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Visit Poker
Host
Although Poker Host doesn't have an exceptionally large cashier they
do offer deposits and withdrawals via the newer US e-wallet
PIC-Club.
The deposit methods at PIC-Club are numerous and include major
credit cards and eChecks. Other deposit options at
Poker Host
include cash transfer and trying out a Visa or Mastercard. While
major banks may still decline the transaction a debit card with a
credit card logo may have a better acceptance rate. As a final
option, players can mail in a cashier's check directly to the poker
room.
FREE $1,000 TOURNAMENT ENTRY: Our
new
Poker Host
players now receive a free $1,000 guaranteed tournament coupon after
making a first deposit. These events typically only feature about
80-100 players so the chances of making the money are much higher
than public freerolls that can draw thousands of players.
 
Overall:
4/5
Loyal
Poker Host
players must feel a bit like nomads. The poker room has had to
change networks seemingly every year since its inception in order to
continue to accept US players. It is certainly a positive that the
site makes such an effort to cater to the US market but it can be
frustrating for players just getting used to the current skin.
Fortunately,
Poker Host
has seemed to improve with each move.
Poker Host
has now settled on the Merge network, which is seeming to attract a
new skin every month after several quiet years. The biggest positive
of being on a growing network is the increasing number of tables
at every limit and the busier guaranteed tournament schedule. During peak hours there are active no-limit tables up
to about the $5/10 level that, perhaps best of all, features some of
the loosest competition remaining for US poker rooms.
Their new interface, software, and
backend deserves improved scores over both the old SBG Global
network and the more recent Microgaming client. Of course, one of
the biggest draws for this site is that they’re still accepting US players. Overall,
Poker Host
does have a good number of unique promotions, including a
large first-time deposit bonus and a Leader Board with payouts for
top finishers in the Bounty tournaments. While it isn't my choice
for the top site on the network, Poker Host
is still a quality poker room with strong overall ratings across the
board.
Bonus (200%
up to $2,000) and Promotions:
4/5
One of the biggest selling points that
Poker Host
has had over competing skins on their various networks is the bonus
size. New depositors receive a 200% bonus, which
is good up to $2,000. The bonus is worked off by earning Loyalty
Points, which are given out for each dollar of rake at the table. As
it takes 100 points to earn $1 of bonus money most
middle-stakes and above players can earn about $1-2 of bonus per hour
per table. While that isn't an exceptional rate the enormous $2,000
bonus cap makes up for it for larger players.
Poker Host
releases the bonus after every 10% of the total bonus amount has been worked off.
The other main promotions at
Poker Host
come in the form of the Loyalty Store and freerolls. The Loyalty
Store works very similarly to other player rewards programs and
allows you to trade in Loyalty Points, which are earned as you clear
your bonus, for electronics or poker media.
Poker Host
also offers our new players a private $200 freeroll entry as well as
a few $50 crapshoots throughout the week. They also offer an
interesting "sponsorship" program that awards bonus money for live
tournament players who cash in any event while wearing their logo.
Finally,
Poker Host
offers an extra 100% bonus for casino games and a 100x big blind
bonus for hitting a Royal Flush.
Fish:
5/5
One of the main draws of the Merge
network and Poker Host
is the collection of loose players that populate the tables. This
network is one of the only US poker rooms that still features a flop
percentage of more than 40% at every table. This indicates a loose-passive
playing style, meaning that you'll
often run into several calling stations at each table with the
occasional maniac tossing in all his chips preflop with a mediocre
hand.
To maximize
this style of play, I would recommend to play a straightforward
strategy of betting for value and raising your premium hands
strongly. Most Poker Host
players seem to put little thought into the possible strength of
your hand so I recommend that players simply try to bet out strongly
with top-tier hands. As many of the players at
Poker Host have a tendency to
either make weak calls or blindly raise you, there
is little use in slowplaying your monster hands or trying to trap
with big pocket pairs.
As
Poker Host features a large majority of the
cockiest US players, you should find plenty of gamblers willing to over-commit to
pots. My personal experience has shown that these players are much
more likely to become attached to mediocre hands and bluff
accordingly. Overall, I feel that these are weak players that can be
extremely profitable with the proper strategy.
Tournaments:
4/5
The Poker Host
tournament traffic has really improved from the barren events that
used to plague this smaller network. I like
the value in the Sunday biggie, which currently has a $50,000
guarantee. While that is on the lower end of what is available at
the largest rooms
the buy-in is new-player friendly at $100. If you're looking to play
in one of the big Sunday tourneys but don't have enough of a
bankroll to invest several hundred dollars this is a good event to
look into.
Other than the big weekly event,
Poker Host has a
fair number of guaranteed
tournaments with buy-ins of $20 or less throughout the week.
Highlights include the daily $1,250 guarantee for $5.50 and a daily
$3,000 guarantee for $11 with rebuys. The largest daily event is a
$3,750 guarantee for $60 with rebuys. Sit and Gos have low
wait-times up to the $10 level with one of the
most popular variations is the interesting Double-Up. This structure awards
half the table prizes of twice the buy-in.
Software:
4.5/5
The
Poker Host software,
which is just a slight variation of the Merge master package, is one
of the most unique and efficient packages online, in my opinion.
While the overhead view and table graphics are extremely familiar
there are numerous small unique touches that make the entire
experience feel fresh. Some of these
Poker Host
additions include stars, ribbons, and trophies next to a player's
name to denote experience or tournament wins, a Deal it Twice
option, rabbit-hunting, animated smilies, and average winning
percentages displayed for all-in situations. I'm surprised that
larger poker rooms haven't emulated some of these great little
quirks.
Other positives
include a quick game speed at 80+ hands per hour for standard tables and a
spotlight system that makes it
easy to tell who the action is on. The lobby is also
organized well with subsections for different limits and pot
statistics on each table. Poker Host
has also added a filter to easily view only the type of games that
you wish to. I also especially like the Poker Host
hand history system, which is laid out in an easy-to-see graphical
form.
US Payouts:
3.5/5
Payouts are probably most easily
processed from
Poker Host
using the PIC-Club service, which incurs no additional fees. Total
processing time is also low using this method. I've also used cash transfer,
paper check, and wire transfer option for amounts
over $1,000. All 3 have had fees higher than I would expect but to
their credit did arrive within 7-10 days.
Customer Service:
4.5/5
Even on their old network, I’ve always been impressed by the support
at Poker Host. In fact, I’ve never needed to e-mail them because of
the live chat option. You can speak with a manager that can handle
most issues from the home page. Usually, I’ve waited less than 5
minutes to connect to a live person. They also publish their phone
number, which I respect.
Player Traffic
Overall, you should be able to find
several no-limit shorthanded cash games up to the middle stakes with
a couple of 9-handed tables mixed in at each level. As this is
becoming one of the larger
US-supported
networks comprised of many poker rooms you benefit from
the established player traffic that each new skin brinds. With many larger sites closing to US
players, sites like Poker Host
have benefited from even more players migrating to the network.
Tournament traffic is slightly below average with most events
attracting about 80-100 players.
Best Features
Trusted network. I have played on the Merge network from its
inception and have appreciated the support,
quick cashouts, and unique software.
High level of fish. You should experience plenty of action here even
at the higher limits.
Large maximum bonus. If you play larger games, the maximum bonus
of $2,000 is significantly higher than most other rooms.
Game Selection: Hold’em,
Omaha, Stud, Draw
Limits: Limit: 2c/4c
up to $50/100 No-Limit: 2c/4c up to $50/100
Deposit Methods: NETeller,
PIC-Club, PaySafeCard, Moneybookers, cash transfer, major credit cards,
and cashier's checks.
Minimum Deposit:
$20
Tips: As I have
mentioned throughout this review, the players at Poker Host
are extremely sub-par overall. While that may help to built large pots and loose
action, many players become frustrated by wild tables when their
premium hands get cracked. There is nothing that I can say that will
realistically take away the pain of getting your Aces cracked for a
big pot, but I can try to give you some simple tips to avoid the
situation in the future.
When you run into a bad beat, take a look
at your actions in the hand rather than shrugging it off to bad
luck. Did you bet/raise enough before and on the flop? These players like to see a cheap flop with trash cards so forget
about disguising your hand preflop. Raise and reraise whenever you
get the chance. Also, no one is forcing you to call down the fish
who sucked out on the flop. If your Aces or Kings don’t improve and
you’re facing a re-raise and third player going all-in beyond the
flop, you should become comfortable with mucking your hand without
much hesitation.
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Poker Host
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