Paradise Poker

Paradise Poker is one of the oldest online poker rooms, and also one of the biggest. They have a large and loyal following, a clear testament to the superior product that they offer. Paradise Poker has now been taken over by Sportingbet PLC, a company that is not only listed on the London Stock Exchange but can also make the claim of being the largest publicly traded gaming company in the entire world. This gives Paradise Poker an unmatched level of financial security and overall dependability.

Paradise Poker is one online poker room that is not going to disappear. Because they have been around for over six years they are now one of the three of four largest online poker rooms with excellent levels of player volume. This liquidity ensures that there are always games going on at every level, and they also offer an incredible selection of poker games, from crazy pineapple to the more popular poker games of limit and no-limit hold`em. Even during off-peak times you can find upwards of 5,000 active players at their tables. This also means that waiting times at Paradise Poker are low, and now you can play blackjack direct from their lobby to while away those few minutes anyway.

Paradise Poker has a whole bunch of bonuses and promotions available:

• 25% match bonus for initial deposits, up to $50 free (deposit of $200 required for max bonus).
• $1,000,000 free roll tournament. The largest free roll poker tournament of all time!
• $20,000 and $50,000 guaranteed tournaments each day. Buy-in is $30.

Bonus money is earned as a result of the number of raked hands that you play (the minimum rake must be $0.25). Players get a single point for each raked hand, and once you hit 100 points $10 is transferred from your bonus account into your real money account. If you accumulate 500 points you will, therefore, earn the maximum bonus of $50, and it is fairly quick and easy to get to that level.

Rake:
Rake at lower limits is slightly higher than the industry norm, which also applies to tournaments. However, it is only marginally more and the traffic and variety of games available makes up for this.

Traffic:
Not too long ago, Paradise was the world`s largest online poker room. It is now around 3rd to 5th biggest. Peak times see up to 3000 ring game players, and well over 10,000 tournaments players.

Software And Cool Features:
The software is the gold standard in online poker, and the benchmark by which all other rooms measure their own software. The lobby is intuitively designed and the functionality offered to players is exactly what you want to have at your fingertips. Detailed playing stats make it a snap to track and monitor your game.

Paradise Poker also features lightning-fast customer support via email, which is the quickest in the business. There is a video library to help online poker newbies, and you can also play blackjack if you want a change of pace or you happen to be waiting for a seat to open up.

Games Supported And Limits:
Texas Holdem, Omaha HiLo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi Lo, Blackjack, Omaha. A wide selection of single table tournaments and multi table tournaments including re-buy and add-on tournaments. Limits: $.01-$.02 up to $20-$40 (incl. pot-limit and no-limit games)

Deposit And Withdrawal Options:
Major credit and debit cards, FirePay, Neteller and Bank Drafts

Level Of Play And Competition:
Paradise Poker has been around a long time, and the "regulars" who play here provide some of the toughest online poker competition around. If you are hoping to find fish here you are going to be disappointed, but the superior level of play will rapidly improve the standards of your own game. If you cut your teeth here you will be able to beat nearly every other online game. The rake is quite high, however, at lower levels.

Player Services:
This used to be the biggest knock on Paradise Poker, but times have changed since they were taken over by Sportingbet. Their FAQ section has been bolstered and as we said earlier their customer support via email is exceptionally quick and thorough. Security and privacy is beyond reproach at Paradise Poker, and the random shuffle generator is independently audited by PWC.

Downside:
Tough opposition
High rake at low-level ring games and tournaments
No loyalty program
No phone support