Complete Pacific Poker Review

Pacific Poker, owned by the large Casino-On-Net/888.com group, was one of the very first online poker rooms. In many ways this can still be seen in Pacific Pokers somewhat stale software, and lack of exciting features. Still, Pacific Poker has a very large member base, and recent software upgrades have improved the overall experience enough to make it a good starting place for new players, or those looking for easier pickings!

Pacific Pokers signup bonus is not the largest around, but it is relatively easy to unlock, requiring that a player wager 20x the bonus amount, and players who stick around are treated to regular monthly 50% reload bonuses of up to 300-500$ every other month or so.

In addition to a decent 50%/$300-$500 reload bonus, offered every couple of months, Pacific Poker players can also earn loyalty points for every $10 bet on raked hands. These points can then be converted into cash that’s added straight to your bankroll at a rate of $1 per 100 points.

If Pacific Poker has one thing really going for it, then it’s the quality of the traffic, which is generally some of the loosest around. This makes it ideal for moderately experienced players, looking to make a few quick $, and also ideal for newer players who can easily find games at their level. New players should be wary of picking up bad habits however! The number of opponents is also excellent, as Pacific Poker is one of the largest online poker rooms, so you can always find a game.

Until recently Pacific Poker’s software was just plain bad, especially for a Poker Room of this size, however a recent revamp has seen the introduction of an attractive 3D table, and much improved stability. It’s still a long way from being the industry leader, but it’s at least it’s now easy on the eye. The game speed remains quite slow, which might frustrate experienced players, although novices will appreciate the extra thinking time.

On top of it’s initial signup bonus, regular reload bonuses, and loyalty points scheme, Pacific Poker offer extra jackpots for high hands and bad beats. The high hand jackpot offers prizes for four of a kind and straight flushes, while the bad beat jackpot is earned by losing with four of a kind 8’s or better. Pacific Poker also offers occasional “Relay Race” promotions for players who deposit and play a certain number of hands all on the same day.

Recently, Pacific Poker has started to introduce a lot more tournaments into it’s schedule, with most being low-stakes and relatively soft. In addition Pacific Poker now also offers guaranteed prize and freeroll tournaments, including qualification tournaments for WSOP and other top poker events. Pacific Poker also occasionally offers exceptional prize tournaments for items such as VIP football match tickets.

The level of support on offer at Pacific Poker is pretty good, with both email, and toll-free phone numbers. It can take quite a while for a response over email however, and don’t expect hugely knowledgeable support staff if you call up. That being said, when you finally do get a response, email replies tend to be pretty on target, and their support staff are always friendly.