Full review of Grand Bay Poker

Summary
Grand Bay Poker is a 'network skin' which is part of the PrimaPoker Network, with its shared player database. This network has grown quick since launching in 2002. The brand is managed by Grand Bay Casino, which is an online casino. The software has been improved lately, but still leaves some room for improvement. On the positive side, there are many very juicy and aggressive games, which is good both for the action lover and the sophisticated players looking for a good hourly return. Real money player statistics - September 2004: 1500-2000 ring game players at peak hours, 2000-3000 tournament players at peak hours.

Software and graphics
The software is a customized shared-network version of Prima Poker Network by Microgaming. There was a makeover of the software in the summer of 2003, but there are still some areas of improvement before reaching the level of top poker room software. Grand Bay Poker does share the player base with the rest of the Prima Poker Network to ensure high traffic. We have received some emails about software bugs, where the functionality does not work properly, such as sitting out involuntarily, not being able to raise exactly the desired amount, etc. It seems that MS Virtual Java Machine is needed in order for the software to run smoothly for a number of users. The newly added statistics function does not seem to work, as it does not count most or all of the hands the player does not play. The game is slower that the average online, as the time restriction is very loose. The effect has been that many players choose to play on several tables, further slowing down the game. Hand history is available by HTML page and via email. One nice feature is the possibility to see all actions in the chat area to the right - who raised and called and for which amounts in the previous betting rounds and previous hands. In sum, the software is OK, but leaves ample room for improvement.

Ring game traffic
The Prima Poker Network ring game traffic is quite high. The ring game traffic at peak times is often around 200-400 players.

Tournament traffic
The traffic at the tournaments is not good, as there are only sit and go single-table currently. This should change as multi-tables are introduced as well as more game variants. At peak times, the tournament traffic reaches somewhere between 150 and 300 players.

Game variety
Grand Bay Poker has the standard games (hold'em, Omaha, seven-card stud and five-card stud), but there are no Hi-Lo versions. There is very good volume for the pot- and no-limit players in hold'em. There are many short-handed tables with a maximum of 5 or 6 players.

Rake
The rake is somewhat less attractive than the average. The pot- and no-limit is raked at every $5, which is good. The lower straight limit games (up to $1/$2) are capped at $1.50 (compared to $1 at most other sites), which is high. The tournaments fees are 10% for entries ranging from $10 up to $50. For the $100 tournaments, the fee is $9.

Soft competition
Prima Poker Network offers some of the wildest ring games around, with view flop percentages most often in the 40-ies, 50-ies and even reaching the 70-ies. The tournaments are also quite wild, at least up to the $50 fees. It remains to be seen what the quality of players will be in the future. Presently there is much advertising, which typically attracts less experienced and looser poker players.

Sign up bonus
The maximum bonus is $30 for all new players, which is awarded once either 100 raked hands are played (where you actually participate by betting) or when $100 has been staked in total cash bets (equals 3.5 participated raked pots per dollar). There is a 30-day time limit on availability on bonus credits. The bonus is only eligible for players who have not received a sign-up bonus from another Prima Poker Network card room.

Loyalty bonus
None.

Promotions
There are not many high value promotions. The progressive bad beat jackpot is for hold'em ring games only, the jackpot starts at $500 with $50 added each day. There is also a daily high-hand bonus.

Support
There is telephone support and e-mail support. However, email support often has slow response times.

Financial security
Should be secure, as the mother company is a well-established online casino and the poker room is part of a network. High score.

Deposit & withdrawal options
Deposit options:
VISA, MasterCard, prepaid ATM, NETeller, FirePay, GamingCard, EcoCard.
Cash out options:
Cash out to credit card only against prior purchases make, remaining balance is paid out via various "web wallets" (NETeller, FirePay, Prepaid ATM, etc) and check.