Party Poker is the only on-line site I have tried. I do like the ease with which you can learn about the site. Technical support and customer service is good. I have never found an easy game. The 2-4,3-6, even the 1-2 tables have been nothing but hardcore rock death matches. As a person who has played a lot of brick and mortar, I know there are always some tough tables, but you usually find a decent mix at the casino. Not so at Party Poker. Maybe the fish have been caught, but I have NEVER ONCE found a good game. I opened up a separate account to limit my risk from on-line fraud, even going so far as to open up at a separate bank to protect my main financial routing number. I am still playing on the one and ONLY deposit I will ever make, so if they take it, they take it. (I now play only when I am totally alert, and play supertight. Once in a while, you can make a little on blind steals.) I would not recommend Party Poker's "action" to anybody. The only angle that might be worthwhile is to keep a little money in a real money account to maintain access to the freeroll tournaments. They pay peanuts, but at least it is tournament action. As far as card integrity, I think that the skew is OK at the 3-6 and above levels. Between the hardcore rocks and suspect distribution at the lower limits, I would not mess with them, unless you have the patience to wait for premium cards, and are willing to use money that you don't mind blinding off.

Site is easy to use, however just like the other sites need to learn....If your going to offer a bonus, just give it to the customer. No more have to play 250 RANKED hands or other gimics. We are tired of it. Just give us a BONE and we would be happy. When will these people learn that. On the plus side there is plenty of people on the site, it is easy to maneuver and alot of variety. Good luck, you'll need it.

don't want to be the person to bring this up, BUT... My geek buddies and I did a pretty extensive study of party poker (10,000) hands. Paying special attention to cash-out, deposits, brief periods of not playing, and a number of other things that would affect the profitability of the poker room and I can say without a doubt that the natural distribution of cards was out of line. I obviously can't prove that it's on purpose or that it makes PP more money, BUT for the 10,000 hands that we looked at things were askew. I don't want to ruffle any feathers and want everyone to know that I am up on pp over 20K in the last year...so I'm not complaining!!! It all got started when one of our group saw 4 sets of quads in about two and a half hours......FOUR. There were several nights during the study that the probability of seeing the hands that we saw in the amount of hands that we played was over 1 in 1,000,000!!!!! I have a degree in statistics and have made six figures 5 years in a row playing poker. It's safe to say that my figures are within a mouse fart of being right. Also, to all of you that think it's not fixed...Just because you're winning doesn't mean that the deal is truly random. We're currently studying another site and I'll post again when we're finished.

Partypoker is an average site for cash games...they havea wide variety but they suffer in the tournaments. Cashing out without a bank account takes 1 month. I have played money on both partypoker and ultimate bet and for money games go partypoker...for tournaments go ultimate bet

Party Poker is a good place to go and try out moves that you would not normaly try. You can regain your money fairly easy and support is always there to help if needed. One thing that I don't like is some peoples language and attitudes. Not professional which isn't the sites fault but the person with the bad attitude. It is a safe place for beginners to go and not get hurt. The Play Money side and this side of Party Poker, the play money, has no pressure to switch to real money until you are ready. Just make sure you go there to have fun, a person can get serious with the real money side, yet have fun with the play money side. Good site.

First off I think anyone who thinks these online poker sites are rigged (who probably also still believe that elvis still lives and that the government conspired to fake the moon landing) needs to take a reality check. These companies make tonnes of money as it is and dont need to do any more, and the risk of them being found out would almost definitely lead to bankruptcy which simply wouldn't be worth the attempt. Overall they dont care who wins because in the case the house definitely is always the winner. Overall I like party, the action is always suitable no matter what kind of table your after and there are a lot of inexperienced players, even at the higher limits, which makes this site very lucrative. The visual side of things is a little dowdy and outdated but frankly I'll go with outdated whilst the money keeps coming in! The only issue I have is the lack of smaller limit games, 0.5->1 is the lowest and every now and then I like to play at a micro game when I dont feel like playing a heavy session so I have to go elsewhere for this (or play with play cash). The bonus's are so easy to get its great, I always take 100% avantage of them when they arrive, and the cash in/out process is the best about (no faffing with neteller or anything else I can pay directly with my debit card AND can withdraw immediately unlike many sites). Overall it gets 4/5 from me, needs lower limit games and a software hike to get a 5.

Because this is the biggest site it will receive the most reviews. I believe that this explains the inordinate number of bad beat reports. Once you understand that adjustments are necessary based on the type of game you are playing, I don't see how any decent Hold Em player can lose for long on this site. During peak hours it is almost impossible to find a game where someone won't pay you off often enough to show a profit. The bonuses are easy to knock out in a day if you multi table. I can cashout into my Neteller account the SAME day I made my deposit. There are no delays or hoops to jump through. Not many sites can do that. The customer service does leave a bit to be desired of as their solution to everything is "Reinstall the program and if that doesn't work, reinstall windows." Yeah... right. Other than that, I have to say that in 4 years of online playing, this has been the most lucrative site I have encountered. Lots of people playing their hands too far... Gee, I wonder if that was them complaining?

Guys, please stop this nonsense about rigged sites. The only (proven) way sites stole player's money is much simpler than making biased shuffle - PokerSpot was the most prominent example. I'm 100% sure that _none_ of the big rooms is intentionally rigged. Once I've made a thorough statistical check of my hands on PokerStars - and came up with nothing beyond statistical expectations. So until somebody will provide a mathematical proof (rather than emotional "he got one-outer, it should NEVER happen, at least not to me") - I won't even consider such a possibility. Face it, guys - bad beats is an integral part of poker. And those who cannot deal with it, just should not play poker, ever - there are other ways to have fun in life.

Signed up for PartyPoker the other day and have been pretty happy with the site overall. The initial bonus was $25 free with a $50 deposit, which I thought was pretty nice. You had to play 140 raked hands to unlock it, but that went very fast so it was no hurdle at all. There are always a ton of players online, so there is never any waiting at all for Sit-And-Go tournaments to get enough players. Also, for a small fee they have a service that lets you purchase a phone card with your credit card and then convert it into PartyPoker money -- this is very useful when you have credit cards that do not allow online gambling transactions (both of mine are like this). Also, I have cashed out twice to Neteller and both times it has only taken a couple of hours to be approved and in my Neteller account. My only gripe would be a lack of lower limit tournaments, the cheapest Sit-And-Go is $5+$1, and I like playing lower stakes sometimes on other sites. Many people comment about there being a ton of newbies on here, well they definitely are there but you find good players also. Obviously the higher stakes you play, the less likely you will be to encounter them... but why you would NOT want to play with a poor player is beyond me.

I can't stand all of these reviews which say that the cards are fixed or something. The hands are just as random as playing with a real deck. Take a look through your hand history and count the number of times you have gotten total junk, it's huge. There are two reasons that it seems like the hands are fixed. 1) You are seeing a ton of hands. I play 400-500 hands a night. You can expect to get AA, AK, or KK about 2.5% of the time. Therefore, in a typical night you might get these hands 12-13 times which is normal. Your opponents will get these hands about 100-120 times a night!! (assuming 9 opponenets). Again, this is NORMAL. 2) Most lower level players think that the more cards that they see, the better chances they have to win. Therefore, they stay in to the river on almost all draws. These draws will come in about 1/4 to 1/6th of the time. Again, in a typical night that could be 100 times. - H.J.S.

Totally agree with dropping by. Game winning or losing is not decided either by skill or luck of players, but by software. Software set ups the outcome of games. Don't expect you win the game which you should win 99% at real casinos. The card patterns are not like the ones at a real casino. In 1 session, try counting how many times you get same suit cards, how many times you get pocket pairs, how many times you get 2 face cards, how many times you hold connecting and/or same suit cards, how many times after the flop, you are flush draws or straight draws, how often players get 3 of a kind, etc.....then compare to the real casino.... Same thing at Paradise's. I believe, if you play at this places long enough, you can guess which cards comimg out next...and win or...lose. Statistic, peercent odds, all math stuffs....don't apply here. Example, you hold A/K club, and the flop comes Q/J club, 10 spade. Just don't raise or reraise like a crazy, because you will get mad at the river card. Just try memorize the card patterns, it will help. Keep away the pots which has somebody 'all-in'. 'All-in' wins most of the time, so they can keep on. (how nice the software). Again, no math or odds involves here. Only the software decide who'll win the pot. Play here if you don't care your skills messed up.

Party Poker is no more than an advanced slot machine. You win and loose dependent on software, not the math of the game. Go try it... use poker tracker or your own db or excel even... you'll see the stats are pretty far off from the measured norm in poker books. When you can see dbl and triple standard deviation on your hands and this happening consistently... well I don't think that points to any other direction than it is NOT a fair & true game. For example.. a hand that's is said to win 86% of the time, has only won 22% of the time. That is a small sample of just over 100 games and 5000 hands, but with several plays being the reverse of the stated odds I had to cash my $ out. So much for more poker, just have to drive to the real thing only again. I would check your own play out and decide for yourself. Also keep an eye on how your play (river cards especially) works out depending on your account balance/deposits.

ive been playing at party poker for almost a year and that in itself says that i am pretty satisfied. The interface is very simple it took me about a day to get use to it and understand all the functions. The amount of fish that are on that site is incredible, even at the 10/20 tables. About the person that complained that their money from their account was missing that has never happened to me but a friend of mine lost like 20 dollars once and complained to party poker it took them acouple months but they finally paid him back and apologized for the mixup. I have had very good customer support with them, acouple times i was disconnected from a tourney and couldnt reenter the table and i simply emailed them and i recieved full compensation plus an extra 20 dollars.

People have posted some good and insightful reviews on here regarding PartyPoker. Considering the number of reviews shows how popular Party Poker really is. This is one place everyone tries out. You've probably gotten a decent understanding of PartyPoker by now, but I'll throw in my 2 cents. If you like ring games, this is a great place to be - lots of action, tons of tables, tons of players, no waiting for a table, 24x7 the action is good. If you like making money at the low-stakes tables, this is a great place to be. If you want a fancy graphical interface or other bells and whistles that really don't matter, then go somewhere else. Bonus is also solid and easy to earn.

I have played this site and hate it. The game play is good like most sites, but the interface is sooo sooo bad, I can't get past it. THe lobby area is so poor, I have a hard time deciding what is going on. This site is great if you plan on playing for play money, but not for real. It is like pulling teeth trying to get into a table tourney, you click on the table and it takes 5 sec to load and then the table looks empty but its not because people have already filled the table. Also you can't just click on a seat and sit down, you have answer and click like 3 screens to get in, and by that point somebody has stolen your seat. I tryed last night to get into a tourney table and took me 10 mintues to get to a table. TERRIBLE TERRIBLE Interface! Try Pokerroom.com its the best out there.

admit it, I'm new to this Poker craze. I even love this new found ESPN/Travel Channel trained crowd of newbies and fish. Being a sound, semi-pro rated blackjack player who reads and studies almost every avenue of the game, I finnaly found an escape from the over-bearing house advantage at blackjack. I rarely play blackjack now, the casino's and the "newbies" who jump into the game have ruined it in my opinion. Sure, the house counts on these fish to make their cash cow go. And sure, poker players count on the injection of newbies to make their money. But PartyPoker plainly lacks the customer support (not almost non-existent, TOTALY non-existent). Thier rake is way out of bounds, especially on SnG's. Ease of Game? I guess for those who refuse to study and strive to become world-class players, PartyPoker is the best. It is the site for "No-Fold 'em Hold'em" style play. For those of you who rave about PartyPoker "if you don't know who the mark is......". PartyPoker is what it is because of the fish and for those of you into Poker for the short haul there will never be another site like it. Fish aplenty. As for me, I prefer to up my game and not be satisfied with simply beating a bunch of maniacs who wish to try their luck at the "game" of Poker. Poker, unlike any other form of gaming, is to be played with style and honor. The river rats at PartyPoker, and you so called "skilled" players who bring yourselves down to this level simply to cash in on the un-suspecting, lack the class and honor that Poker deserves in the gaming world. Way too many repeat hands (how about A3o three times in a row) and way too many repeat flops (I actually flopped QQ8 three times in a row, four times in ten rounds). To make that this site is anything more than a place for fish and those who prey on them by refusing to give up on medium hands to the river, it plays out far too many times here. The tourney's are geared towards thier own tourney's and never towards any others. I have figured out how to play @ PartyPoker - play it like a video game, open up three tables or more during tourney or ring and take note of the similarity of the cards. Play two or more tables and notice the familarity of not only your pocket but the flop, turn, or river. Go on a draw, watch the other table, and you can bet like a wild man, if one table his your flush, you can bet without fail the other will too. THIS is NOT Poker - it is a video/cyberspace replica of Al Capones "Mirrored" Poker room. (Al had his room set up with mirrors all around except behind his own seat). So, to all of you who only play PP - do not go to FullTilt, Doyle's, or any site where skill, patient, or learned players are at. If you aspire only to play fish, PP is the place for you. It's your choice, continue along with the skill level it takes to take money from losers and beginners and that's where you'll stay - at that skill level. PartyPoker IS the room for you.

Interface is one of the worst in the industry. Support almost non-existent. Action is good (especially fish is good). But if U want to have fun from play or U want to improve your skills - Party is not a good place to go.

I made a $100 deposit on Party Poker today and so far I can confidently say that it is the BEST. I played for about an hour and a half at 25 NL(6 max) tables and Im already up $50. I also got a great bonus: 50%, max. $100. So Ill have another 50 bucks in bonus money after only playing 250 raked hands. Ive already played 110. Customer support is second to none. Ive called them twice already and got the help I needed both times and it only took about 20 minutes for them to process my Western Union transfer. The only other sites Ive played are Stars and Pacific, and they are no where near as fishy as Party. If your playing anywhere else (besides Empire) I would suggest switching to Party.

Ok, a couple things, there is no online poker room that's totally perfect for everyone - if the interface is awesome, there's not enough action (UltimateBet, PokerRoom, Superior, Full Tilt). If there's plenty of ring game action, maybe the tournament action is weak (PartyPoker, EmpirePoker charge too much for SnG's). A room can have great tournament action, but nothing else (PokerStars). But I would say the over-riding factor is making money, I mean that is probably the main reason most of us play poker. It's fun and social, but it's about winning money. I am a ring-game player. 10 Player games are my thing, but I'll play 6 too. Clearly, PartyPoker (and EmpirePoker) is the best poker room for me. There is unlimited ring game action at all stakes, at all times, any day. I can play 4 tables simultaneously at any stakes I want without any delays. Searching for the right table to play at is part of my game. Searching for just any table with a seat is ridiculous. IMHO, the fish are not as plentiful at PartyPoker (and EmpirePoker) as perhaps 1 year ago, but you can still find easy tables that will pay you off. And for you bonus hunters, there is no poker room bonus that is easier to reach than PartyPoker (and EmpirePoker). Have fun.

this site is really, to be honest BORING! the table image is horrible it looks dated and old. also the lobby is just text. Not tom mention it doesnt even display your cash cound on the main loby page. customer support is quite fast, i will give it that but i have to say, i dont like it.

I finally made the plunge into Party Poker, mostly to get the deposit bonus, but also based on what I have read here. I am primarily a limit player, so I cleared my bonus mostly by playing .50/1.00 limit. 1. The software is ok... the game screen is too big and makes it hard to multitable, and I use a 19" monitor set at 1280. The search functions are good, and the graphics are not distracting like at Prima sites. I would also like to see preflop percentage stats. 2. The players are not that loose. I found play there to be pretty tight pre flop in the cash games. Very seldom did I see more than 3 or 4 way action seeing the flop. At the turn it almost always dropped down to heads up action. Players at Pacific and the Prima sites are much fishier than at Party in my opinion. 3. Why have I not seen anyone complaining about the entry fees for the SNG's and MTT's? Party and Paradise both charge double what Poker Stars and Pacific charge. 5 + .50 is a hell of a lot better than 5 + 1.00, especially if you are just a marginally winning player. Play 100 SNG's and it's an extra 50 bucks at Party. That reason alone is probably why I'm going to leave. 4. Party's MTT"s suck, at least for me. I like 5 dollar buy in tourneys and lower, and they just don't have these.

I feel this is the best place to play ring games. As long as you are a solid player you will make money. There are so many people that make mistakes and sure you'll take some bad beats but over time you will be up money. This fish at this site are riduculous and its like they just want to give their money away. I won't even play anywhere else for my ring games. The only problem is that the rake is high as it is with all poker sites. The sit and goes especially have a high rake. I have been fortunate enough to consistantly make a profit so the rake can be overcome. The only other gripe I have about the site is that sometimes when you are reading information in the lobby (ex. players left, time left, players at a table, $$ amount) sometimes that information is slow in updating. Overall I am very pleased with the site and let me say that seem to have really great customer service and lightening quick e-mail responses.

I played for abomut a month on party poker and all of a sudden my accounts money "disappeared"..... I don't think I am the only one that this has happend to... but I am sure I will never go back. Also, Sit n Go's and tournaments Party pokers rake is terrible they have $5+1.... everywhere else I have ever been its $5+.50

Editor's Note: Poker account money does not just disappear. If this claim is genuine and accurate, it is an extremely rare oddity and would be promptly investigated and handled by customer support.

My first Poker experience. I very much miss a micro limit (less than 0,5/1,0), since I go down to those levels when I have some time of bad luck/bad play. I also try to biuld a bankroll on the lower limits and climb the ladder. With my limited starting bankroll, I can't play very comfortably on PP due to the limits. The interface feels very old. Action is Good. My only complaints are the once above.

PartyPoker has pretty reliable software. There is tons of action on the holdem tables. I've never had any problems with the customer support. There are plenty of bad players. The bonus is reasonable, it only took me a few nights to play enough raked hands to get my bouns.

Lots of fish and monkey poker.