The Only Intertops Poker Review You Need

Intertops Poker Overall

Established back in 1996, Intertops Poker is one of the oldest online poker rooms with more than two decades of experience. Like many other room, Intertops has been a part of several poker networks and now it is the flagship room of the Horizon Poker Network.

Operating under a license issued by Curacao, Intertops Poker is one of the few major online poker operators still open to the players from the United States.

Although not without its faults, especially in terms of software and player traffic, which could definitely be better, Intertops Poker is still a very solid option for US players, especially since they’ve started accepting Bitcoin.

Intertops Poker Welcome Bonus

New players can take advantage of a rather generous deposit bonus at Intertops Poker, which stands at 200% up to $1,000.

The minimum deposit required to claim this bonus is $25, which may be a bit on the higher side, but I feel it’s worth it for 200% extra.

Unlike with most other poker sites, the bonus isn’t added automatically and you’ll actually need to use your Intertops Poker bonus code after you had completed the deposit.

To claim the deposit bonus, you’ll need to navigate to the Intertops Poker cashier and click the Bonus Code button. Apply the current bonus code of 1000ITP to receive the 200% bonus.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to use the bonus code within 24 hours after making your deposit.

Regardless of the total amount, the Intertops Poker bonus is cleared in $5 increments, which are released every time you make 83.335 FPPs.

Points are generated as follows:

• 7 FPPs for every $1 in tournament fees paid
• 1 FPP for $1 raked at a cash table

However, Intertops Poker uses the system where all players dealt into a hand receive the equal number of points, so if a pot is raked at $3, all players who were dealt into the hand will receive 3 FPPs.

It’s a nice throwback to the old online poker days where you didn’t have to personally generate action to clear your bonus.

In addition to all this, you’ll also get 100 free bets to use in Intertops Casino. Games where these free bets can be used are found in the poker software, under the Casino section in the Lucktap tab. This is more generous than many US-facing casinos, such as El Royale Casino.

Intertops Poker No Deposit Bonus

No deposit bonuses are always a good way to test a room or start building your bankroll. However, at this point in time, there aren’t any no deposit bonus offers at Intertops Poker.

There are, however, freeroll tournaments open to all Intertops Poker players, where you can test your skills and get used to the software without having to invest any money.

Prize pools are usually around $50, with a few hundred players to start, so with some patience, you could actually start building your bankroll at Intertops without depositing.

Intertops Poker Software

The Intertops Poker software isn’t the poker site’s proudest achievement. It certainly gives off a dated vibe, which isn’t something players expect in this day and age. Visually speaking, the software could definitely use some improvements.

Despite this, the software does have some useful options to make the play more comfortable and enjoyable, such as the ability to select your preferred seat, auto-post blinds, auto-rebuy for cash games once your stack falls 10 big blinds below your set limit, etc.

In terms of game filters, there are also several options, especially for tournaments, where you can select the game type, format, buy-in ranges, status, and more.

Intertops Poker Mobile

Despite the fact the desktop software leaves something to be desired in terms of design, Intertops actually makes it quite easy to play from your mobile devices, which is always a big plus.

To get started, simply visit the Intertops Poker website from your phone and tap ‘Play Now.’

No download or installation is required as the play happens through the mobile web platform.

The full scope of poker games is available via Intertops mobile, i.e. tournaments, cash games, and Sit & Go’s, and you can also make deposits and withdrawals.

Intertops Poker Game Variety

When it comes to games offered at Intertops Poker, there is your standard variety made up of Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Omaha Hi/Lo.

One game that may be interesting for a change of pace is Telesina, a poker variation that’s not available at many poker sites these days.

Player Traffic

Cash game players will find a variety of stakes on offer at Intertops Poker, ranging from as low as $0.02/$0.04 all the way up to $10/$20 for pot limit and no limit tables. However, Intertops Poker is on the Horizon Poker Network, which typically only has 80-100 online cash game players at any time.

The bulk of cash game traffic is concentrated around small stakes game, while higher stakes players looking for NL100+ might struggle to find running games.

In terms of tournaments, the schedule at Intertops Poker isn’t particularly rich or imaginative. There are events ranging from $1.10 up to $27.50, although guaranteed prizes are nothing to write home about.

Usually, the biggest guarantee you’ll find is around $1,000 in the most expensive events, which probably isn’t too attractive for most tournament grinders.

Although it’s open to USA players, the traffic at Intertops Poker isn’t impressive in general, which is probably the biggest struggle this poker sites faces. It’s far behind top offshore USA-facing sites such as Bovada Poker.

Intertops Poker Fish Rating

These days, there aren’t too many regulars playing at Intertops Poker. Quite a few players found at the tables will be coming off a big casino or sports win, looking to mix things up with some poker.

I found there to be high number less-than-experienced players, which is typical of combination poker/casino/sportsbook sites.

At the same time, you should be able to quickly notice repeating names, i.e. those players who always seem to be around.

Although most of them aren’t that tough, they’re usually solid grinders who know their way around. If you can help it, you should avoid the latter and play as much as you can against random Intertops Poker players as they’re more likely to be gamblers looking for action.

Intertops Poker Deposits

As a long-standing and experienced online gambling site, Intertops Poker offers a variety of deposit and withdrawal options for international players.

Available options include Visa, MasterCard, NETELLER, Skrill, ecoPayz, Paysafecard, bank transfers, and more.

For US players, however, withdrawing money from Intertops Poker using traditional methods might not be the best option. Check withdrawals, for example, cost $50 per transaction, which is very high and probably not feasible for most players.

Luckily, Intertops also supports a variety of cryptocurrency options such as:

• Bitcoin
• Bitcoin Cash
• Litecoin

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies represent a much better choice for players looking to play from the United States.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin has become one of the leading options for US players looking to gamble or play poker online.

Bitcoin is a fast and reliable method, especially when it comes to withdrawals, and once you get the hang of things, it’s actually quite easy to use.

I tested a Bitcoin deposit at Intertops Poker and the procedure is very straightforward. Simply select Bitcoin as your option when making a deposit, follow instructions on the screen, and send money to Intertops’ wallet from your own Bitcoin wallet.

You’ll need to be patient as Bitcoin deposits may take up to an hour to register. If it happens the money doesn’t appear in your account and you get a message about an error, there’s no reason to panic.

Simply contact the Intertops Poker live customer support and let them know what had happened. They’ll ask you a few simple questions to confirm things and money will appear in your account in no time.

Deposit Issues

For me personally, the Bitcoin transaction didn’t actually go through automatically, which had me a bit worried.

After about 40 minutes of waiting, it was declared as failed but my Bitcoin had been sent from my wallet and I knew it was sent to the right address the Intertops Poker cashier had provided.

I reached out to live chat and they responded almost immediately.

Once I explained the problem, they asked me for a few details of the transaction, all of which were readily available inside my Bitcoin wallet. Once I provided those, the Intertops Poker agent let me know the money was ready for play.

The whole support process took about 10 minutes. The support team seemed really understanding about the whole situation and didn’t try to make it out as if it was somehow my fault. So, although the automatic Bitcoin deposit process at Intertops Poker can clearly glitch every now and then, their support team is really helpful.

Withdrawals from Intertops

When it comes to withdrawals at Intertops Poker, these can take up to 48 hours when using Bitcoin. This is definitely a bit slower than I’d like but, on the other hand, it’s much faster and lacks the fees of other payout methods available to US players.

Plus, Bitcoin withdrawals have no fee whatsoever, so this is definitely the way to go. The time and lack of fees is similar to a larger offshore site like Ignition Poker.

Intertops Poker Complaints

Checking Reddit and various poker forums for objective player experiences other than my own, I couldn’t find any really serious complaints about Intertops Poker.

One thing that players seem unhappy about is the policy regarding freeroll winnings, so you should probably know about it before getting started.

Namely, Intertops Poker requires players to rake 50% of whatever they happen to win in freeroll tournaments before they can cash out, i.e. if you accumulate $100 playing freerolls, you’ll need to generate $50 in rake before you’re allowed to make a withdrawal.

Complaints about freerolls usually strike me as nit-picky and hollow from freeloaders, akin to complaining about the food quality at a Costco free sample table. It’s free money and Intertops expects you to play before you try to insta-withdraw. What’s the problem?

Although the policy is definitely stricter than at most other sites, the poker site has the right to set its own rules, especially when it comes to free money they give away. So, just keep this in mind to avoid any unnecessary frustration down the road.

Intertops Poker Conclusion

These days, players from the US don’t have access to that many options, so Intertops Poker is definitely an alternative worth considering. Intertops offers a large bonus and games are even available for play on mobile, which are probably the biggest selling points.

The Intertops Poker desktop software could be better, but it still does the job just fine. Finally, with several cryptocurrencies available as deposit and withdrawal methods, US players will enjoy more freedom and much faster withdrawals.

The biggest downside of Intertops Poker is low player traffic, especially at higher stakes. You’ll definitely need to make some adjustment to your schedule to make sure you’re there during the peak hours.

The tournament schedule could also be better and perhaps the poker site would attract more traffic if they took the leap and started offering better guarantees.

All in all, Intertops Poker is definitely a good alternative, especially for smaller stakes American players and those who prefer tournaments with smaller, more manageable fields.