Tag Archives: games

Where is the Best Site to Play Online Poker?

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 A Review of All the Major Online Poker Sites.

I’ve now been playing online poker for many years and I’ve played at all the major sites at some point or another. For many years I’ve been trying to find the perfect site to play at. There are so many now that it can be very difficult to find the right one. The problem with the current poker site review sites is that they are rarely independent, even if they give the facade that they are, most of them are paid some sort of fee when they get people to sign up to a certain site. So here is a genuinely independent guide from someone who knows what you really want.

The first point to start with is that wherever you play you should be looking for rakeback. What is rakeback? Poker sites take a small amount of money usually 5% out of every pot you play online. This is known as rake. If you sign up to a poker site through a rakeback scheme you will receive some of the rake you pay to the poker site back. If you go direct to a poker sites own site and download the software you won’t get rakeback. It may not sound like much but rakeback adds up very quickly, even a casual player should look to take advantage of it. You should also note that if you have signed up to a poker site before you will not be able to receive rakeback from them.

Unfortunately some of the main poker sites don’t offer rakeback. Most notably the ipoker network and pokerstars do not. Pokerstars does however offer a very good VIP system which if you play enough comes to a similar amount to rakeback. In most cases it is not quite as good as other sites rakeback schemes but some players may feel the other benefits of the site outweigh this. One very large site which does offer rakeback is FullTilt. See the table at the bottom of the article for details on other poker rooms.

So what else do you want from your pokersite. Well I would put my priorities in this order.

  1. Safety and Security
  2. Player Traffic
  3. Good Software
  4. A Good Bonus Scheme
  5. Good player support and withdrawals
  6. Weaker Players

Safety and Security

You will find most safety with a large respected site. There is almost no chance they will go bust. Moreover the larger sites invest a fortune on security. For this reason I would not recommend putting money on one of the smaller sites. Very secure sites are Pokerstars, FullTilt, the Ipoker network and party poker. Avoid the Cereus network comprising Absolute and Ultimate Bet poker. Both sites have been involved in major scandals in the past. They are both owned by the same company.

Player Traffic

Having enough players, tournaments and games of the type you want is vital for any poker room. You don’t want to be waiting around for an hour for the tournament you want to play in to begin or for a cash game place to become available. Once again bigger is better. The larger the poker site the more different types of poker and tournaments are available. In my experience both poker stars and full tilt are excellent in this regard. You will find more games and players on poker stars than anywhere else. Full Tilt is also very good and experienced players may want to play on their new rush poker games which allows players to play very quickly. For all information on poker traffic see this excellent website. http://www.pokerscout.com/

Good Software

Sorry to sound repetitive but once again I would argue that both Full Tilt and Poker Stars have the best software of all the poker sites. Poker Stars is very clean and easy to navigate, the layout of the tables is simple and effective. Personally however I rate the Full Tilt software far above any other site. You can tell the site was designed by poker players. Everything has been thought of from the position of the button to the way you drag in the chips when you win a pot. I also really enjoy the fun and numerous avatars available. Casual players may enjoy the unique PKR site. Players take control of a Sims style 3d character whilst they play. You can perform chip tricks, customize your character and display various attitudes towards the other players. It won’t be for everyone, particularly those players who wish to play multiple tables at once. Personally I do not particularly enjoy the ipoker or party poker software (although party poker is much better since it was updated a while ago). I would still argue it is the consensus amongst most players that these sites and other sites lag behind the main two when it comes to software.

Bonuses   

Unfortunately bonuses can be very complicated. Whilst the headline figure may look good one often has to be careful of the small print. Things to be aware of are the number of days you have available to work off the bonus. Casual players need to be careful of this or you may end up losing your bonus if you don’t play for a month or so. The other thing to be aware of is how quickly your bonus gets paid back. You can’t go wrong with the Full Tilt 100% bonus up to $600. I have done this successfully in the past. I see poker stars have now brought in a similar bonus scheme. If you look a little further out you will tend to find some better deals but again be careful of the small print. There are some good deals to be had on the boss media network through the likes of poker heaven and paradise poker (200% up to €1000). I see PKR also has an attractive bonus on at the moment (up to 100% on $2000).

Good Support and Withdrawals

Without any doubt the best support amongst all the poker sites is to be found with pokerstars. In the few times I have needed to contact them they have been phenomenally quick and helpful. Friends of mine have had very similar experiences. With all the sites I have dealt with I have never had any problems with withdrawals. I have usually used moneybookers to withdraw which I have always found fairly easy. It can sometimes be difficult to withdraw large amounts. However this tends to be the same across every site. In most case you can come to an agreement with a site or just withdraw in stages.

Weaker Players

In my experience the most difficult site to play on is Full Tilt. It tends to play a level above other sites. The very best players tend to end up on Full Tilt and this tends to ultimately filter down to the lower levels. Poker Stars also tends to be a much harder site than the average particularly for cash games, although I have always found tournaments to be reasonably soft. For some reason the European sites (ongamenet and party poker have always tended to be softer in my and others experience.) PKR is also especially soft since it is made up of mostly casual players.

Conclusion

Which poker site is right for you will depend very much on what you rank as your priorities. As I mentioned at the start you should be looking for rakeback and good bonus to start with whatever you want.

Remember: US Players can only play on pokerstars, full tilt, cereus, cake and some smaller sites I wouldn’t recommend.

For the casual player perhaps just starting a bit of online poker I would recommend FullTilt you can get a decent rakeback and bonus as well as their great software, strong support and a wide range of different games to play. The slight downside is the tougher players, but if you’re playing casually at the lower limits this won’t be very noticeable. Moreover casual players are probably more likely to play more tournaments in which case I wouldn’t worry too much about player skill levels as they will always be reasonably weak. Some casual players may prefer PKR which also has decent rakeback and bonus schemes. You will struggle to play multiple tables but the players will be weaker.

If safety and support are your top priorities the best site is definitely pokerstars. The only real problem I have with poker stars is that you lose out a bit on the rakeback.

For the regular player looking to make a decent profit I’m going to recommend a site on the boss media network. The combination of weak players, decent traffic and good rakeback and bonuses make it a great place to rack up the profits. The only problem for me is the software. A similarly decent option is the entraction network where you may achieve slightly higher rakeback. If software is really crucial for you then stars or full tilt are still excellent options. Whilst you won’t be as profitable on these sites you will learn faster against tougher opponents.

Thanks for reading the article and I hope you found it helpful. Please note that the scores in the table below don’t include a rakeback score and I have played on all the sites in the table below. Please leave any of your own experiences in the comments below.

This site is one of the best for rakeback and bonuses but don’t be afraid to look around.

http://www.raketherake.com

Boss Media – Paradise Poker, Poker Heaven, InterPoker, Fortune Poker, Virgin Poker, Parabet, OPoker

Cake Poker Network- Cake, Doyles Room, Juicy Stakes, Victory Poker, Power, Red Star

Cereus Poker Network – Absolute, Ultimate Bet

Entraction Network – NoiQ Poker, Devilfish Poker, PokerMambo

OnGame Network – Betfair, EuroBet, Betsafe, Hollywood, Tower Gaming, Red Kings

Ipoker Network – WilliamHill, Titan, VC

Column1 Rakeback Software Support Traffic Safety Weaker Players Bonuses Total
Poker Stars VIP 9 10 10 10 5 8 52
FullTiltPoker 27% 10 8 9 10 4 8 49
PKR 33% 7 7 6 8 10 9 47
Boss Media Network 30% 5 6 6 9 9 10 45
Party Poker VIP 6 7 8 9 8 7 45
OnGameNetwork 30% 6 7 7 8 8 8 44
Ipoker network VIP 5 7 8 9 6 8 43
Entraction Network 30-45% 6 7 5 8 7 9 42
Cake Network 30% 4 6 4 7 7 6 34
Cereus Network VIP N/A N/A N/A 0 N/A N/A 0

Playstation Move {Technology Review}

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I am one huge fan of Sony’s games machines. There you go I’ve said it. That’s because I work hard and I play hard. When I play hard I want an interactive, fun and exciting experience. I have had every single incarnation of their Playstation – yes including the original formidable black Playstation – the one where they gave every nerdy individual the somewhat futile chance in hell of developing and testing games for themselves in their own front room. In my time I have been called a games player and a games technician – work that one out. But don’t ever get me started on the amount of times they have missed opportunities.

Take the Playstation Move for example – Tempting, all so tempting. Waiting in the queue inside my favourite games store I had all that anticipation a young child feels going into a bakery but then upon seeing it I felt unsatisfied and like that kid out of that famous fairy tale ‘The Emperors New Clothes’ – you know the one, the one who spoke up with brutal honesty and said to the emperor “Your naked!”. Because there I was standing amongst people who were going oooh and ahhh and emailing their mates ‘OMG’ at the Playstation Move demonstration only to pipe up and say “But it looks like a Wii control for god sake!”

Stunned silence ensued. “Oh” but the techie with the Matrix style jacket said sternly, “It’s got true 1:1 motion control and a glowing end”. ‘Right,’ I thought out loud ‘so that’s where I got it wrong – how silly of me’
Lets be honest, such is the strikingly similarities between the Wii and the Move remotes that you almost feel like you are being conned. Yes, it does have a round glowing end – an end very reminiscent of an Ambi Pur air freshener which changes colour at regular intervals but true 1:1 technology is nothing new; in fact it is the same technology pushed forward by Nintendo in their recent range of Motion Plus. Arguably where Nintendo have gone wrong is that their games have been made too much for the younger casual gamer, so where Playstation ultimately needs to pull rank is in the games and in the graphics.

To be fair to Sony the Playstation Move has a whole different set up to the Wii; although again very similar. The Playstation Eye camera tracks the movement this time, (those of you who have owned an Eye Pet will know just how sensitive it can be) and with its own on board mic what this brings to the games is a whole new level of interactivity as you can be the star and hear your voice in your own games. Huge thumbs up.

The controllers whilst similar in design to the Wii’s are lighter – thanks to built in lithium rechargeable – which, much like the Playstation 3 controllers are quick to charge yet take ages to run out. This is another plus as games on this machine tend not to be casual affairs – they last for hours compared to minutes and to make it worse you often want to just get stuck in. The controllers are also much more ergonomic too and ‘just feel right’. They also have Sony’s trademark rumble feedback as opposed to mini speakers which you get on the Wii controls which, let’s be honest are pants.

There is however a number of issues that easily emerge. You see, with exception of the Tiger woods game I made a concerted effort to avoid any Move Sports games, purely because I had been there and done it many times with the Wii already and, to be frank, I am sick of it and what’s more I am sure I am not the only games player to say this. Sony has almost left it too long to capitalize on this technology. So failing the sports games how many games are left at launch? Well not many, Start the Party, Eye Pet Move and Kung Fu Rider. Things that make you go hmmm eh? In fact I had to wait until this week to get my hands on Move editions of Resident Evil 5 and Heavy Rain. I just hope every game is not going to be updates of old classics.

Also the technology does need some final tweaks. Whilst the Playstation Eye camera picks up speed and movement very quickly, I spotted that detection of the force behind a gesture is relatively non-existent, and this could cause problems in fighting games. I’m also not sure about so many buttons being positioned on both controllers, this could cause problems against the more simplistic approach offered by the Wii and could prove to be a nightmare should games require lots of button combination.

Another thing is the price – it will cost you around £59.98 for both halves of the Playstation Move controller and Playstation Eye camera and all this comes with just a demo disc. Let’s get this in perspective this is one third of the cost of a complete Wii system – which comes with a game as standard. Tut-tut indeed.

So what’s my final verdict? Well no doubt for many serious gamers and kids this will be the pressie at the top of their shopping and impending (dare I say it) Christmas list however I would advise that you wait to see whether time brings about better games and improved technology. Xbox and the Kenect system are just around the corner…

1:1 Technology – what is it?

In a nutshell – 1:1 Technology is the reading of precise movement. In the earlier days of the Wii you would move your arm and the sensor would pick it up and would play what was essentially an animation for your character on the screen. This could be for your character to punch, jump, move etc in the game and it was a standard animation; that means it didn’t register degrees of movement. (Yes, you were probably flapping your arms about for nothing.) Motion plus and Playstation Move took it to the next level so now not only does the computer recognise that you have done a movement in real life but it also senses how much and transfers this animation to your character on the screen in a 1:1 way. You move – it does it exactly. Hence the term 1:1 Technology.

by Junior Smart

Gluey Game {Misc-uity}

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I think I’m addicted to this game that’s sort of like bejewelled but with cute gluey creatures instead. Or maybe they’re bacteria… Try it, but beware, it’s highly addictive.

[swfobj src=”http://frostmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/gluey.swf” alt=”Please upgrade to the latest version of flash” width=”450″ height=”375″ align=”center”]

[king.com]

Under Pressure {Ceri's Column}

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I do love a game of poker. It really does grab you by the balls and holds you close saying: “Yeah? Yeah?! You think you’re so fucking hot, huh? Punk ass?” Well, that makes it sound like a violent pimp, but you get my drift. No? OK: Poker is awesome.

Mind you, I’m not great at the suspense side of it. I get all screechy when I’ve gone all in (chucked all your chips away) and are awaiting the river card (the last one they flip over and the American commentator of late-night Channel 4 poker shows calls out “Holy Yowza! If that ain’t the darnedest 3 hole strip-lined dandy river I ever saw!”…or something). I can’t bloody stand it!

It’s odd. I’m fine with scary films. I’m a picture of serenity with any real-life danger. Even sporting pressure is OK, (I played rugby for many a year until I got ill…and shit at it). But in the context of a game? I really am useless.

I’ve been known to stand up and shout: “WILL YOU FRIGGING HURRY UP AND TURN OVER THE CARDS YOU DIRTY ASSSSSHOOOOOLEEEE” at the poor, defenceless dealer! Well I say “defenceless”. I was escorted out of the casino by a burly security guy…who was wearing the same uniform as the croupiers. I hope he wasn’t a croupier…anyway, as per usual, I digress.

Come to think of it, I’m rubbish in other suspense-filled games.

Jenga? Jesus wept; I’m a nervous wreck… The thought of being responsible for a whole structure just tumbling down brings me out in hives! I stay clear of any game that even looks like it’s primarily made from wood now.

Buckaroo. It’s the bastard’s face. He looks so stressed! There is nothing worse than staring at an angry donkey carrying random objects.

Kerplunk? Fuck off.

So, by all means play me at Scrabble. Or Monopoly. Cluedo (or Clue to you Yanks) is a bit of a grey area. Hmmm. Better stick to I spy.

by Ceri Phillips

I'm a Sega Mega Drive, and being AWESOME was my idea! {Ceri's Column}

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They really don’t make video game systems like this anymore! Sure, games these days are flashier, more expensive, have better graphics, cooler music and snappy writing and have more storyline-based sexiness blah blah blah…but I can’t help but feel…I LOVED THE SEGA MEGA DRIVE MORE.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is all very well and good but I don’t feel like I’m “playing” anymore. The Sega was like…a toy…you remember…fun? Escapism?

Most of my school mates circa 1995 were still playing the pantsy little SNES. Seriously, this console makes Hello Kitty look positively mantacular. I was too busy fighting Doctor Robotnik as my speedy blue hedgehog alter ego to care about the mushroom killing exploits of a beer-bellied Italian plumber.

The one all-conquering ultra game that proves beyond all possible argument that the Mega Drive roolz (yes I spelled it like that, fucking deal with it you square):

Toejam and Earl!

For you unenlightened few who are yet to bask in the glory –

In 1991 Johnson Voorsanger Productions made a game about two space alien rappers who crash land on earth. In this 3D roving, birthday present collecting, elevator finding, wise cracking super-game, 1 or 2 players control either red three-legged Toejam or Hawaiian short-wearing slightly obese Big Earl. You walk about the randomly generated worlds trying to recover bits of your broken spaceship. On the way you encounter troublesome Earthlings like the lil’ devils, hula girls, phantom ice cream trucks and marauding bands of tomato-cannon firing chickens.

YES! It is this insane. YES! It is that good! Get on eBay and buy it. Seriously now. Buy a Sega Mega Drive to play it on as well…I probably should have mentioned that first… You can get the console for £30 or thereabouts and Toejam and Earl (the 1st one, the sequal was wank) for a few quid, but they probably cost much less on eBay!

This game is the bollocks! I guarantee that within 5 minutes of playing it you’ll be quoting it for years. I have…

God I need a life…JAMMIN’!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33iYLYRMLSk