Since the initial release in 2003, Absolute Poker has been known for offering easy to clear bonuses and massive tournaments. They have recently updated their software to provide a more current program allowing players custom features and more user control. In 2007, the poker room began offering a bad beat jackpot which has awarded players with jackpots reaching the $100,000 marker and beyond. This is the highest paying bad beat jackpot in online poker. They are a fully licensed and regulated poker room by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and one of the few reputable rooms accepting US players.
Absolute Poker is one of the few rooms that offer bonuses that are not only competitive but easy to clear. All new Absolute Poker players will receive a 100% deposit bonus up to $500. You will also qualify for frequent reload bonuses which are available weekly. The bonuses are cleared by playing in any of the real money ring games and tournaments and will be deposited into your poker account in increments of $10 once the requirements have been met. To clear the AP bonus, you will need to earn 30 points for every $5 collected in bonus dollars. Frequent player points are awarded for each raked hand you play in at a rate of 1pt/$1 rake.
AP features blackjack which can be played while you’re playing poker without leaving the tables. Blackjack players can also qualify for their own initial deposit bonus at Absolute with a 60% match up to $230. To clear this bonus you must roll it over 12 x the bonus awarded.
The competition at Absolute Poker is about average for a room of this size. One thing you may want to note is although they have plenty of micro games running; you will find tighter opponents than you would in other rooms. This is typically related to the bonus and players who are trying to clear it.
Absolute Poker offers some fairly steady ring game traffic and with the release of the Bad Beat Jackpot in the ring games they have seen a substantial increase. AP supports Texas Holdem, Omaha, Omaha Hi Li, 7 Card Stud and 7 card Stud Hi Lo in either heads up or 6 player tables. The poker room attracts over 2,000 real money players during peak hours and typically you will find the majority of these players are geared towards Texas Holdem than any other game. What I do like about this room is they have catered to all players with micro stakes starting at $0.05/$0.10 enabling beginners the opportunity to play without the risk. The table spreads will continue up to $75/$150 with a player base that is capable of sustaining action up to the $10/$20 NL tables throughout the day. AP takes a 5% rake from each pot up to the maximum of $3 with a no flop no drop rule in place.
The tournament schedule offers a game for every player with buyins starting as low as $1 and reaching as high as a couple hundred. The poker room supports all the standard formats such as re-buys and freezeouts and often promotes their own signature branded tournaments such as the “Absolute Poker Dream Package”. In addition to this you will also be able to qualify for live events across the globe including the 2008 WSOP. The biggest event by far is the weekend schedule where AP guarantees a total of $325,000 in three tournaments. You can buyin to these events or win your seat through qualifiers. If you plan on qualifying you can enter the “Triple Header” which awards the first place player with entry to all three tournaments giving you extra value for you money.
The poker room is definitely headed in the right direction with the recent upgrade which has brought them up to the same standards in graphics and playability as other top rooms. Speed, graphics, custom features have all been updated. Players now have the choice between three table views which include a full view, quarter view and top view giving you more control on how you want to play in the room. In addition they now support a no download client which is great for Mac and Linux users. The lobby is super easy to navigate with all your option clearly laid out for you, along with the Bad Beat Jackpot. Absolute Poker offers vital stats both at the tables and the lobby with hands played per hour, average pot size and of course the % of players seeing the flop. All of the ring games where the Jackpot is supported are highlighted. Multi-tabling is available for up to four games. They support resizing tools to assist in the number of games visible on the screen. Other features recently implemented include; faster dealing options, new betting features, and an instant replay.
Absolute Poker has designed one of the better support departments in online poker. Each area that a customer may have a question or concern about is developed into a department allowing for a quicker response time and efficiency. Support is available via email.
Deposit methods include; NETeller, Visa/MasterCard, Debit cards (Solo, Switch, Visa Electron, Maestro, Delta), ePassporte, Instadebit, electronic check, Click2Pay, FirePay, Moneybookers, bank transfer and
CentralCoin.
