game, and you get points for the amount of time you spend at the tables.
UltimatePoints will also be awarded in freeroll tournaments, high hand jackpots, participation in
customer surveys, bonuses, awards, and other special events.

You can see how many pending bonus dollars you have pending by clicking on the “My Account” button
in the game. Pending bonus dollars are listed under your real money account information.

Ultimate Bet Poker software and network

Ultimate Bet Poker uses its own custom software, and is part of its own network.

The Ultimate Bet software is unlike most standard poker software and is certainly worth taking a look at. Aside from being nicely quick and smooth,
the tables are round instead of the more usual oval shape, and the software is designed so that ‘you’ are always
sitting at the front of the screen.

Of course, all the expected features are available, including player notes, buddy list, player chat, hand history and a ‘mini view’ feature that is very useful when playing many tables at once.

One small thing
which takes a little getting used to, is the player chat function. In order to chat, you just start typing when the table is active. You might be used to clicking in the chat box at other tables, but you don’t need to here. Just start typing and it will
appear in the chat window.

The games stakes at Ultimate Bet Poker range from a high of $300/$600 limit
and $50/$100 no limit, with Holdem, Omaha, 7 card Stud, Pineapple and Razz available, as well as Blackjack and multi-player blackjack..

Banking Options

Ultimate Bet Poker has a wide range of deposit methods available to its players.
These include major credit cards, Click2Pay, Moneybookers, Neteller and UK debit cards. For US player deposit and withdrawal options see the next section.

Deposit limits
Visa and Mastercard minimum deposit of $50, maximum deposit of $750.
Neteller and Instacash minimum deposit of $25 and maximum of $2,500.

ePassPorte minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $1,000.
Moneybookers minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $10,000.
Click2Pay minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $2,000.
ATM Online minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $1,000.
Western Union minimum deposit of $50 and maximum deposit of $2,000.
UK debit cards minimum deposit of $50 and maximum deposit of $750.

Banking Options for American Players.

Ultimate Bet Poker are dedicated to serving the American market and have a number of deposit options available for their US customers. These
are Visa, Mastercard, ePassporte, Wire Transfer and Check.
The withdrawal methods available to Americans are limited at the moment to checks and, if you have made a deposit by ePassporte, then ePassporte. Existing US players who signed up for a Click2Pay account before January 19th are still able to make withdrawals using Click2Pay.

Deposit Limits
Visa and Mastercard minimum deposit of $50, maximum deposit of $750.
ePassPorte minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $1,000.
Western Union minimum deposit of $50 and maximum deposit of $2,000.
Wire transfer minimum deposit of $25 and no maximum deposit limit.
Bank draft or certified check minimum deposit of $25 and no maximum.

Poker.com – $600 bonus

Use bonus code PG600 at Poker com and get up to $600 bonus at 100%!

This is an exclusive bonus code. If you don’t use it, you will only get the standard bonus amount.

You will need to earn 300 comp points per bonus dollar, and the bonus is released in $10 increments. 300 comp points per dollar may seem high, but you can earn between 3 and 10 points per hand, depending on the table limits. You can also earn points for tournament play.

Poker Com software and network

Poker Com uses its own revolutionary poker software, and, though currently not part of a network, Poker com is building a new network called the Merge Network which is due to launch soon.

Player numbers at Poker com are growing rapidly, and reach over 10,000 at peak hours.

The games stakes at Vegas Poker range from a high of $50/$100 limit and $25/$50 no limit, with Holdem, Omaha, 7
card Stud and 5 card stud, and Razz, 5 card draw and badugi available, as well as Blackjack.

Not many rooms offer 5 card draw poker. Poker com offers pot limit and limit 5 card draw with stakes from $0.05/$0.10 to
$10/$20 but there aren’t many players there currently.

The Poker com software is simply outstanding and is where this poker room really shines. The graphics are very good, the software is sleek and fast, and the gameplay is smooth and uninterrupted.

The usual features are of course present, like chat feature, hand history and player notes.

But it’s the extras that are really worth noting. For example, the Rabbit Hunt. If you win a hand before the river card is dealt, players have the option of clicking the ‘Rabbit Hunt’ button to see what cards were on the way. Another exclusive feature is the ability to ‘Expose One Card’ – you can let your opponents know you weren’t bluffing by showing your ace without showing your deuce kicker! Or do it the other way around to really annoy them! To sample all the unique features you’ll have to download the Poker.com software.

Banking Options

Poker com has the following deposit and withdrawal options available.
Visa and Mastercard credit cards, Click2Pay, Moneybookers, Neteller and myCitadel (Canadian Players only).

Deposit limits
Visa and Mastercard minimum deposit of $25, maximum deposit of $200.
neteller and Instacash minimum deposit of $25 and maximum of $10,000.
Moneybookers minimum deposit of $10 and maximum deposit of $500.
MyCitadel (Canada only) minimum deposit of $10 and maximum deposit of $500.
Click2Pay minimum deposit of $10 and maximum deposit of $500.

Banking Options for American Players.

Deposit Limits
Deposit methods available to American players are limited to the following;
Visa and Mastercard minimum deposit of $25, maximum deposit of $200.

The withdrawal methods available to Americans are limited at the moment to checks and if you have an existing Click2Pay account, then Click2Pay.

Absolute Poker Bonus details at a glance

AbsolutePoker – $500 bonus

Use bonus code AP500 at Absolute Poker and get up to $500 bonus at 100%!

For each raked hand (minimum rake of $0.50) you play and reach the flop you will receive 1 point.
You will also receive 1 point for each $1 of tournament buy-in fee, rounded up to the closest whole number.
For example a $10 tourney will generate $0.90 in fees
and will earn 1 point.

This bonus is released in increments of $10. Everytime you reach 75 player points, $10 will be transferred
from your Pending Bonus account to your cash account. You have 60 days to clear the full bonus amount.
You can check your point total and bonus amounts anytime at the Cashier.

AbsolutePoker software and network

Absolute Poker uses its own custom software, and is not part of any network. Although recently, VegasPoker247 launched using the absolutepoker software and player base, so technically
that does make them a network. Either way, player numbers are respectable and Absolute Poker is firmly in the second tier of poker rooms in this respect, with up to 20,000 players logged in at peak times.

The Absolute poker software is fully functional and reasonably fast and easy to use. The tables are 9 seat instead of the more usual 10 seat ones. The short-handed tables are the standard 6 seater ones.
However, they still use a full size table, which is nice.

Players can upload their own picture to use as an avatar at the tables. Other functions includes a ‘player note’ function, which is useful, but is becoming standard at most rooms now.
AbsolutePoker also has the Replay utility which is very useful, especially for beginners. The chat function can be moved from the small window to its own window, and includes the ability to use smiley faces or emoticons if you wish. Of course,
all sorts of statistics about your play are available at the tables.

The games stakes at Absolute range from a high of $150/$300 limit and $10/$25 no limit, with Holdem, Omaha, 7 card Stud and Razz available, as well as Blackjack.

Banking Options

Banking at AbsolutePoker has become a little tricky for American players.
For all other players there are many deposit and withdrawal options available.
These include major credit cards, Click2Pay, Moneybookers, Neteller and UK debit cards.

Deposit limits
Visa and Mastercard minimum deposit of $50, maximum deposit of $600.
neteller and Instacash minimum deposit of $20 and maximum of $25,000.
ePassPorte minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $1,000.

Moneybookers minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $10,000.
Click2Pay minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $2,000.
Add Funds minimum deposit of $25 and maximum deposit of $750.
Western Union minimum deposit of $50 and maximum deposit of $2,000.
UK debit cards minimum deposit of $50 and maximum deposit of $600.

Banking Options for American Players.

These options are subject to change, and in line with AbsolutePoker’s resolve to stay serving the US market, are likely to increase. Currectly, the available deposit methods available to Americans are Visa and Mastercard credit cards, ePassPorte and Add Funds.
The withdrawal methods available to Americans are limited at the moment to checks and, if you have made a deposit by ePassporte, then ePassporte.

Deposit Limits
Visa and Mastercard minimum deposit of $50, maximum deposit of $600.
ePassPorte minimum deposit of $20 and maximum deposit of $1,000.
Add Funds minimum deposit of $25 and maximum deposit of $750.