Historically, Party Poker has always been the site where the easy money was at. During the poker boom, it became the world's largest poker room but lost that status after the site was closed to US players. These days Party Poker is only the second largest site when it comes to the number of players, but is probably still top dog when it comes to finding lots of easy games.
At peak hours, you'll find approximately 70,000 real-money players online at PartyPoker, 60,000 of them in tournaments and 10,000 in cash games.
Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo, Double Hold'em
PartyPoker uses some of the fastest software in the industry, allowing for more hands to be played in less time. New players can find their way around easily, and more seasoned players can tweak the settings such as table size and visual alerts to create their optimal multi-tabeling setup.
100% deposit bonus up to $/£/€500
Weekly $1.5K New Player Freeroll, daily country-specific freerolls with over $3,000 in prizemoney
Yes: available to new real-money players for 45 days after their first deposit
At the lower limits, PartyPoker is relatively free of sharks. The regular players at these levels generally play a straight forward tight-aggressive game. During peak hours, both low and medium stake tables attract lots of poor players, making the games very profitable.
“Texas hold'em meets The Sims”, is how WPT Magazine described PKR.com. With stunning videogame-quality graphics and audio, the site tries its best to bring the thrill of live poker to the online game. This draws a lot of casual players to the site, who seem to lose themself in the fun of it and forget they're playing for real money.
7,000 real money players can be found at PKR.com during peak hours. About 5,800 players are involved in tournaments while 1,200 gamble at the cash tables.
Texas Hold’em, Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo
PKR uses unique 3D-software which allows you to fully customize your avatar. Full of audio and animation, the games play in graphically rich environments. While a lot of fun, this does lead to a somewhat slower gamespeed and requires a lot more computer resourves than the average poker client. Playing multiple tables at once might take some time getting used to.
100% deposit bonus up to $800, OR $10 free cash
New players at PKR.com get 5 tickets into daily Premium Freerolls with a $500 prizepool and 1 ticket into a weekly $1,000 freeroll.
There are no beginners tables at PKR.
Because of its 3D-client, PKR.com draws a lot of players who are there just for fun. Sharks generally avoid the site due to slower game speed and lack of support for their software aids. There are good players at the medium and high stakes, but even at those levels there are plenty of bad players to make the games worth playing.
DownloadLadbrokes Poker is run by one of the U.K.'s largest bookmakers and remains one of Europe's biggest independent poker sites. Having never allowed players from the U.S, Ladbrokes remains unaffected by any American laws. The site is mostly populated by gamblers from the U.K. and Nordic countries.
Ladbrokes Poker has about 7,000 real money players online during peak hours, of which 1,200 are playing cash games while some 5,800 players can be found fighting it out in tournaments.
Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud, 5 Card Stud, Razz, 5 Card Draw
While Ladbrokes Poker is not connected to the Microgaming network, it does use the same software. The site doesn't offer the most pleasing visuals but the software is incredibly fast. It doesn't have many bells and whistles and is pretty simple to use, even for novice players. A unique feature is the "anonymous tables", allowing you to play without your screenname being shown.
New players who make a deposit of $15 or more have 45 days to obtain as many player points as possible for bonus from $60 to $1100
Two weekly $500 new player freerolls
There are no beginners tables at Ladbrokes Poker
Generally, the players at Ladbrokes come from their sportsbook-website, so you will find a lot of players who are just there to gamble. Note that as soon as you reach the medium stakes, the games are infested with mostly regulars from the UK and Nordic countries. These days, there is hardly any high-stakes action on Ladbrokes anymore.
DownloadEnjoy the game with the new poker software, cutting-edge graphics, avatars and realistic feel. You can play for real money or test your skill in practice mode.
Tends to be very busy and you get a very mixed bag of players in terms of ability.
One of the most user-firendly download interfaces. Very smooth and sleek.
You should be wary around here.
Paddy Power Poker is owned by bookmaker Paddy Power and mainly targets players from Ireland and the UK. However, being part of the iPoker Network, you will find players from all over the world at the tables. Many of the other sites on the network are affiliated to casinos and bookmakers, so there is plenty of serious gambling at the tables.
Sharing players with the rest of the iPoker Network, Paddy Power Poker has about 7,000 cash game players and 30,000 tournaments players online during peak hours, all competing for real money.
Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo, 5 Card Stud
As part of the iPoker-network, Paddy Power Poker uses the Playtech-engine. The visuals look a bit outdated but the games are fast and stable. The lobby has great filters, allowing you to find the right games fast, and there are a number of handy options to make multitabling go smoothly.
Paddy Power Poker offers a 200% up to $2000 signup bonus. While this is big, it takes a while to clear! The bonus is released in $10 increments.
There is a bi-weekly new player freeroll on Paddy Power Poker with a $500 prizepool. There are 2 daily freerolls with $20 and $50 prizepools.
Yes: new players can work on their game at the beginners tables for 90 days after their first deposit
Paddy Power Poker shares its players with the rest of the iPoker Network, which is made up of about 50 different sites. Like Paddy Power, many of these sites are affiliated to bookmakers or casinos and bring in loads of gamblers. However, since the demise of US-poker sites, more sharks appear in the waters, even at the lower limits.
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