Fair Poker

Fair Poker is a relatively new online poker room. It is owned and operated by the Intercontinental Online Gambling Group (IOG). This group is regularly featured here at Online Gambling Insider. It runs some of the best Playtech casinos, like Casino Las Vegas.

There are many good reasons to play at Fair Poker. First of all, the action at mid to higher stakes levels is pretty juicy. This is largely due to the hordes of casino gamblers that frequent the poker rooms run by numerous Playtech operators. They have deep pockets, and like to gamble. If you are patient, there is really good money to be made. I play at mid-level stakes -  up to $100 Sit&Go`s and up to $50 multi table tournaments and I have been doing very well here lately. I have also found that I am able to move up a level or two in the ring games,  because there are more inexperienced players around than at other rooms.

For beginners, Fair Poker offers an excellent place to play. There are some tournaments especially for new players, and it seems like a pretty level playing field at the lower stakes levels.

Online Gambling Insider have negotiated a special first deposit bonus. The normal bonus is 50% up to $200 free, but you will automatically receive 100% up to $300 free if you visit Fair Poker via any of the links on our site.

Fair Poker has some really good tournaments coming up, like The Million Mania Tournament. There are other regular promotions like if you win six Sit & Go Tournaments in a row you can win a $25,000 jackpot. Fair Poker came in for a lot of stick initially when it launched because of slow service, but I must say it seems like they have got their act together. This is a poker room that is getting better all the time, as it has the necessary backing.

Fair Poker has some fantastic bonus offers:

• EXCLUSIVE: 100% bonus up to $300 for our visitors - automatically credited
• Lots of daily free rolls and guaranteed tournaments
• Current qualifiers include WPT Legends Of Poker Tournament
• WSOP Qualifiers
• Huge $1 Million guaranteed tournament coming up in July
• Very good loyalty points system

Rake:
There is no rake at the Micro levels which is good for smaller players. At the higher stakes levels, the rake formula is pretty common: 5% of the total pot up capped at $3. I have found that tournament fees are on par with most other rooms, and even a bit lower for some multi table tournaments.

Traffic:
June 2006 volume at busiest times:  approx. 2000 ring game players, proof that the iPoker Network is growing nicely. As usual, tournament traffic is higher and caps out at around 4,500 at the moment.

Games And Limits:
The game variety is limited, but if Hold`Em is your game this becomes totally irrelevant. To be honest, for most players the soft action at the medium to high stakes levels is far more important than the game variety. Apparently Playtech has some new games in the pipeline.

Deposit And Withdrawal Options:
The Playtech cashier process is simple to use, and IOG is very efficient when it comes to cash in requests. Deposit and withdrawal methods include everything but an ox wagon. Neteller, Firepay, Credit Cards, Wire Transfer and many other supported.

Level Of Play And Competition:
If you are a good player (don`t we all think we are? ;-), the standard of play will put a smile on your face. We are talking view flop percentages of up to 50% at much higher levels that with other rooms. I have found that the standard of play at the $100 Sit&Go level barely compares with the $50 level at some of the bigger rooms. Considering all the casino players gracing the tables, this comes as no surprise. This is bound to change, but for now I say cash in, if you are patient enough.

Loyalty Program And Customer Services:
The loyalty program works like at most other poker rooms - earn points, or Coins in this case, for all wagers made and tournaments entered. Where it is better than most is that the more you play, the better your VIP level becomes. The higher the VIP level, the quicker you earn points.  IOG offers very good casino customer service, and although they had some problems with service initially at Fair Poker, I have had no problems and industry reports seem to be getting very positive.