Pokerroom.com Review

After a string of crazy beats, I pulled out of PP for a while until they offer a reload Bonus. I went back to where I learned how to play for play money at PokerRoom, but this time I made a real money deposit.

First, there is NO DOWNLOAD. A download version is available but if you are at work or don't want to bother with a download you can still play.

Deposit was quick and easy. It has all the usual options to deposit (I use neteller). I have not cashed out yet but I don't expect problems.

PokerRoom is extreemly small compared to the PP's and UB usually around 3-6 thousand players, which is still a lot when compared to a B&M room. They spread a lot fewer tables but it is still easy to get a seat even if you join wait list. The games spread from .25-50 limit and up. NL starts at .25-50 up to 5-10. There are some BIG NL games available where stacks are $1000 and more.

Atmosphere is pleasant compared to PP at the tables. I have yet to run across a punk who runs his/her mouth which is common at PP. However, PokerRoom has a forum called Pokah! It blows. It is less than shit compared to this board. The people are all miserable and make fun of each other more than offering constructive criticism. On the other hand, there were some really stupid questions on their Board which prompted me to make my deposit. Some of those people have no idea how to play.

Bonus Structure: The Bonus system is a little different. You get "player points" based on the rake. 1/2 point where rake is b/w $.50 and $1, and one point where rake is $1 or more. At low limits it is tough to accumulate points because rake is often below $.50. 500 player points in one week qualifies you for freeroll. A 20% first deposit Bonus is available. You have 60 days from date of deposit to accumulate enough player points to release the Bonus.

Regarding the actual games, I have only played $.25-50 limit & NL and $.50-1 NL. The play at this level is VERY POOR. It is a bunch of limpers. I think these tables are ripe. It took me a week to adjust. The BB is $.25 and $1 raise gets no respect. I could not believe the piss poor hands people were playing. Note: This also opens the door for some crazy beats which go both ways. The other day I limp twice w/ 68suited. Made quads and FH w/ each. AA also got cracked by J3 off. THERE ARE A LOT OF CHASERS.

I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist but the "random" flops are fishy. There is often 4 to a flush on the board or a 4 card straight on the board. The board constantly pairs up. I mean constantly.

Tournaments: There are the usual spread of tournaments $5 +1 to $50 +5 SNG and multi table. They have $10K guaranteed multis where the house kicks in to the prize pool making it worth your time. The Multis are much much smaller than at PP. Anywhere from 50 to 300 players, usually only 150 or less. I've managed to make a couple final tables.

The SNG's take about 1 1/2 hours which is a bit longer than on PP. You get $1500 to start and the play seems a bit tighter. I have not played many because I'm still working to release my Bonus in the cash games.

All told, it is a very different expierence at PokerRoom compared to PP. Once you get used to it IMO the interface is better at PokerRoom. It is worth a shot if you get bored and want to try something a little different.

I've got almost 10,000 hands in Poker Tracker now, and I think I'm going to do a statistical analysis of the starting hands and boards. I know these guys are audited and everything, but have you ever noticed how you get really good cards for a few sessions right after you make a deposit? I'm tempted to move money around just to keep the good cards coming Wink

Especially after watching the MIT thing the other night on the history channel, I got to thinking about how a little statistical advantage could really work out for these online sites. Think how easy it would be to throw a little bit in the code to give somebody a little advantage. Maybe it gets set when you put money in, and gets cleared after 50 hands. Something to think about Toasty.

Oh yeah, something else. Suppose you have five board cards, and can only deal out Kings, Queens and Aces. How many combin...

Oh forget it.

Well to begin with, I've been viewing this site for several months now. Originally did most of my reading on here while at work, but unfortunately, now the "smart filters" on the computer system won't allow me to view FlopTurn River. Mad

I figured that this would be as good of a post as any for me to make my first posting, as I play pretty reguarly at PokerRoom. Typically play on the 2-4 and 5-10 NL 10 handed tables. I find that they're actually fairly easy games. Typically, it'll be 2-4 players consistently taking money from the rest of the players at the table. So as long as you make sure that you're one of the ones making the money, then it's a good deal.

As Steve-O stated, the lower level NL tables are filled with people who will call with just about anything preflop so the potential is there to make some money, as long as you can handle the crazy beats that happen on occasion. That's where I started out at and after I adjusted to the style I did OK at those levels.

I've tried some tournaments (both SnG and Multi) and I've placed in the money a couple times but not enough to be profitable overall with tourneys. Definitely an aspect of my game I need to work on. I do however, know a couple of guys I've played ring games with who are proficient tournament players and they say that compared to other sites they've played, PokerRoom tourneys are pretty soft. Both of these guys reguarly place in money at the multis.

I like porker room as well. I only play tournaments there, and have done well. I have made 3 final tables, with one first and one 2nd.

i like the porker room as well, strangebirds mom stopped in and made me her manwhore, I porkder!

thats what ya get for callin me a man-whore twice! once i can handle but twice is too much.

you guys suck!!!!

SteveO,

Nice write-up, thanks for the info.

I have cashed out from Poker Room several times with no problems. They sent me checks, they took about 3 weeks to get, but the didn't bounce or anything.

I've done numerous cashouts with PokerRoom through my Firepay account and haven't ever had any issues. It's usually transferred to my account within one business day.

I know this is going to seem crazy, and it's probably just because I'm looking for it now, but it seems like just about every time I make a relatively sizeable cashout, I get a crazy beat shortly after.

For instance, four hands after cashing out this last time, I hit a set on the flop , other guy goes all in... I call. Turns out he hit a set also, unfortunately his was higher than mine. Sad

Like I said, I'm sure that this is purely coincidental and I'm just hyper-sensitive to observing it now, but has anyone else noticed anything similar to this?

I would like to mention that although there is no download required, the download interface is a bit better than the lite version, IMO. Still nice to have the lite option, though, since you can play away from home.

Also, you can collect Bonus dollars in tourneys. It's 5 player points per $1 of entry fee. It's a pretty good option for those with smaller bankrolls who prefer tournaments since their rake-based player points requires at least $0.50 rake ($10 pot) for 0.5 player points and $1 rake ($20 pot) for 1 player point. At the $0.25-$0.50 and $0.50-$1 low limits, you'll see a significantly reduced percentage of rakes above $0.50.

Finally, I think it's worth mentioning that in addition to the nightly $10K guaranteed MTT, they have two $500 freerolls every weekday at 9am ET and 4pm ET, so you can get a bit of real money MTT experience at no cost, though I would bet there are probably more gamblers than in a typical MTT (but less than at the Play Money tables). I believe you can do this without making a deposit, although you have to enable your real money account.

Koolmo is correct, very difficult to get player points at low limit tables and SNG's.

I would also note that I played 2 tables for a while last night and there were not many suspicious flops ie. 4 to a flush or straight on board. In other words, it seemed more random than the past 2 weeks.

I put SteveO's review up on the http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerroom-poker-signup.html page.

Thanks again for all the info SteveO!

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