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Absolute Poker Review |
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| Summary, Download & Bonus |
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Overall (6.1)
Software (4)
Bonuses (8)
Promotions (9)
Players (6)
Variety (6)
Site Traffic (7)
Cash Games (7)
Support (5)
Site Security (2)
Banking (7) |
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BEST FEATURES
Player to player cash transfers
Personalized player images
Loads of freerolls
Hot keys for calling, raising or folding
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PROS
Awesome sign up bonus
Weekly reload bonus
Heads-up games in Texas Hold’em
Very good variety of tournament tables
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CONS
No live chat or telephone support
Most traffic is at Hold’em tables
Current allegations of security breach
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Summary (6.1)
I have also enjoyed playing at Absolute Poker and have been saddened by the recent allegations by players that Absolute has known about this issue. I will probably halt my play there until this problem has been resolved. Absolute does offer quite a few freeroll games and the site is very low-key. I don’t like the new setup with the emoticons. And I have yet to find the options to turn off certain types of chats, so that all is see is what other players are saying.
Software (4)
Absolute Poker seems to have a software update almost once a day. Every time I log into the poker client I have to wait for the update. This can be very frustrating if you have a game that you want to play and time is short to register for that game. Other than that, the site is easy to navigate, to find other users, both in games and in the lobby, and tournaments you are currently registered in. An instant replay function was added recently and that has been helpful when you need to go over how you played a hand.
The disconnection rate at Absolute seems to be pretty high. Maybe it is just me, but I see at least one other player having connection issues every time I sit down at a table. Also there seems to be a problem with the chat function. At times I have to minimize and maximize my room view in order to chat. All of your personal information, including rewards summary, real money bankroll and play money bankroll appear on the cashier screen, making all that information easily accessible.
So hopefully one of these times those constant software updates will actually fix the problems with the software.
Bonuses (8)
absolute poker has a decent amount and variety of poker bonus options. Their current deposit bonus of 100% to $500 with the code "AP500" is one of the best bonuses available right now. I really like the "$10 Million Club" which is where you accumulate $10M in play money chips and turn it in for $50 cash into your Absolute account.
Promotions (9)
Absolute poker has several promotional offers going at any given time. Those include the refer-a-friend program, where players can earn $25 for every friend. The are currently running the Quarter million dollar freeroll challenge, and the 1st Annual Turkey Bowl, a freeroll with a prize pool of $5000 – entry is limited to players who play in at least 3,000 raked hands between November 1st and 27th. These promos along with their Royal Flush Club, the VIP loyalty club and WSOP freerolls make for high scores in this area.
Players (6)
I would have to say that the majority of the players on Absolute Poker are average or above average. There are occasional noobs that are still learning the game and will make a call with a questionable hand but all sites have that. It is typically very easy to get into a Sit-n-Go game and not wait more than a few minutes for the table to fill. The ring games rarely have a waiting list unless the table is hot!
Variety (6)
The variety of games offered at Absolute Poker is slightly above average. They offer the standard games of Texas Holdem, Omaha and 7 Card Stud, all with limit, no-limit and pot-limit games. Omaha and 7 Card Stud have Hi/Lo games as well. They also now have Razz table games and occasionally will offer a Razz tournament. You can find ring games of each kind ranging from blind levels of .02/.04 to $75/$150. The daily tournaments have buy-ins from $1 up to $150. There are more than a dozen freerolls daily.
Site Traffic (7)
Even with the allegations that have surfaced surrounding a large tournament a couple weeks ago in which one player at the final table may have been able to see all other players hold cards, the traffic hasn’t been affected too much. I just logged into Absolute Poker and I see that there are currently over 12,000 people online right now. This number, of course, jumps up when it gets closer to the time a freeroll opens for registration. Each freeroll has a maximum of 2000 people and they fill up quickly.
Cash Games (7)
The majority of the traffic seen on Absolute Poker is due to there high prize pool freerolls which bring in, on average, about 5000 people. The ring game traffic is fairly good if you are looking to play low limit games and like short-handed tables. I’ve also noticed that there are more people now playing in the Omaha ring games and even at the Razz ring games.
Support (5)
I have not had to deal with Absolute Pokers support as of yet. So I can only judge this area on the ways and ease of getting the information to contact support. You can contact the support department of Absolute at support@absolute.com. There is no live, in-game support available. And this is the area where the ‘hole card’ scandal first came to light. A player who had came in 2nd in a large tournament had asked support for the hand history of the final table.
Site Security (2)
This score is extremely low at the moment and will remain that way until the current problems and allegations about players being able to see hole cards during tournaments is either proven to be false or can be proven. Absolute has issued statements about the issue and has blames rogue programmers. Hopefully this mess will be cleared up soon.
Banking (7)
Absolute is typically very quick about cashouts. Their website states that you should receive your money within 72 hours. However, I generally get mine within 24 hours. Your options for deposits and cash-outs include the following banking methods: Instadebit, Maestro, Western Union, Neteller, instacash, Mastercard, ePassport, Central Coin, Click2Pay, Visa and Firepay. |
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