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Visit Bugsy's
Club
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Overall:
3.5/5
Bonus and Promotions:
3.5/5
Fish Rating:
3/5
(Bugsy let the fish in)
Tournaments:
3.5/5
Software:
4/5
Payouts:
4.5/5
Customer Service:
4.5/5
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BUGSY'S CLUB IS
NOW CLOSED: Unfortunately,
Bugsy's Club
has closed its poker operations and is no longer accepting any new
registrations or hosting any games. This review will remain active
for archival purposes and contains the latest information and
promotions for the poker room prior to its closure. All links to
Bugsy's Club
will now redirect to our recommended alternative Sportsbook Poker.
Please view our full
Sportsbook Poker review for more information on why we recommend
it to new players. In short,
Sportsbook Poker accepts all US and Canadian players, offers
block-free credit card deposits, and includes an instant deposit
bonus. We're sad to see
Bugsy's Club
go and it's an unfortunate part of the industry for loyal players.
Hopefully, players can take solace in the healthy number of online
poker room
alternatives that offer a new home.
Deposits at
Bugsy's Club
should be straightforward for US players that already have
eWalletXpress accounts. This third-party e-wallet works with a
number of poker rooms and is fairly pain-free to set up with
personal checking accounts. An interesting online alternative from
the same company is the 900Pay service. While it only supports small
deposits up to $50 it works through telephone billing avoiding
credit and checking accounts entirely.
The secondary options for US players
should start with a normal credit or debit card.
Bugsy's Club
does accept them, although veteran players know that these
transactions are rarely allowed from the host bank. Fortunately,
Bugsy's Club
does use third-party billing that may work with your particular
bank. Give it a try if you're having trouble working with other
methods. Finally, you can visit your bank and wire your deposit to
the poker room or mail in a cashier's check.
 
Overall:
3.5/5
Bugsy's Club
seems destined to have plenty of potential but lack the traffic to
go along with it. They have become an inside favorite to its loyal members and
the competition is much less stiff than advertised. For players who
enjoy a community feel, this is a good choice. Also, if you like to
use player notes and histories to your advantage, you'll like
playing here because you'll often run into the same players at the
same limits.
Overall positives at
Bugsy's Club include lightweight software, good
customer, and the WSOP promotions they offer. Their recent decision
to allow US players to the tables also shows that they are committed
to their product and have a backbone. While it may be difficult to
find many active games and big tournaments at
Bugsy's Club that's sort of the charm of the site. This probably
won't become your main poker destination and the basic software and
the community feel hearken back to the early days of online poker.
That really isn't such a bad thing as a change of pace from the
bigger and faster atmosphere of the top sites.
Bonus (150%
up to $1,000) and Promotions:
3.5/5
As a
Bugsy's Club featured site, we're
eligible to offer you a
150% bonus, up
to $1,000 on your first deposit. You'll have to follow one of
our links to receive the increased bonus. Larger players will be
able to earn this bonus fairly quickly as you need to earn Bugsy's
Bonus Points at a rate of 100 for every $10 of bonus. Points can
then be used to buy into special tournaments that award real money
credits. As the traffic
has been increasing of late, you can often find a good $1/2 or
higher no-limit game during both peak
hours and overnight to clear your bonus.
Other
Bugsy's Club promotions include
bounty appearances during tournaments and a freeroll event
for the WSOP
main event. The latter allows you the opportunity to play through several
qualifiers for free to get into the main tournament for a WSOP seat.
Also, community players will enjoy the forums and poker leagues they
have to offer. The leagues can actually be pretty profitable since
they give out pretty sizeable cash bonuses to top finishers. The
site claims to release more than $35,000 monthly to league players.
Fish:
3/5
Bugsy's Club largely has an online
reputation for having better and tighter players. The theory is that
as players get to know each other better at a smaller site, they
play better. I don't exactly know which tables they were looking at,
but this site has been fairly loose the times that I have logged on.
As of now, they don't have a very large player base, which means
that most of the action is restricted to the smaller limits.
However, I do appreciate the odd middle or high stakes no-limit game
that is occasionally active.
At most times of the day, you can find
a couple of good $1/2 or $3/6 no-limit ring game going on. Lower limits tend
to have flop percentages of at least 40%, and no-limit games of $1
or greater run about 25%. I feel that the community atmosphere at
Bugsy's Club
helps to loosen the action a bit as players don't seem to mind
losing as much to friendly players.
Tournaments:
3/5
Again,
Bugsy's Club
has potential, but currently is lacking much tournament traffic.
Their guaranteed tournaments are usually only 20 times the buy-in,
making them large Sit 'n Gos. Lately, they have added a
weekly $10,000 guaranteed tournament on Sunday.
You'll also find a regular
amount of small freerolls, which is nice to get to know how they run
their tournaments. The real gem of the tournament offerings
is the free seat to the WSOP. You can play in initial freeroll
heats, and the top finishers eventually qualify for the main event
where a WSOP seat is given away.
Software:
4/5
The software at
Bugsy's Club is unique
yet basic and I give them
credit for it. The table can be a bit small and crammed on higher
resolutions, but it is also easy to use. Due to some recent
upgrades, the game speed is quite fast now. Cards are dealt very
quickly and there is little lag between each new hand. I give them
points for developing their own software, but players requiring
advanced graphics may find it a bit low-end. I enjoy it, but then
again I also
still play Punch Out and Excite Bike.
US Payouts:
4.5/5
This site has a professional backing and
I've had no problems with payouts. Paper checks are the most common
payout method and I've receive several from them. There are no fees
for checks and each arrived within about 3 weeks of my request. I
also have tried their direct wire transfer service and received it
directly to my bank account within about 2 weeks. The only downside
of wires is the $1,000 minimum.
Customer Service:
4.5/5
Their best customer service option is
the live help available from within the software. I much prefer this
to e-mail, as I can get an instant response to any issue. If you do
e-mail them, responses are usually fast.
Player Traffic
The traffic at
Bugsy's Club
ring games and tournaments is still pretty low. They do have a loyal
player base that sticks around, and you can usually find plenty of
games at the microlimits. Their freerolls are pretty popular, but it
is tough to find a very busy tournament at the site. In my opinion,
this site is best for niche cash game players who want a
community-type playing experience.
Best Features
 Player leagues. Since they don't have a
huge amount of traffic, these can get competitive for good prizes.
Niche poker room. You'll get a
different type of feel playing at this site.
Close-knit community. Most players are
friendly and often see each other at the same tables.
Game Selection: Hold'em,
Omaha, Stud
Limits: Limit:
10c/20c up
to $20/$40 No-Limit: 1c/2c up to $5/$10
Deposit Methods: Neteller,
eWalletXpress, 900Pay, major credit cards, wire transfers, or
cashier's checks.
Minimum Deposit:
$25
Tips:
While the play here isn't as tight as their reputation would hold, you will often
run into the same players if you play at the same limits at the same
time of day. I recommend keeping player notes, which is included in
the Bugsy's Club software. While you might think that you can
remember the player's styles that you see often, screen names can
start to look alike and you might forget a pivotal move that one of
your opponents made in that big cash game last week.
Simple player note
text boxes allow you to fill in anything you want. I usually type
things like, "willing to go all-in with 10-10", "constantly plays
awful cards", or "weak player - try to push him". Simple notes can
help you when you're facing a tough decision on a future hand.
Visit
Bugsy's Club
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