1. POKER STARS, Site Rating

[RiverCascade]

"POKER STARS", 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. Please name the games you play. 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:
Traffic Volume:
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play:

Additional Brief Comments:

[therivierakid]

Games/Levels I Play: 0.02/0.04 - 0.5/1 FR and 0.5/1 SH
Customer Service: 10
Software: 8.5
Bonuses- Offering: 0
Bonuses- Earning: 0
Cashout Speed: 10
Ease of Competition (list game type): 10 for SH and FR < 0.5/1, 5 for 0.5/1
Traffic Volume: 10
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play: Any

Additional Brief Comments: The best site around despite absence of bonuses. Top notch CS, really care about game security. Cashouts are quick, play is pretty bad and traffic is huge. Software needs a bit of a revamp to make it look a bit more 21st century but it does the job handsomely.

[RiverCascade]

Games/Levels I Play: $3/6 FRLH
Customer Service: 10
Software: 9
Bonuses- Offering: 3
Bonuses- Earning: 10
Cashout Speed: 10
Ease of Competition: 7
Traffic Volume: 8
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play: U.S. night is busier and looser

Additional Brief Comments: The best, imo, except for the lack of bonuses. Only site I play at where I'm not working on a bonus. Agree 100% about their concern with security. They go above and beyond to explain what measures they take if you ask them to do a player check. Love Stars!!

[toronexti]

Games/Levels I Play: 5/10 - 10/20
Customer Service: 9
Software: 10
Bonuses- Offering: 6
Bonuses- Earning: 9
Cashout Speed: 8
Ease of Competition: 8
Traffic Volume: 8
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play: Sunday between 4:30pm and 12am.

[fep]

Games/Levels I Play: Limit 2/4 SH, Limit 3/6 SH, Limit 1/2 Heads-up
Customer Service: na
Software: 9
Bonuses- Offering: 5
Bonuses- Earning: 5
Cashout Speed: 10
Ease of Competition: 8
Traffic Volume: 10
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play: na

Additional Brief Comments: They have a very favorable rake structure. When chasing their 5x bonus you are playing for free at 2/4 6 max.

Per my PT data for 2/4 6 max:

Rake per 1000 hands $472.50
Avg. # of players 5.57
Rake per player per 100 hands = $8.48
5x bonus per 100 hands = $8.80

They were paying me $0.32 per 100 to play there, can't beat that.

These bonuses are infrequent, but when you can get them I think this is the very best site to play.

[Fumseck]

Games/Levels I Play: 3/6 FR and 50$ to 200$ NL 6 max
Customer Service: 10
Software: 9 (when the new beta comes out I think it will be a 10)
Bonuses- Offering: 1
Bonuses- Earning: 7
Cashout Speed: 10
Ease of Competition (list game type):
7 for 3/6FR
10 for 50 NL 6 max
7 for 100 NL 6 max
6 for 200 NL 6 max

Traffic Volume: 10
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play: All the time, the tables are always full

Additional Brief Comments: There is no rakeback available on PS and they do a lot of promotion. I think that these 2 things together makes it for a site that is full of recreational players (let's call them fish ). Their CS is top notch, there is no site that even come close to them.

I would just like it if they could have more bonuses but their VIP program is pretty darn good and compensates somewhat.

[malteg]

Games/Levels I Play: 0.5/1 and 1/2 FL; $5 SNGs; MTTs up to $5 Buy-in
Customer Service:
Software: 10
Bonuses- Offering: 8
Bonuses- Earning: 6 at the low limits (see below)
Cashout Speed: 7
Ease of Competition: 5
Traffic Volume: 9 overall (10 in SNGs/MTTs, 8 in FL)
Favorite/most profitable time of day(s) to play:


Additional Brief Comments: Their bonuses never expire and clear twice as fast during "Double FPP" promotions. If you are a limit player, it is worth stacking the bonuses and waiting for the next promo.