Party Poker

Party Poker has grown to be one of the worlds largest online poker sites since 2003-04, largely through an intense advertising campaign, featuring heavy television advertising during such marquee events as the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker. Much of the conversation about online poker on the Two Plus Two and Pocket Fives forums regards Party Poker.

As of October 13, 2006, Party Poker now bans American players from playing for money on their site. It is unclear how this will affect their business (though they have stated that American players represent approximately 70% of their customers), or what further actions will be taken in this regard. Already, they have cancelled the Party Poker Monster, the largest-ever online tournament freeroll series.

As of October 2013, Party Poker now allows American players but only in the state of New Jersey where they are licensed and regulated. PPNJ shares liquidity with Borgata Poker^[1]. They are currently the largest online poker provider in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Party Poker site does not share games and player pools with the larger international Party Poker brands due to legal restrictions.

Thanks to aggressive actions by the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement, offshore operators have been removed from the state. Thus, Party Poker no longer has to compete against offshore poker sites such as Bovada, Ignition Poker, BetOnline, Carbon Poker, and others, although Global Poker still purportedly operates legally within the state.

Games spread[]

Party Poker spreads a variety of cash games including the ever popular no limit texas holdem, fixed limit texas holdem, pot limit omaha hi, and seven card stud. Party Poker also has its own version of "fast fold poker" dubbed "FastForward Poker." FastForward is only available in the no limit texas holdem variety. Last but certainly not least, Party Poker hosts "Casual Cash Games" which are basically tables that players may only play one at a time. These cash tables seem to be extremely soft and easy, as the recreational players tend to flock to them. Regular players can only sit on one table at a time, and thus, many opt to play standard tables instead, keeping the ratio of good versus bad players in check.

In late 2015 Party Poker changed poker table selection within their poker client. Now players are unable to pick the seat or the table at which they play. The system is built to resemble live poker play where players join a waiting list for a table and then, when a seat opens up at an existing table, the player takes that seat. This measure was introduced by management as a means of protecting recreational players from "being hunted by the sharks."

Unless otherwise noted, all games listed come in the form of Full Ring tables, six max tables, and heads up one on one tables.

No Limit Hold 'em[]

Micro Stakes - $0.01/0.02, $0.02/0.04, $0.05/0.10, $0.10/0.25
Small Stakes - $0.25/0.50, $0.50/1, $1/2
Mid Stakes - $2/4, $3/6, $5/10
High Stakes - $10/20

Fixed Limit Hold'em[]

Micro Stakes - $0.02/0.04, $0.05/0.10, $0.10/0.20, $0.15/0.30, $0.25/0.50
Small Stakes - $0.50/1, $1/2, $2/4, $3/6
Mid Stakes - $5/10, $10/20, $15/30, $20/40
High Stakes - $30/60

Omaha high[]

Micro Stakes - $0.01/0.02, $0.02/0.04, $0.05/0.10, $0.10/0.25
Small Stakes - $0.25/0.50, $0.50/1, $1/2
Mid Stakes - $2/4, $3/6, $5/10

7-stud[]

Small Stakes - $0.50/1, $1/2, $2/4, $3/6
Mid Stakes - $5/10, $10/20, $15/30, $20/40
High Stakes - $30/60

FastForward NLHE Speed Poker []

Micro Stakes - $0.02/0.04, $0.05/0.10, $0.10/0.25
Small Stakes - $0.25/0.50, $0.50/1
Full ring and six max only

Multi Table Tournaments spread[]

Holdem, Omaha and 7 Stud at stakes ranging from $0.10 up to $530 buyins. The Sunday Major is a $200,000 guaranteed tournament with a $215 buy-in

Sit-and-gos: see SNGs by site

VIP Program[]

In March 2015 Party Poker went live with a revamped VIP system. The same tiers exist as did in the prior 8 years, but the amount of rake required to attain those tiers was dropped by approximately twenty percent across all tiers. ^[2]

Quality of opposition[]

Party is widely known as having some of the fishiest players on the Internet, at all levels. The site has probably gotten even looser recently due to the split from the skins, which housed numerous good players who utilized the skins to get bonuses and rakeback while still competing against Party players.

By contrast, the skin network is fairly tight and aggressive, although good games are still available, especially at 6-max tables.

Customer service / cashouts[]

Cashout takes 12-48 hours to hit popular ewallets such as neteller or skrill. Bank wires often arrive in 5 business days. Customer service, now that Party Poker has merged with Bwin to form the publicly traded company, bwin.party, has greatly improved. In late 2014 Party Poker added a small surcharge to all withdrawals of 3%.

Reviews[]

Party Poker Review