Review

Review of Party Poker

PartyPoker has been a major part of the online poker scene for a very long time, and it's one of the most well-known online poker rooms in Europe. Just one part of the expansive PartyGaming network that has been operating since 1997, PartyPoker has a vast number of players.

Bonuses

The welcome bonus at PartyPoker is a 100% match of up to $/€/£100 on first deposits. This is quite small compared to the other major online poker rooms, but the new player zone is a helpful feature for poker newbies. In the new player zone you can participate in bankroll builder tournaments, as well as lots of freerolls and beginner games, all while learning more in the poker school. This is very helpful for the average starting player, more so than a large bonus.

Banking Options

The deposit options at PartyPoker include:

• Credit cards and debit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron, Solo, Switch, Maestro
• e-Wallets: EntroPay, Neteller, WebMoney, Western Union, Click2Pay, PayPal, Paysafecard, UseMyBank, MyCitadelWallet, ClickandBuy
• Other methods: Bank wire transfer, Western Union, instant banking, bank transfer

The cashout options at PartyPoker include:

• Credit cards and debit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron, Switch, Maestro, Solo
• e-Wallets: PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, MyCitadelWallet, Click2Pay, EntroPay
• Other methods: Check, bank wire transfer, bank transfer

The specific methods available will depend on your country of residence.

Software and Playability

The PartyPoker software has a great lobby, though I personally feel the screen can get a little bit overcrowded at times with scrolling menus. Nevertheless, the many filtering options make it easy to find suitable games, and PartyPoker has made good choices in how it labels things. You won't be confused trying to find the Cashier or Support when using the lobby of this poker room's software.

Of course, the lobby is only one part of the software, so most players will be asking how the games play. Well, the virtual felt at PartyPoker looks spectacular, with 3D avatars, lots of animations for the cards and chips, and various other little visual touches that add to the experience. It all runs smoothly, and you can choose to download and play the full software with all features, or you can play a no download version in your web browser with a few features removed, such as table filters and private tables. All in all, PartyPoker offers top-notch poker software.

Available Platforms

Windows Compatible: Yes, Windows 98, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista

Linux Compatible: Yes, with instant Flash version

Mac Compatible: Yes, with instant Flash version

Tournaments

There are frequent freeroll tournaments and big money tournaments at PartyPoker, including dedicated tourneys for beginners. PartyPoker has tournaments worth $300,000 and more on a weekly basis, and $1 million tourneys every month. This is aside from the many daily tournaments and Sit and Go events, with thousands of dollars worth of tournament action available on PartyPoker at almost any given moment.

Promotions & Jackpots

The promotions at PartyPoker are out of this world, with a little something for everybody. Beginners can play in rookies-only freerolls, while more experienced players can try the STEP Challenge to turn $3 into $2,000. These are great promos that encourage players to keep active, which keeps the money flowing around.

Available Games

PartyPoker has Texas Hold'Em, Omaha, Omaha Hi Lo, 7 Card Stud, and 7 Card Stud Hi Lo. This is a fairly standard range of games, with all the most popular varieties of poker covered. You'll find no shortage of players to take you on at any of the games featured at PartyPoker.

Accepted players

PartyPoker accepts players from the UK, Germany, Spain, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Switzerland, Portugal, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, with language options for all of these nations.

Visit the Party Poker website for a list of countries that they don't accept.

Rewards

The player rewards program at PartyPoker has 5 levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Palladium, and Palladium Elite. Each level offers cash, bonuses, cash back, and a bonus percentage back. All of this makes the PartyPoker reward program very generous, but the cash back in particular can be extremely rewarding for the top tier of players. While it starts at 5% cash back for Bronze players, Palladium Elite players can claim 30% cash back, along with 40% back on bonuses.

It's great to see a poker room with a reward program that has obvious benefits. While tournament tokens and merchandise are a fun reward, it is hard to work out the real value of such rewards compared to the obvious value of a cash back offer.

Management & Integrity

PartyPoker is a part of PartyGaming, which is an established online gambling group. If you just take a look at their list of restricted players, you can tell that they want to keep a squeaky clean record, which makes sense for a company listed on the London Stock Exchange. PartyGaming products are licensed in Gibraltar, a trusted licensing jurisdiction for online gambling.

Things to Improve

PartyPoker would benefit from a bigger welcome bonus, as the current one is low compared to the other big online poker rooms.

Customer Support

PartyPoker support starts with its sophisticated FAQ system. If this does not help you, then you may contact PartyPoker via email or hotline. There are toll-free hotlines for many countries, plus a universal toll number. All phone support is in English only.

Overall Rating /10

PartyPoker is a great place to play if you want to go up against like-minded casual players. If you are completely new to online poker, then PartyPoker may be the best room to start playing at, as it has plenty of exclusive features to help beginners.