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Visit PokerTime
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Overall:
4/5
Bonus and Promotions:
4/5
Fish Rating:
 
3.5/5
(fishing time)
Tournaments:
4/5
Software:
4/5
Payouts:
4/5
Customer Service:
4.5/5
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If you're a U.S. player, electronic deposit methods include credit
cards and the EcoCard e-wallet service if your bank has a block on
the transaction. EcoCard is becoming more widespread and accepted by
more poker rooms because of its ease-of-use and similarity to
NETeller. Essentially, you fund the free EcoCard account with a
personal bank account and then provide the account information to
PokerTime.
Overall:
4/5
PokerTime
(formerly Royal Vegas Poker) is one of the most popular poker rooms
on the large Prima network. For the foreseeable future they're allowing US players, so
that sways our score a bit in their favor. In terms of promotions, their better ones include the 100%
deposit bonus and $15,000 new player freeroll. They also host one of the smallest buy-in
big events for their weekly $100,000 guaranteed event. Daily freerolls are hosted for regular players, and they also offer a
promotion for students that allows you to win a huge amount of
scholarship money. With these newer promotions, it seems like this
site is making a push. Overall, this site is one of our top picks if you
want to join the Prima network.
Bonus (100%
up to $200) and Promotions:
4/5
Currently, their deposit bonus is a
respectable 100% up to $100.
PokerTime has a 10x raked hand requirement for clearing the bonus so
you'd need to play 1,000 raked hands to clear the full bonus. This
equates to an average of about $5 of bonus per hour of play at
medium stakes. Also, on your first deposit you'll be
eligible for a new $15,000 freeroll. Personally, I haven't heard of
a larger new player freeroll and I am impressed by this new
offer as first prize would be at least $3,500. I also like their
$100,000 guaranteed weekly tournament, as the buy-in is considerably
less than comparable tournaments at other poker sites. A $55 total
buy-in will get you in.
PokerTime is also the home of the College
Poker Championship, which is a freeroll competition for college students.
They host qualifying freerolls for a few months with scholarship
prizes and finally crown one winner with at least a $40,000
scholarship prize. Also, poker league players can earn prizes for
earning points through their ring games. Other promotions include
bad beat jackpots and random hand jackpots.
Fish:
3.5/5
The players aren't the typical maniacs
at PokerTime but they're still pretty beatable. Many of the players are
weak-tight or are very passive and will call you down to the river
with bottom pair or a thin draw. This can be excellent if you have a
strong hand, since the players seem to fold less often than at other
sites. Once you've hit a hand or two, I find that players here will
tighten up even more in pots against you. If you've been showing
down strong cards, don't be afraid to bet aggressively against timid
opponents. However, you should be aware of the calling stations at
the table who will call down your bluffs. If you're going to be in a
hand with them be sure that you at least pair up on the flop.
Tournaments:
4/5
Being on the Prima network,
PokerTime tournaments occur fairly often and most event reach at
least 100 participants. The most popular tournaments are under a $10
buy-in, but they do have some good events with larger buy-ins such
as the $100,000 guaranteed weekly tournaments. This is probably one
of the best values in a $100k tournaments because the buy-in is only
$55, which makes it feasible for smaller players. Another advantage
to their tournaments is the large number of guaranteed events, which
tends to bring the most players. Single table tournaments also fill
up pretty quickly and go down to the $2 level. They also run bounty
tournament promotions with the European Hendon Mob.
Software:
4/5
The software at
PokerTime is straightforward, but it
does have some unique features. The graphics are
pretty standard at Prima sites, but aren't detractive to the game. I
do like the blue felt graphic applied to their tables. Graphics
aren't extremely detailed, but I find them comfortable enough on the
eyes. I also like how quickly the cards are dealt out. I don't
understand why many sites force you to watch the cards being dealt
clockwise around the table. This is the internet, for cryin' out
loud! Take advantage of how quickly the games can be run. This
certainly helps full games to run quickly. Other unique options
include the ability to "shrink" the table and get rid of the
obtrusive chat box on the right side. You can also make players have
a green box around them if they're still involved in the hand.
Overall, this is usable software without a lot of bloat.
US Payouts:
4/5
If you used EcoCard to deposit at
PokerTime,
payouts are straightforward and can be paid back to the same account.
As an alternative, you can also request a direct payout to your US
bank account.
Customer Service:
4.5/5
You can use all possible support
methods: direct e-mail, live chat, and telephone service.
Representatives seem independent, knowledgeable, and able to handle
problems quickly.
Player Traffic
The Prima network traffic, including on
PokerTime, is consistently high at most times because of the high
number of European players. Both fixed-limit and no-limit ring games
are popular and during peak hours you can find full tables going up
to the higher stakes. Tournaments are also busy with a large number
of low buy-in events and the occasional satellite.
Best Features
 Weak no-limit competition. The Prima
network has soft no-limit games and I find the players to be very
timid.
Large tournament schedule. They usually
host a few tournaments per hour and a good number of guaranteed
events.
Strong customer service. They have
telephone and live chat support so if you lose that crazy log-in
name they give you it can be retrieved quickly.
Game Selection: Hold 'em,
Omaha, 7 card stud, 5 card stud
Limits: Limit: 5c/10c up
to $100/$200 No-Limit: 5c/$10c up to
$10/$20
Deposit Methods:
NETeller, Firepay,
Click2Pay, PaySpark, Instadebit, Ukash, and major credit cards.
Tips: One negative
aspect that is inherent to
PokerTime, and all online poker site, is the lack of tells that
can be read on your opponents. You have no face or physical actions
to watch. Most online poker experts will tell you to pay attention
to the time that a player takes to make an action. I don't believe
this is necessary at all, and will usually lead you astray. A lot of
players play multiple tables, don't know what they're doing, or are
distracted while they're playing. So if they take a long time, this
isn't a tell. But many players think they are being astute by
watching how much time you take. Use this to your advantage. If
you're last to act with a big hand, consider hesitating and making a smallist bet. Your opponents probably won't put you on much. Or try
betting instantaneously. They also might believe that you are
bluffing. If you have your opponent covered in chips, try betting
exactly the amount that they have left. They'll usually fold.
Visit
PokerTime
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