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May 12th, 2008 |
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May 12th, 2008 |
Poker Room Review:
Like most poker rooms in the Prima Poker Network, PokerTime is full of satisfying as well as frustrating qualities. Not with the best will in the world could the software be described as world class. Luckily neither could the players at the site. What we do like, however, is their "Big Stack Bonus.
The same three statements can also be rephrased with some moderation put behind the words: The software has a long way to go before it is called state-of-the-art but has a quite good usability. The games at PokerTime have gotten tighter though it is still full of fish. PokerTime is recommended for players who can oversee some flaws when looking for soft competition, large bonuses and premium promotions.
The gaming variation at PokerTime is good and deviates a bit from the main stream. Texas Hold’em is the backbone of any poker site. Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Seven Card Stud is also offered. There is no low or high-low version of Seven Card Stud though. Instead Five Card Stud is available. There are a big number of shorthanded six player tables. PokerTime also boosts with a good volume of pot- and no limit games, at least for the pot- and no limit Hold’em players.
In general there is a good selection of games. Since there are a lot of players on the site, there are a lot of tables. There are comparatively many games all the way from the micro stakes up to the high stakes areas. Here the micro limits are: $0.05/$0.10 and high stakes: $100/$200.
PokerTime actually has games going on at the higher limits. Some poker rooms offer really high limits, with a game running once every month or so! For most of us, the availability of high stakes games is not our main concern when choosing a poker site to play at. We could however appreciate that the limits in between also gets frequented, and they do.
PokerTime runs a myriad of different tournaments. The traffic is about as high or slightly higher at the tournaments lobby than at the ring game section. There is a good span in the regular tournaments, something for most tastes and wallets: $1 + $0 NL Hold’em Freezeout, $40 + $4 Omaha H/L Fixed, $200 + $15 NL Freezeout. As far as the satellites go, they show style by running specialized satellites for smaller and different WSOP events as well. The Sit & Go’s are also run well. To highlight one area: the heads up matches also includes 4 to 16 player shootouts.
PokerTime gets an amazing number of players to their freerolls from time to time. The $15,000 freeroll (with a $10+$0 rebuy) often hits the ceiling for allowed number of participants. The total number of players in the tournament section surpasses the 10,000 mark easily when there is a big freeroll. The big guaranteed tournaments are also very popular.
If you have tried PokerTime or another poker room in the Prima Network with the same software (from Microgaming) before, then you will be in for a positive surprise. The software has improved faster than their competitors. The interface is still not top notch. Continuous upgrades has removed the real annoyances, most importantly the game speed is now on level with most other rooms. Somehow though, they do not seem to have given the graphics an overhaul yet. The lobby is quite smart and easy to use, although a bit sprawling with all the choices that are given. A ticker for the progressive bad beat jackpot, the PokerTime logo and a box with scrolling promotional updates are rather scrimmaging. The raked hand counter which keeps track of daily, weekly, and monthly totals is clearly visible too.
PokerTime’s runs the fully equipped version of the Microgaming software. This means there is a lot of bang for the buck. Speaking of noise, you can only mute all tables, or none. The sound is the collective total of all the tables a player has open. Some feel multitabling with the sound turned on results in cacophony, nothing but a constant flow of ‘blip’, ‘trssh’ and ‘blop’. Others feel this sound spread makes it easier to survey the whole situation, to know where to focus. The mini-view option is a great option for multitabling. The simplistic tables can be viewed in three sizes. The regular size is very much like any other poker rooms’ tables. The mini-view is a downscaled version which enables players to play multiple tables (up to ten) without overlap, almost regardless of screen size. The mini view is not just a small table but also redesigned for the purpose. The big table has an oversized chat-box.
An array of functions – statistics, player search, note taking, function buttons – are all there. While they are not breath taking they are fully functional. A full screen mode is also available. The interface which is characterized by the absence of personalized avatars can be viewed as any where between lifeless and easy on the eye.
Table (click to enlarge)
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Lobby (click to enlarge)
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The best thing with the games at PokerTime is not how many there are, but how loose they are. There are lots and lots of games with viewed flop percentages around the 40-ies and 50-ies. Apart from the looseness indicated by these numbers, the games also tend to be aggressive. In other words: lots of fun juicy action. The games in the Prima Poker network have gotten tighter over the last year. The level of competition is still well below an online average.
The signup bonus at PokerTime is really good. If you deposit $200, they will match it up to 100% - that's $200 of free money! Clearing each bonus dollar is moderately difficult. Each bonus dollar comes with nineteen other ones. $20 will be released from the bonus account for every 500 Bonus Redemption Points (BRPs).
The Bonus Redemption Points are an extension of plain raked hands. With table limits from $0.25/$0.50 up to $1.50/$3.00 they are the same thing. One hand in which you are dealt cards and the pot gets raked earns you 1 BRP. At limits between $2/$4 and $3/$6 one raked hand equals 2 BRPs. At limits of $4/$8 and higher you get 3 BRPs for every raked hand. This means hands raked on any $0.05/$0.10 and $0.10/$0.20 table does not count toward clearing the bonus, nor does tournament play. The $200 sign-up bonus expires after 90 days, after which no further installments are paid out.
There are number of different point systems. One for eligibility in participating in the freerolls; the freerolls run on daily and weekly basis and they are well sized. Another system applies for the Poker Point Challenge running every month where $40,000 is distributed amongst the top 1500 ‘point’ earners. You are automatically signed into the ‘Poker Players Club’ when you start playing at Poker Time. Points in that club is earned in a multitude of ways but the value of this club is rather limited. In the ‘Poker League’ points are earned almost as the BRPs. The Poker League offers rakeback from a weekdays play to the top 100 league point earners each specific weekday.
The pots at PokerTime are raked in line with the industry standard. The rake at the ring games is around 3 – 5% and the largest cap is set at $3. At the pot- and no-limit micro limits the percentage is bigger and the increments at which it is taken are tight, $.01 is raked per $.15 in the pot. However the cap is very reasonably set to $0.07 on these limits. On larger games the intervals are better separated ($20 spaces) but occasionally the cap is slightly higher than industry standard instead. Overall the differences that swings both ways are negligible. At tournaments a 10% fee is taken as long as the buy-in is lower than $100.
A friendly support service is available by e-mail, chat and a 1-800 number. Although PokerTime is a fairly new poker room security gets a top score. The network is stable and PokerTime’s mother company is the highly reputable Fortune Lounge Group. All deposit options are available for withdrawals too except for credit cards. Cashouts with e-wallets as Neteller are usually processed within one business day.
