Pokerstars

PokerStars is a member of the Interactive Gaming Council, a company that regulates online gaming in the United States, although Poker Stars is located on the Isle of Man in the British Isles. The website also complies with all relevant regulations in its home country.

We found PokerStars.com a little confusing. The front page is flashy, detailing the initial deposit bonus and a few promotions, but gives little upfront information about the site’s games or software. There’s a counter detailing the number of online players and running tournaments at the top of each page, and a selector to choose a preferred language.

The Poker Room sections contain a pretty detailed list of the offered poker games, various sets of rules and even a glossary of terms. It seemed, though, as we delved deeper into the site that the support system was hastily thrown together. Poker Stars offers plenty of information on playing poker, but not much in the way of software or customer support. On the bright side, we found PokerStars.com easy to read. This is important, since we discovered it takes a bit of hunting to find relevant information.

We felt that the website left a little to be desired. The program offered is solid, though. Its interface makes it easy on players wishing to find their game.

Poker Stars Software

Poker Stars has designed a program with little frills and straightforward gaming. The minimum system configuration requires players to have a 100 MHz Pentium, 64 MB of RAM (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME) or 96 MB of RAM (Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP) or 512 MB of RAM (Windows Vista), an 800×600 screen resolution with 16-bit color depth and a 56k dialup Internet connection.

For players looking for a faster game, the recommended system requirements are a 333 MHz or faster CPU (800 MHz for Windows Vista), 128 MB of RAM or more (256 MB or more for best performance), a 1024×768 screen resolution with 16-bit color depth, and a 128kbps or faster DSL or Cable Internet connection. Needing only 20 MB of hard drive space, it doesn’t up much room on a computer, either.

One problem, however, is that the program doesn’t require a player to log in when it opens. We had to find the Login button on our own. It also requires a bit of loading time, which is absent from other online poker software. Luckily, the site lists real money games in green and play money games in black, so there’s little chance a player would enter a real money game by accident. We found our desired games relatively easily, too. Players may also select personal pictures as their avatars, making it easy to locate their table position when playing.

While the program design could use a touch-up to its interface, it’s a solid platform for almost any player.

Poker Stars Games

Poker Stars offers a wide collection of games, including Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, Omaha-8, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo, Razz, HORSE, 5 Card Draw, and 2-7 Triple Draw. The stakes start as low as $0.50/$1 and rise all the way up to $1,000/$2,000. Play money games are available for every poker variant, as well.

Poker Stars Bonuses and Promotions

Like lots of poker sites, Poker Stars offers a 100% initial deposit bonus. While similar bonuses are available on other sites, Poker Stars will match a player’s first deposit by up to $600, which is one of the highest match bonuses we’ve seen.

To get the bonus, players must simply enter the bonus code FIRST600 when making a deposit. During the sign up process, players are prompted to enter a “marketing code”. This causes a lot of confusion and many players end up searching for terms like “PokerStars marketing code free money” trying to figure out if it helps them get more free cash. The Pokerstars marketing code is used primarily to identify how a player may have found Pokerstars. There is no extra bonus for using a marketing code.

They also offer a $500,000 depositor free-roll giveaway. Players making a deposit using one of Poker Stars’ special codes will receive a chance to win! Other promotions, such as the Turbo Takedown, PCA Freeroll Fantasy, and Dream Job USA, can be found in the Promotions section of the website.

Poker Stars Deposit Options

Poker Stars accept deposits through Instant eChecks, Visa, MasterCard, Diner’s Club International, Western Union, as well as money order or cashier’s check. A minimum deposit of only $10 is required through Instant eChecks, Visa, MasterCard, and Diner’s Club. Western Union and money order, however, require $100. Instant eChecks also restricts players to a single deposit every 48 hours, but allows a maximum of $100 per deposit. Western Union fees apply to any deposits made through their service.

Poker Stars Support

Poker Stars offers a pleasant gaming experience and a well-designed site. However the website doesn’t offer as much in the way of customer support as other gaming sites. The site includes various FAQs in its support section covering the various games offered and information about poker rooms and security.

The support services aren’t nearly as extensive as we’ve seen on other sites, though. They don’t provide any contact numbers, and only have a single support e-mail address.

In all, though PokerStars.com is a fun experience, but it  must expand their customer support to really make the grade.