Empire Poker Software

Empire Poker shares the same basic platform as Party Poker. There are, however, some subtle differences between Party Poker and Empire Poker. Most notably, Party Poker has many more filters set up, both for cash games and tournaments. This is, however, only a slight difference.

Much like Party Poker, Empire Poker does not provide a "Players seeing the Flop" percentage, and this is well below the industry norm. Lobby information is likewise lacking, inasmuch as it doesn't update in real-time. Sometimes clicking on a table with one or two seats empty finds that the table is actually full.

The layout and the look of the tables are bland and uninspired. The avatars are different than those at Party Poker. There are, however, table poker modifications that can be found on the internet which allow the user to select from a variety of table designs, colors and motifs, to make the Empire experience a little more enjoyable.

Empire Poker, much like Party Poker, is straightforward and concise.

Empire Poker Traffic

Sharing the same platform and players as Party Poker is a huge boon to Empire Poker. As the largest pokersite combination on the internet, Empire/Party sports 24/7 gameplay at all limits and across many varied types of games. Tournament play runs nearly 24 hours daily, with a slight drop-off in the very early hours of the morning.

Empire Poker Games

Empire Poker offers some of the softest games on the internet.

Empire Poker offers Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7-Card stud, and 7-Card stud Hi-Lo. Limits are from $.50/$1 to $100/$200 for fixed limit, and from NL/PL25 to NL/PL2000. There are also beginner's tables from NL4 to NL25 and limits of $.05/$.10 to $1/$2. These beginner's tables are available for 30 days following a player's initial deposit.

Empire Poker has a superb selection of Sit and Go tournaments [SnGs]. They are offered in 1, 2, 3 and 5 table varieties. Like Party Poker, Empire offers a wide variety of "STEP" SnGs. From small $6 mini-steps, to larger buy-in $33 steps and two-table steps, players will find these types of SnGs a challenge, and potentially very rewarding.

Empire Poker offers multiple table tournaments [MTTs] every hour, with the exception of the very early morning hours.. Their MTTs run the gamut, and Empire/Party is well known for their array of buy-ins, structures, game types and speeds of blind increases. A tournament can be found for most everyone's taste.

Empire Poker Promotions

30% up to $150 Bonus
Players signing up and making an initial deposit at Empire Poker through one of ITH's banners or links are entitled to a 30% up to $150 first time depositors bonus. Use bonus code ITH30TO150 for this bonus. Players have 30 days to accumulate 60 raked/dealt hands for every $1 in bonus . Bonus is released in one lump sum.

$25 Flat Bonus
Players who cannot deposit for the maximum, or who are on a limited bankroll can deposit for the flat $25 bonus. Use bonus code ITH50EMP The player must accumulate 1500 raked hands to be awarded the bonus.

Party Poker Millions

Empire Poker joins in on the Party Poker Million VI.

You could win a $12,000 package for the PartyPoker.com Million VI. Join the qualifiers now for as little as $1.

The first PartyPoker.com Million to visit the Mediterranean will be the held from May 3 through 10, 2008. The eight-day cruise will sail from Venice in Italy and will stop at the following ports:

Bari, Italy

Olympia/Katakolon, Greece

Izmir, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Each $12,000 package will include:

$8,200 buy-in for the No-limit Texas Hold’em main event

$2,700 for accommodation and the cruise

$1,100 spending money

Monthly PPM Satellite Schedule
PPM Satellite Buy-in: $600+$40
Game: NL Hold’em
Time: 3:25PM EST every Saturday
Prizes: For every 20 players, a $12,000 entry is awarded to the PPM Mediteranean Cruise Guarantee 8 Package Guaranteed ($96,000)

Players can qualify for as little as $1.00 daily.

Hellkat SnGs

Now you can play even when you only have a few minutes to spare with Empire Poker's HellKat, time-based Sit & Go tournaments. They last either 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes and start with a low buy-in, ranging from $3 to $11.

The ultimate in convenience
After the final hand has been completed, the top three players will split the tournament prize pool according to the chip count.

There are two types of time-based tournaments:
Fixed-length tournaments which end after a specific period of time, and random-length tournaments which may end earlier, by up to 10% of the remaining playing time. All time-based tournaments will end after a complete hand has been played, rather than stopping mid-hand.

Sunday $300,000 Guarantee

Empire Poker offers a $300,000 Guaranteed tournament every Sunday at 12:45PM EST. Direct buy-in for this weekly event is $215 [which includes the fees]. Players may satellite themselves into this lucrative tournament by playing in Empire Poker's daily satellites and SnGs for as low as $3.

Bad Beat Jackpot

For every raked hand played on Empire Poker's Bad Beat Jackpot tables, a jackpot contribution of $0.50 will be collected from the pot. On the Bad Beat tables you're a winner if you lose with a hand of 'Four of a Kind', eights or better.

Fund distribution:
Every time the jackpot is hit, 70% of the jackpot will be distributed and 20% will be used as a seed for the next jackpot. 10% will be retained by EmpirePoker.com as an administrative fee. Of the distributed amount, 50% will go to the loser of the hand (the Bad Beat), 25% to the winner and 25% will be split between the other seated players who actively participated in the hand (any player who was sitting out will not receive a portion of the jackpot).

To qualify for the Progressive Bad Beat Jackpot:
1. Bad beats will be paid out on real money Hold'em games (Limits $2/$4, $3/$6, $5/$10, $10/$20 and $15/$30), only available under the Bad Beat Jackpot Tab.
2. Four or more players must be dealt into the hand.
3. Players sitting out do not qualify for the jackpot.
4. The losing hand must contain four of a kind, eights or better to qualify.
5. The best hand for both the winner and the loser must include both of their hole cards and the hand must go to a showdown.
6. The hand must be raked and the jackpot contribution collected from the hand in order to qualify for a bad beat jackpot.

Refer A Friend

To receive the $25, the Referred Player must open an account using sign-up code TAF15 within 30 days of receiving the invitation email and then make a minimum deposit of $50 or more at any time.

The $25 will automatically be added to the Referred Friend’s bonus account. The Referred Friend must play raked hands of poker equal to five (5) times the bonus amount ($25) before the bonus is transferred to his/her real money account from the bonus account.

To receive $50 for referring a friend, the Referring Friend must:
a. not be resident in China; and
b. have a real money account (an account to which real money has previously been deposited) to which the $50 will be credited. If not, the $50 will be on hold until the Referring Friend makes a real money deposit. You would then be entitled to freely cash out the bonus amount.

Stability

Empire Poker is owned and operated by the largest poker site in the industry, Party Poker.

Party Poker, with clientele numbering in the millions, is part of Party Gaming, which is a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange. Several well-known poker personalities back the site. Cashout speeds, equal or exceed the industry norm. Party Poker's longevity, popularity and attention to security details ensures that your play and money are very secure here.

Security

Empire Poker employs a number of security measures to ensure safety and fairness in all of its games. Their Random Number Generator is encrypted to ensure fairness and an even distribution of cards. Their investigations teams function around the clock to ensure the games are fair, and that cheating, hacking and collusion are detected by their software. Cashouts are verified both automatically and manually to ensure that no fraudulent activity occurred. They also post a Security Message and blocking software between Associated Users to ensure that two players who have been closely associated using various parameters cannot sit at the same table together. This has the benefit of stopping certain forms of collusion from occurring. The security of Empire Poker is top-notch.

Empire Poker Customer Service

Since the merge with Party Poker, customer support has dropped off significantly. Once a very good customer support team, it appears that Empire's very good service is now lacking. Empire Poker states that turnaround time for emails is within 24 hours. Unfortunately, several emails sent to Empire Poker have gone unanswered.

Poker Tracker Compatibility

Empire Poker is Poker Tracker compatible. Empire Poker and Poker Tracker allow Holdem, Omaha and Stud ring games as well as tournament result to be incorporated into Poker Tracker. Import of hand histories to your harddrive allows Poker Tracker to automatically update your PT stats at whichever time interval you set.

Ability to Multitable

You may play on as many as 10 tables concurrently at Empire Poker. Their software allows you to minimize their tables, allowing more tables to fit upon monitors of all sizes. For example, monitors sporting 1600x1200 resolution will allow up to 9 tables with no overlap.

Multiple Accounts per Household

Multiple Household Accounts are allowed at Empire Poker. Players may be asked for verification from Empire Poker directly or from their cashiering service - PayPro, as part of an identification process.

Players who are associated in this way cannot play on the same tables or SnGs. They can however, play in the same multi-table tournaments, but cannot be situated on the same table, unless both make it to the final table. This security feature is to help ensure that two associated players cannot collude.

Reload Bonus Frequency

Empire Poker, has been offering reloads of varying types, following the standards of Party Poker bonuses. Specifically:

Generic/Player Specific Reloads: These bonuses are usually offered on a monthly basis and the criteria details are ever-changing. Generic reloads are those reloads open to all members of Empire Poker and usually have a universal reload bonus code. Player Specific reloads are player specific and targeted towards individual players. These individual codes will have their own codes as well.

Complimentary Bonus Money: These are money bonus gifts added to a player's playable money that have bonus criteria built in for their full release and availability for withdrawal.

Empire Poker players may also take advantage [one time only] of the following reload methods:

iGM-Pay Bonus. Players who have not used iGM-Pay with Empire Poker and who set up an iGM-Pay account with their bank can make a deposit for a 20% up to $100 bonus [$500 deposit for max bonus]. This bonus is as good as it gets. You need to participate in 5 raked hands for every bonus dollar earned in order to release the bonus. You also have 30 days to do so. Input the bonus code iGMPAY into the bonus code area.

FPS ePassport Bonus. Players who haven't previously used FPS ePassport, may open up an account and receive a 10% up to $50 bonus by inputting EPASS in the bonus code area [$500 deposit for max bonus]. Players will need to play 5 raked hands for every bonus dollar within 30 days to claim this bonus. This is as good as it gets at Empire Poker.

Tournaments with Overlays

A tournament overlay is the result of guaranteed prize money that is not offset by the participant's buy-ins. As such, all freerolls always offer an overlay.

Empire Poker, sharing the largest online pokersite with Party Poker, with tremendous traffic 24 hours a day, rarely has non-freeroll overlay with any of it's tournaments.

There is an exception, however. The 6:10AM EST $4K Guaranteed Fixed Limit tournament will usually grant an overlay every few days.

Maximum Amount of Bonus

$150.

Bonuses Cleared During Tournaments

Bonuses can not be cleared at Empire Poker by playing in SnGs or Multi-table Tournaments.

Time Allowed to Clear Bonus

Initial Deposit bonuses have a clearance timeframe of 30 days.

Most generic and player-specific reload bonuses have a clearance timeframe ranging from 7 to 10 days. Both types of reload bonuses will explicitly state how long a pending bonus has to be cleared.

Withdrawal Restrictions

Withdrawals can be made prior to clearing a bonus, but Empire Poker suggests waiting 48 hours after your deposit before requesting a cashout.

Bonus as a %age of Deposit

30%

Are Bonuses Stackable?

Bonuses are stackable at Empire Poker. Players must clear bonuses in the order they are received.

Bonus to Table or Cleared?

The full amount of the bonus must be cleared prior to having access to the bonus money.

Can Bonuses be Chased on 1+ Skin?

Players may not officially have accounts at both Empire Poker and Party Poker. However, players who had accounts at both during the period that Empire Poker and Party Poker were not affiliated are free to continue their accounts at both sites.

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Empire Poker has a special place in my list of favorite poker sites. Right after Party dropped all of their skins, I signed up for Empire Poker. When Party re-introduced Empire into their network, I was playing at both sites, but it always seemed I did unusually well at Empire. Empire's initial deposit bonus [and Party's as well] have long been the hallmark against which other bonuses are compared. Unfortunately, Empire has recently changed their bonus release criteria, and it has gone from being the best online initial bonus to one of the worst. Originally a 5x raked hand bonus, it now requires a staggering 60 raked hands for every $1 in bonus. Gone are the days of the great bonuses here. Empire Poker also doesn't allow SnG and MTT bonus clearance, further making their bonuses that much worse trhan the competition.

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