PARTY POKER
Pioneers of poker
Following its formation in 2001, Party Poker has become one of the leading players in the online poker industry. For the past 13 years, Party Poker has strived to extend its reach to all sections of the globe. They have succeeded; as of the time of writing, Party Poker is available in 14 different languages and also has dedicated networks for both French and Italian players.
Throw in an endorsement from Mike Sexton, the host of the World Poker Tour television show and Poker Hall of Famer, and it isn’t too hard to fathom why Party Poker is one of the most popular card rooms found on the net today.
Homepage
Once you have landed on the homepage, you will immediately see the option to download the desktop player. It is advisable that you download the desktop player; it hardly takes any time at all to install and it does improve the playing experience somewhat. However, it is not imperative that you download the desktop player.
Beneath the link to download the desktop player you will find a pane featuring all the latest promotions, on-going action and other events.
Continuing down the page, you will find a section that takes you through to their poker school, their Twitter feed, upcoming tournaments and the casino jackpot totals. Towards the very bottom of the page you will see how many players are online and how many tables are active.
If you click on the Get Started icon you will find another link to download the player, but you will also find a link to instant play. If you don’t want to download anything, then this is what you want to select.
You can also find links to the casino, bingo and bets.
Poker
Once you have gone through to the poker instant play section, look for a table or tournament in the lobby. You can stratify your search as well by choosing your limits and game type. Once you are on your table you just play as if you were sitting at the felt in the casino. You can also converse with opponents if you believe that helps.
Casino
The casino section on the website is simple to navigate. In the centre of the page you can see the top games that are currently on offer. Over to the left of the top games you can find links to all of the games that they have on offer. At the moment, they boast 93 slots, 15 jackpots, 4 live casinos, 13 table games, 5 blackjack, 6 roulette and 5 video poker.
Although Party Poker is not instantly recognised as an online casino, their online casino arm is pretty extensive and more than adequate.
Betting
Party Poker has all of the major sports you would expect to find listed with a bookmaker, and naturally they tend to lean more towards soccer betting. They also offer live in-play betting. Granted it is not as large as Betfair but it is more of a complement to the poker rather than the main course itself.
Deposit and withdrawal
All major bank cards are accepted by Party Poker as well as some alternative online payment services. Deposits can be made 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Withdrawals work like most online casinos and card rooms. If you are withdrawing to your bank card, then allow between three to five days for the money to reach your account. With alternative payment systems, however, money should be credited within 24 hours.
Help
Party Poker have a very useful FAQ section with answers to just about any question. But, if you would rather speak to someone in person, they have a 24/7 email service, a live chat function and are available over phone.