Poker Share Review

Poker Share Deposit Bonus: 1,000% up to $10,000 Bonus Code: PS Deposit Options: VISA MasterCard NETeller FirePay Western Union Citadel (US only) eChecks (by iGM-Pay)bank draft cashier's check money order check

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Name Poker Share Country United Kingdom Network Microgaming Poker Established 2005 Support email support Telephone N/A

Overall Rating 3.60 Software/Interface 3.5 Ring Games 3.3 Tournaments 3.2 Game Variety 2.3 Soft Competition 5.3 Signup Bonus 4.3 Frequent Player 3.8 Promotions 3.1 Customer Support 4.0 Deposit & Cashout 4.3

Poker Share burst onto the scene in August 2005 as a novel concept, one where through their play, players would actually own a piece of the company. Dividends would be distributed quarterly, and if the poker room were ever to go public, which it had planned on doing, those with pieces of the company would also be granted stock. Problems started within just a couple months, as Poker Share started drawing players away from a partner site, Ultimate Bet. Because the two were on the same poker network, Excapsa, customers felt comfortable moving from the established Ultimate Bet to the fledgling Poker Share, as the look, feel, and traffic would be the same. But now, they’d be earning share points in addition to any other bonuses and winnings. This did not sit well with Ultimate Bet, as it was the big dog of the Excapsa network. It was the poker room that controlled Excapsa’s North American market, and now Poker Share was intruding. Excapsa made the sudden and surprising move to not allow Americans to patron Poker Share. Shortly thereafter, the network stopped supporting it’s young poker room altogether, forcing Poker Share to shutdown in November. Poker Share sued Excapsa and UltimateBet, but the parties eventually settled the legal dispute.

Poker Share reopened in April 2006 as a member of the Tain Network, still rewarding players with a piece of the profits through its unique 'Share Points' system. So, the more you play at Poker Share, the more money you can make. This relationship ended as well. Now Poker Share has joined the Microgamming Poker Network and has abandoned their dividend sharing concept and opted for the more traditional rewards/loyalty program where a player can exchange points earned for merchandise or cash. It is a medium to large site with about 20,000 players on at peak times. Poker Share shares the same player base and software platform with all the other skins on the Microgaming network, so if you have played at sites such as Gaming Club Poker or recently added Doyle’s Room you will feel right at home.

Poker Share offers No-Limit, Pot-Limit, and Fixed-Limit Texas Hold’em, Pot-Limit and Fixed-Limit Omaha (both high and high/low variations), 7 Card Stud, and 5 Card Stud. Stakes range from nickel games all the way up to $100/$200 for both Fixed and No-Limit games. Most of the Fixed-Limit Hold’em action is at the $0.50/$1 through $2/$4 tables, whereas No-Limit players primarily stick to $1/$2 and lower. There is almost no action at the Fixed-Limit Omaha tables – if you want to play Omaha at Poker Share, you will need to play Pot-Limit.

Poker Share also has plenty of tournaments from which to choose. Many Sit-and-Go options are available, from standard, 10-person contests, to short-handed, heads-up, and multi-table games. Additionally, Poker Share has “Rounders” tables, which are special Sit-and-Go’s which give players the chance to win big money for a small buy-in. The Rounders tournaments consist of five levels – the top finishers in one level advance to the next. Some players will be able to redo a level, depending on finish, while the rest will have to start over. Players can also buy-in directly to any of the levels. Level one is only a $5 + $0.50 buy-in, but make it to level five, a $550 + $55 buy-in, and first place wins $3,000.

Of course, Multi-Table tournaments are also in abundance at Poker Share. Guaranteed prize pools, re-buys, freezeouts, and freeroll can all be found amongst the choices. The structure at Poker Share is good too – players start with 1,500 chips and blinds only go up every twelve minutes, so there is plenty of time to play solid poker.

Like most online poker rooms, Poker Share holds tournaments in which players can win seats to prestigious live poker events. Satellites, in the form of both Sit-and-Go’s and Multi-Table tournaments, are running around the clock. Poker Share stands out from many other rooms with its World Series of Poker (WSOP) satellites.

Poker Share offers a very good first deposit bonus – 100% up to $300. The terms are fairly typical for the industry with a play through requirement. This bonus is awarded in one lump sum upon completion of the raked hands requirement. Overall, it is not too difficult to earn for many players. One must be dealt cards in a hand that is raked at least 25 cents so the pot must be at least $5.00

Poker Share displays a pop-up upon login displaying the player’s current promotion and progress towards completion, as well as a raked hand counter in the lobby. Unfortunately, the two are not frequently in sync.

Anyone who has played at any of the Prima Poker rooms such as Royal Vegas Poker or Golden Tiger Poker will be immediately familiar with the Poker Share software. It is very simple, almost Spartan, with a red, blue, and white color scheme. The lobby is easy to navigate, with a tree on the left side to select the game type and drill-down folders for limit and stakes. Table listings show average pot size, percent of players to the flop, hands per hour, and waiting list size. The waitlist feature is easy to use, but it can be a bit of a task to remove yourself from multiple waiting lists, as this can only be done manually.

Poker Share takes the simple approach the table graphics – simple and unadorned. No avatars, no pictures to upload, no drinks, nothing… just a plain blue table with placards displaying each player’s screen name and chips. Easy to read cards, as well, with the standard four-color deck option. If fancy colors and graphics greatly enhance your poker playing experience, Poker Share will disappoint you. If you could care less and just want smooth-running tables, give it a whirl.

Perhaps the best feature of the Poker Share software is the mini-table view. Mini view shrinks the table down to a small rectangle, with only the basic information and graphics displayed. This feature is fantastic for those who want to play more than one table at a time, as four tables will easily fit on most standard monitors.

Statistics and note-taking are available at the tables. Hand histories can also be requested, as well as stored on your hard drive, if you so desire. While Poker Share has a player search function, it does not have a buddy list feature. Poker Share also provides an odds calculator and strategy book as free downloads to its customers.

One downside to the Poker Share software is that it can be a bit resource-intensive when several tables are open. It’s not as bad as some rooms, but it could be better.

Poker Share offers customer service via e-mail. Customer service representatives are generally helpful and friendly. One problem that does sometimes occur with Poker Share is that some customer service issues need to be handled by the people at the Prima Poker network, rather than the poker room itself. Because of this, there can sometimes be communication issues between Poker Share and Prima, and some customers have, at times, found it frustrating trying to get an account problem resolved when Poker Share does not have the authority to create a resolution. In the end, most issues get fixed, especially when the poker room managers get involved – they have been known to personally take care of things for customers when necessary.

Poker Share uses 128-bit SSL technology and an independently reviewed Random Card Shuffler. The Shuffler is also reviewed by independent auditors, with the results published on the Poker Share website.