Absolute Poker Review

Info

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Name:	Absolute Poker
Website:	www.absolutepoker.com    FREE DOWNLOAD
Established:	2003
Country:	Costa Rica
Auditor:	PWC
Software Size:	5.74 MB

Bonus Info

Sign-up bonus ($):	$750.00
Deposit bonus (%):	100%    FREE DOWNLOAD
Referral bonus per friend:	$50.00
Deposit free bonus:	$0.00

Lobby

Table

Website

Overview

See below for full Absolute Poker review & weighted final score.

Special Features

• Refer-a-friend software
• Supports cash transfers between players
• Find-a-player function
• Option to retrieve statistical information
• Personalized player images
• Hot key buttons (use keyboard instead of mouse)

Hits

• Full feature software
• Multi-table and private tournaments
• Note taking hand history support (slow)
• Many promotions
• Loyalty Program
• Weekly reload bonus
• Heads-up sit'n'go tournaments

Misses

• No high stakes games or traffic
• No live support
• Limited player volume

Review Score

Game variety	6
Deposit & withdrawal options	6
Software & graphics	6
Ring game traffic	5
Tournament traffic	5
Rake	5
Soft competition	4
Sign-up bonus	7
Loyalty bonus	8
Promotions	8
Financial security	8
Support	8
Total weighted score	6.18

Full Review

Game variety (6)

Good, featuring the industry standard in games offered: Hold'em, Omaha and 7 Card Stud in both Hi and Hi-Lo. Absolute Poker fails to offer some other popular poker games including draw poker, crazy pineapple, etc. There are Hold'em games ranging from 6-handed up to 10-handed in no-limit, pot-limit and fixed-limit. The stakes vary from $50/$100 all the way down to the micro-limit levels. Despite all the games offered Hold'em is defiantly the favourite accounting for most of Absolute's traffic.

Deposit & withdrawal options (6)

Deposit options: NETeller, CentralCoin, FirePay, VISA, MasterCard, Electronic Check, Bank Draft, and Wire Transfer. Cash out options: NETeller, FirePay, and Check.

Software & graphics (6)

The software is fairly quick and reliable although it has a bit of a 'pinball machine' feel to it, including a few annoying sound effects. The lobby is easy to use, with standard design and functions. Another irritating detail is that you cannot eliminate the 'fun money' games from the lobby. The 'private tournament' option, however, is a great feature that allows players to bring their friends or co-workers together for a private online tournament.

Ring game traffic (5)

Traffic has not reached considerable volume and currently play is concentrated on low stakes No-Limit Hold'em ($1-$2 down to 2c-4c games). A majority of the ring games are 6-handed tables. There are typically 2,000-2,300 real money ring game players during peak hours, out of which at least 90-95% are in the Hold'em section.

Tournament traffic (5)

AbsolutePoker has tournament traffic of 4,000-4,500 real money players during peak hours.

Rake (5)

AbsolutePoker uses a pretty standard 'no flop, no drop' policy, meaning that they do not take out any rake from pots where there was no flop. The rake is at 5% on all types of games (from all limits and number of players) and stops at a maximum of $3. If you would like information about how to get Absolute Poker rakeback, we recommend you check out Rakefreeze.com

Soft competition (4)

The traffic is at its greatest at the micro-limits where the games vary from fairly loose to plain loose, often with a 'viewed flop percentage' reaching upwards 50% to 60%. This translates to very action packed, juicy games for the small stakes player. You can normally find decent Hold'em games up to the $2-$4 limits and for No-Limit up to $1-$2. At the full ring games and the middle limits around $2-$4, the games become much tighter and will average around 30% or less for the 'viewed flop percentage'.

Sign up bonus (7)

AbsolutePoker offers a sign-up is bonus of 200% up to $200 to every new player coming from BigPoker.ca. The bonus will automatically be added to your 'Pending Bonus' account where it will be held and automatically released to your cash account based on the following requirements; for each raked hand (minimum rake of $0.50) you play you will receive 1 point, and you will receive 1 point for each $1 of tournament buy-in fee. At 100 points $10 will be transferred from your 'Pending Bonus' account to your cash account. Money in your pending account will expire 60 days from the time it was awarded unless it has been transferred to your real money account by meeting the hands played requirements. You can view your point total and bonus amounts at the 'Cashier'. You will continue to earn points until you have received all of your bonus money.

Loyalty bonus (8)

AbsolutePoker offers the 'Absolute Rewards Loyalty Program': While playing for real money you earn points, so called Absolute Rewards Points (AR Points). Points are earned in two different ways; either through hands played at real money ring games, or from tournament buy-in fees. Points are earned as follows: (1) one point is awarded for every hand played in a real money ring game with a limit of $2/$4 or lower that has collected at least the minimum rake ($.25); (2) two points for every hand played in a real money ring game with a limit of $3/$6 or higher that has collected at least the minimum rake ($.25); (3) four points for every dollar in the tournament buy-in fee ($10 $1 tournament would earn 4 points); and, (4) special tournaments that award points to the winners. In addition, once you have played a minimum of 500 hands, AbsolutePoker will mail you an 'Absolute Reward Card' which reportedly gives the holder VIP-treatment at live tournaments, etc.

Promotions (8)

In addition to the 'Absolute Rewards Loyalty Program' they offer a good refer-a-friend program. Once your friend registers a new player account, deposits a minimum of $25, and plays in 100 real money raked hands, you will be credited with $50 and your friend's pending bonus account will be credited with $25. They also offer many good free rolls, WSOP free rolls, and re-load bonuses. For example, they offer a weekly re-load bonus.

Financial security (8)

Good, for a relative newcomer with financial muscle; they boast a serious approach to the business and high set goals.

Support (8)

The support at Absolute Poker is a little sub-par compared to some of the other online card rooms. Currently they do not offer 24/7 telephone support. All inquiries are handled by email but feature great response times. Absolute Poker boasts an in-depth website which covers a wide array of issues and FAQs.

Summary (6.18)

Absolute Poker is a top-notch provider of online poker and continues to be an industry leader when it comes to player satisfaction. Over the past few years Absolute Poker has grown to a fairly large poker room with most of its traffic concentrated in lo-limit Hold'em. There is always tons of action and their software is excellent with many advanced features including hand history, find-a-friend, player and table statistics, etc. Also allows play on up to 3 tables simultaneously as well as plenty of short-handed tables for the action junkies. The site is currently endorsed by tournament poker pro Mark Seif who took home 2 World Series of Poker bracelets at this year's event. The poker traffic during peak hours reaches 13,000+ with approximately 2,500 real money ring & tournament players. Offering a fun and stable poker experience, Absolute Poker will be around for years to come continuing to provide plenty of online poker action.

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