Winning Online Poker

Note: All ratings out of 10 possible, 10 being the best and 0 the worst

Overall real money rating: 5 (Site security: average)

Overall play money rating: 3

Maximum Tables You Can Play at One Time: 3

Beatable Games: 7

Absolute is still a reasonably new site, and like most new sites with fairly small user bases, the games are pretty good, largely because not a lot of sharks stick around at small sites.

Game Selection: 3

Absolute Poker has the standard five games (hold ‘em, Omaha, Omaha H/L, 7-stud, 7-stud H/L), but none of these ever feature a full table except low- or mid-limit hold ‘em or micro-limit no-limit hold 'em, so there is not much to pick from. It’s worth noting that the maximum buy-in relative to the blinds at no-limit tables is twice as high (200 times the big blind). However, few players (especially bad ones) ever buy in for anywhere near this much.

Player Traffic: 4

Although the site traffic does appear to be gradually increasing, it is still low. Though the players that do show up are quite unskilled, there aren't that many of them. Expect to sit with the same people over and over when you do find a game at your desired limit. And don't count on finding a game other than hold 'em being played at any given moment.

Deposit Bonuses/Player Rewards/Jackpots: 8

Absolute Poker has one of the biggest new user bonuses online: 35% up to $210. $10 of the bonus is cleared with each 100 raked hands played. Use bonus code AP35 when depositing.

The site also offers extremely frequent reload bonuses which are usually worth up to $200. Many players on Absolute have bonus accounts that never reach $0, because they offer reload bonuses so frequently.

Software/Peripherals: 7

Absolute has solved its past software problems, except that they still only allow nine players per table. The games run smoothly and the ability to pick a player icon adds a fun element to the game.

Tournaments: SNGs 4, Multi-Tables N/A

Though the SNGs are lucrative here, they are not available on-demand, which makes it a mediocre choice for tournament players.

Customer Support: 7

The responses from support are generally quick and helpful. Cashouts are also fast and smooth.

Server Quality: 6

Though the server does not crash often, it does take up a lot of virtual memory on your computer for some reason. This is annoying for people who tend to multi-task while playing.