The ever-expanding PartyGaming brand has dominated all facets of the online gambling industry for over a decade, and Party Poker is a good example of why. Party Poker is one of the most consistent online poker rooms available today. The site meets expectations across the board, even if it rarely exceeds them, but as a member of the uber-popular PartyGaming brand, new members can rest assured that this room is only going to get bigger and better with time.
Party Poker Bonuses And Promotions
Party Poker does a great job of offering something for everyone with their bonuses and promotions. The site’s promotions page is chock full of ongoing and ever-changing promos and events. Unfortunately, they fail to make a good first impression with their underwhelming 100% sign-up match which is worth a measly $100. Players must earn this bonus in ten increments, but on the upside, Party Poker gives players an ample amount of time – 60 days – to do so and also requires a significantly lower than average playthrough (6-9x).
At any given time, Party Poker has at least half a dozen special promotions and half a dozen permanent ones. It gives both new and returning players plenty of opportunities to optimize their time at the tables and a good incentive to memorize the tournament calendar. Seasonal promotions could be satellites to WPT or WSOP events, major online tournaments, special site-related events, or short-term guarantees like the current Monthly Million series.
Long-term Party Poker members can rely on the site’s expansive added-cash tournament offerings. These include a freeroll package that promises at least $150,000 in money and prizes every month with at least $30,000 dedicated to their rookies-only games and much of the remainder spread over the site’s famous $1500 freerolls. Party Poker’s guaranteed tournament package is worth a cool $6 million every month which includes daily $35,000 guaranteed and $300,000 Sunday guaranteed.
Whereas most other poker rooms of the same size and caliber as Party Poker put the squeeze on their players by charging big tournament fees, Party Poker recently razed their fees for STTs to a measly $10. Even if you’re playing at the max buy-in of $5000, the poker room’s add-on is a mere $10. Additionally, the site offers an extremely popular steps program that lets players work their way up to $2000+ with an initial buy-in of as little as $3.
Party Poker recently revised their loyalty points program per the frequent requests of their players. This new program offers a rake-back that you can cash out but still pushes players to choose the larger bonus play option. The play-through requirements for the bonuses are now also half the size. The only downside is that the levels are still reassessed monthly, making it hard for sporadic players to reach the upper tier.
Banking
Party Poker openly promotes their “comprehensive range of payment methods,” but honestly the selection isn’t that impressive. Players may deposit via Moneybookers, credit card, Neteller, Paypal, Ukash, Paysafecard, entropy, wire transfer (Western Union), UseMyBank, FPS e-passport, Inter-Account, or e-check. At least all of the services are fee-free.
Party Poker is notably more reluctant to promote its withdrawal process. Players that are dissatisfied with the site’s even more limited selection of withdrawal options can get some support from Party Poker’s dedicated 24/7 cashier-specific customer service team.
Software
Party Poker is powered by their parent company PartyGaming in conjunction with the accomplished minds at iGlobalMedia. You won’t see anything new when playing at Party Poker, but the software does a commendable job of juggling the considerable traffic while keeping the games fast and error-free. What isn’t always fast is the loading time for the actual lobby. Feature-savvy players may be disappointed to find that most of Party Poker’s extras are thinly veiled marketing ploys geared toward encouraging poker players to try the new side blackjack games or to wander over to one of Party Poker’s many sister sites (PartyBets, PartyBingo, PartyCasino, etc).
The game selection – much like the payment method selection – is sufficient but far from expansive. Players can choose from all the popular poker standards: Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud, and Stud Eights or Better. The limited game options are subsidized by an ample stake spread. No Limit and Pot Limit ring games range from $.02/$.04 to $25/$50 and Fixed Limit games range from $.05/$.10 to $250/$500. As we mentioned previously, Party Poker is best-suited for tournament players. The site supports hundreds of tournaments of every format and buy-in level in a single day. The low buy-ins and big prizes translate to uncharacteristically soft competition, making this poker room a good hunting ground for skilled amateurs.
Summary
Party Poker’s site, software, and bonuses are lacking in the bells and whistles that many players have come to expect when playing online, but their superior security and customer service and their ambitious tournament package still make them a reliable choice for long-term players.