Online Poker Reviews

When I started out playing online poker in 2003, there were much fewer poker sites to choose from. I just signed up for the first one I found (Bodog).

Today there are over 180 different online poker rooms to choose from.

Trying to find the right poker site to play at can be downright overwhelming! So now I write online poker reviews to help you avoid the bad ones. And believe me – there are some pretty bad ones.

I know it is tough to trust some random guy on the internet, so I’ll list some of my credentials. I …

• Have played poker online since 2003
• Have played online poker professionally since 2004
• Have played at over 30 online poker sites
• Made a couple hundred thousand dollars playing online poker
• Have active accounts at 13 poker sites right now

But enough about me. How can I help you?

The focus of my site is to weed out all the crap poker rooms and leave you to choose from the best poker rooms online. You may notice that all of the poker sites that I review have pretty high ratings. That’s because if I do not like a poker site, I won’t even list it here. There is no need to waste your time reading a poker review just to find out that it sucks.

Want to narrow it down a little?

I am constantly doing research and adding more specific lists of poker rooms to this site.  Here are some “Best Of” lists you may be interested in:

• Online Poker Bonus Codes
• U.S. Poker Rooms
• Canadian Poker Rooms
• Poker Rooms For Sit And Go Tournaments
• No Download JAVA Poker Rooms
• Windows Vista Poker Rooms
• Mac Poker Rooms
• Linux Poker
• Mac Poker Rooms For Texas Holdem
• Best Texas Holdem Action
• Best Real Money Tournaments
• Freeroll Poker Sites
• Razz Poker Rooms

Listed below are reviews of my highest rated poker rooms. Take your time to make a decision to deposit your money at a poker room that you feel safe at. I personally have played on every site below and I will vouch that every room I list on my site is safe.  For another opinion, check out my buddy Mike’s list of the best poker sites at PokerSite.org.

Online Poker Reviews

* Poker rooms are listed in alphabetical order

Absolute Poker

My Thoughts: Absolute Poker cheats its players and then covers up the scandal when they get caught. I used to play there a lot, but cannot recommend Absolute Poker anymore. There has been a cheating scandal at Absolute Poker over the past year (see my Absolute Poker review for more info). Absolute poker has been blacklisted.  Do not play there.

Bodog.com Poker

My Thoughts: Bodog Poker is one of my favorite poker sites.  It has great cash game and tournament action and a slick, easy to use interface.  There are plenty of bad players that trickle over from their sportsbook and casino to throw their money at you.  Take advantage of the bad play at Bodog and go sign up now.  You will thank me later.

Cake Poker

My Thoughts: The competition is easy compared to bigger poker sites. Cake Poker opened its doors in 2005. Through clever and quirky marketing, it has grown and attracted lots of newer novice poker players. Many sharks have not discovered Cake Poker, or they are too loyal to some of the bigger rooms to switch over to Cake yet. Give Cake a try before the better players catch on.

Full Tilt Poker

My Thoughts: I have played at Full Tilt Poker a lot over the past few years and have called it home since Party Poker left the U.S. Market in October 2006. The game selection, player volume, and highly customizable and user-friendly interface make Full Tilt one of my personal favorites, and my pick as the best online poker site out there.

Full Tilt has great cash games and tournaments to choose from, as well as a very big $600 sign up bonus. They offer a great rewards program where you earn player points that you can use to buy lots of cool stuff including computers, plasma TVs and ipods.

Party Poker

My Thoughts: Party Poker was where I called home for prior to them dropping from the American market in October of 2006. PartyPoker.com has always done an exceptional job of marketing and attracting lots of newer players. They were the first poker room to offer a $1 million guaranteed online tournament.

Before leaving the US market, Party Poker was the biggest online poker site in the world. They lost about 70% of their players when Americans were no longer allowed, but PartyPoker has done a good job of marketing internationally and has steadily grown since then.

Players Only Poker

My Thoughts: Players Only Poker is a newcomer to the online poker scene, but I have very high hopes for the site. They are a sportsbook and casino as well as a poker room, so there are lots of new poker players that are pretty easy to beat. Many players come from a big win in the casino to gamble it up at the poker tables. Most of these players barely know the rules of poker, let alone the strategy needed to win.

Players Only Poker accepts credit cards from American players! The only other poker room that I know of that accepts credit cards from the U.S. is Sportsbook Poker.

Huge 110% up to $715 sign up bonus. This bonus is for a limited time and will be reduced in the near future.  Take advantage of this one.

Poker Stars

My Thoughts: Poker Stars is by far the biggest online poker room. Since the beginning of 2007, PokerStars has blown away all of its competition to become the biggest poker site around. They have produced three of the last five World Series of Poker champions, including Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, and Joe Hachem.

Pokerstars boasts over 160,000 players at peak times, which leads to unmatched game selection and ginormous tournament fields with equally big prize pools. Who needs to play the lottery when you can play at PokerStars?

Sportsbook Poker

My Thoughts: Sportsbook Poker is really a diamond in the rough for an online poker room. They accept credit cards from American players! You can use a Mastercard, Visa, or any other major credit card to deposit instantly to the site.

The competition at Sports Book Poker is amazingly bad. It is no problem at all to beat up on the hapless players that play at Sportsbook Poker. As their name implies, Sportsbook is the home of the largest sportsbook on the web. They have been online since 1997 and have over one million members. Many of these gamblers come over to play some poker and blow some money they just won at the sportsbook. Sportsbook Poker comes with my very high recommendation.