1. ABSOLUTE POKER, Site Rating

[RiverCascade]

"ABSOLUTE POKER" REVIEW BY CATEGORY

Please copy the categories below into your own post in this thread, rating each category on a scale of 10 to 1, 10 = the best; 1 = the worst. If you have no opinion for a specific category, leave blank. Please post all discussion in this thread.

Games/Levels I Play:
Customer Service:
Software:
Bonuses- Offering:
Bonuses- Earning:
Cashout Speed:
Ease of Competition (list game type):
Traffic Volume:
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play:

Additional Brief Comments:

[RiverCascade]

Games/Levels I Play: Limit FR $3/6
Customer Service: 8
Software: 5
Bonuses- Offering: 10
Bonuses- Earning: 6
Cashout Speed: 5 (48 hours, usually?)
Ease of Competition (list game type): $3/6 Limit, Semi-soft
Traffic Volume: 4
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play: 4:30 - 7 pm p.s.t, only, otherwise dead and *tight*

Additional Brief Comments: Customer Service vastly improved in last couple of months. Limit traffic at $3/6 is slow. $2/4 is non-existent.

[Fumseck]

Games/Levels I Play:
Customer Service: 8
Software: 7
Bonuses- Offering: 10
Bonuses- Earning: 7
Cashout Speed: 9 (I get cashout within 1 day, using Neteller)
Ease of Competition (list game type): 5; 6max NL 100 and NL 200 is tough but not unbeatable
Traffic Volume:
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play: After 5 pm eastern

Additional Brief Comments:
1) The software (or network if you prefer) often lags.

2) There are a lot of software patches which is annoying.

3) Bonuses are stackable. You have to keep your deposit in your account for 2 days before cashing out. Bonuses are generally given on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Typical is 20% upto 200$, but if you are VIP the weekends are often 35% up to 350$.

So if you have a few thousand dollars in bankroll, you can deposit and withdraw constantly to get an infinite stream of bonuses.

[PigPen]

Games/Levels I Play:
Customer Service: 5
Software: 4
Bonuses- Offering: 10
Bonuses- Earning: 10
Cashout Speed: 9
Ease of Competition (list game type): 8 (up to $10 NL MTT & SNG, .25/.50 FR.)
Traffic Volume:
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play: Any.

Additional Brief Comments: Absolute was my favorite site to play. Unfortunately after downloading their update on 4-17-06 I've been having problems with the software. After 45-60 minutes of playing it is using up all my system resources and the Absolute interface is unusable. I've emailed their support multiple times detailing the problem and though they replied like they were trying to fix the problem it continues to happen. At times the server lag is horrible. Outside of the ITH League games at Absolute I will no longer play there. I may try again in a few months because I do like the play at the site. But for now it's just too aggravating.

[fep]

Games/Levels I Play: 2/4 Limit SH, 3/6 Limit SH
Customer Service: NA
Software: 5 and a 9(see below)
Bonuses- Offering: 10
Bonuses- Earning: 8
Cashout Speed: 9
Ease of Competition (list game type): 8 for 2/4 SH
Traffic Volume: 4
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play: After 6:00 ET

Additional Brief Comments:

The 6 max tables have nine seats so you have some options where to sit when you are coming in as the 6th player, I really like this and I haven't seen this at any other site. I also like that PA Hud will overlay stats on observed tables for players you've played before. This is the best site for choosing the best seat at a table, imo. This is why I gave the software two different scores.

Currently, the traffic is lite at 2/4 but there are some fish to be found. They now require the props to play 3/6 or above which has improved the 2/4 games.

[therivierakid]

Games/Levels I Play: 0.5/1 and 1/2; SH and FR
Customer Service:
Software: 5
Bonuses- Offering: 7
Bonuses- Earning: 7
Cashout Speed:
Ease of Competition (list game type): 10 - I doubt there's a softer site out there.
Traffic Volume: 8 - PDG most of the time
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play: Any

Additional comments: The software is incredibly ugly (the tables I mean, not the lobby). Has a problem where unfolded hands are half obscured by player icons so at a quick glance you often miss that someone hasn't folded. The software also tries to boot you off waiting lists if you're on a waiting list for a seat and then take that seat.