Basic Details
	Country of Origin	:	United Kingdom
	License	:	UK
	Year of Foundation	:	2005
	Software	:	Playtech
	Size	:
	Audited By	:	PWC
	Language	:	English, Spanish
	Accepts USA Players	:	No
	Bonus	:	$600

Paddy Power Poker

Paddy Power Poker Ireland’s leading bookmaker, now quite demanded in the UK too, is listed as a publicly quoted company both in the Irish as well as the London Stock Exchanges. It is another of the projects of the iPoker network, which hosts other such rooms as the VC Poker and Doyles Room, and produced by Playtech, a top name in the U.S. With $3M to be won every month, a free access and assured tournaments, Paddy Power Poker has established a huge fanatic following.

The Paddy Power Poker software is very easy to navigate and the graphics are exceptional. The overall design of the Paddy Power Poker website is quite attractive. Apart from multiple table tournaments, tables are available in head-ups, full and short-handed formats. Moreover, you have a choice of a four-color deck, which should be used, as it is a sensible thing to do if you are playing Internet poker, since the cards cannot be differentiated easily. You can even play four tables at the same time on a 1024*728 screen, without having one overshadow the other.

The helpful software puts everyone at extreme ease and is especially good for new comers and middle range poker players who wish to polish their game skills. The informative tutorials teach you all the necessary game skills that you need to know. And what is more, if you have any queries regarding the game, you can get answers to them from “Ask Dr. Jack.

The site offers an exciting introductory bonus of £250 to every player and a generous sign up bonus of up to $600. Paddy Power Poker has several multi-table tournaments including Hold’em, Seven-Card Stud Hi, Omaha Hi and Hi-lo.

Although, the more prevalent games are the fixed limit and no limit hold’em, but there is a selection of full-ring and 6-max games and a wide range of choice to the limits, which enable you to play the favorite game of your choice. You can begin with mere pennies and go up to rake stakes of $150. They have some alluring bonuses to offer, including free rolls called “win her knickers”. All high stakes are played during peak hours, while the medium & low stakes have open tables at off peak hours.

Paddy Power Poker has recently upgraded its bonus offers, where Generals can gain a minimum of $500 along with other added bonuses. This program has been designed to profit Captains, Majors and Colonels, by allowing them a lower qualifying criteria and a faster accumulation of points, apart from the monthly cash bonus.

Inspite of all its good points, Paddy Power Poker has certain drawbacks. The game pace is much slower than the usual game speed, has moderate traffic during the off peak hours and what is even worse, is that it does not allow US players on its site.

Precisely, the Paddy Power Poker site is an excellent poker gaming site, offering attractive bonuses and a variety of choice of games as well as the limits that can be played online.

	Virgin Poker Room Basics:
	Country of Origin	:	United Kingdom
	License	:	Malta
	Year of Foundation	:	2005
	Software	:	Boss Media
	Language	:	English
	Sign up Bonus	:	£100
	US Players		Not Allowed

Virgin Poker Review

Summary:

Virgin Poker has attracted a lot of traffic to its website since its launch in 2005. The extravagant promotions offered here are the main reason for such a drift of traffic to its website. However the games played here also draw great crowds, as the games played are soft enabling players to make some profitable games. As it is a segment of the Virgin Group of industries, the Virgin Poker website is completely reliable and a safe place to play your favorite game.

Software:

Virgin Poker uses the well-known Boss Media software that powers the iPoker Network. As is common to the Boss Media software there are straightforward features without much fuss over stand out avatars. The simple interface provides easy game play and maneuverability. The menus are well set with everything readily available at a click from the lobby. A game filter allows players to quickly get to the games instead of scanning through the whole list.

The tables are neat and uncluttered, allowing you to play without difficulty. You can compare your play statistics, thereby increasing your scope for improvement. Also available are flop percentages, note taking facility, average pot size all of which are accessible from one point, the lobby. The graphics are good, giving you an enjoyable playing experience.

Games:

There are a number of cash games that can be played here such as the common Texas Holdem, Omaha, Omaha High, Omaha Low, 5-Card Draw, 5-Card Stud and 7-Card Stud in limit, fixed limit and no limit versions. The Boss Media software is able to accommodate nearly 9,000 tables offering live cash games. The varied limits allow players to play games at micro-limits as well as high limit games can be opted for by those who prefer making larger wagers.

Virgin Poker is centred on European players and most of the traffic here is of players from the wide iPoker Network. Cash games are available throughout the day and you can find players at all times but at peak hours the traffic can reach a good 3,600 players.

Tournaments:

There are several sit and go tournaments and multi-table tournaments to choose from. Apart from this there are €25,000 daily tournaments and weekly €100,000 assured tournaments to be played. A recent addition to the bonuses galore includes the €1m guaranteed tournament which takes place twice a month. Also available are entries to live satellite tournaments that you need to qualify for.

Bonus:

Virgin Poker offers a 100% sign up bonus of up to £100 to every new player who signs up for a new account. The bonus amount can be availed of by wagering for it and there are 180 days in which you can do so.

Promotions:

Virgin Poker offers great incentives to its players. It offers daily free rolls plus weekly jackpots and rewards for the top player of the month and various other offers. It also offers V-Points for every raked hand that you play. You can accumulate these V-Points and exchange them for fabulous prizes such as Virgin air miles, mobile top ups, shopping vouchers or cash in your account among various other options. There are the V-Points races that involves three free rolls every week which help you add on more points to your account.

Also available are bad beat jackpots, sit and go jackpot tournaments among others. A referral program is also offered where players are given $25 for introducing a new member to sign up for an account at Virgin Poker.

Deposit Options:

The deposit methods accepted by Virgin Poker include Visa, Mastercard, Neteller, Switch, Solo, Bank Transfers, Click2Pay, Bank Draft, Personal Checks, Moneta, Paysafecard and Delta

Withdrawal media include Visa, Neteller, Switch, Solo, Bank Transfers, Moneta, Delta, Bank Draft and Click2Pay

Customer Support:

The support staff can be contacted by the UK toll free number: 0800 2790 681 and via email at: support@poker.virgingames.com.

Also available is a live chat facility that is very convenient if you need to contact the staff for an immediate query.

7 card stud has started to gain in popularity because of the mixed games that are quickly becoming players favorites. In looking for a little more spice than hold’em on its own can offer, HORSE allows you to play 5 different games. The well rounded poker player can dominate these types of tournaments and cash games. In order to do so, you are going to have to master playing 7 card stud as it shows up in three different varieties in the game of HORSE.

The original 7 card stud game is the 4th leg of HORSE and where a seasoned player can really make a move. A lot of players will fall in love with certain hands when they are clearly second best or worst. This is the type of scenario that you need to avoid. If you are not clearly going for the best hand, you have to get out.

Hands that cost 7 card stud players the most money are mid pairs that they play out on the string. For example, you have Q9 in the hole a 9 on board. There are 6 other players in the game and they are showing A, K, 10, J, 7, and a 5. The 5 leads out on a force bet, the A calls and then the K raises, the 10 folds, the J calls and then the folds. You are next to play, what do you do?

If you are smart, you are going to dump the hand. You can be pretty sure that you are up against KK and possibly JJ. You still have the A to play behind you who very well may be setting up a check raise. The problem is the at most amateur players are going to fall in love with their split pair and will try to chase it down. It is the wrong decision and it is going to cost you a ton of money in the end.

It has been said before and it is worth saying again, stud is not a chasers game. With so many bets, you will end up broke if you continue to chase down hands. If you are not clearly sitting on the best, you must get out of the hand. In reality, the only hand that should still be playing in this example is the K and depending upon what the A does, he should possibly be out of the hand.

One of the major keys to 7 card stud is ensuring that you are not chasing down a losing hand. While you cannot always assume that the player has matched their card underneath when they are showing a high card, how they play against the other high cards gives you a ton of information.

Here, it would be foolish for the K to fire unless he was already paired up. He can be assured that anyone behind him that has matched a card will at the very least call him if not come over the top to see where they stand. Of course, he still has the A that is in front of him to worry about as well. You can easily see where playing mid and small pairs can get you into a heap of trouble. When you are deciding to go in or not, you want three cards to the flush or straight or the high pair going on board. If you play to anything else, you are playing to second best.