Pacific Poker Review - 888.com

(Please Note: This site does not accept players from the USA)

Pacific Poker was launched in 2002 as a part of the 888.com Network, gradually building into a respectably sized online poker room that now boasts an average of 10,000 players at peak hours. The most prominent feature of Pacific Poker has got to be the juicy competition. The online poker room is literally crawling with loose opposition, offering some of the softest No Limit games on the Internet and Limit games with viewed-flops as high as 70%. Another key point that deserves highlighting is the Pacific Poker software, built for stability and acute speed. The interface is very user-friendly, easy to navigate and graphically alluring.

Pacific Poker Key Points,
100% Bonus up to $400
Extremely Loose Competition
Lightning Fast, User-Friendly Software
Download & No-Download Software (Mac Compatible

The online poker room offers a generous deposit bonus worth 100% up to $400, using the Pacific Poker Bonus Code "Welcome08". New players will receive 25% of their bonus instantly, while the remaining 75% must be cleared by collecting bonus points. Pacific Poker has one of the easiest clearing requirements, calling for only 10 points per bonus $1. (Example: Deposit $100; get $25 instantly; collect 750 points to release remaining $75 bonus.)

Pacific Poker rewards its players in several ways, starting with FPP (Frequent Player Points) and BPs (Bonus Points). BPs are only awarded if a player is working towards the release of a pending bonus, while FPPs are awarded for all real-money games. Every $1 of contributed rake earns 2 FPP and 2 BP. Every $1 paid in tournament fees also awards 2 FPP and 2 BP. Even playing casino games at Pacific Poker awards FPP and BP at a rate of 1 per $16 wagered. FPPs can then be converted to real cash, awarding $1 for every 100 FPP.

Pacific Poker presents the standard variety of today's most popular online poker games -
Texas Hold'em
Omaha
Omaha Hi-Lo
Seven Card Stud
Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo

All games are available in Fixed Limit, with No Limit Texas Hold'em and Pot Limit Texas Hold'em, Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo. Stakes start at $.01/$.02, capped at $75/$150.

As part of the 888 Network, Pacific Poker has evolved into a very popular online poker room, embracing an average of 10,000 real-money players at peak hours (July 2008). Around 2,000 can be found prowling the ring games, while the other 8,000 are competing in tournaments. As usual, ring game traffic is concentrated in Limit and No Limit Hold'em, where the juiciest action can be found, but the impressive traffic rate promises consistent activity in all game varieties.

Pacific Poker is home to some of the loosest poker players on the Internet. There's no definable reason why so many soft and/or inexperienced players would flock to the same place, but players of even intermediate skill will have no problem making a nice little profit.

Pacific Poker has a respectable range of tournament, guaranteeing at least $750,000 every week. Freeroll competitions occur often, with a daily first-time depositor Freerolls worth $500-$1,000 GPs, and low prize pool Freerolls for everyone. Larger prize Freerolls are generally offered as promotional or invitational tournaments.

Regular tournaments offer buy-ins from $1 scaling up into the hundreds. Daily $5k to $20k GPs are well populated, while Sunday's $80k GP sees a very large field. Satellites and qualifiers to bigger events and live tournaments are also very popular, awarding seats in the EPT, Aussie Millions, Irish Open and other major events. Most tournaments, especially Freerolls, reveal very juicy opposition throughout.

Pacific Poker is powered by software from 888.com, offering crisp, clear graphics, solid stability and lightning quick functionality. In the past, Pacific Poker was not noted for its great software features, but recent updates spanning '07 and '08 have changed most players' opinions significantly. 3D avatars and an outstanding filtering system were added, along with up to 4 multi-tables and a great mini-view function. Chat windows can be disabled in multi-tables for a less cluttered view. Graphically, players have a host of customizable options to change the entire look and feel to their preferred taste.

Lobby stats provide seated player's stack size, viewed-flop percentage, average pot and hands per hour. Personal stats are offered in ring games and tournaments without having to leave the table. Note taking is available. There's a new action replay system that allows players to watch how previous hands played out. However, the hand history feature takes some getting used to. Another new addition to the software is an All-In Verification button to prevent accidental all-in bets. This feature is especially useful in multi-tabling.

The software is now available in two versions - a downloadable poker client and no-download java client, making Pacific Poker compatible with all operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux). The Pacific Poker web site and software comes in 9 languages: Danish, Dutch, English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.

Pacific Poker offers regular promotions along with monthly promotions via its newsletter to spice things up. Regular promos include the new player deposit bonus of 100% up to $400 (see Pacific Poker Deposit Bonus above) and a Refer-a-Friend bonus worth $50 and a raffle entry to you, plus $25 for your friend.

Pacific Poker hosts an $80,000 Guaranteed tournament every Sunday with a buy-in of $120+$12. If that price is too steep, try entering satellites to the $80k GP for as little as $0.65.

Pacific Poker has one of the largest selections of online and offline payment methods in the online poker industry, determined to accommodate all regionally accepted players (US players not accepted).

Payment methods accepted: Visa, MasterCard, EuroCard, Diners Club, EntroPay, Chinese Debit, Solo, Laser, Maestro, ClickandBuy, ACTeCASH, NETeller, Moneybookers, PaySafeCard, PayPoint, Ukash, Prepaid Cards, InstaDebit, eNETS, Hansabank, ELBA, Online Bank Transfer, Offline Bank Transfer, Bank Wire Transfer and eCheck.

The 888 Network is known for its superb customer support services, available through email, live chat support, toll free phone lines and an online help form. The response time is generally very fast and always reliable.