PKR Poker Review
PKR.com is the only 3d poker site, with realistic poker room environments, customisable 3d avatars & emotes. However traffic is low and the higher rake & charges make PKR less than perfect choice without more action.
Personally I think PKR has stunning 3D graphics but all the bells and whistles are not to everyone’s taste and not enough to overlook it’s short comings. With a modest 600 real money players online at peak times, traffic is at the low end. The last PKR software update is an improvement in some respects but rake and charges are still higher than other sites and traffic has stagnated – That is an issue and therefore the site can no longer be highly recommended.
PKR.com is packed with unique 3d features like designing your own pkr avatar from head to toe, performing chip tricks at the table and more. While PKR is visually the most advanced poker room on the market with graphics and playability like a video game. For some the 3d factor gets old quickly, for others it’s a nice feature and it certainly attracts easy to beat players.
PKR Poker – Quick Facts
Bonus: | 150% to $500 bonus | ||
Easy Win: | 8/10 | ||
Traffic: | 600 | ||
Network: | Independent | ||
Licensed: | UK | ||
Established: | 2006 | ||
Support: | Live online & 24hr email support |
Good: 3d graphics and video game playability, which not only makes a nice change it also attracts the fish making for good games.
Bad: Slower game play means fewer hands per hour. high rake at lower stakes, not much traffic and dropping. No good for multi-tabling as only realistic option is using PKR’s 2d version.
Verdict: The 3D graphics and level of features attract the recreational player looking for the fun factor more so than pro poker players looking to grind out a profit. This would mean easier games and rich pickings for players with a half decent game … if there was more traffic.
It’s perfect for new players learning to play poker and more experienced online players looking for a refreshingly innovative 3d poker room – PKR is simply a site not to be missed.
PKR Poker Bonus: Choice of 3
PKR offers a choice of 3 different bonuses to suit different players. Make sure you use one of our bonus codes when you download PKR to get the best PKR bonus for you …
Starter Bonus (4kp5) … Get an instant $5 bonus when you deposit $10 or more. This bonus is perfect for the new player who is looking to try out their first poker site or has a small bankroll and doesn’t want to make a bigger first deposit.
Use BONUS CODE: 4kp5 for an instant $5 FREE when you deposit more than $10
Intermediate Bonus (4kp150) … Get a solid 100% up to $150 bonus when you deposit $25 or more. This bonus is ideal for most players with some experience and able to make a reasonable sized deposit.
Use BONUS CODE: 4kp150 for a 100% up to $150 bonus when you deposit more than $25. Earn your bonus as you generate rake, clearing at 5% at a time.
Advanced Bonus (4kp500) … Get the biggest 150% up to $500 bonus when you deposit $150 or more. This bonus is suited to players wanting to get the maximum bonus who play regularly and have a decent bankroll.
Use BONUS CODE: 4kp500 for a 150% up to $500 bonus when you deposit more than $150. Earn your bonus as you generate rake, clearing at 10% at a time.
Minimum Deposit: $10
The minimum deposit on PKR is $10 which is pretty standard. It always makes sense to maximise your 1st deposit bonus so if you are able to deposit more and utilise one of the bigger bonuses rather than the instant $5 then make sure you use our most applicable bonus code and links.
Players in France use BONUS CODE: 4kp500fr for signing up to PKR.fr for a 100% up to 500 euro bonus.
Easy to Win: 8/10
PKR’s fast growth with recreational players means most games are full of inexperienced and players just looking for an enjoyable place to play poker with software a priority over grinding out a profit.
Player Traffic: 600 peak daily players
Grown well since launch, with over 300k registered players within months and with over 4 million occasional users by January 2012 for an independent site it has a respectable though not huge daily peak player volume of around 600 players.
Because of the 3D graphics and feature packed play the site attracts both the more novice / beginner market as well as the hardened 2-4 multi-table pro who has tired of grinding out 16 tiles on the 2D only poker rooms.
They have added multi-table functionality at PKR and a 2d lite version but it’s still looser than average site. the downside is the hand rate is a bit slower but the experience is still second to none and the loose players make up for the reduced number of tables you would want open at once.
PKR has been one of the most pro-active poker rooms to bring it’s unique 3d product to more players, expanding into legal and regulated markets quickly particularly in Europe. However some of those countries regulations have required poker rooms to segregate their existing player bases into country specific domains and player pools therefore when launching its pkr.fr to France it has been a requirement for the existing French players to be moved into those sites. (PKR has now closed it’s PKR.it site and is not open to Italian players.
Accepted Players:
UK, Europe including Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and from all over the rest of the world.
Accepted but Segregated due to Regulation: France PKR.fr
Closed to:
USA, Hong Kong, Israel, South Korea, Holland, Turkey & Italy.
Network: None – Independent
PKR Poker is not part of a network and has it’s own proprietary software. The only other sites are PKR’s own site pkr.fr for France (licenced by ARJEL) which is a regulatory requirement for them to operate in these markets. PKR has never been open to US players.
Software & Graphics:
Stunning 3D graphics taking online poker to a new level. Complete avatar creation & incredible FaceGen software. Various 3D views & angles of the table and players are able to perform chip tricks and express themselves after badbeats etc. You can see how often players are looking at their hole cards for tells.
Packed with new features never seen before on an online poker room, PKR is customisable so you can strip it back to a basic 2d PKR Lite version if you prefer. Downloading PKR isnt that quick as the PKR download is quite big but it is straight forward enough and well worth a little extra time.
Mac Version: Yes
Updated versions of PKR software should be 100% mac compatible
iPad Version: PKR have no released an app version of their software for the ipad which you can download at the apple store once you have registered at the pkr website. (use our links for the bonuses). Play real money ring games and Sit & Gos or play for fun (currently UK only).
Android Version: PKR are leading the field with their ipad app and it is widely expected this is only the start of their development into mobile and tablet gaming – so expect an android app for PKR in the future.
Random Number Generator (RNG): Gaming Associates Certificated
System Requirements:
Minimum PC System Requirements
Processor: 1Ghz Pentium or equivalent
RAM: 512 Mb
Hard Drive space: 1Gb
Graphics Card: 32 Mb with DirectX 9.0c compatible drivers (eg. Nvidia GeForce3/ATi Radeon 8500 or equivalent)
Soundcard: Any
Operating System: Windows 2000, Windows XP or Vista
Internet Connection: Broadband
Browser: Internet Explorer 6 or 7, Firefox 2 or 3
Games:
Primarily Texas Hold-em and ranging from micro-limit games up to some higher stakes tables.
Texas Hold-em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo
Stakes Offered:
Ring game stakes at Pkr start from $0.01/$0.02 ($10 min buy-in) up to $25/$50 but the higher stakes games are much rarer. Tournaments include a selection of freerolls, low and micro buyins, mid and upper buy-ins
Ring / Cash:
Hold-em or Omaha ring games with stakes that start at the $0.05/$0.10 and go up to $50/$100 tables. Omaha players will find both variations supported with all games formatted for Pot Limit, No Limit and Fixed Limit. During peak hours the room attracts nearly 1,000 players which means you shouldn’t have to many problems finding open tables from the micro limits up to $25/$50. Even with all the advanced tools and options made available to players, PKR still supports the basic statistics allowing you to view the % of players seeing a flop, number of hands per hour and of course average pot size in the ring game lobby.
Tournaments:
Growing range of tournaments and only set to increase, includes good regular daily freerolls, daily guaranteed tournaments & big money weekly guaranteed games.
PKR runs several big annual events – The Super Series, SpringFest & OktoberFest all of which have become popular events on the poker calendar. They also run the annual PKRLive event which is a series of live games in London.
Very strong offering of daily and weekly guaranteed tournaments including with daily $1,000+ guaranteed games running frequently all day everyday. The largest weekly tournament is the Sunday Classic with a buy-in of $71.50 and $25K guaranteed. Once a monthly $100,000 PKR Masters event with a buy-in of $270. With more money getting added all the time they currently have over $1.8 million in guaranteed prize money each month.
Also offering Sit n Go’s known as SNG tournaments which fill up reasonably quicky at peak hours with buy-ins for games ranging from $1 to over $50. Recently they have added the Elite Heads-Up tournaments as well as regular head to head games.
Loyalty & Promotions:
Regular promotions, now over $1.8 million in guaranteed tournaments each month and special events. Several bonus options including 100% up to $150 PKR.com Bonus. The bonuses are fairly easy to clear but make sure you choose one most suitable to your bankroll and limits played.
Like most poker sites PKR runs a loyalty points system to reward you for your real money play on the site. Your PKR points can be converted to buy things in the PKR shop like branded poker merchandise, and there are even cars like an Aston Martin DB9 (if you can earn 682,500,000 Points).
Another popular use for PKR points is for buying extra customisations, clothes and bling jewelry for your poker avatar. You can buy extra things like harder poker chip tricks for your avatar to perform while playing at the table.
The other main use for PKR points is for buying tournament tickets and enabling you to enter special premium freerolls satellites to big guaranteed tournaments, land-based events and phase tournaments.
As you earn more PKR points you will automatically get moved up the Club PKR loyalty ladder opening up even more free gifts, VIP hospitality and magazine subscriptions plus lots more.
One of the key features about the PKR points and the loyalty ladder is it offers something for all levels of player not just super nova types. The loyalty levels are pretty easy to achieve so you get rewarded quicker than some other sites.
You earn PKR points on all your real money play, the more you earn the higher and quicker you will climb the loyalty ladder. Even if you spend you loyalty points in the shop etc they will still be counted on the ladder.
The other great feature about PKR’s VIP reward program is unlike other sites they don’t take away what you have earnt. Once you achieve a level it’s yours for life, even if you decide to take a break.
Loyalty levels in Club PKR
Member* … 5,000 to 35,000
Bronze … 35,001 to 100,000
Silver … 100,001 to 500,000
Gold … 500,001 to 1,000,000
Platinum … 1,000,001 to 2,500,000
Diamond … 2,500,001+
*Players must make at least one real money deposit on PKR to be a Member of Club PKR.
Private Tournaments:
Another nice feature of PKR is they allow it’s players on Silver level or above to set-up their own private tournaments for friends and buddies. It’s straight forward and a great way to invite friends to play with you on your own private password protected table within the site.
PKR SportsBook:
PKR now offer sportsbook betting provided in cooperation with Global betting Exchange (GBE), including use of GBE’s new and highly sought-after software iBroker.
PKR Casino:
PKR Offers a casino including 3d roulette as part of the software.
Press on PKR:
Inside Edge “Online poker is about to take a giant leap forward”
Online Gambler … “freshly launched site is sending the industry on tilt”
WPT Poker “Texas hold-em meets “The Sims” on new site”
Bluff, June ” … the best that the console gaming world has to offer. ”
Poker Europa July … “Simply superb – every on-liner must try this game “
Deposit Options:
Visa Electron, MasterCard, Maestro, Entropay, Vias Debit, Neteller, Paysafe card, PayPoint, uKash, PayPal, ClickandBuy, Click2Pay, Skrill (Moneybookers) and fast bank ransfer ($25 min deposit).
Withdrawal Methods:
Visa, Visa debit, Maestro, Mastercard,
Neteller, Click2Pay, Moneybookers and Bank Transfer ($20 min withdrawl).
Established: 2006
Security: Excellent – no reported problems
Customer Support: Award winning, the support has continued to be second to none.