Full review of Pacific Poker

Pacific Poker
www.pacificpoker.com
FREE DOWNLOAD!
Established 2002
Country Gibraltar
Auditor PWC
Software size 1.5 MB 

Special Features
Most loose action online
Large backer Casino-on-Net/Cassava
Great loyalty bonus (via points and "Relay Races")
Detailed game history, with graphical playback!

Total score (out of 10) 7.25

 Sign-up bonus in $ $30
Deposit bonus in % 100%
Referral bonus per friend $0
Deposit free bonus $0
Paid to play ($/hour) $0

Hits
Good email support
Statistics functions
Great fixed limit Holdem traffic
Good traffic overall
Easy to cash out (much improved)

Misses
Slow and non appealing software
Harsh sign-up bonus clauses
Only single table play 


Summary
Pacific Poker has grown tremendously during last year to become the favorite poker room for many Texas Hold'em players looking for very “juicy” high-action tables and frequent promotions. No-limit and Pot-Limit cash games have been launched in January, with the usual loose/wild action, strongly recommended for players looking to have a good chance at winning. There are many special promotions (such as money added and free rolls). Pacific Poker is part of the group behind the world's largest casino - Casino-on-Net since - so there are a lot of "wild" casino customers at the tables! At the limit Hold'em games on Pacific Poker, the view flop percentage in full ring games often is in the 60-ies and 70-ies – even up in the 80-ies!!! The no-limit games so far are often in the 50-ies. The traffic is concentrated to the hold’em games. The action and promotions are great – but the software is rather sub-standard and the graphics leaves room for major improvement. Real money player statistics for Pacific Poker - July 2005: 2200-2600 ring game players at peak hours, 3500-5000 tournament players at peak hours.

Software and graphics
Pacific Poker has one of the worst software in the industry, although it has improved quite a bit in 2005. It's thanks to the juicy games and great promotions they are a leader - not the software. Even after 3 rounds of improvements, the software is rather slow with mediocre graphics. A player is only allowed to play at one table at the time (which probably even more drive the high action at the tables, as people cannot wait to play hands). However, improvements are being done and in 2005 no-limit ring games has been added, short-handed tables and note taking support. The software does seem to run more smoothly nowadays, but there are some occasional problems. The software has the sophisticated buttons like check/fold etc to make your playing experience relaxing. The lobby has information on view flop percentage and hands played per hour. There is a hand history statistics function which enables you to play up your old hands.

Ring game traffic
Great, but it is very concentrated to two areas fixed limit Holdem ring games and Holdem tournaments. There are typically 2200-2600 players at peak hours, out of which at least 85-95% is in the Holdem section. Most of the other traffic is in Omaha Hi-Lo and 7-Card-Stud High.

Tournament traffic
Incredible growth the last 12 months, Pacific Poker now boasts tournament traffic of 3500-5000 real money players at peak hours!

Game variety
Up to average, as there are no also no-limit and pot-limit versions in the ring games. There are Holdem, Hi and Hi-Lo in Omaha and seven-card stud. There are also 1-on-1 tables. There are micro-limit tables down to $0.05/$0.10. Max limit is $15/$30 in all games, except for 1-on-1 ring game which still has only $3/$6.

Rake
The rake is at the average of the industry, with better offers at micro-levels and somewhat better at the highest stakes. Pacific Poker has a "No Flop - No Drop" rake policy, like most sites. This means that Pacific Poker only rakes the pot when the flop is reached. A maximum of $1 is taken out of the pots up to $1/$2 games. At limits below $1/$2 the house takes less than $1, which gives good value for low limit players. At higher limits, $2/$4 and above, Pacific Pokers rake structure is analogous to most other sites.

Soft competition
Probably the most juicy games online! But the good-old crazy 85% view flop percentages at $15/$30 tables is down to maybe 65-70% in best case. Thanks to Casino-on-Net's operations, there are a lot of less experienced poker players, often with a sweet tooth for gambling... At peak hours you typically find one or two full ring games (10 players) with a view flop percentage in the 50-ies or 60-ies. If you are looking to make a profit the Omaha Hi-Lo tables are very good as well.

Sign up bonus
Special sign-up bonus via our link, with 60% deposit match up to $100 (you get the $100 bonus via $167 deposit or more) The conditions to get the bonus are quite harsh. You must wager 20 times the bonus amount, totaling $2000 to get max bonus of $100. No requirements on raked hands.

Loyalty bonus
Every $10 bet on raked hands earns you 1 Bonus Point, 100 Bonus Points can be converted to $1.

Promotions
PacificPoker has quite a bit promotions. Most notably are the "Relay Races" with great payouts for anyone who deposits $50 during the promo day and plays a certain number of hands.

Support
Good response times at the email support. However there is no live and the telephone support is very slow. Many players have also complained about the support in Gibraltar, as they are slow to resolve blocked accounts, etc

Financial security
Should be very secure, as the mother company is a well-established player. Top score.

Deposit & withdrawal options
Deposit options:
VISA, MasterCard, NETeller, Citadel, FirePay, Wire Transfer, bank transfer, PaySafeCard, BBL Home'Pay, check deposit, PrePaidATM and many more.
Cash out options:
Credit card, Debit card, FirePay, NETeller, PrePaidATM, Wire transfer, bank draft. Known to take a long while to let you cash out the money, but it has improved.