888 Poker is the second most popular online poker site in the world, with 5 million registered members worldwide. Since its official launch in 1997, over 25 million people have experienced 888’s gaming action. Part of the Pacific Poker network, 888 was launched in 2002 and has maintained an impressive level of traffic since then owing to its steady popularity amongst online poker fans.
Games: Variations on No Limit & Pot Limit Texas Hold’em, as well as 7 Card Stud, Omaha Hi, Omaha Hi/Lo, and Snap Poker.
Traffic: 888 poker site tends to average around 2,300 online players at any given time with 3,000 players during peak hours. The competition is felt by many players to be lacking in the high stakes department and as a result better suits those players favouring a low-to-mid stakes game.
Promotions & Bonuses: 888 offers $88 free to all new players, with no deposit needed. To take advantage of this offer, all players have to do is verify their identity and email address when creating an account. The site also offers a Welcome Bonus of 100% up to $400, with an allocation of 90 days to clear the bonus. Daily Deals are provided, including $100 freeplay each day for different promotions. Reward points can be accumulated and used to purchase prizes or converted to cash. While the VIP system sounds promising, in reality it is rather disappointing unless players have the time to play frequently enough to amass a significant number of points.
Tournaments: 888 Poker holds dozens of multi-table tournaments every day. Sit ‘n’ gos (single and multi-table) start with buy-ins of a few pennies and run up to $1,000. These are spread across 24 hours a day. Each Monday night, 888 runs a Mondays Twins tournament challenge, and Sunday sees the $100,000 Sunday Tournament which attracts numerous players.
Software: 888 Poker’s software has been recently modified, ensuring it is now well above average. It is easily to navigate and jam-packed with impressive features such as auto top-up, preferred seating, 3D table graphics and improved multi-tabling abilities. Players are now offered the choice of avatars and a chat option which facilitates conversation with other players at the table.
Banking: Deposit time frames are usually instant and players making withdrawals can expect cash-out times of 3-5 days. Numerous options are available for payment and all are secure and reliable.
Customer Service: The 888 customer support team is available 24/7. The site offers assistance in 11 languages by phone, email and live online chat. Complaints have been made regarding the customer service, which has been known to be particularly slow at responding to queries.
Conclusion: Due to an above average number of recreational players, 888 players tend to be a bit weaker, making for more enjoyable and sustainable games. Some players might be irked by the site’s 4 tables maximum policy. 888 Poker would be an excellent option for recreational players, but more experienced online poker players may find the games too soft for their skill level. Despite this, the site still offers plenty of good opportunities for players of a higher standard to enjoy a fairly profitable poker experience. The software is particularly impressive and should attract a decent amount of traffic.
Verdict?: 8/10
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