partypoker

Our partypoker review explains how to get up to 30% rakeback, partypoker bonuses, compete for millions in tournament guarantees, and much more!

partypoker was once the biggest name in US poker. However, due to regulatory changes and the infamous Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, it hit a downswing. While other sites remained active in the US (a decision that would come back to bite them), the operator exited the market. Fortunately, it used this time to focus on its international operations, refine its software, and revamp its overall package. 

With input from partypoker pros such as Rob Yong, Isaac Haxton, and Partrik Leonard, this operator’s stock has risen considerably in recent years. Thanks to innovations such as real name MTTs, a no HUD policy, and collaborations with the WPT, this poker site is back among the industry’s best. 

Now, with US states opening their doors, it’s picking up where it left off in 2006, offering players a welcome bonus, a great rakeback system, and tons of lucrative games. This, in tandem with its BetMGM partnership, means party is on track to become one of the top sites in the US once again. To explain all of this and more, come with us now as we take you through our partypoker review. 

What About partypoker USA?

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The main platform is currently available in New Jersey, although their presence in Pennsylvania and Michigan is via its partner, BetMGM. This means you can access the partypoker US network in these states via BetMGM but not partypoker itself. This is likely to change in the future. However, as of now, you’ll need to use BetMGM PA and MI if you want to sample party in these states. partypoker NJ is what we’d called the company’s flagship site in the US and a copy of what’s available in Europe. 

PROMOTIONS & BONUS INFORMATION

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The bonus system is simple but effective. That means you won’t find a selection of overly complex offers. Instead, you’ll get access to deals you can understand in seconds and, with a bit of luck, unlock without too many problems. 

Promo Code and Payout

The partypoker sign up bonus operates on the KISS principle. By that we mean they promo team has decided to Keep It Simple, Stupid. We’re not saying they think you’re stupid. Instead, it’s more the case that they’ve kept their opening offer as easy to understand as possible. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a pro, you’ll know what to expect and, importantly, how to get it. 

In practice, the partypoker welcome bonus looks like this:

1. Click PLAY HERE to create your first account. (Make sure you’re aged 21+ and in a state where party is active). 
2. Credit your account with at least $10 to activate the partypoker first deposit bonus. Whatever amount you deposit will be matched up to a maximum of $600. 
3. You don’t need a partypoker bonus code to unlock this offer. You will, however, need to earn points to release your free credits. As per the bonus terms and conditions, you’ll need to earn 4 points for every $1 in bonus cash you receive. Payments are made each time you earn enough points to unlock 10% of your bonus. 
4. You’ll have 60 days to hit your wagering target.

partypoker Promotions 

The promo page continues what the welcome bonus started. In other words, it’s simple but effective. It doesn’t contain as many offers as we'd like but what’s there is lucrative. As a general rule, you’ll be able to get a weekly reload bonus. This isn’t a no deposit bonus, but is better than most because it’s a 100% multiplier worth up to $200. That’s significantly bigger than the average reload bonus, so, although there aren’t a ton of promos, the value of what’s there is impressive. 

Rakeback from Loyalty Program 

The partypoker rake system falls in line with industry standards. There’s a no flop no drop policy and the software will take $0.01 for every $0.18 in the pot. Naturally, there are caps based on the stakes you’re playing and the number of people in the game. However, even if you play a pot worth $10,000, you’ll never pay more than $5. When it comes to tournament fees, they range from 0% to 20%. In general, MTT fees average out at 10%. 

All the money you pay in rake and tournament fees doesn’t count for nothing. The VIP program gives you cashback and MTT tickets on a weekly basis. You’ll earn 2 loyalty points for every $1 you pay in rake. The more points you earn, the better your VIP status will be and the more you’ll get back. The four VIP tiers are:

• Bronze – 0 points per month – Weekly payments that equate to a maximum partypoker rakeback rate of 6.7%. 
• Silver – 50 points per month – Weekly payments that equate to a maximum rakeback rate of 15.4%. Additional rewards = $5 tournament ticket.
• Gold – 750 points per month – Weekly payments that equate to a maximum rakeback rate of 20.5%. Additional rewards = $5 tournament ticket + a $109 tournament ticket.
• Palladium – 2,000 points per month – Weekly payments that equate to a maximum rakeback rate of 30.7%. Additional rewards = $5 tournament ticket + a $109 tournament ticket + a $215 tournament ticket + a $500 Hot Cash bonus.

POKER GAME VARIETY

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partypoker NJ and its US counterparts have a solid selection of games. Everyone can play for free, if they wish. The play money tables give you a chance to see what the site is all about and have some fun. However, if you want to unlock bonuses and win cash prizes, you’ll need to use the partypoker real money tables. 

Like all the best US online poker sites, there are cash games and tournaments. However, unlike some of its peers, this platform offers more than Hold’em and Omaha. Although there isn’t a ton of action outside of the big two, you will be able to play Fixed Limit Seven Card Stud. You won’t be able to do that at other sites so, in this regard, Party has got one up on its rivals. 

The tournament lobby is equally as diverse. There are plenty of freerolls and satellites, as well as weekly guarantees. The jewels in the crown are major festivals. These, in tandem with World Poker Tour (WPT) events, make the party platform a serious threat to the likes of PokerStars in states such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

partypoker Tournaments and Satellites

We’re hot on some of the cash games available here - you can play Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud. Buy-ins for these games range from $0.10 to $5,000 ($25/50), meanwhile a lot of US poker sites only offer Hold’em and Omaha cash games up to $5/$10. So, again, partypoker USA is head and shoulders above many of its rivals. 

We also can’t ignore its selection of fast-fold games. They’re known as FastForward and you can play NLHE cash games at either $0.05/$0/10 or $0.25/$0.50. The one thing we struggled to find during our partypoker review was Club Games. We know they’re available in Europe but we couldn’t find them in the US. 

With partypoker home games, you can play poker with friends. You can request a game and the team will create it for you. We’d like to see this feature made available in the US. It’s a hit overseas, so we’re confident it will be added to the network in the future. Moving beyond cash games, we were very impressed with the poker tournaments on offer. The weekly schedule contains something for everyone. In fact, during our tests, there were more than 105 MTTs available at any one time. And, when there’s a major festival taking place, you can find even more action. To give you an idea of what to expect, here’s a quick overview of the MTT roster:

partypoker Freerolls

There are weekly freerolls as well as events for newbies and regular customers (who can buy in with points), there’s a $25,000 Invitational Freeroll. That’s a huge guarantee and something that should really pique the interest of serious players and casuals. 

Weekly Guarantees

The daily and weekly guarantees at partypoker Online range from $150 to $12,000. Naturally, the buy-ins reflect the size of the prizepool. However, there really is something for everyone. At the bottom end, guaranteed MTTs cost as little as $1. At the top end, tourneys such as the Daily $10K and the $12,000 Mega Tuesday cost $109 and $535, respectively. 

Qualifiers

Satellites are an area where this operator excels. That’s true because it hosts some of the best online and live events not only in the US but the world. partypoker Live is a major tour that has stops in Europe, the UK, South America, and beyond. As a registered user, you can win your way to one of these events via step qualifiers costing little more than $0.50. 

It’s the same with regards to WPT events. Party is an official partner of the World Poker Tour. That means you can get a seat in these elite-level MTTs for less than $1. Basically, the partypoker free tickets system is hugely impressive and a great way for you to take part in some of the biggest tournaments in the world. 

Festivals

Alongside its own majors, such as Powerfest, the KO Series schedule, and the Online Series, party hosts WPT events. These are offered in conjunction with its partner and not only provide multi-million-dollar prizepools but the chance to win a coveted WPT title via your desktop or mobile!

SOFTWARE & GRAPHICS

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One thing you’ll notice is that there’s a casual vibe running through everything available. That doesn’t mean you won’t find a variety of high-value, high-stakes games. It simply means that, on the whole, the lobby is designed to be appealing for players at all levels. 

For example, instead of labelling the MTT lobby “tournaments,” it has the heading “tourneys.” That’s a fairly small and, possibly insignificant, detail to pick up on. However, it reveals something about the site and its overall aim. Calling MTTs “tourneys” feels more casual and less serious. This fits in with one-touch filters. To ensure you can find the games you want with the least effort possible, you can check and uncheck various filters, including game type, stakes, format, and game speed. 

And, just to make things even better, you can favourite games using the star button. This saves a cash games table or MTTs to your account so you can access them with ease at a later date. Therefore, overall, the software is designed to give you a personalized, accessible experience, regardless of how experienced you are. 

Multi-tabling

You can play multiple partypoker games at once. The software is designed in such a way that you can tile or cascade tables. You can also create your own custom layouts so that everything lines up in a way you prefer with the touch of a button. One thing to note, however, is that there are no HUDs allowed. That means you won’t be able to view real-time stats which, in turn, can make multi-tabling difficult. You can use hot keys to make common moves in less time. You can also use the hand history function and My Game to pick up tells on your opponents (and yourself). However, you won’t be able to use HUDs, which means this type of analysis has to be done away from the table. 

Mobile App

The mobile app is available for iOS and Android devices. You will have to enable location services in order to create an account and play. This is due to state restrictions. In other words, the app has to be able to confirm that you’re in a place where partypoker is licensed and operational. 

In terms of features, almost everything that’s available on the desktop app is available for mobiles. The home screen contains a selection of boxes, all of which take you to a different part of the app (e.g. FastForward, Cash Games, Tourneys etc). Once you’ve picked your poison, you can filter the lobby as well as sort games by name and type. Another nice touch is the way games are listed. 

Each one is housed in its own little boxout. These boxouts contain a wealth of information, including the stakes, number of players, prizepool etc. This makes it easy to swipe through dozens of options and get some quick insights into what’s on offer. That, in our opinion, speeds things up and makes the partypoker app extremely slick.

TRAFFIC AND SOFT COMPETITION

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This is a middling site with regards to traffic and competition. It’s not quite at the top and it’s not at the bottom. Basically, there are some strong players and there are some weak players. Moreover, the amount of competition you’ll face is somewhere in between the best and the worst each state has to offer. 

For example, New Jersey has a 24-hour cash game peak of 124 players. In Pennsylvania, where partypoker PA operates under the BetMGM banner, the 24-hour peak is 71. Finally, partypoker Michigan (aka BetMGM MI) attracts an average of 161 cash game players at peak times. 

If we’re doing a partypoker vs PokerStars or partypoker vs GGPoker comparison, it isn’t as impressive when it comes to total traffic. However, there is a steady stream of action, particularly at the lower levels. 

And, more importantly, you will see surges throughout the year when major events such as the WPT Online and partypoker Millions are taking place. So, while this operator isn’t the busiest in the US, you shouldn’t have too many issues finding a game if you’re a novice or casual player. 

SUPPORT

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We have to be honest, the FAQ is a little disappointing. You can find answers to some common questions but it’s not particularly comprehensive. That left us floundering on a couple of occasions which may mean you’re equally stumped at certain times. Things get slightly better when it comes to contacting the customer service team. But, again, it’s not easy to call out for help. To unlock the live chat and email options, you need to go through the FAQ. Then, if you can’t find an answer, you’ll be taken to the contact page. 

Eventually, once you’re able to get some help, the team is responsive. Moreover, they’re available 24/7 via the following methods:

• partypoker Live Chat 
• Email: internal contact form

DEPOSITS AND WITHDRAWALS

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The minimum deposit and minimum withdrawal are both $10. Deposits are instant, but you’ll have to wait between 3-5 days for withdrawals to be processed. 

That’s too long in our opinion. It may be the case that the security team were experiencing issues at the time we were testing the site. However, in reality, the processing period should be no longer than 72 hours and, ideally, 24 hours. 

Payment Options

You can make deposits via the following payment methods:

• Skrill
• Visa
• Mastercard
• Online transfers
• prepaid card
• PayNearMe (7-Eleven stores)
• Cash at the Borgata cage (in New Jersey)

OUR OVERALL PARTYPOKER RATING

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partypoker doesn’t compare to some of its main rivals in certain areas. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a top-tier site. In fact, when you take into account its loyalty scheme, software, and MTTs, you can argue that it’s among the best online poker sites in the US. Indeed, if you’re a low-stakes or casual player, this site offers exceptional value. If all this sounds good, click PLAY HERE to create your first account today via our special partypoker download link.