Planet Poker Online
Becoming the first real money online poker room when it launched in 1998, Planet Poker had been at the fore of introducing the Internet to online tournament poker. The Planet Poker team consists of the likes of Card Player Magazine's senior columnist, Roy Cooke, who is the site's card room manager, and renowned gambling authority and poker writer Mike Caro, “the mad genius of poker”. Planet Poker's game variety is outstanding, including heads up games, 5-Card Draw, and quite unique to the site at present, Razz and Lowball. |More>>|
Top Features
Excellent game variety, including 5-Card Draw, Razz, Lowball
Loyalty program
Membership referral scheme
Bonuses
Sign-up bonus: $50
Deposit bonus: 25%
Referral bonus per friend: $50
Loyalty bonus: Frequent player scheme in which “Planet Points” are earned for each raked hand; points redeemable for tournament buy-ins and merchandise
Deposit Options
VISA, MasterCard, NETeller, FirePay, P-direct (US only), bank draft, wire transfer, money order, personal check, VIP Sports, Casino/Bingo Vega
Cash-out Options
NETeller, FirePay, P-direct (US only), wire transfer, check, VIP Sports, Casino/Bingo Vega, (VISA at maximum of total deposits)
Pros
Live 24/7, chat, and telephone support
Micro-limit tables with low rakes
Daily free roll tournaments
Cons
Only one allowed table at a time
No sit-and-go tournaments
No multi-table playing support
No statistics and note-taking functions
No lobby information on view flop percentages and hands per hour
No advanced buttons for automatic play
More Details
Planet Poker History
Launched on January 1998, Planet Poker was the first real money poker room online and helped expand poker into online tournament poker rooms. Its endorsers, who participate in the games regularly, include “The Mad Genius of Poker” Mike Caro and long-time professional poker player and Card Player magazine senior columnist Roy Cooke, who is the card room manager. The software is not among the best but upgrade efforts continue and the outstanding game variety includes heads up games, 5-Card Draw, even Razz and Lowball. Promotions are consistently attractive, including daily free roll tournaments, special promotions, and the $50 member referral bonus.
Poker Tournaments and Traffic
Tournament traffic is 100 to 200 at peak hours while ring game traffic is 150 to 200 at peak hours, both for real money players. Multi-table and single-table tournaments are available daily, with high stakes and tournament vacation packages. There are no sit-and-go tournaments at present.
Poker Games
Planet Poker is presently most noted for its very good game variety, offering pot limit and no limit Hold'em, Omaha hi and hi-lo, and 7-Card Stud hi and hi-lo games, as well as Razz and Lowball, quite unique to the site right now, plus 5-Card Draw and heads up games.
Poker Software and Graphics
Planet Poker has great promotions and player support but its software is below average. There are no statistics or note-taking functions, and no advanced buttons for automatic play. A player can only be at one table at a time. Hand histories are available via e-mail or HTML. With an old-fashioned interface, the graphics are not the most attractive. Planet Poker has continually undertaken software upgrades but has yet to regain its ground on this.
