Online Poker Rooms & Sites

Full Tilt Poker is one of the most famous poker sites in the business, sporting great promotions, super high-stakes games and the largest line-up of professional poker players. Launched in July 2004, the room has since attracted a lot of players and has created a sponsored team of world-class poker pros including Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Mike Matusow and Erik Seidel. Full Tilt Poker's software is updated frequently and offers great playability, multi-table mini views and superb graphics. Sign up through a PokerListings link and get a $600 bonus at 100% deposit match.

The Full Tilt Poker software features innovative graphics with cartoon-style avatars, and several table sizes and backgrounds. High quality and unique, the software is in line with the very best in terms of functionality; it runs quickly and is very reliable, and all updates take a minimal amount of time. Full Tilt Poker continues to grow exponentially and offers plenty of guaranteed tournaments and satellites to live poker events. Besides the nice sign-up bonus, there are always a number of other excellent promotions, like WPT and WSOP qualifiers and freerolls. Real-money player statistics as of January 2009 show 10,500 ring-game players and 70,000 tournament players at peak hours.

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Ultimate Bet was one of the first big sites to enter the online poker market back in 1999 and it held fairly steady as a medium-sized poker room for its first five or six years, with the infamous “poker brat” Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke its main sponsored pros. Looking to take things to the next level, UB signed a merger plan with Absolute Poker in 2007 and in late 2008 the two completed the shift to the new Cereus poker network, greatly increasing the player base and traffic volume. Sign up through a PokerListings link and get an exclusive $1,500 bonus at 200% match.

Ultimate Bet has always been somewhat of a pioneer when it comes to poker software, and even though players grumbled about the graphics, it’s still been on the forefront of stability and innovation. The latest version of the software allows for lots of different table views and sizes, fast card dealing and a bunch of new features that make multi-table play easy and smooth. Games are plentiful for all levels of players, with UB also known for its great high-stakes action. Real-money player statistics as of January 2009 show 2,100 ring-game players and 14,000 tournament players at peak hours.

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(Note: this poker room does not allow U.S. players).

Hollywood Poker is part of the Ongame network, one of the largest poker networks in the world. The player base is widespread but mainly European, and because the network is so big, it offers up a fairly good balance of both soft and tough games. Both Hollywood Poker and the Ongame network offer plenty of high-profile guaranteed tournaments and satellites, and Hollywood Poker itself is endorsed by many big name celebrities - most prominently acting icon James Woods, who can be found at the tables frequently.

Special promotions in particular are great, with regular money-added tournaments, Top Set and Quad Aces payouts and the popular Celebrity Invitational tournaments. The weekly Celebrity Classic is also a favorite, paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars in bounties every year. The Hollywood Poker software comes in both a download and no-download version, and the download version offers great 3D graphics, featuring nice looking avatars and player-friendly functions. The software is stable, clean and definitely one of the best on the market. Real-money player statistics as of January 2009 show 9,000 ring-game players and 45,000 tournament players at peak hours.

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(Note: this poker room does not allow U.S. players).

CD Poker is one of the most popular rooms on the iPoker network, offering relatively loose and easy-to-beat games with highly playable software. CD Poker also offers one of the best bonus and loyalty packages in the industry, giving players every chance to build their bankroll. The game variety is good and the software offers good graphics and playability. Sign up through a PokerListings link and get a $600 bonus at 200% match PLUS an extra $20 bonus with first deposit over $20.

The CD Poker software offers good functionality and is very stable. The graphics are good, and overall the software offers premium playability. The games are generally quite loose, with plenty of opportunity for skilled players to earn money. Real-money player statistics as of January 2009 show 10,000 ring-game players, and 55,000 tournament players at peak hours.

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PlayersOnly Poker is one of the newest additions to the poker world, opening for play in late 2006. The site is backed by Sportsbook.com and resides on the Cake Poker Network, meaning they only accept U.S. players and, more importantly, U.S. credit card deposits. PlayersOnly Poker offers good game variety, good graphics and playability and is growing quickly, although most of the action is still found at the lower limits. Sign up through a PokerListings link and get an exclusive $1,000 bonus at 125% deposit match.

The PlayersOnly Poker software offers great playability with clean and appealing graphics, although tables can be a little cluttered with information. The software runs quickly and reliably and updates take a minimal amount of time. Even though the higher-stakes games and tournaments still leave something to be desired, the games are super loose and quite a lucrative opportunity for a poker player with skill and experience. Aside from the nice sign-up bonus, players also get a good loyalty program, WSOP giveaways and some quality freerolls. Real-money player statistics as of January 2009 show 1,700 ring-game players and 6,000 tournament players at peak hours.

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(Note: this poker room does not allow U.S. players).

Everest Poker has moved its way up to a strong and stable position in the industry while still being one of the fastest growing poker rooms if you look at player-percentage growth. Since its launch, Everest Poker has grown quickly thanks to its multilingual software and a truly international approach to their development. Everest Poker doesn't currently offer any games besides Hold'em and Omaha, but the Limit and No-Limit action in Hold'em is massive and easy to beat. Sign up through a PokerListings link and get an exclusive $300 lump sum sign-up bonus.

The Everest Poker software comes in all major languages and includes French, Japanese, German, Italian, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Spanish. The software itself is of very fine quality and runs smoothly; it is popular among many players. The traffic at Everest Poker has built up steadily since its inception and now stands strongly in the top ten of all poker sites. Everest Poker is one of few sites that really has profited from U.S. online gambling legislation and seems to attract new players every minute. Real-money player statistics as of January 2009 show 7,000 ring-game players and 16,000 tournament players at peak hours.

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PokerStars is the largest poker site in the world and offers a great variety of games, including super high-limits and some of the rarer mixed games. The room sponsors many of the world’s most famous poker players, including Canadian prodigy Daniel Negreanu and WSOP Main Event winners Chris Moneymaker, Joseph Hachem and Greg Raymer. The site is home to players of all skill levels from many countries around the world, and has a massive and diverse player pool. Sign up through a PokerListings link and get a $50 bonus at 100% deposit match.

With a nice look and quality feel, the PokerStars software is among the best in the world, with innovative functions, lightning-fast game play and great multi-table options. It's also fully customizable and very stable. Tables can also be cascaded and tiled, and all visual and audio options can be turned on and off. Overall, PokerStars boasts top-notch software with a great look and feel. Even as the world’s largest poker site, it's still growing quickly with real-money player statistics as of January 2009 showing 22,500 ring-game players and 155,000 tournament players at peak hours.

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(Note: this poker room does not allow U.S. players).

Party Poker is one of the leading online poker rooms in the world and has been for the better part of the 2000s, with great player volume in both cash games and tournaments. Party Poker has been able to maintain loose and juicy games over time thanks to a constant influx of beginners and gamblers from the casino looking for action. Party Poker offers great promotions and very reliable software, making it a very good all-around poker room. Sign up through a PokerListings link and get a $500 sign-up bonus at 100% deposit match.

Party Poker became the world's largest site in ring-game traffic in late 2002 and early 2003 after its legendary launch campaign. It has since dropped a bit in traffic due to American online gaming restrictions, but it still maintains a very solid player base. With its phenomenal growth, Party Poker has added servers and increased bandwidth to secure full reliability for over 100,000 simultaneous players. The software is highly functional, fast and very reliable. In terms of big events, it hosts the flagship "Party Poker Million" annually, and offers plenty of guaranteed tournaments and satellites. Real-money player statistics as of January 2009 show 9,500 ring-game players, and 60,000 tournament players during peak hours.

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(Note: this poker room does not allow U.S. players).

bwin Poker is one of Europe’s oldest and most popular bookmakers, and through the acquisition of the Ongame network in 2005 they also became Europe’s largest poker network. The game volume at bwin Poker and across the Ongame network is very good, providing good action on any level at most hours of the day. bwin Poker offers relatively juicy games, good game variety, great promotions and very good software, making it a first-rate poker room for almost all players. Sign up through PokerListings and get an exclusive $500 bonus.

The most notable advantage at bwin Poker is the three different versions of the software. The download version is for PC only and offers very nice, crisp 3D graphics and excellent game play. The software is both fast and stable and offers a very nice playing experience, although it is a bit resource intensive for multi-tabling. For Mac users or people with slower processors, the no-download or mobile platforms are great alternatives, offering a streamlined version of play that compromises little in quality. The Ongame network is also one of the largest in the business and offers very good volume in both cash and tournament play. Real-money player statistics as of January 2009 show 9,000 ring-game players and 45,000 tournament players at peak hours.

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