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Visit Players
Only Poker
URGENT UPDATE:
Players Only is currently not accepting new US
registrations. As an alternative we are recommending that US players
try BetOnline,
our top-rated US poker room with similarly loose tables and easy
credit card deposits. Our
US
poker room reviews page also has a full listing of other
available sites.
US CREDIT CARDS PROCESSED SUCCESSFULLY: The
deposits at
Players Only Poker are the easiest possible for US players.
Utilizing successful payment processors, all US credit cards are
processed block-free for deposits. This is, by far, a big step
forward in allowing players to fund their accounts painlessly. There
is no need for a third-party e-wallet, with credit cards being
accepted directly through the cashier in the poker software. I can
recommend this method as I have successfully deposited using a Visa
card from one of the largest US banks. The minimum deposit is also
low at $20.
Players Only Poker also supports UseMyWallet, which is my
current pick as the best available e-wallet to US players. All
transactions are made directly to and from your bank account and
little personal information is required. To
have a UseMyWallet account created for you, simply request one from
the support reps at
Players Only Poker.
PLAYERS ONLY PROMO CODE FOR $1,000 BONUS
AND 10% INSTANTLY:
BTF1000PK. New players coming from our site are eligible for an
instant 10% bonus on their first deposit in addition to an increased
100% play-through bonus, good up to $1,000. Please note that players
must download the software using our
Players Only Poker links to be eligible.
Players Only
bonus code BTF1000 is also required for the full 110%.
$500 FREEROLL FOR NEW DEPOSITORS:
New players using our links to
Players Only Poker and making their first deposit are now eligible for a weekly private $500 freeroll. Tournaments will take place every Wednesday at 10:30PM EST and can be found under the "Private" tab.
Players Only Poker now accepts registrations from all countries,
including the US and Canada.
Overall:
4.5/5
With the market for US poker players
declining over the past several months I was interested to see
Players Only
Poker enter the fray. While most new poker rooms take ages to
build a solid network of players and promotions I've been very
pleased with some key aspects of this site. With their recent
transition to the Merge network
Players Only
Poker has also improved their software, streamlined their
promotional system, and perhaps even increased their level of loose
play.
Firstly,
Players Only
Poker is a
no-brainer choice if you're looking for easy deposits. They can
successfully process any US-issued credit card, allowing players to
bypass the waiting time and hassle of an e-wallet. You can register
at
the site, make your deposit in a couple of minutes, and then you're
done with logistics. This is unheard of in the current climate of US
online poker and I feel that simple deposits is one of the more
important factors in deciding on a potential poker room.
Beyond deposit methods, this
sportsbook-crossover site has extremely poor players and surprisingly has
busy tables up to the middle and higher limits. The promotional system is
strong with an increased 110% bonus offer for our players, which
includes 10% instant cash. Overall,
Players Only
Poker is an underexposed poker room that I was impressed by
because of their direct credit card deposits, poor competition, and
quality bonus structure. This poker room will appeal most to players
looking for a change of pace from the typical stingy bonus payouts,
weak-tight competition, and limited deposit options of the larger
sites.
Bonus (110%
up to $1,000 plus 10% instantly) and Promotions:
5/5
For a first-time deposit bonus,
Players Only
Poker offers 110% extra exclusively for our players. In addition
to an instant 10% cash bonus on all new
deposits our players also get a 100% play-through bonus with a maximum
bonus cap of $1,000. Please note that players must use one of our
links to
Players Only
Poker to be eligible for the increased 110% offer.
The extra 10% is immediately added to your bankroll and is available to use
immediately at the tables. Despite it being a fraction of the total
bonus amount
Players Only
Poker offers one of the few instant
bonuses online and I value it for its simplicity. In terms of the
play-through bonus, unlike many larger sites that make it extremely difficult to
actually earn a large portion of and/or include pages of fine print
restrictions, the
Players Only
Poker bonus structure is straightforward and fairly generous.
Players Only
Poker has a player rewards program similar to other poker rooms
with VIP points earned by either generating rake at cash games or
paying tournament fees. Every $1 of bonus money is cleared for every
75 VIP points earned and it is dispersed in $5 increments. I would often $5 or $10 of bonus
per playing session at medium limits, which shows me that
they actually intend to allow regular players to earn the full bonus.
The same VIP points can then be used at
Players Only
Poker for different rewards including cash, special freerolls,
and in the player store, which offers assorted poker merchandise,
clothing, and electronics. A 100% reload bonus is also offered to
our players who reach at least 3,000 points.
Players Only
Poker uses a tiered promotional system that gives better rewards
as players earn more cumulative points. Other promotions include a
Sit and Go leaderboard and a substantial Bad Beat Jackpot.
Fish: 
5/5
With many of the more established sites
featuring tighter play,
Players Only
Poker is like a secluded aquarium full of large pots and some of
the worst players online. The overall level is play is simply
horrendous on this network and thus a top Fish Rating is definitely
deserved. The numbers are truly startling at
Players Only
Poker with average pot percentages almost always exceeding 40%
and average pot sizes ranging from 20-30x the big blind.
I attribute the loose play at
Players Only
Poker to a few factors: the
predominantly young American target demographic, the easy deposit
methods, and the fact that it is also a casino/sportsbook. When
players aren't afraid that they'll have trouble re-funding their
accounts, they tend to be willing to gamble a bit more. Also, when
action-hungry but inexperienced sports bettors find their way to the
poker room, you'll find more than a couple of maniacs at each table.
Player traffic has also improved with at least 10-15 active tables
per limit up to the $1/2 NL level. The upper stakes usually offer 1
or 2 active tables per limit surprisingly still featuring the same
incompetent level of play.
Substandard starting cards are just the tip of the
fish-filled iceberg at
Players Only
Poker. You'll regularly witness all-in pots with players having small pocket pairs, gutshot straight draws, middle pair, and of course the weak flush
draw. While overall player skill naturally increases as the limits
increase, this type of play extends to the mid-to-upper limits.
Patient players who bet and raise aggressively for value with
their premium hands should be able to reach extremely high hourly
win rates. The busiest action is at the full no-limit ring games,
which also potentially provide the most profit.
Tournaments:
4/5
Tournament
traffic is usually pretty paltry at new poker rooms. Fortunately,
Players Only
Poker attracts about as many multi-table tournament players as
some of the longer-tenured mid-tier US poker rooms. Most of the action is dominated by
low-stakes events under $30 and these tourneys usually draw about
300-400 players during peak hours.
Players Only
Poker also has some substantial overlays with the poker room
often having to add $2,000 or more to tournaments in order to meet
the guaranteed prize pool. Overlays essentially allow you to play a
bigger buy-in tournament at a discount.
Also on the positive side, most
tournaments have a guarantee of at least $1,000 for small buy-ins or
$5,000-$10,000 for bigger buy-ins. The largest tournament is the
$50,000 guarantee that takes place every Sunday. The buy-in is fair
for a prize pool this size and shouldn't be out of reach of smaller
players at $100.
Players Only
Poker also runs Bounty Tournaments throughout the day in which a
portion of the buy-in puts a bounty of every player that gets
knocked out.
As for single table tournaments, they're
also popular with a short wait time up to the $20 level.
Players Only
Poker also adds an interesting twist to the Sit and Go format
with the double-up variation. The format only plays until half of
the field remains with each prize being twice the buy-in. Overall,
the tournament schedule is pretty full at
Players Only
Poker with an event every 15-30 minutes and fields of around 300
for the guarantees. While this site probably won't become your top
destination for tournaments they should hold enough decent-sized
guarantees to keep your interest.
Software:
4.5/5
One of the significant improvements that
Players Only
Poker has made with the switch over to Merge is with the
software package. I've always been a fan of this underappreciated
platform and
Players Only
Poker does little to alter the core network features. Starting
with logistics, one of the best features is game speed, which runs
at an average of 70-90 hands per hour for 9-handed tables. These are
some of the highest numbers I've seen online. Other accessibility
features include a lobby that can be filtered by numerous options
and fully resizable table windows. The look of the table is sharp
with dark-toned colors and a familiar overhead view.
Playing through a few rounds at
Players Only
Poker uncovers a number of options that aren't found on any
other network, including a Deal It Twice option on pre-flop all-ins,
the ability to only show one card on winning hands, chat bubbles,
rabbit-hunting to see the result of folded hands, and average
winning percentages on all-in hands. This gives the poker room a
unique feel and incorporates several actions common to
brick-and-mortar cardrooms. The
Players Only
Poker software isn't particularly striking visually but really
adds a number of interesting features in-game.
US Payouts:
4.5/5
The payouts at
Players Only
Poker have improved as of late with both direct checking account
credits and Fedex check delivery available. Both methods should
arrive within about a week once requested and because checks are
sent via a courier service they arrive much faster than from poker
rooms that use standard mail. They also feature built-in tracking
numbers, which can be used to trace your shipment if necessary.
Checking account withdrawals are also sent electronically to your
account, which saves a trip to the bank.
Customer Service:
5/5
The
Players Only
Poker support gives the right options in telephone, live chat,
and e-mail customer service. While I haven't used the telephone
support, I give sites that allow instant contact a top score. I've
opted to use the live chat feature in which a representative usually
responds within a minute or two.
Player Traffic
The overall traffic at
Players Only
Poker is coming close to rivaling some of the larger networks
still open to US players. This is especially true during off-peak
hours. At the microlimits, you'll usually find 5-10 full no-limit
ring games. At the $1/2 NL level there are usually 3 or 4 full tables.
Also, there is a regular $5/10 NL game going on and occasionally a
$10/20. Shorthanded games also usually outnumber full games by about
2 to 1.
Tournament traffic can reach up to 400 players for guaranteed
events.
Best Features
Wild play. The tables here are probably the loosest you can
currently find
online with 40%+ flop percentages the rule rather than the
exception.
Ability to process US credit cards. The cashier is able to accept
deposits without blocks from your bank.
Growing network. Even though this is a newer site, tables are still filled
at all levels.
Game Selection: Hold'em,
Omaha, Stud, Draw
Limits: Limit: 2c/4c up
to $50/$100 No-Limit: 2c/4c up to $50/$100
Deposit Methods:
Visa and Mastercard.
Players Only
Poker has a unique system of deposits that allows them to
successfully charge your US credit card without being declined from
your bank. This is built right into the cashier and is probably the
easiest deposit method for most players. If you aren't able to use
your credit card I highly recommend the UseMyWallet service, which
was recently added to the cashier. This service works directly with
your checking account for both deposits and withdrawals. As this
still an invitation-only e-wallet, players should send a quick
e-mail or live chat message to
Players Only Poker in order to have an account created. Finally,
Moneybookers is available as well as the cash transfer service.
Minimum Deposit:
$20
Tips: Of course,
with the poor play at
Players Only
Poker, you'll experience a greater variance both in your
short-term ups and downs. While you'll often get paid off even more
at loose tables with your monster hands, the likelihood of bad beats
also increases when you're up against several gambling opponents.
While you cannot control the long shots to which your opponents are
willing to play, you can control the betting and take steps to
lessen the likelihood of a suck out.
For starters, try increasing
your standard raise to 5 or 6 times the big blind. If there are
already several limpers in the pot, using the "Pot" raise button
should do the trick. Also, it is very simple to deduce likely draws
on the flop so bet enough that your opponent is making a
mathematical mistake to stay in with you.
With extremely heavy
betting on the flop a defining characteristic at
Players Only
Poker you should become comfortable with throwing away
an unimproved premium pocket pair at such a loose site. Hopefully,
simple tips like these will go a long way in helping your big hands
stand up. After all, that is our mantra here: helping good players
avoid bad beats.
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Players Only Poker
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