Party Poker Review and Bonus Code

Overall 87 Ease of Competition 85 Tournaments 95 Customer Service 77 Software 89

(Click photo to enlarge.)

Please note: Party Poker does not accept real-money players from the United States.

Overview
Party Poker is the largest online poker room reviewed on this site. During peak hours, there are usually around 10,000 real-money players logged in.

They offer plenty of ring games, single-table tournaments, and multi-table tournaments. Recently they've expanded their ring game offerings and now have micro-stakes available in no-limit betting.

Bonus
Party Poker recently made an exciting change to their first deposit bonus:

Use the bonus code TIPS500 to get 100% bonus up to $500.

The minimum deposit to receive this bonus is $25. This is one of the best first time deposit bonuses offered by an online poker room.

The bonus is released in five parts. For example, if one makes a $100 bonus, they will receive five installments of $20 bonuses. To clear this bonus, one must earn 5 PartyPoints for each bonus dollar.

Promotions
Since they are a large cardroom, Party Poker usually has some interesting promotions running. One thing that has always annoyed me about this site is the complicated nature of their promotions. A recent promotion dubbed 'The Grind' was a headache to try to understand. I think their promotions would be more enjoyable if they kept them simple and fun.

On August 10th, the site is celebrating its 7th birthday with a $1,000,000 guaranteed tournament. This Birthday Bonanza event has a buy-in of $600+$40.

Tournaments
Party Poker is among the best places on the internet to play poker tournaments. They offer something for everyone. Their scheduled tournaments strike a perfect balance between offering high buy-in freezeouts and small buy-in rebuy events.

The sit-n-gos at Party Poker are unrivaled compared to other poker rooms reviewed at this site. They used to offer various tiers of "Steps" tournaments that were once incredibly popular. Recently these tournaments were replaced in favor of more affordable games that seem to be generating some popularity.

Software
While Party Poker's software is nothing earth-shattering, it is quite fast. It is also fairly easy to use, though players may experience some delays when loading the lobby screens and gameplay tables.

Table Statistics
One frustrating aspect of Party Poker is that they only display the average pot size in the ring games. All in all, they provide you with little information about the games. I recommend watching the game for a minute or two before joining to see how loose everyone is playing.

Competition Level
The competition at Party Poker is pretty soft for the small stakes no-limit games. The medium to high stakes no-limit games as well as many of the limit hold'em games are tougher than they used to be. Many of the thousands of players at this site are beginners or casual players, but some are seasoned professionals. Recently, some players have complained that the games at Party Poker have gotten more difficult.

Customer Service
For a cardroom of this size, their customer service leaves a little to be desired. They offer both email and phone support. Email support can sometimes take a frustratingly long time, and they don't always answer your question. The fact that they have phone support is nice, but some of the agents are not as helpful as you'd hope.

Ring Games Offered
Texas Hold'em, Omaha hi-lo, Omaha, 7-stud, 7-stud hi-lo

Fixed Limits: $.05-$.10 to $250-$500
NL & PL Blinds: $.02-$.04 to $25-$50

Tournaments Offered
Single- and Multi-table Fixed-limit Holdem, NL/PL Holdem, Fixed Omaha hi-lo, PL Omaha hi-lo, Fixed 7-stud (single-table only). They also have sit-n-go multi-table tournaments.

Single-Table: $3 to $350
Multi-Table: $1 to $1,000

Minimum Deposit
$25