Reasons to Join |
Excellant hand history tool including video replay of your hands
20 player sit and gos offer great value
Standard of players lower than most sites |
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Signing Up |
Setup was easy, I was prompted to download the installer after visiting 888.com, a minute later I was logging into the site using the same username and password I created 5 years ago, despite not having played at the site in over a year.
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8/10 |
Software |
The lobby is very easy to use with a clean and simple looking design, it has all the features I look for in a poker site. There's ample space to write player notes with limitless storage per person although I was disappointed that you still can't take notes on a table you are'nt seated at.
Choose to play up to 6 tables at the same time, more than enough for the likes of me.
One of my favourite aspects of the site is the hand history, it's the best I've encountered, you can watch a realtime video replay of your previous hands.
You can also request a copy of your hand history for the last month by either emailing
customer support or asking via the live chat facility, it arrives promptly as a text file.
Another excellent feature is the ghost card facility which allows you to see your cards after you've folded leaving you free to concentrate on the game rather than trying to remember what you just folded. |
8/10 |
Ring Games |
There's a huge amount of well populated low to medium stakes Texas Hold'em tables to play at, this is by far the most popular ring game; there are a few higher stakes tables but I noticed very few players using them, which can be seen as a good thing if you like to make notes on your opponents.
There are various Omaha and 7 card Stud tables but I'd guesstimate that they only make up 5% of the total ring game traffic.
The rake at the higher stake tables offer excellent value at 5% and a reasonable 10-12% at the micro limits.
I made a small chunk of money on the lower limit tables but lost most of it on a horrible bad beat. That's poker baby. |
7/10 |
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Tournaments |
I managed to play a few multi table tournaments, qualifying via satellite for the $20k Guaranteed twice and reaching the money once, it cost me $17.50 in buyins and made over $135 which is a 7/1 return on my investment; it could have been a much bigger payout but was'nt too shabby either.
There are a wide range of major tournament satellites available, the best being qualifiers for the Aussie Millions, the 888.com Poker Open and the Croatia Poker Festival to name but a few.
There are daily $4k, $5k and $20k Guaranteed tournaments plus a weekly $88,888 Guaranteed event with satellites starting from little as 88 cents.
I plan on trying to qualify for the 2009 Aussie Millions on this site, it looks the easiest route I've found so far. |
8/10 |
Sit & Gos |
There's superb traffic in the Sit & Go section, it rarely takes more than a few minutes to fill a 10 seater table and a few more minutes for a 20 seater table.
I made most of my money for the month at the $8 20 seater tables where you're being layed 9/1 to win, it only takes a few wins to see your bankroll skyrocket.
I look forward to playing the $30 20 seaters in the future.
Those looking for clever ways to reduce the variance in their game, 888 have recently started offering 'Double Or Nothing' Sit & Go's where 10 players start and the last 5 standing double their money, I enjoyed multitabling them 4 at a time. |
8/10 |
Support |
You can contact customer support either via a toll free phone number or by email, their staff are helpful and deal with any queries/requests in a timely manner.
I recommend only using the email for requesting your hand history file and either phoning them or using the live chat facility for everything else, they're the quickest options. |
8/10 |
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Banking |
It used to take months to transfer funds from Pacific Poker to a UK based bank account, it's the reason why I stopped playing there, but since they merged with 888.com the process has become much quicker.
It now takes around 3-5 days to withdraw funds and you can deposit via many methods such as VISA, Mastercard, NETeller, FirePay, or just a good old fashioned bank transfer. |
7/10 |
Standard of Players |
Since the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006, 888 no longer accept US players, I believe nearly all members reside in Europe, plenty of which have migrated from the Casino-on-Net part of the 888/Pacific empire.
This means that the standard of poker player is significantly lower than most other sites, definitely in my opinion.
I plan on making 888 my primary site to play on in 2008, it has everything I'm looking for. Whilst writing this review I managed to earn over $1,500 during a months play there. |
10/10 |
Loyalty Promotions |
I found a number of promotions although some are better than others. The best offer I found was definitely the 100% 1st deposit bonus up to $400.
Rival poker sites make you earn the full deposit by having to accumulate bonus points while you play, not so with 888.com who instantly credit your account with 25% of the bonus money before you've even sat down to play.
You earn the remaining 75% by earning bonus points (BPs) while playing. Every week that you make a deposit of $50 or more to your account, you are entitled to play in the weekly $1,000 depositors freeroll.
That's not the only way 888 reward their loyal customers; players earn Frequent Player Points (FPPs) which can be converted into cash. I was pleasantly surprised to learn I had $10 cash waiting for me because of all the FPPs I earnt ages ago. |
7/10 |
Summary |
I plan on making 888 my primary site to play on in 2008, it has everything I'm looking for. Whilst writing this review I managed to earn over $1,500 during a months play there. The standard of play is poor and you wont find many easier places to win at. |
7.9/10 |
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