Pokerstars (9.11)

Software
PokerStars’ software is known to be simple, stable, and extremely robust. Users should have no problem finding their way around the interface. What makes PokerStars’ software so great is its simplicity.

Games are sorted in tabs and filters are available including stakes, average pot, players, etc. which is pretty consistent across all poker software.

Audio is decent as you will hear the sound of chips moving around the table, beeps signaling it’s your turn to act, and sounds of cards hitting the table as the dealer deals out the community cards. Other than that, that’s it and the dealer is inactive.

There are several skins available that you could use at PokerStars to enhance your viewing and playing experience.

What’s also neat about PokerStars is that you can use your own custom avatar. All you have to do is upload it. This is great for people who want to mix this up wit their screen name and play mind games!

Standard across all online poker sites, PokerStars includes a chat window where you may chat with other players as well as view in-game actions. In that same window are notes, stats, and info tabs. Notes are where you can type in notes about each player. You cannot label players with icons, however, unlike other poker rooms. Stats and info are table stats and player info regarding the table.

PokerStars is multi-table friendly, as multi-tablers are able to resize and play many tables at once. This is great for players who wish to tile tables across their screen.

Hand histories are stored on your local hard drive in text format.

Game Selection
PokerStars offers a wide variety of games including Limit and No-Limit Texas Hold'em, both Hi and Hi-Lo versions of Omaha and Seven-Card Stud, No-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo games, H.O.R.S.E., H.O.S.E., 2-7 Triple Draw, Five-Card Draw and Razz.

There are also several tournaments including sit and go and multi-table for qualifiers, satellites, etc. Expect no shortage of tournaments here, and PokerStars is arguably the best for tournaments.

The very large player base ensures action at all varieties and stakes, making PokerStars a great site for all players.

Competition
Small stakes games are generally profitable, due to many new players registering; however, higher stakes games can be tough. This is expected at a household online poker room and expect to find many regulars grinding it out at the higher stakes.

Tournaments is a mixed bag, as many are people who found PokerStars through the T.V. in hopes of qualifying or winning a big tournament. Generally, tournaments are soft, but there is so much variance there.

Traffic
There is always action at PokerStars and traffic is steady and consistent. This can be attributed to PokerStars being heavily marketed on T.V and the constant tournaments being held there including qualifiers, invitationals, and the like. Ring game traffic at PokerStars is number one in the world.

Support
PokerStars offers quick support. However, this is only available through email, as they do not support phone calls. Customer support is always helpful and polite nonetheless.

Bonus/Rakeback,
With a 100% up to $50, pokerstars has probably one of the smallest first deposit bonuses offered online.

As for the rake, it is definitely better on Pokerstars than on the other rooms, especially when it comes to micro stakes. The rake is 5% of the pot size, up to a maximum of $1 and 3$ (the maximum rake depends on the number of players who are dealt cards for the given hands). As for Fixed-limit games, the rake differs from table to table, depending on the stakes and number of players at the table, but with an average of 5% rake from each pot.

Deposit/Withdrawal Options
Moving money around is extremely easy, as PokerStars has a plethora of deposit and withdrawl options.

Listed below are the deposit and withdrawal options available at PokerStars:
Deposit Options: eCheck, VISA (Delta, Electron, Gift and Prepaid), MasterCard (Gift and Prepaid), Neteller, Diners Club International, ClickandBuy, Moneybookers, Solo/Maestro/Switch, cashier's check/money order/bank draft (minimum deposit of $100), local bank transfer, ELV, online bank transfer, Paysafe card, WebMoney.

Withdrawal Options: Visa, Neteller, Moneybookers, ClickandBuy, WebMoney, check, couriered check, direct bank transfer.

Security
PokerStars is heavily marketed on T.V and has some of the biggest names including Daniel Negreanu, Chris Moneymaker, Isabelle Mercier, Greg Raymer, Barry Greenstein and so many others. Add to that, PokerStars is the largest online poker site in the world. There is no need to worry.

PokerStars Equity (do you have any?)
Home of the biggest tournaments, consistent and large traffic, and soft games make PokerStars a great choice to dump your bankroll into. PokerStars also has a great points program and is compatible with tracking software. Large amount of players means plenty of money for the taking and you can’t go wrong at PokerStars.

You too can be a star at PokerStars…a poker star!

Download PokerStars

PokerStars.com