Poker Stars launched their online poker room in 2001. Since then they have quickly grown into one of the top places to play poker online. Poker Stars is open to players from around the world including the United States. They boast the highest traffic in the industry with over 110,000 players connected during peak hours. In 2003 Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event. He won his seat through a $39 satellite tournament on Poker Stars. Poker Stars sends countless players to major off-line poker tournaments such as the EPT and the APPT. Poker Stars offers many loose tables for a variety of different games. The software is pretty much flawless with none of the issues small sites have.

The first deposit bonus is relatively small compared to other poker rooms and you won�t get to see many easy cash offers once you are playing. This doesn�t seem to bother most people because of everything else Poker Stars has to offer. Making deposits at Poker Stars is easy even for U.S. players. Poker Stars has also been tested and certified by numerous 3rd party companies ensuring a fair and honest playing experience. Unlike almost all other large poker rooms Poker Stars is not part of a network.

Software

Poker Stars offers a great playing platform that was custom built for Poker Stars alone. You can upload your own personal avatar which can be anything ranging from a picture of yourself to basically anything you can think of. The lobby is easy to navigate and displays comprehensive statistics about each table. You can use the search filter to quickly find the ring table or tournament that you are looking for.

Game Variety

Texas Hold'em - Fixed, pot and no limit.
Omaha High – Fixed, pot and no limit.
Omaha Hi-Lo -Fixed, pot and no limit.
7 Card Stud - Fixed limit only.
7 Card Stud Hi-Lo -Fixed limit only.
Razz -Fixed limit only.
5 Card Draw -Fixed, pot and no limit.
2-7 Triple Draw -Fixed, pot and no limit.
Horse -Fixed limit only.

Bonuses

On your first deposit Poker Stars will give you a 100% match up to $50. This is a lot less than most rooms offer but it does clear quite quickly. Be sure to enter your PokerStars Bonus Code first2008 when signing up or use our link for the same bonus.

Tournaments

With buy-ins ranging from $1 to $10,000 there is a tournament for every player at Poker Stars. Some of the largest tournaments in the world can be found only here. Poker Stars is the home of the World Series of Online Poker which boasts a guaranteed prize pool of $5,000,000. There are many feeders and satellites into the larger tournaments so even players with short stacks have a shot at them. Every Sunday there is a $1,000,000 guaranteed tournament with a $215 buy-in. More tournaments are played at Poker Stars than any other site. Overall, this is a great site for any player who enjoys tournaments.

Traffic

During peak hours you can expect to find around 110,000 players online. Even during off hours there is more traffic the most sites have any time of the day. The traffic is centered at the Hold�em tables but all the other games have decent traffic as well.

Competition

Generally the tables at Poker Stars are fairly loose. A majority of players new to online poker start off here and it shows when you take a look at the small stakes tables. The flop percentages across the board are higher than average for stakes under $5/10. You can even find soft games at higher levels but you will have to be selective with your table selection.

Customer Service

Other than the low deposit bonus the only aspect of Poker Stars that isn�t world class is the support. You can contact them via email only and the response times can be long.

Deposit Options

You can deposit at Poker Stars by using one of the following methods: Visa, Master Card, Instant e-Check, Diners Club, Epassporte, Western Union, Cash Transfer, money orders and checks.