Win the All-In Leaderboards
Mood:  hug me
Titanpoker, among the best online poker rooms on the iPoker network, introduced the All-In Winter leaderboards in December. A great characteristic of this competition is that it includes everyone, including the cash players and tournament players. There is even something for the people looking to play freerolls!

Cash players that utilize the Titan Poker bonus code this season can participate in the Cash Tables Races. Every week people play as much cash as possible, and then they are ranked on a leaderboard according to the amount of rake they paid. Those that play $1/$2 or higher will get ranked on the High Blinds leaderboard, and everyone that plays lower than that will get ranked on the Low Blinds leaderboard.

Titan really shows that they are one of the top Texas Holdem sites by giving out a ton of cash. Each week has $7k available for the High Blinds leaderboard, with a generous $1k for first place. Similarly, there is $3k available for the Low Blinds leaderboard, with a cool $425 for first place.

If you are a Sit-n-Go player, you should also think about a Titan Poker download. The Sit-n-Go promotion also has two different leaderboards and is also based on rake paid. The High leaderboard has a $6,000 prize pool, and the Low leaderboard has a prize pool of $2,000.

If you do not have much experience on money poker sites and have a very small bankroll, you should know about the special freerolls taking place on January and February 11th. Each freeroll has a $10k prize pool!

And, of course, there is a special promo for multi-table tournament players. You won’t want that Blackjack download anymore because you will be required to enter a huge number of Titan tourneys. There is a $50k prize pool up for grabs, and first place also receives a live tournament package worth $14k!

Good luck and see you on Titan!

Big Rewards at Titanpoker
Mood:  cheeky
Titanpoker claims to have one of the best online poker rewards programs on the Internet today. If you are a fan of collecting points and receiving bonus bucks in return, you might be inclined to agree with them. This entry will discuss the act of collecting points, and then I will talk about trading in the points for some great rewards.

Obtaining points on your Titanpoker download is easy to understand, especially if you are a tournament player. MTTs and SnGs give seventeen points per $1 in tourney rake paid. So if you play a $10+$1 buy-in, you will receive 17 points.

The points earned in a cash game depends on the rake taken in a given pot. If you took advantage of a Titan Poker bonus code, you should pay close attention because the bonus requires points to become cleared. Visit Titan’s website for full info regarding the points you earn per pot, but if you want a couple examples, here you go: $0.06 rake would provide 0.3 points, $0.76 would provide 4 points, and $3.50 would net you 24 points.

Similar to the rakeback program on the PokerStars download, some VIP rankings provide point multipliers. For example, earning 1,000 points in a single month would move you from VIP Bronze to VIP Silver and then you would earn 20% more points. VIP Diamond is found at the very top of the ladder. The highest of levels requires 35k points in one month, and then you will receive a handsome 120% bonus on your points.

Even when you have collected a significant number of points, you should think about waiting until you collect even more. This is because unlike the Everest Poker download, the more points you cash in, the more bonus dollars you get per point. For instance, if you were to buy a $10 bonus 12k times (for a total of $120k), it would cost you 24 million points total. If you buy the entire $120k at once, you only pay 7 million points. That is a huge difference!

Many of the best Euro poker sites have rakeback or VIP incentives, and it is up to you to decide which one best suits your playing style. If you would like to read more about Titanpoker, take a look at the articles I wrote before this one.

Titanpoker Interface
Mood:  chillin'
A couple weeks ago I stated that Titan is among the best online poker sites on the Internet. My next couple of entries will expand on that. Today’s article will talk about their software and the next article will go over their rewards program.

The Titanpoker bonus code offers great graphics and animated characters that verbally say “call”, “fold”, or “raise”. This adds a lot to the poker experience. If you do not like the chat bar in its default place, you can move it or even remove it. You can even pick and choose between the chat you see in the bar, whether it’s dealer, players, summaries, or all of it. This is great because you can find the “perfect mold” and get all set with your game. You get to pick your own avatar as well, but unlike when you download PokerStars, you are not given the chance to upload your own image. When it comes to the tables, you can choose to have a warning displayed for large all-in bets, a very useful safety for preventing mistaken clicks. If you are a picky person, you will love the customized options.

When you play poker, your tables open up as individual windows. If you have a lot of experience in online poker rooms, it is a good idea to play multiple tables at a time. To make it easier, the room offers a Mini Table feature that instantly tiles your tables according to your monitor’s resolution. This should help you multi-table like a pro!

Hand Histories are displayed in a nice graphic format – just press a button and they are set. If you are a fan of the PokerStars download, though, you might dislike the graphic hand histories and wish they just came in text.

If you need a flash site for your Mac, you will be pleased to know that the software was updated in a number of languages. So now even flash Texas Holdem advocates have something good to say about Titan!

Titanpoker Review
Mood:  chatty
Titanpoker is on the list as one of the best online poker sites in the world, especially where Europe is concerned. Titanpoker shares their player base with the rest of the iPoker network, and this makes them one of the largest rooms on the Internet. Americans will be disappointed to know that they are not one of the US poker sites available at this time. TitanPoker uses high quality Playtech software and therefore the interface is well run and great to look at.

Titan Poker is one of the top Texas Holdem sites online, but they also offer Omaha, Stud and Razz. The heads-up games are running at all times and the SnGs are always a popular option. There are also several scheduled tournaments with guaranteed prize pools. Titan Poker also turns your first deposit into free entry tokens to their $20,000 New Depositors Freeroll, a perk that is not offered when you use a PokerStars bonus code. There are often players who sign up for the tournament but forget to play it, so it can turn out to be an easy money-making gem for those that remember.

Sit & Go tournaments on the Titanpoker download have lots of players in them. They also offer a lot of action with buy-ins ranging from $0.10 + $0.02 up to $5,000 + $200. At any given time there can be hundreds of people either playing or waiting to play SnGs. Fans of American poker online will point out that the best US poker sites have way more SnG players than this. That being said, only the mass multi-tablers will run out of games to play in this room.

If you are using the Titanpoker bonus code for tournaments, you will find some healthy fields to compete in. The scheduled tourneys usually have excellent participation, and when they don’t, you have the chance at some overlay. They offer an excellent range of game types and buy-in amounts. If your bankroll needs rebuilding you can play freerolls, and if you recently scored huge, you can play $172s. They also have a lot of invitational events for VIP players. The tournament selection might tempt you to forget about that PartyPoker bonus code and play at Titan Poker instead!

Everest Poker Rakeback 2
(This is the second of two entries regarding the Everest Poker VIP Program)

The Death Zone – This is where the benefits truly get good, worthy of the best online poker players. To get into the Death Zone, you have to earn at least 30,000 SPs, and this will earn you an SP multiplier of 700%. If you are a fan of the cash bonuses, you will be happy to know that you will be able to convert SPs to up to $2k every month. This VIP level also has the maximum refer-a-friend bonus of $200. You even get entered into a bigger freeroll of $25k every month. It is not usual for the best Euro poker sites to have so many large freeroll tournaments. In addition to your other customer service perks, you now get personalized service for live event registration and can cash in SPs for brick-and-mortar MTT buy-ins. Your benefits stick around for 3 months at this level rather than just 1 month.

The Summit – If you are determined to be the very best on your Everest Poker download, you should strive for the Summit. This aptly named VIP level is the highest level possible, and you get in once you collect a minimum of 50,000 monthly SPs. Only the best of the best will reach this level, and because of that the players that make it get an SP multiplier of 750%. If you are a fan of the cash bonuses, get excited: you can now convert for up to $5k cash every month. Everything else to this VIP level is the same as in the Death Zone, and the perks stick around for an entire 3 months. This is better than the 1 month you usually get when you download PokerStars.

You may have already figured out that the bonus SPs do not contribute to your VIP level. As with VIP programs on most US friendly poker sites, you only move up in VIP levels with non-bonus SPs. There is a nice points calculator on their website which estimates the amount of points you will earn based on hands played, game type, and limit. For instance if you played 50,000 hands per month, at $1 - $2 6-max, you would earn about 33,000 base SPs, putting you in the Death Zone. Taking into account the top VIP levels on some casinos for USA players, this is not so bad. And don’t forget that you get even more SPs from your multipliers!

In order to trade for cash bonuses, you need to fork over 250 times the Summit Points. So if you want $350, you need 87.5k SPs. As this does not change when your VIP level increases, you might think it would be worth playing at other money poker sites. However, remember that you are earning points up to 7.5x faster, so the multiplier makes it easier to collect points as you move up. When everything is considered, Everest’s rewards program gives a large amount of rakeback. Before considering a PartyPoker bonus code, take a look at the benefits of Everest.

Everest Poker Rakeback
I would like to continue the Everest Poker theme, with the focus on one of the best online poker VIP programs. You earn Summit Points (SP) for playing real money poker, and the more points you earn, the more benefits you receive. When you reach the top of the VIP ladder, you’ll be getting an SP multiplier of 750% as well as $5k every month as a cash reward. This works out to around 50% rakeback!

You have to enroll yourself in the VIP Summit Club to participate, unlike when you use a Full Tilt Poker bonus code. Go to “My Account”, click on the “VIP Summit Club” button, check the “agree” box, and click “enroll”.

I think it is time for me to tell you what can you get for all your hard work at the tables! I will now list the VIP level and their benefits.

Base Camp – If you can earn 500+ SPs on your Everest Poker download in one month, you will earn your way into the Base Camp. The first thing you receive is a 250% bonus multiplier for all the SPs you earn. So when you earn 100 SPs, you actually receive 350, 250 more than before your multiplier. You can also convert your SPs to cash now. Your maximum at Base Camp is $50 for 12,500 SPs. You also get an increased $50 refer a friend bonus, and you get entry into a $1,000 weekly freeroll. Like with PokerStars rakeback, you will receive the benefits from this level (and all other Camp levels) for one month.

Camp I – You will be put into Camp I once you collect at least 3,000 SPs in one month on this download free poker site. This VIP level increases your SP multiplier to 500%. This time earning 100 SPs would net you a bonus of 500 SPs. You will be able to convert your SPs for up to $250 every month. The amount of SPs for the maximum bonus is 62,500. The other benefits from Base Camp also remain.

Camp II – Admission into Camp II requires 10k SPs in one month on Everest, one of the best Euro poker sites around. Your bonus SP rate will increase to 600%. You can convert SPs up to $750 every month for the cost of 187,500 Summit Points. As for your other benefits, they are even better at this level, and there is a good chance they are better than most casinos for USA players. Your refer-a-friend bonus increases to $100, and you can access priority customer service with in game chat support. Where freerolls are concerned, you get to enter the monthly $10k tournament.

Camp III – Be prepared to earn 20k SPs to get into Camp III. The SP multiplier at this level rises just slightly to 650%. The amount of cash you are able to receive from Summit Points is up to $1,000, more than a lot of the best Mac poker sites give you every month. The maximum amount will cost 250,000 SPs. You will, of course, also keep your benefits from Camp II.

To be continued…

Everest Poker Software
Last time I talked about Everest Poker, which is on the list as one of the best online poker rooms for those new to poker. Today I plan to continue reviewing the site by moving on to its software.

As I explained a couple weeks ago, the biggest weakness of an Everest Poker download is the large amount of computer resources needed when playing tables on the site. Before you start thinking that the software is useless, though, let me mention some of the positives.

Most people expect seamless navigation on top Texas Hold'em sites, and no one will be disappointed with the menus on Everest. They allow you to either search through the poker room via their tabbed menu system, or there is a way to customize the menus to show only the stakes of your choice. At least one of these options should be more than enough to suit your needs.

One of the best things about having access to download free poker is the option to play more than one table at a time. With regards to table sizing, you can stretch and expand Everest Poker's tables however you'd like, but they also give you a feature that not many sites offer: you can choose to size the tables to four different resolutions. You can choose from 640x480, 800x600, 1024x728, and 1280x960. When you consider resizable tables and resolution choices, you have to admit that Everest has jumped ahead of other money poker sites in this aspect.

In the end, though, the memory problem is still a big one. To come even close to a Full Tilt Poker download, they at least need to provide the option of reducing graphics at the tables. There is an option to remove the chip and card animations, but it is not a lot of help.

If you want to wait for Everest to fix their software prior to playing on their network, there are plenty of other sites to choose from. If you are interested in having lots of tables to choose from, you can always play at PokerStars. Se parte del sitio más grande de póquer en línea, descarga PokerStars. Para descargar PokerStars haz clic aquí. Good luck at the tables!

Everest Poker Review
Mood:  down
Similar to Tiger Gaming, Everest Poker is filled with mostly inexperienced low stakes players, which is perfect for building the bankroll. The lowest NLHE stakes available are $0.10 - $0.10, and they only go as high as $50 - $50. Most people won’t need to play any lower or higher than the stakes available here, and those that feel otherwise will have to use different download free poker sites. Oh yeah, and you might wonder why I listed the No Limit stakes the way I did. The NLHE stakes are detailed by stating the same value two times, even though it’s just the number of the big blind. The small blind is then half either of the numbers (since they’re both the same). What made them want to list stakes this way is anyone’s guess.

Limit stakes, however, are listed in the traditional way. They start at $0.02 - $0.04 and go up to $50 - $100. Once again, this won't suit the players with the biggest bankrolls. Sit-n-Go’s, on the other hand, can be entered for as little as $0.04 + $0.01 and as high as $500 + $30. If you live in the States, unfortunately it is the same as Tiger Gaming: Everest Poker is not on the US poker sites list. If you live in Russia or China, you are also unable to play on the site.

Everest Poker has grown substantially over the past few years, and it is their goal to be considered among the best online poker sites online. They are an independent poker room on their very own network: the Everest Network. Where traffic is concerned, the Everest Network has the 6th most players on the Internet today. If you’re a new player looking to build a bankroll, this room is a solid starting point.

No site is perfect, however, this site included. One downside is that only Holdem and Omaha are offered. This is strange considering that many other money poker sites have the option to play at least Stud. Also, unless you have a newer computer, you may find yourself getting irritated as the software eats up quite a bit of memory. Everything considered, though, you'll encounter a lot more good than bad in your playing experience on an Everest Poker download.

Tiger Gaming Software
Mood:  smelly
The software at Tiger Gaming was recently updated with some useful features. They still have the clean look, but now they also have more of the functions that are really just necessary in today's world of online poker.

You can now review hand histories instantly at Tiger Gaming tables. They also added some key multi-tabling features: resizable tables and the ability to play up to 30 at once (rather than just 4). Furthermore, you can view some basic stats right at the table, which is a nice feature.

Tiger Gaming has the requisite advance action buttons. One thing I noted was that compared to other download free poker sites, the No Limit tables do not have the advance action buttons "call any" and "raise any". This is very nice because these buttons can be very dangerous in No Limit if they get hit by mistake.

Tiger Gaming’s chat interface has the option of showing dealer chat, player chat, both, or neither. And like top sites such as a Full Tilt Poker download, you can also choose to play with a four color deck which helps multi-tabling by making it quicker to see different suits.

One odd feature of the software is that when you make a bet, you press the “bet other/raise other” button to make your bet exceed the minimum. Pressing this button brings up a pop up where you can bet as much as you want. It sounds like a pain in the butt but it’s actually a smooth process, although some may not like the fact it is automatically set to bet the pot. This is can be either good or bad depending on the situation. The PokerStars download has no “bet pot” button and therefore people often make very small bets, but the same players would just bet the pot at Tiger because it is so convenient. This, in turn, destroys your odds at drawing and you have to fold. There are many situations in poker when betting the pot is very bad, though, and this is when the preset amount is a great advantage for you.

Another deviation from some money poker sites is that players are able to take money off the table at any time by simply leaving the table, and then they can sit down at the same table with less money immediately afterwards. This is known as “rat holing”, and it angers many serious poker players.

The cash tables at Tiger also feature different minimum and maximum buy-ins. Tiger has 40-50BB minimums at their tables, which is much higher than the typical 10-20BB minimums. This is a good feature since it keeps the table full of players with money and keeps the guys who buy-in very short away from the table (they can go play free bet sportsbooks).

Combined with my previous entry, my writing today should help you figure out whether or not you want to play in this room. You might not think that Tiger is as good as Full Tilt or PokerStars, but at least it's better than clearing Bingo codes. That’s it for me today, I’ll be back in September :)

Tiger Gaming Review
Mood:  celebratory
Thanks for coming to my new site! I’m a huge fan of online poker, and I will be updating this blog on a regular basis with poker articles. In this post I will discuss Tiger Gaming, one of the sites on Action Poker.

The designers at Tiger Gaming did well to create a site that’s easy to navigate and nice to look at. There is a large deposit bonus to earn and you will find the customer support quite accommodating. Tiger Gaming is unique in that it hosts a few different games that you can’t find in any other poker room. Such games include Chinese Poker (very addictive), Pan, Guts (my favorite), and Big 2 (a classic). You won’t find a blackjack download here, but this will become your site of choice if you enjoy any of the other games.

I haven’t talked about actual poker yet! Tiger Gaming has tables of Limit and No-limit Texas Hold'Em, Omaha and extremely low traffic 7 Card Stud tables.

Tiger Gaming has recently been advertising aggressively in Canada, encouraging consumers to download free poker in commercials airing on TSN, Rogers Sportsnet and The Score. It looks like they thought that Canada is an untapped poker market. The aggressive campaign is still going on and has resulted in a poker site full of Canadians, many of whom really can't play poker well at all.

Traffic can be bad at times, especially at 50NL+ and 1/2+. But if you are a low stakes player just getting started on money poker sites, you should be able to find plenty of action from 2 to 25NL. You will usually have three to six 25NL tables to choose from, for example. If you want to play 50NL, it’ll be a little bit trickier. If you are lucky there will be one open, on rare occasions two tables. And you’d be wasting your time if you want to play even higher than this. Sometimes there will be a NL100 available but very rarely. The site does offer stakes up to $1000NL but I have never seen the game actually happen, so these players will just have to make do with Daniels Room poker instead.

I will just go ahead and tell you that the traffic for the other games is pretty awful. They offer Seven Card Stud tables but nobody, literally nobody, plays them. Omaha is almost as bad. Occasionally there is one table of Omaha running, usually 20PLO. If you enjoy these non-Hold’em games, you should instead consider a PokerStars download. As for the exotic games, you won’t have trouble finding a game during the busy hours. Because Tiger is the only room you can find games like this, the traffic is much better. For example, the game Guts usually has two or three tables going, with minimum bets of between 10 and 50 cents.

If you want to play low stakes on Tiger Gaming, the traffic and games are not bad. If you’re new to poker, you should first increase your bankroll at Tiger and then plan to move to a Full Tilt Poker download when you want to play higher stakes.

Be sure to come back in a couple weeks! I will have a detailed post regarding the interface at Tiger Gaming.