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Visit Poker
Host
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Overall:
4/5
Bonus and Promotions:
4/5
Fish Rating:
 
3.5/5
(best chilled)
Tournaments:
4/5
Software:
4/5
Payouts:
4/5
Customer Service:
4.5/5
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The easiest deposit method at
Poker Host
for US players is probably via credit card. Use this as your first
option to see if the transaction will be approved by your bank. As a
backup,
Poker Host
uses an exclusive deposit method in their IDC card. Essentially, this is a pre-paid debit card that
allows you to both deposit and receive withdrawals from your poker
account. Another option would be the cash transfer service, which
allows you to electronically send cash for your deposit. Service
locations for cash transfers are located in virtually every city in
the country, including many 7-11 stores.
Overall:
4/5
Poker Host has recently undergone some major changes and is
essentially a brand new poker room. They have settled on the
Microgaming (Prima) network, which hosts a ton of skins. The biggest
positive of being on a large network is the large number of tables
at every limit and the busy guaranteed tournament schedule. I give their new interface,
software, and backend improved scores over the old SBG Global
network. Perhaps best of all, they’re still accepting US players.
While
Poker Host
is a skin they do have a good number unique promotions, including a
large first-time deposit bonus, free subscriptions to Bluff Magazine for our new
players, and a Leader Board with bounties and prizes for top
finishers. If you’re looking for a site with some unique promotions on a
stable network, Poker Host is a pretty good
overall choice.
Bonus (100%
up to $2,000) and Promotions:
4/5
One of the reasons
Poker Host is unique
on the network is the massive signup bonus. You get a 100% bonus on
any initial deposit up to $2,000. This is valid for players coming
through our site, and you need to speak with support at Poker Host
to activate your bonus. For large bankrolls and higher-stakes players
this can be huge. However, I still appreciate that you get the same
100% even if you deposit the minimum of $20.
The bonus at
Poker Host
is worked off by playing in a specified number of raked hands. The
other deposit bonus for our players is the free 12-issue
subscription to Bluff Magazine, which is valid with any deposit of
$100 or more. Other promotions include the "Magic Hand" bonus in
which the players in a specified hand number split up $2,500.
Finally, their bad beat jackpot usually adds up to several thousand
dollars.
Fish:
3.5/5
While I don't think that Poker Host
has a downright terrible player base, I have always thought of the
fish here as a bit of a different breed. The overall play in
no-limit ring games seems to be loose-passive, meaning that you'll
often run into several calling stations at each table. To maximize
this style of play, I would recommend to play a straightforward
strategy of betting for value and raising your premium hands
strongly.
As the players at
Poker Host have a tendency to make weak calls, there
is little use in slowplaying your monster hands or trying to trap
with big pocket pairs. Many full ring games at the $1/2 level and
below have flop percentages exceeding 40% and fairly good-sized
pots. As this network features a large majority of European casino
players, you should find plenty of gamblers willing to over-commit to
pots. Overall, I feel that these are weak players that can be
steadily profitable with the proper strategy.
Tournaments:
4/5
The Poker Host
tournament traffic is one of its greatest draws with one of the
larger weekly tournaments and numerous daily guarantees. I like
the value in the Sunday biggie, which currently has a $200,000
guarantee. The buy-in is only $50, which is less than half the
buy-in of other Sunday events. If you're looking to play in one of
the big Sunday tourneys but don't have enough of a bankroll to
invest several hundred dollars, this is a good event to look into.
Other than the weekly event,
Poker Host has a large number of guaranteed
tournaments with buy-ins of $20 or less throughout the week. The
guarantees range anywhere from $1,200 to $20,000. Sit and Gos are
popular up to the $100 level and fill up fairly quickly. For
frequent players, they offer restricted freerolls for those playing
enough raked hands.
Software:
4/5
The
Poker Host software
isn't terribly original graphically but also doesn't have any
noticeable flaws. The move over to the Microgaming client is a
significant improvement over the old client. The rich red color scheme is pleasant enough
visually and overlays a standard birds-eye table view.
Positives
include a quick game speed and a color-coded system that makes it
easy to tell who the action is on. Cards are also dealt almost
instantaneously to reduce lag between hands. The lobby is also
organized well with subsections for different limits. New features
include a built-in buddy list and a rabbit hunting feature to see
future streets even after the hand has ended. Another
interesting addition are pot-limit draw games that can get
surprisingly busy.
US Payouts:
4/5
There are 2 payout methods for US
players at
Poker Host:
cash transfer or via the poker room's exclusive prepaid ATM card.
The latter can be used to withdraw your payout from an ATM and can
be used free of charge. If you use the cash transfer service you'll
be responsible for the transaction fees.
Customer Service:
4.5/5
Even on their old network, I’ve always been impressed by the support
at Poker Host. In fact, I’ve never needed to e-mail them because of
the live chat option. You can speak with a manager that can handle
most issues from the home page. Usually, I’ve waited less than 5
minutes to connect to a live person. They also publish their phone
number, which I respect.
Player Traffic
Overall, you should be able to find
several full and shorthanded ring games at any limit for both
fixed-limit and no-limit hold'em. As this is one of the largest
networks comprised of dozens of poker rooms, you benefit from
established player traffic. With many larger sites closing to US
players, sites like Poker Host
have benefited from even more players migrating to the network.
Tournaments are busy with numerous guaranteed events and tables are
full at all hours due to a large European player base.
Best Features
Trusted network. I have played on the Microgaming network for
several years and have appreciated the support,
quick cashouts, and competent software.
High level of fish. You should experience plenty of action here even
at the highest limits.
Large maximum bonus. If you play larger games, the maximum bonus
very large at $2,000.
Game Selection: Hold’em,
Omaha, Stud
Limits: Limit: 5c/10c
up to $100/200 No-Limit: 5c/10c up to $10/20
Deposit Methods: Neteller,
Instacash, E-check, major credit cards, checks.
Minimum Deposit:
$20
Tips: As I have
mentioned throughout this review, the players at Poker Host
are sub-par overall. While that may help to built large pots and loose
action, many players become frustrated by wild tables when their
premium hands get cracked. There is nothing that I can say that will
realistically take away the pain of getting your Aces cracked for a
big pot, but I can try to give you some simple tips to avoid the
situation in the future.
When you run into a bad beat, take a look
at your actions in the hand rather than shrugging it off to bad
luck. Did you bet/raise enough before and on the flop? These players like to see a cheap flop with trash cards so forget
about disguising your hand preflop. Raise and reraise whenever you
get the chance. Also, no one is forcing you to call down the fish
who sucked out on the flop. If your Aces or Kings don’t improve and
you’re facing a re-raise and third player going all-in beyond the
flop, you should become comfortable with mucking your hand without
much hesitation.
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Poker Host
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