Features:  

PartyPoker has a throng of features which reward people for signing up at PartyPoker and loyal patrons. PartyPoker will match 100% of your first deposit up to $100. While this bonus is not as high as our top rated Poker Software, Full Tilt, it is still a pretty good deal seeing as its just giving you money. PartyPoker also has a rewards system for those players who stick around and play hard. Just for playing with real money you are automatically eligible to earn PartyPoints, and will earn them every time you participate in a hand. All points can be exchanged at the PartyPoints store for PartyPoker merch.

PartyPoker also has a variety of tournaments going on at any given time that are a little more special than the average pay the fee, go in and play tourneys. Some promos, such as the Monthly Million or the Play for an Asian Adventure in Macau, will give you the opportunity to play in big tourneys on behalf of PartyPoker. You can also get $100 credit to your account for every friend you sign up.

However, all of this means very little if you’re a poker player within U.S. boundaries. While you will be able to download PartyPoker and even play it using pay money, you will not be able to make a deposit, play any real money games, or be eligible for any bonuses. This ban on U.S. players was enacted in response to the 2006 signing of the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act which stopped financial institutions from approving transactions made on poker sites.

What is Available:  

You’ll find a solid representation of all the popular poker games at PartyPoker, and then some. The expected games such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha and Seven Card Stud are all available, as well as Blackjack, Bingo and even Backgammon. We particularly like the way PartyPoker breaks down their buy ins. If you’re not playing with fake money, you can either participate in high stakes, low stakes or micro stakes games. These range from $50 blinds to $.01 blinds.

PartyPoker is separated into six main sections: Quick seats, cash games, sit & go’s, tournaments, blackjack, and play money. All of these sections—with the exception of Play Money—require cash to participate. To deposit money you’ll have to visit the online cashier cage which is conveniently located in the program.

Once you’ve gotten your money into the system, it’s as easy as picking the game you want to participate in and playing. Easily the most popular game on PartyPoker is Texas Hold’em, with thousands of players from across the world coming together in hopes of out drawing the other. All around we felt the play on any given PartyPoker table was quick and fair. There is always an abundance of open seats to be taken if you’re into play money or cash games. As well, there are always tournaments registering players.

Poker Education:  

Poker is best learned through trial and error. Articles and videos can only get you so far; however, they’re not a bad place to start. Realizing this, PartyPoker has implemented two awesome features, a poker school and the PartyAcademy. Between these two sources you’ll be on the right track to becoming a great poker player.

The first, the PartyPoker School, is a compilation of articles which will help the beginner better understand the basics of poker. Articles like Basic Poker Rules, Betting Rules, Poker Tips, Buy-ins and Table Stakes can all be found in this section. This is a great resource for the fresh poker player.

Then we have the PartyAcademy. This cool tool offers free poker lessons and quizzes which will help evaluate where you’re at in your poker abilities. You’ll also have access to an extensive library of “Exclusive poker articles, giving you better results on the table,” according to the PartyPoker site. Videos and hand examples are available to give you a visual of what you’ve been learning.