Players Only Poker Review   85/100

Introduction

Players Only is a full online poker room, casino and sportsbetting company released in 2006. It is the work of a group of passionate poker players and is America’s fastest growing online poker room.

The poker room uses software provided by the Cake Network, which means players will be provided with the very popular Gold Card and Gold Chip rewards program and a steady supply of traffic at any hour of the day. It has an easy-to-use lobby, great functionality and focuses on delivering a really good playing experience.


Bonus & Promotions   |   9/10

With Players Only being a new poker room on the market, there are plenty of lucrative promotions. Some of the bonuses and promotions on offer include:

• On top of the regular bonus you will also receive an additional 10% on subsequent deposits in the form of a reload bonus.
• You get player points for all participation in real-money games, which will earn you bonuses and special promotional incentives from time to time.
• There is over $1,000,000 in guaranteed tournament prize money each month, and quite a few other valuable promotions on top of that.
• They are also running continual promotions to send players to live poker events such as the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour.

Players Only Poker offers a loyalty system based on frequent player points with “Gold Chips” and “Gold Cards” available. Whenever you play at real-money games or pay tournament fees, you earn Frequent Player Points which fill in your “Gold Chip Meter.”

Once your meter is full, you get a Gold Chip that is yours to spend in the Players Rewards store. Items in this store include everything from tournament tickets to DVDs and books and more. Once you’ve earned your first Gold Chip, you’ll also earn your next with fewer FPPs.


Software Graphics   |   18/20

The Players Only poker software is fast and smooth with good playability. All the normal functions are there, including notes during play and vital table stats such as viewed-flop percentage, average pot and hands played per hour in the lobby. The software offers good graphics and makes for a good playing experience.

Players Only poker software includes:

• Four Color Deck – Allows you to distinguish the cards even more
• Hand History – Instant access and detailed description of play
• Player Notes – Create detailed notes and even define players with one of eight pre-set player types
• Casino and Sportsbook – A complete casino and sportsbetting service

Tournaments & Freerolls   |   18/20

There are over $3 million worth of guaranteed tournaments every month at Players Only. They also offer regular satellites to real world poker events like the World Series of Poker.

Buy-ins can be as small as 25¢ and the largest buy-in is usually around $200. The tournaments are fairly busy and have a good structure. Compared to most sites, Players Only Poker also run a decent number of tournaments in forms of poker other than Hold’em.

The largest weekly tournament is the $50,000 Sunday guaranteed, while the $100,000 monthly guaranteed tournament is the largest overall.

There are also regular freerolls and they are currently giving away $1 million over ten months as a part of their million dollar freeroll series.


Deposits and Cashouts   |   6/10

Players who wish to create a real money account will have limited options available to them but the poker room does boast the highest approval rating for credit card deposits.

Deposit options include: Visa, MasterCard and cash transfer

Withdrawal options include: Visa, MasterCard and check.


Service & Support   |   18/10

PlayersOnly Poker offers telephone, e-mail and live chat support. Responses are fast and accurate.


Traffic   |   8/10

Players Only Poker is part of the Cake Poker Network and as such, attracts close to 2000 players during peak times. Although most traffic is concentrated at the Texas Holdem tables, there is significant action at the Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo tables.

The games are busiest at low stakes, varying from relatively loose to extremely loose and often with a viewed flop percentage in the range of 55 to 60 percent at full tables.

The rake is pretty much industry average, with a “no flop no drop” policy. In addition, short-handed play uses a lower cap for the maximum rake per pot.


Game Variety   |   8/10

Players Only Poker offers the following games:

• Texas Holdem
  

• Omaha
• Omaha Hi-Lo
• 7-Card Stud
• 7-Card stud Hi-Lo
• 5-Card Stud
• Razz
• 5-card Draw
• Triple Draw
• Badugi and mixed games.

Games are played in all the most popular settings – fixed limit, pot-limit, no-limit, full-table, short-handed and heads-up.


Summary

Overall, Players Only is a fun place to play poker with good promotions and reliable support. There is $5 million in guaranteed prize money every month, with an impressive bonus and they have great value in re-buy and add-on tournaments.