Party Poker

Overview

Party Poker is like the old father time of the online poker world. If you have played poker online before then you have probably played this site. It still maintains the same look and feel as it did when it first arrived on the scene almost a decade ago but that's because it works. It is user friendly, safe and simple.

Design & Software

The site uses its own software. There are better softwares out there but its has improved over time, with the latest upgrade just a year ago. It now offers features that are uaully seen in the leading sites like: hand history, statistics, multi tabling and more. Despite these improvements the visual impact of the software doesn't really reflect the site's global popularity. In fact, if we were to be slightly unforgiving, it could be said that the graphics let the site down. Still, it must work in some respects because it remains one of online poker's big guns.

Promotions and Tournaments

Party offers a bonus of up to $500 on your first deposit which is common. But the site's main attraction is its tournaments. Its most notorious tournament is the Party Poker Million tournament which has received huge publicity over recent years. The site also runs satellites to many live tournaments throughout the year. With the acquisition of the World Poker Tour (WPT), satelites to the popular tournament are arguably the best in the online Poker scene. They also run regular promotional tournaments such as the weekly $250k Guaranteed Sunday tournaments and the Monthly Million.

VIP program

The VIP program revolves around the Palladium VIP Lounge where pretty much anything is possible. Palladium is the VIP section for all the Party brands and here you can have the chance to gain access to some fantastic events including WPT Borgata Poker Open, Oktoberfest and many other sporting or musical events. If you purchase elite VIP membership you also have the opportunity to use the Concierge which acts as a personal PA to satisfy your every need. The Concierge can arrange guest list access for clubs and bars around the world, private boxes at sporting events and will even arrange your travel for you. The VIP package here is arguably one of the best around where the VIPs are treated in an exemplary manner.

Game variety

The site focuses on the poker aspect of gambling with the Party brand covering Casino, Bingo and Backgammon on their other subsidiary sites. Texas Hold'em, Omaha and 7 card stud are the main stays with various tournaments allowing members to take part in single table, multi table and even ladder games.

Player's Traffic

The player traffic on the site is outstanding considering the recent changes to eligibility usage which saw American players removed. Over 60,000 tournament players during its peak hours can be counted and about 8,500 players involved in their cash games in their peak. Not bad considering the recent changes to American law.

US (American) Players

In October 2006, the American Congress passed a UIGEA bill that covered unlawful internet gambling. In turn, Party decided to refuse American citizens from signing up. With such a large percentage of its population hailing from America this was a brave move but the gamble seems to have paid off with the site still as strong as ever. In the absence of the America membership base, it is obviously attracting new members from further a field across the globe.

Support

Customer support is quite extensive. The 24 hour support means that they are always on hand. They have a Frequently Asked Questions section to deal with common problems whilst there are individual email contacts for the Customer Service Department, Cashier Team, Technology and Marketing Department. They do offer toll free numbers in a selection of international countries but the rest are charged.