Poker Room has done a excellent job of putting together a very nice room. They were the first to support all operating systems by using a no download java applet. They also have a downloadable version of their software for windows that is a little richer.
They offer a wide variety of games. Besides Texas holdem, Stud, Stud hi/lo, Omaha, Omaha hi/lo and draw poker are offered. Limits range in limit holdem from $.0.25/$0.50 to $500/$100. No limit Holdem range from $0.25/$0.25 to $50/$100. There is a good granularity to the limits offered. The other games have limits ranging up to about $25/$50.
The offer a wide variety of tournament choices; sit n goes, single and multi tables. Different formats for multi table tournaments including turbo and big stack long limits, and rebuy tournaments. They offer satellites and a host of special promotional tournaments. Private tournaments can be set up easily by anybody.
The lobby at poker Room is the best I have seen to date. Everything is there and easy to get to. They also have chat and tell you how much free and real money you have all on one screen. They have a large selection of menu items so that you can get to there website, check your information, change your preferences and all that good stuff.
The games client (IE the place you play poker) is good. It is easy to use with most of the things you come to expect in a well designed game interface. One thing that is missing is statistics. Statistics are available through the lobby. The statistics however are a lot richer then at most poker rooms. (A note be sure to turn on your stats).
The deposit bonuses are a bit weak 20% to $100.00. There are however lots of free rolls and value added tournaments with good overlays.
The web site is one of the best. There is a great community and forum there. There is a lot of information about the card room and promotions. There are some fun tools there like the home tournaments software, which is a clock for playing your home tournament much like the ones the land based poker rooms use. They tournament team play and the website is where you start/join and manage your team. Lots to see.
The stats while excellent overall, have the quirk of needing to be started from the lobby.
You can use f1 f2 etc for certain actions at the game, this can be bad if you have a cat that walks across your keyboard.
No details about the shuffle on the site or at the Ongame Network. There is no way to ascertain if it is secure or not.Read why this is bad
The Revenue Share is 30%. That goes up to as much as 40% on a scale that is dependent on the number of depositing players you send them. Unlike most affiliate programs 30% is 30% of the rake your player pays, and that same percentage on casino action. This means when a dollar is taken out of a pot your player wins, you get 30% of that dollar. In “rake share”, you don’t make 30% of what your player pays, you make much less. Poker Room pays you right none of the bullshit schemes.
By the time they deduct CC and promotion charges, I keep about 90%. This compares well to other sites were what I keep is anywhere from 20% to 60% of the promise. In 4 years I have not had one credit card charge back at Poker Room. They have never been late paying, they have kept accurate statistics and they have been able to convert the players I send at a good rate.
I rate them 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being best. The affiliate program at PokerRoom is the one I benchmark all the rest against. It is the best. The one I wish all the others where like.
For those interested, we recommend visiting pokerplayersalliance.org, a group that has been organized to represent the rights and interests of American poker players.