PokerStars is the largest poker site online with tournament & ring games to suit all players. now boasting more than 3 WSOP winners, Stars also offer the most WSOP qualifiers and tournaments online. PokerStars is THE poker site that all others are measured against. It also features a sportsbook & casino.
Poker Stars was the breeding ground for 3 World Series of Poker – Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer & Joe Hachem and has the most online qualifiers for the WSOP / WPT. PokerStars has grown past all of the competition including Party Poker, 888, iPoker and has consistently boasted the highest volume of tournaments online and ring game traffic by a wide margin.
PokerStars is simply the biggest poker site online and firmly established as the most innovative, with the broadest offering of game types and stakes. They predictbly offer the biggest tournaments, the most qualifiers and live game satellites as well as the biggest range of cash games 24/7 – however those ring games are also some of the toughest.
| Bonus | Current Bonus Offer |
| Easy Win: | 7/10 |
| Traffic: | 18,000 |
| Network: | Independent |
| Licensed: | UK & Isle of Man |
| Established: | 2001 |
| Support: | 24/7 Email support |
The Good: The tournament range and variety is huge, new and unique game formats, by far the biggest range of single table and multiple table SNG’s and the best live qualifiers online – A classy site.
The Bad: Generally a bit tougher site particularly in ring games. With class players at the top, grinders in the middle and not the juiciest of games at the lower limits … but plenty on offer.
The Verdict: If you love tournaments variety then PokerStars simply cannot be beaten, however ring games the games at PokerStars are consistently tighter. While there are fewer tables at smaller sites they have much easier to win games, for juicy cash games don’t play at PokerStars.
In short PokerStars has everything you need, done very well and in vast quantity making it perfect for every conceivable tournament and trying lots of different formats like spin&go & tempest but it’s not the place for really easy cash games.
PokerStars Bonus: Check out the latest bonus offer HERE
PokerStars have different new player bonus offers depending on where in the world you are – click the link above to get the most up-to-date best bonus offer for you.
Minimum Deposit: $10 / £10 / 10E
Easy To Win: 6/10
With a reputation for having tougher games across the board – It’s massive growth means this isn’t quite so bad anymore but it’s still not the best place for juicy cash games.
The mid to high limit games can be tough but this is generally the same on any site. The lower limit games are maybe not as easy to beat as some sites. Poker Stars also have micro-limit games which have more weaker players than the higher stakes – however even at these stakes PokerStars has more players that tend to be tighter, more nitty rocks than at other smaller poker sites that have more of a focus on their sportsbooks & casino players who bring value to the table.
Other than the micro/low stakes PokerStars cash games are not the place for beginners – but if your looking for some quality players to stretch and improve your game this site is definitely for you. You won’t find 25%+ to the flop rates even in the 0.01/0.02 games. There are much much easier to win and profitable cash games at other sites.
Multi-table Tournaments and SNG’s are a different story with a much broader range of skills and the sharks are less able to exploit MTT’s. PokerStars tournaments attract such big player pools there is plenty of dead money in virtually every tournament.
Player Traffic: 18,000 peak daily players
Think quality and class. If you play bad poker then you will be punished in mid to high limits – if you want to take your poker to another level this is where to do it. However there are many more fish that there used to be in the low stakes & micro-limit games.
Network: None – Independent
PokerStars is not part of a network and have their own proprietary software.
Software & Graphics:
Good solid and playable. Maybe Poker Stars hasn’t got fancy avatars but the software supports massive tournament traffic and a huge lobby while maintaining very good speed and has good interface for playing on.
Mac Version: Yes, full downloadable version for Macintosh
Random Number Generator (RNG): Cigital Certified
Games: Good range, massive traffic in Texas Hold-em including short and heads-up tables. Micro-limit games.
Texas Hold-em (limit, pot-limit & no-limit), Omaha (hi, hi-lo & nl hi-lo) 7 card stud, Seven card stud 8 or better, Five Card Draw, HORSE & Badugi.
Stakes: Micro to High Stakes
Ring / Cash: Micro to High Stakes
Tournaments: Vast array of tournaments. World Championship of Online Poker & World Cup of Poker. Lots of qualifiers to live games.
Loyalty & Promotions: Frequent Player Points for entry to special tournaments.
Billionth Hand celebrations does exactly what it says on the tin, every billion hands dealt on PokerStars comes with prizes and bonuses for those sat at the table that each billionth hand is dealt at and with build-up landmark hands getting rewarded too.
VIP loyalty programme with rewards and points for all types of players at all levels.
Deposit Options: eChecks (Canadian players only), NETeller, Central Coin, VISA / VISA Delta / VISA Electron / Gift and Prepaid VISA, MasterCard / Gift and Prepaid MasterCard, ePassporte, Diners Club International, Solo / Maestro / Switch (UK players only), Cashier’s Check / Money Order / Bank Draft, Local Bank Wire Transfer, Online Bank Transfer (Dutch players only) & paysafecard
Withdrawal Methods: eChecks (Canadian players only), NETeller, Central Coin, VISA / VISA Delta / VISA Electron / Gift and Prepaid VISA, MasterCard / Gift and Prepaid MasterCard, ePassporte, Diners Club International, Solo / Maestro / Switch (UK players only), Cashier’s Check / Money Order / Bank Draft, Local Bank Wire Transfer, Online Bank Transfer (Dutch players only) & paysafecard
Established: 2006
Security: Rock solid biggest player in the market.
Customer Support: 24/7 Email support.
