PokerStars.net
PokerStars Overview, Download, and Bonus Information
A+
NO
Pros:
- Highest trafficked poker site
- Large game variety
- Many satellites to live tournaments
- Downloadable Mac software
Cons:
- US players not allowed
- Competition is slightly tougher than average
Pokerstars.net Review
"Pokerstars.net" is the free poker website run by Poker Stars. PokerStars.net has over 100,000 poker players online playing free poker as well as poker for real money at all times, with more than 250,000 players on at peak times and weekends.
Pokerstars.net Software
| Operating System: | Win, Mac |
| Size: | 8.1 MB |
| No-Download Version? | NO |
| Max. Tables: | 24 |
| Reliability: | A+ |
The Pokerstars.net download is available for both Windows and Mac. There is not a no-download version of Pokerstars.net's software currently, so it is not possible to play Pokerstars on a Linux based computer. The software is 8.1 MB and takes roughly one or two minutes to download on a standard broadband internet connection.
Gameplay is smooth and Pokerstars.net has the most stable network connection in online poker with server down time and lag/freezing being virtually nonexistent. Pokerstars.net's software can handle running tournaments as big as 45,000 players that I have seen personally, with no glitches or other problems. As far as online poker software goes, Pokerstars is certainly at the top of the field when it comes to quality and design.
Pokerstars.net Games
Pokerstars.net is the largest online poker playing site with more than 200,000 poker players online at peak times and at least 95,000 players at all times of the day. Pokerstars.net features 12 different categories of poker games. The best feature of Pokerstars.net is the amount of players playing all of the poker games on Pokerstars.net at all of the times of the day. Other online poker websites have a difficult time running many of the less popular poker games such as Badugi and 2-7 Triple Draw. There are several of every type of poker game being played at all hours. If availability of any of the poker games below is a priority, then Pokerstars.net is your best choice for online poker play.
Pokerstars.net Tournaments
Pokerstars.net Free Tournaments - Pokerstars.net runs dozens of free poker tournaments every day. There are no other online poker websites that run as many free poker tournaments than Pokerstars.net does. Pokerstars.net tournaments are a fun way to win money and prizes for free entry. These free poker tournaments where you can win real prizes are called 'freerolls." In Pokerstars.net freerolls, you can win cash prizes, or entries into large real money Pokerstars.net tournaments. Most freeroll tournaments offer prize pools of $500 to $2500, but occasionally Pokerstars.net will offer large freeroll prize pools, with the largest being the WCOOP Appreciation 100k Freeroll.
Pokerstars.net Real Money Tournaments - Pokerstars.net hosts hundreds of real money poker tournaments every day. Tournament buy-ins range from as little as $0.11 upwards of $500 for regular weekly or daily tournaments. Pokerstars also runs special tournament series such as the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) with the main event buy-in of $10,000 being the largest buy-in poker tournament online.
Pokerstars.net Sunday Tournaments - Pokerstars' Sunday tournaments have become the industry standard for high buy-in and high payout weekly online poker tournaments. Pokerstars runs the largest weekly tournaments every Sunday, most notably the weekly Pokerstars Sunday Million with a guaranteed weekly prize pool of $1.5 million, with the actual prize pool regularly approaching $2.5 million. The Pokerstars Million is the largest weekly online poker tournament by far, with Full Tilt Poker's weekly $750,000 guaranteed being the 2nd largest weekly tournament online. You will find many of the big name professional poker players that you see on television such as in the World Series of Poker.
Pokerstars.net Sit and Go Tournaments - Pokerstars sit and go tournaments are offered 9-handed, 6-handed, as well as heads-up sit and gos. Buy-ins range from free and $1.00 up to $555 for real money sit and go tournaments. All Pokerstars .net sit and go tournaments formats are listed below.
| Single Table Sit & Go | Multi Table Sit & Go | |
|---|---|---|
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All Pokerstars.net sit and go tournaments start as soon as all seats have been filled. For example, a 45 player sit and go starts as soon as 45 people have signed up for that tournament. From my experience, with a basic understanding of sit and go strategy, Pokerstars sit & go's are very beatable up to around $20 buy-in range. A more advanced understanding of the mathematics and general strategy for sit and go tournaments is needed to consistently win above the $20 level. At the $55 and up range, the sit and go's at Pokerstars are dominated by professional and semi-pro poker players.
Pokerstars.net Cash Games
Pokerstars.net cash games have nearly double the number of players as their closest competitor (Full Tilt Poker) with more than 44,000 cash game players at peak times. You can play any of the poker game variations that Pokerstars offers heads-up against one opponent, or at short-handed or full ring games. Pokerstars.net cash games are offered as low as $0.01/$0.02 all the way up to $200/$400 blinds. Higher stakes games can be found at Full Tilt Poker.
For small to mid-stakes players ($5/$10 or so), Pokerstars is a great place to play. Thousands of players are playing all types of games across these stakes at all hours, and finding the exact type of table you want is never a concern. Above these stakes, it can be difficult to find tables running at off-peak times and it would be wise to have accounts at multiple online poker sites so that it is easier to find the games you want. This is a common practice for high stakes Pokerstars pros.
99% of the people reding this will not be playing higher than $5/$10 and for you, Pokerstars is a top option. The micro and small stakes cash game competition is on par with other large online poker sites. Truth be told, the competition level across all online poker sites is pretty equal these days. If you are good at table selection, then you should definitely play at Pokerstars, simply because of the huge amount of tables to choose from.
Pokerstars.net Promotions & Sign-Up Bonus
Pokerstars recently raised their sign-up deposit bonus from $50 to $600. This is a boon to players new to Poker Stars. I'm not sure what reason Pokerstars had to raise their sign-up bonus since they did not have a hard time recruiting new poker players with the small $50 bonus, but their new $600 bonus is now on par with the other popular poker sites that all have first deposit bonuses of $500 to $600.
The Pokerstars.net bonus is quick and easy to clear if you play above micro stakes ($0.50/$1 and above), but at stakes smaller than that, it can be difficult to accumulate the amount of VIP player points (VPP's) needed to clear bonus money. 170 VPP's are required to clear each $10 dollar portion of the total bonus, which is released in $10 chunks.
VPP's can also be used in Pokerstars.net's top-notch VIP Club to redeem for free cash and dozens of different prizes including poker books, Pokerstars.net apparel, electronics, live tournaments entries, and even a Porsche. If you are a higher volume poker player (10,000+ hands per month), then you can clear hundreds of dollars in cash and prizes every month through the Pokerstars VIP program.
Pokerstars.net Support
Pokerstars support has a solid department full of helpful people that speak over a dozen languages fluently. They are quick to respond to email requests/questions. I have always received a reply within 24 hours. The downside to Pokerstars.net's support system is that there is no general telephone support available. If you need to get ahold of Pokerstars support, their main support email is support@pokerstars.com. If you need assistance making a real money deposit, you can email Pokerstars at dad@pokerstars.com to reach their 'Pokerstars Deposit Department' and leave your phone number and a time to call you and you will receive a phone call from Pokerstars to assist you.
