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ABSOLUTE POKER REVIEW

Absolute Poker

 

Visit Absolute Poker

 

Absolute Poker screenshot

 Overall:  4/5

 Bonus and Promotions:   4/5

 Fish Rating:   2/5 (fish sans backbone)

 Tournaments:   4/5

 Software:   1/5

 Payouts:  4.5/5

 Customer Service:  4/5

 

U.S. Players Welcome at Absolute Poker

Available to U.S. Players

 

Visit Absolute Poker

Get a $500 Bonus Now

 

 

URGENT UPDATE: Absolute Poker has suspended US operations. Until the status of available games becomes clearer we are redirecting their links to Sportsbook Poker, our top-rated poker room that also accepts US players. We will update this page as soon as more information becomes available.

 

Absolute Poker Bonus Code for 150% bonus: BTFBONUS

 

 US CHECKING ACCOUNT DEPOSITS ACCEPTED: While it isn't advertised on their website Absolute Poker offers checking account deposits, called eChecks, directly from the cashier. The minimum deposit for this method is also one of the lowest at $10. Absolute Poker is one of the few poker rooms to offer eChecks and is a major positive for US players looking for easy deposit methods. No separate e-wallet is required and any standard checking or savings account can be used. There are no fees involved and deposits are available for us within a couple of minutes.

 

The top backup deposit options at Absolute Poker would be major credit card (with the caveat of a probable declined transaction) or the eWalletXpress checking account e-wallet. Also accepted are two methods of cash transfers, which does takes a few extra minute to visit a service location but is a reliable method. One easy way to make a cash transfer is to visit a 7-11 store, which has automated transfer machines at many of their locations. Paper alternatives include cashier's checks mailed directly to the poker room.

 

NO-DOWNLOAD INSTANT PLAY OPTION: One of the more unique features of Absolute Poker is the no-download instant-play version that does not require a software download. As it is directly launched within any web browser and runs solely off of Java it is compatible with any Windows, Mac, Linux, or any other OS that has Java installed. All real-money cash games and tournaments are available via the Absolute Poker instant-play as well as the full cashier. Functionally, the instant-play version is very similar to the installable version with the exception of multi-table play.

 

To locate the no-download option, visit the Absolute Poker homepage and scroll to the bottom of the page. The second header from the bottom will contain the "free online poker no download" link that you will need to visit. You can then click on the Instant Play icon to immediately launch the client within your browser.

 

       

Overall:  4/5

Echoing the sentiments of the overall section in my Ultimate Bet review, it is very difficult to provide a definitive review of Absolute Poker. If the poker room is examined independent of the cheating scandal it is a solid site that offers a large deposit bonus, eCheck deposits for US players, and a fairly robust tournament schedule. Unfortunately, that's all tempered by the bad feeling created by the mess of allegations against the site. Without rehashing the entire charade complete with rumors and speculation the fact still remains that Absolute Poker allowed major software security glitches to go uncorrected in their software.

 

Those glitches allowed corrupt former Absolute Poker employees to cheat players out of large sums of money in both tournament and cash game play. With the same parent company now running both Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker the problems persisted with both clients. Naturally, both poker rooms were disgraced in the poker community for breaching the most important issue at the core of online poker: player trust.

 

The poker rooms tried to assure the community that any lost funds as a result of the cheating were returned to the affected players and that the software has now been 100% fixed. Unfortunately, that doesn't clear up 3 important questions that won't ever be fully answered: 1) Did the poker room know about the security issues? 2) Have all affected players actually been refunded completely? 3) How can players trust that the software truly has been made secure?

 

What disturbs me the most is that existing Absolute Poker players who aren't involved in the poker community or don't keep up with poker news may not even know that anything out of the ordinary happened. Of course, the poker room didn't announce the scandal to those who didn't already know about it. While most players weren't cheated before and perhaps none are cheated anymore every player should have the right to full disclosure.

 

My goal with this review is to both make players aware of the security issues that have taken place here and allow visitors to then choose their next poker room for themselves. It has never been my intent with this site to dictate where you should play. If you still want to play at Absolute Poker and trust that they've corrected their security leaks then I hope that this review can be helpful. Just please be aware that there have been major security issues that may or may not have been fixed.

 

Strictly looking at what takes place externally at Absolute Poker they have typically offered large deposit bonuses, and I commend them for upping it to a $500 maximum through our site. They are actually pretty generous about cashing it out for middle-stakes and higher players but micro-limit players will see very little of the total 150%. In terms of player traffic, they've actually consolidated with Ultimate Bet to form the CEREUS network. All players and tournaments are shared, which ultimately benefits the player by increasing the amount of game choices.  

 

The competition at Absolute Poker tends to be tighter than average but I find the players easy to dominate with the right strategy. See our Fish and Tips sections below for specific methods to exploiting the general weaknesses of these players. During prime hours, you can find full ring games for fixed-limit up to about the $10/20 level and no-limit up to the $2/4 level. Understandably, most high-stakes no-limit games have dried up since the cheating scandal. To summarize, Absolute Poker has given players plenty of reasons to stay away in recent months. That being said, casual middle-stakes games and tournament stand a low likelihood of even being a target for cheaters. It's ultimately up to you if you can feel secure enough to give them your business.  

 

Bonus (150% up to $500) and Promotions:   4/5  

With all of the security issues at Absolute Poker giving players pause the least they can do to try to entice new players is offer a decent initial deposit bonus. Fortunately, it is pretty large at a special 150% rate given to our players. The maximum cap is $500. Keep in mind that you'll need to use bonus code BTFBONUS at signup to be eligible for this offer. The 150% bonus goes into your bonus account and you can gradually release it into your cash account by earning "Fame Points". The points are part of a tiered VIP system similar to that of other poker rooms where players can earn cash or shop in a player store.

 

The complication with the Absolute Poker deposit bonus comes in how it is released. For every 20 points earned $5 of the bonus is released into your account as actual cash. With tables of $1/2 and up earning a point for every raked hand middle-stakes players can expect to earn about $2-3 of bonus per hour per table. That's a fair rate and playing at that level or above will allow you see your entire bonus in a reasonable amount of playing sessions. Unfortunately, this is a difficult bonus for smaller players who will need to play between 2 and 20 times the raked hands depending on the stakes. 

 

Other promotions at Absolute Poker include a perpetual reload bonus of varying amounts and a very large Bad Beat Jackpot. While you can possibly earn hundreds of thousands of dollars with this promotion you are required to play at designated Jackpot tables. This is simply another way for Absolute Poker to make money through the extra rake taken from each hand. While most of it goes to generate the extremely unlikely jackpot 10% is quietly kept by the poker room. Overall, the promotions are sizeable with the big bonus but it only provides a strong value for larger players.    

 

Fish:   2/5

Overall, Absolute Poker tends to run tighter than many of its newer counterparts. Flop percentages are usually under 25% and pots are usually fairly small. As the stakes increase, it seems that the pot size opens up a bit, but the tight play continues. Fortunately, with as many as a dozen active full and shorthanded tables up to the $2/4 level players are able to pick and choose between tables with higher pots and flop percentages. The best word to describe these players is extremely timid, rather than tight. The lack of fast action can be frustrating at times but the weak play can also be exploited.

 

Why not raise every time from late position with any sort of hand if your opponents refuse to play back at you? If the table has been playing tight and one of your opponents suddenly throws in a massive reraise you can know to get out of the hand. Absolute Poker players are mostly predictable and I've done pretty well here overall. Of course, always stay aware of the potential draws and make your opponents pay if they're going to play them.

 

Tournaments:   4/5

Despite a large amount of the confirmed player cheating taking place in tournament play this remains one of the strongest parts of Absolute Poker. Nightly guarantees regularly reach about 500 players or more. While those numbers aren't duplicated at the higher buy-ins there is strong value for those under $30. The largest daily events are guarantees that range from $2,000 to about $8,000. Unfortunately for those like me who don't care for rebuys you'll be limited to less than half of those. I do enjoy the bounty events offered here, which allow you earn small prizes for every play you bust out.

 

For larger tournament players, Absolute Poker offers 3 weekly events with prize pools larger than $100,000. The first $100K takes place on Saturdays with a $300 buy-in and the second on Sundays with a $500 buy-in. I feel that these are poor values unless you have a large bankroll and are looking specifically for a small field. Better value can be found in the Sunday $200,000 guarantee with a $200 buy-in. I've satellited into numerous Sunday events from the round-the-clock multi-table satellites.

 

Software:   1/5

The minimum score given to the Absolute Poker software is not for the actual client's playability and graphics. As has been discussed at the top of this review the software has been proven to allow management users, whether intentional or not, to cheat the tables. I simply won't recommend software that would allow such a glaring security hole. Unfortunately, it will be long time before players can possibly begin to fully trust the backend of this software.

 

What's really unfortunate is that Absolute Poker wasted one of the top packages in the industry. Taking notes from sister site Ultimate Bet the graphics are sharp, unobtrusive, and well laid out. Players can also choose from 3 different tables layouts. Hand histories show hole cards for all players involved at showdown and there is a graphic replay option.also improved the hand history feature, which now shows a full table graphic for each hand. The lobby provides all the necessary information for ring games, including hands per hour and percentage seeing the flop. Perhaps the best feature is game speed, which runs at some of the highest rates I've seen online. Full 9-handed tables often run at over 70 hands per hour.

 

US Payouts:   4.5/5

Absolute Poker offers a number of payout options such as eWalletXpress and bank wire but I've used the express check feature only over the past couple of years. While the $25 fee is frustrating, that's less than many poker rooms offering Fedex service. Paying a few dollars extra for the courier service cuts down the total waiting time to less than 3 days from when the withdrawal is requested.

 

Customer Service  4/5

The customer service at Absolute Poker was previously only via e-mail and I would often wish they would respond quicker. Sometimes you'd only have to wait 10-15 minutes for a response but other times I experienced waits of several hours. Fortunately, a live chat option has been added for both financial issues and general questions about the poker room. I've been satisfied overall with the live chat service and have found that the representatives are able to solve most issues within minutes.

 

Player Traffic

Absolute Poker is centered around shorthanded ring games, but during peak hours they do usually have multiple full tables going on (which I greatly prefer) at limits up to $2/4 for no limit hold'em. I feel that most high-stakes players take their play elsewhere following the cheating scandal. Surprisingly, Absolute Poker draws just as much fixed limit action with busy tables up to $10/20.

 

They usually show up as having over 20,000 players online but that is a somewhat inflated number due to the freebie hunters packing up the freerolls and Ultimate Bet adding to that number on the same netwok. Tournament traffic is good for smaller events usually under $30 attracting several hundred players. Their satellite traffic remains somewhat low meaning you won't need to compete against as many players but there will be fewer prizes available.

 

Best Features

Big deposit bonus. This does require a fair amount of raked hands at a certain level, so bigger players will certainly earn more of it. Smaller players should multi-table to take advantage of this.

Lots of shorthanded games. If you like this type of table you'll find plenty of them at this site.

Fast software. Game speed can run as high as 70-80 hands per hour so you can get in more hands in less time.

 

Game Selection: Hold'em, Omaha, Stud

 

Limits: Limit: 2c/4c up to $500/$1,000    No-Limit: 1c/2c up to $200/$400

 

Deposit Methods: NETeller, eChecks, eWalletXpress, MyPayLinQ, major credit cards, money transfer, bank wire, checks, Moneybookers, ClickandBuy, Click2Pay, PaySafeCard, and Ukash.

 

Minimum Deposit: $20

 

Tips: As with any site, sometimes you will be up against a table full of tight players. Keep an eye on the cards they show down. If they are consistently strong hands, you will know that you can safely fold your mediocre hands against their raise. Tighter players also tend to be more observant of you, so I suggest playing an unpredictable style and raising at times with drawing hands like suited connectors.

 

Absolute Poker also gives you plenty of information before you choose which table to sit down at. I always look at statistics such as percentage of players who see the flop and average pot. If the flop % is low and the pots are high, you'll usually have to go through several raises to see a flop. On the other hand, with a high flop % (40 or 45%) and small pots (20 to 30 times the Big Blind), you'll usually run into a lot of cheap flops and calling stations. Usually, tables at Absolute tend to be the former. 

 

 

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