Absolute Poker Review

Absolute Poker Summary

Absolute Poker, who recently acquired UltimateBet, is one of the fastest growing, widely popular online poker rooms on the Internet today. The rapid growth can probably be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that they still accept US players. The game variety is above average and bonuses/promotions exceed most player expectations. The software is lacking in some of the common features, like resizable multi-tables, and has had reports of slow loading on dial-up and older computers, but frequent updates are made and it's swiftly improving - the software issues are very minimal compared to all of the perks at Absolute Poker.

Absolute Poker Key Points,
100% up to $550 with *Exclusive* bonus code 550Bulldog
Has around 18,000 players online at peak times
Great hand replay software
Quite slow poker software - not very smooth or fast.
Accepts players from the USA as well as every other country from around the world.

Absolute Poker Deposit Bonus

For a limited time only, Absolute Poker is offering a very generous 100% matching bonus of up to $550 for new players (this is exclusive to our site - nowhere else would you get a $550 bonus) who sign up a real money account - you must use bonus code 550Bulldog. Simply download the software and make your first deposit. To receive the bonus, players must accumulate points by playing ring games and/or tournaments. Bonus is released to your cash account in $5 increments or every 20 points collected. Players have 60 days to accumulate enough points to release the entire bonus. If the 60 days expire, the remainder of the pending bonus will expire as well. For more information on collecting points, see Absolute Poker Player Rewards below.

Absolute Poker Player Rewards

Players accumulate Rewards Points by playing raked cash games and paying tournament fees. For every $0.40 in the pot, 0.1 reward point is distributed among participants in a percentage that is equal to that of the player's contribution to the pot. For example, if an 8-player pot reaches $16 and no players have folded, 4 points will be divided among the players (.5 points each). Tournament buy-ins also accumulate points (buy-ins, not fees as with most online poker rooms). For every $0.40 paid in tournament buy-ins, 0.1 point is collected - $4 = 1 whole point. Points may be used to collect the first deposit bonus, purchase merchandise form the Absolute Rewards Store, enter special tournament and can be converted to cash for VIP players.

Absolute Poker also offers a 3 level VIP Program (VIP, Platinum and Elite) to help players gain Rewards Points up to 3 times faster, participate in VIP Freerolls, higher reload bonuses, access to the exclusive VIP store and custom tournament creation. To become a VIP member, earn 5,000 VIP status points - 20,000 earns Platinum status - 40,000 earns Elite status. The higher your VIP level, the better the perks get.

Absolute Poker Games Available

Absolute Poker has an average game selection, with the added bonus of Razz. Texas Hold'Em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better and Razz are all available in Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit varieties. Multi-table and sit'n'go tournaments include short-handed, full-table and heads-up action.

Absolute Poker Player Traffic

Absolute Poker attracts upwards of 19,000 members at any given time, however that includes "play for fun" players as well. Cash games are well populated, especially at peak hours. The tournaments presented by the online poker room are well structured and highly rewarding, therefore tournament traffic at peak hours can be quite intense. Since Absolute Poker offers so many reload bonuses, the player retention levels are significant, making for tighter competition than you'd expect to find at an online poker room headed by a sportsbook operation.

Absolute Poker Tournament Info

Absolute Poker hosts regular tournaments which include sit'n'gos, freerolls, guaranteeds and private tournaments. Weekly guaranteed tournaments come in all varieties with prize pools as high as $60,000 and $150,000, which are run every Sunday. Guaranteed tournaments award in excess of 1 million every month. Sit'n'gos and multi-table tournaments start every half-hour with buy-ins starting as low as $0.50 up to $100. Freerolls start 15 minutes past every hour, giving players plenty of chances to fatten their bankroll. Some tournaments entries are paid in typically low amounts of AP (absolute points).

Absolute Poker Software

The software that runs Absolute Poker is frequently updated for increased stability and security. The graphics and interface are good, though complaints of slow loading have been reported on dial-up and old computers. With constant upgrades to the platform, these problems are swiftly dissolving, making Absolute Poker much more enjoyable than in past years. Players may choose to download the software, or run on the Flash instant play version, which is Mac compatible.

Lobby statistics provide all of the basic features, like hands per hour, average pot size and viewed-flop percentage. Players may also search for other users by going to Lobby>Game Info>Find Users. During play options include note taking, instant hand replay and current stats, such as personal win percentage and viewed-flop. The chat window may be moved to a separate window, an option many players prefer. Multi-table play allows for up to 6 simultaneously games. Other unique features include uploading personalized player images and rabbit cam.

Absolute Poker Promotions

Absolute Poker is probably best known for their lucrative reload bonuses, typically run 6 to 7 times a month, with bonuses ranging anywhere from 15% to 100%. The online poker room runs a constant Bad Beat Progressive Jackpot where a player who has a hand of four 8's or better, but loses, he is awarded the Bad Beat Jackpot. All players who participated in the hand will collect a small portion of the Bad Beat Jackpot as well. The Absolute Dream Package awards awesome prizes to one lucky winner, including huge tournament main event buy-ins, 5 start vacation, season pass to Absolute's weekly (Saturdays) $150,000 guaranteed tournament and much more. The Refer-A-Friend program awards $75 for each friend, plus $50 to the friend. Once the friend signs up a real money account and plays in 200 $0.50+ raked hands, the bonus will be rewarded to both referrer and friend.

Absolute Poker Deposit & Withdrawal Methods

Withdraws must be requested in a minimum of $50 USD. Any withdraw over $3,000 USD may be subject to an identity check. Available payment methods may vary by player location.

Deposit Methods: Add-Funds, Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron, Visa Delta, Maestro, Switch, Solo, ePassporte, Click2Pay, NETeller, MoneyBookers, Bank Wire, Western Union and Check by Mail.

MoneyBookers and Neteller are not accepted for USA Residents

Withdraw Methods: Withdraw requests are automatically credited back in the same manner as deposits are made. If a deposit is made by credit card, players may choose from the same deposit methods above to make a withdraw.

Absolute Poker Customer Service

Assistance is available only through e-mail, but several addresses are offered to cover different departments, like technical issues, account info and cashier. Absolute Poker encourages members to ask questions, offer suggestions and send feedback to help Absolute Poker provide an elite experience to their players. The FAQ page on the poker room's web site can be very informative.