PokerStars Review
PokerStars is without doubt the best online poker room in the world – my favourite by far! This is with good reason however because they offer millions in guaranteed tournaments every week, have fantastic software, and have the most players (usually over 200,000 online at any one time but they hold the record with 307,016 players online at once).
As well as this they represent some of the best poker players in the world who are in their Team PokerStars roster, including Daniel Negreanu and numerous WSOP Main Event Champions such as Joe Hachem, Peter Eastgate and Joe Cada, all of which are regular players online at PokerStars. Add to this their generous 100% up to $600 sign-up bonus, extensive promotions, and the vast array of games available on the site; these are just some of the qualities which make PokerStars the best online poker room.
Software
The software at PokerStars is another reason why I love playing there. The software is very fast and the tables are all resizable which is perfect when I am playing 12 tables at once. This is my limit but the PokerStars software can actually support up to 24 cash tables at once as well as an unlimited amount of tournament and sit-and-go tables which is quite extraordinary. The PokerStars software is highly customisable and you can easily change the background and table, as well as upload your own avatar which is a nice personal touch. Another great feature of the PokerStars software is the in-game hand history where you can view the last 200 hands.
Pokerstars Info
Game Variety
Unlike most other poker rooms which only offer around five poker game variations, PokerStars offers fourteen different games. This gives you great variety and the perfect opportunity to learn a new poker variation instead of only focusing on Hold’em and Omaha games like the vast majority of players. Obviously Texas Hold’em is by far the most played game, with Omaha in second place and Seven-Card Stud the next most popular. Other games available at PokerStars include Razz, Five-Card Draw, H.O.R.S.E, H.O.S.E, 2-7 Triple Draw, 2-7 Single Draw Lowball, 8-Game, Badugi, Mixed Hold’em and Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo.
Tournaments
PokerStars is the poker room for tournaments and one tournament actually starts every second! There is millions guaranteed every week and buy-ins range from just a few cents or even FPP’s for micro-players to thousands of dollars for high-rollers. The biggest weekly tournament available at PokerStars is the Sunday Million which actually has a guarantee of $1.5 million and a buy-in of $215. On average this tournament attracts 7000 players every week and there is usually even more than that but not all of them buy-in directly. Most qualify through the daily satellite tournaments which start at $2.20. PokerStars offer various other Sunday tournaments and also run their own special yearly series of tournaments called WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) and SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker), both of which have millions guaranteed and attract the best poker players in the world. PokerStars also offer lots of freeroll tournaments and satellites to big tournaments as well as packages for live poker tournaments.
Soft Competition
The competition at PokerStars surprised me by how much tougher it is to profit from the games compared to other poker rooms. Even at the low-stakes cash tables you will notice the viewed-flop percentages are reasonably lower than other poker rooms, meaning players are more selective with the hands they play. Of course, with over 200,000 players regularly online, you will still find a lot of fish – you just have to look harder and choose your tables more selectively. The competition at the high stakes is extremely tough and regulars in these games are players such as Peter Eastgate and Daniel Negreanu.Customer Support
PokerStars currently only offer e-mail support but the response times are usually never more than a few hours. You can find the e-mail address on the PokerStars website or you can contact them using a support from which you can access from the lobby. However if you happen to have a problem depositing there will be a pop-up asking you for your telephone number and a convenient time to phone you to process your deposit.
