Pokerstars Review

FULL REVIEW - Poker Stars (8.47)

PokerStars is the largest poker site in the world, offering massive volume in cash games and tournaments and action at almost any game and limit 24 hours a day.

It really sets the standard in the industry as far as tournaments go, with an unmatched selection and sit-and-gos at all stakes starting up virtually every second.

PokerStars also offers good promotions and an exceptional loyalty program, with a huge selection of merchandise, special events and qualifiers to all major poker tournaments.

The software is also top-notch and offers fast play, high reliability, great multi-table options and a high level of customization - it pretty much sets the bar for the industry there as well.

If you're looking for a downside, though, it's probably the inconsistent competition. Because of the huge player base, the opposition can range from super soft at one table to unbelievably aggressive just the next table over.

Lower limits and tournaments are still flush with bad players, say up to the $6 and $11 SNG level, but there are literally thousands of strong players trolling PokerStars daily looking to make a living, so expect some tough competition scattered throughout your games.

If you like more obscure poker variations, PokerStars is for you, with a wide spread of games offered - Texas Hold'em, Omaha and Seven-Card Stud in all versions, H.O.R.S.E., H.O.S.E., 2-7 Triple Draw, Five-Card Draw, Razz, 2-7 Single Draw Lowball, Badugi, 8-Game, Mixed Hold’em and Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo. By the time you read this, they've probably added more.

Overall, PokerStars keeps its spot at the top of the industry for traffic by offering a real "feel for poker" and responding rapidly to player feedback.

Bottom line, it does what it does very well, and if the competition wasn't so tough at the higher stakes and there wasn't the occasional inconvenience that comes with such a huge site, it would be tough not to rank PokerStars higher.

Real-money player statistics as of January 2009 show 22,500 ring-game players at peak hours and 155,000 tournament players at peak hours.