Paddy Power Poker Online Poker Room Review
Paddy Power Poker is probably the first Irish online poker rooms in Tribeca Tables’ network. It offers four bonuses, up to $500, but it is difficult to reach because of the number of points needed to accumulate (10,000). Only serious players should attempt to reach this bonus. Paddy’s poker traffic reaches 10,000 online players during peak hours. Available poker games are Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo, Badugi and the upcoming Hold’em War. Limits range from $0.02/$0.04 up to $150/$300 Limit and $10/$20 No Limit. The software is good and stable, and graphics are colorful and entertaining. Paddy Power Poker is a good place to be for beginning and expert poker players. Players will surely experience Paddy Power Poker’s great services and unique promotions.
Overview and Player Traffic
Traffic at Paddy Power Poker is reasonable, and it is growing at an ever increasing rate. Since it’s one of the most popular skins of the expanding iPoker network, that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
Thus the 7,000 players it draws in during peak hours is quite natural, (these are only the real money players at their cash tables) with even more of these guys playing at tournament tables. The competition is rather soft too, lots of gamblers in here, and if you can withstand fish teaming up on you, you’ll get good value at Paddy Power. Action-wise, let me just tell you that Paddy Power is not likely to hire props any time soon…
Poker Software
The software we’re dealing with here is your standard iPoker client. It looks average, it acts average, there’s nothing really special about it. The avatars are 3D-like, and the client is extremely stable (no worries about disconnects here), although I have seen it act funny in other iPoker rooms. Those issues were mended nonetheless, and as a whole, I must say it doesn’t offer anything less than any other standard poker room. Statistics are reasonable, graphics are ok, sounds likewise, and the RNG works well too.
Deposit and Sign up Bonuses
Paddy Power’s sign up bonus is hailed as the “world’s best” by several online poker review sites. While it might not be the very best, it’s definitely right up there with the best of them. New players get a 150% match on their first deposit, right up to $600, which is pretty impressive by all standards. More importantly: this bonus is reasonably easy to unlock, whether you’re one of them high rollers or just your regular everyday small stakes fish-bait.
By generating 800 Paddy Power Points for every $10 of your bonus, you’ll hopefully be able to unlock it before it expires (for the exact date of expiry, check your account section). If you don’t manage to get it all unlocked though, you’re still ahead, since the bonus is unlocked in $10 increments.
Paddy Power Poker Promotions
Other than the sign-up bonus described above, PaddyPower has a host of other extremely attractive promotions going on all the time. Player loyalty is also greatly appreciated, and novice players aren’t forgotten either. Their online poker school takes care of the latter, while their reload and loyalty bonuses tackle the former.
Although they did offer reload bonuses in the past, they seem to have diverted all their resources tied up with that to their Loyalty program.
By playing in real money raked hands and by paying tournament fees, Paddy Power players will earn FPPs. While these same poker points are used to unlock the first-deposit bonus, they’re also good for a bunch of other things too.
By accumulating as many as possible of these points, players will be able to accede to several different VIP-type levels, more or less appropriately designated: Private, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel and General.
Each of these levels makes it progressively easier for players to accumulate points, and thus to move further up the ladder. For ranking, poker points generated during the course of the running month are considered, as well as some of the points acquired during the previous month.
Available Languages
Besides the default English, Paddy Power is also available in German and Spanish.
Paddy Power Poker Unique Features
Believe it or not, despite being member of a relatively dull network, PaddyPower does possess a set of very intriguing unique features. For starters, it features a very loose and gambling-oriented competition. That fact is largely due to players drifting over from their online casino and sports betting operations in large numbers.
Paddy Power is also the only place in the world where you can qualify online for the Irish Open, one of the world’s oldest poker tourneys, and do it for as little as $4 (+a donkey-cartload of luck). PP (or is it PPP?) will even send you to the tourney for free, if you win a free seat in their VIP Go Free Promotion.
Customer Care and Support
Paddy Power is renowned for their excellent support which is available via email (good response times) and real time via telephone. As Ireland’s largest land-based bookmaker they certainly know the importance of maintaining a good relationship with their customers.
Security
Security is your standard 128-bit encrypted deal all iPoker rooms feature. Never heard of any security related issues on any of the iPoker member sites, so you can rest assured in that respect. U.S. players are not accepted.
Deposit and Withdrawal Methods
At Paddy Power, like at the majority of online poker rooms, there are far more options for depositing money than there are for withdrawing. You can use the regular e-pocket options like Neteller, but also checks, and even bank transfer and gift cards.
For withdrawing, you have credit cards, checks and gift-cards.
Paddy Power Poker Reputation All information handled by Paddy Power Poker is subject to the Data protection Act of 1998, and the company makes sure all its operations are in perfect compliance with the law.
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