BetOnline Poker Review

BetOnline Poker is a truly new entity on the map of the world-wide online poker industry. The site seems to have been created as a reaction to the April 2011 Black Friday events, with the apparent goal of soaking up US-based players left poker-room-less with the exclusion of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker from the US market. BetOnline poker does indeed accept US players, a fact which is currently the main draw of the site. While the operation itself is new indeed, those behind it aren’t new to the online poker industry at all. The operator behind the site has been in the business since 1991.

BetOnline Poker is about simplicity and functionality. The graphics of the interface – while far from an eyesore – are not particularly impressive. Full functionality is there though and the software is as fast as greased lightning. Thanks to its simplicity, the BetOnline Poker software is not a physical resource-hog either. Even when the multi tabling feature is pushed to the player’s limits, everything remains on time and on target. This feature is particularly important to those who play from low bandwidth connections.

The compatibility of the software is great too. PC and Mac-based players have access to the same features.

The lobby is simple to navigate and the filters which one can apply to locate the cash game or tournament of his preference are handy and efficient indeed.

BetOnline poker didn’t even offer a sign-up bonus in the beginning, but now there’s a rather generous deal in place for new players. New players will also love the freerolls that the site runs on a daily basis. Every day, there are three $100 freerolls and one which features a $200 prize-pool. The competition is rather loose too. Given that it’s a new operation we’re talking about, there are few players at the tables currently and most of these players are beginners so the value is indeed pretty stiff. Apparently, sharks have yet to discover this new online poker destination, so those who are interested in exploiting the loose games should register right now, before the going tightens up.

The tournament schedule of BetOnline poker is a pretty standard deal. There’s the usual selection of SNGs and MTTs. The good news is that there are quite a few generously prize-pooled events running: every month, the site gives away $150k in guaranteed tournament prize-pools. Those who are looking to build their bankrolls through SNGs might want to know that on account of the shallow player pool, waiting times at the SNG tables are quite long right now.

BetOnline Poker’s ultra-basic approach is well illustrated by the game selection too. The site only offers Holdem and Omaha, although those variants are indeed pretty well covered betting structure-wise. No, there is no Seven Card Stud currently available at BetOnline Poker. Fixed Limit games don’t get nearly enough traffic either.

Most of the traffic is currently focused on the micro stakes, which may be the reason why true sharks have thus far steered clear of the site.

Given the fact that it’s one of a handful of sites which accept US traffic, BetOnline Poker’s growth prospects are quite stellar under the current legal circumstances.