PACIFIC POKER

Overview
The competition is easier at Pacific Poker than at most sites, making it a potentially profitable place to play. Their software used to be fairly poor, but it has improved significantly lately. They also have their software translated into German, Swedish, and Italian.

Bonus
Their signup bonus is 100% up to $400. More information about this bonus can be found in the Pacific Poker Website. You also get bonus dollars for your play. For every $10 you wager, you earn one point. For every 100 points, you earn a free dollar. For lower limits, this means little. However, for higher limit players, this is a very nice feature.

Software
Their software is available in both Java and downloadable form. If you use a Mac, this is one of the few poker rooms you can play without getting a program like Virtual PC.

The software interface itself is decent. It used to be fairly poor, but Pacific has improved it a lot lately. The software always seems to have some problems though. For example, ratholing is currently allowed (leaving a game and then buying back into the game with less chips than you left with). People also have had problems getting disconnected from Pacific Poker's servers.

Rake
It should be noted that Pacific Poker charges a higher rake than most online poker rooms. Notably, instead of a standard 5% up to $3 rake, the maximum rake is $4 in limit games of $3-$6 to $30-$60 and for all no-limit and pot-limit games. Furthermore, most poker rooms cap the rake at $2 for 4- or 5-handed games, but Pacific caps the rake at $2.50.

Cashouts
Their website says it takes 5 business days to cashout to Neteller, which is not the speediest, however, sometimes I have gotten it quicker than this (though it is 5 days most of the time).

Table Statistics
They display the flop % and average pot which is nice.

Competition Level
This is the main reason to play at Pacific Poker. The players are fishier here than at most sites. There are a lot of calling stations and some maniacs exist. However, this may skyrocket the frustration level if your premium hands are cracked. If you can put up with their software and customer support, you might be in for a nice payday.

Customer Service
Pacific offers both phone and email customer service. They do a decent job at answering basic questions, but they are pretty bad at helping out with more complicated matters. They also take a long time to answer emails. Just hope you do not have any major problems because you will not be dealing with the most knowledgeable or helpful support staff out there if you do.

Click here to visit Pacific Poker