Party Poker Australia review

• Website: www.PartyPoker.com
• Welcome bonus: Sign up to receive $20, no deposit required to use on cash games and tournaments
• Poker games: Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7-Card Stud and 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo in Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit where available

Party poker is considered to be one of the oldest poker rooms on the web and has been around since 2001. It became the biggest poker operator online, holding the largest online poker population for over five years. Things took a turn in 2006 when the US tightened their online gambling laws and PartyPoker had to withdraw from the US market.

The poker operator had to work hard to get back to a top spot, where it now remains with endorsements from the World Poker Tour host, Mike Sexton. This along with the close relationship with the tournament operators allows the site to offer high quality satellite to the live events and regularly attracts players from around the world.

Besides the real money poker games on offer, one of the best features of PartyPoker is both Mac and PC users can download the poker room client. Unfortunately for Australians, AUD is not listed as an available currency – USD, GPB, and EUR are. This means your deposit will be converted to Australian dollars.

PartyPoker software for desktop PC and Mac

All players, irrespective of your device – iMac, Macbook Pro, PC – can download the poker client from PartyPoker.

While you wait for the download you can register your details via the web browser to create an account. Unfortunately there’s no instant play software which is a bit a drawback, but a commonality with poker rooms.

PokerParty still uses the latest encryption technology so when you do enter personal information and create a password via your browser no one can gain access to the details. If you prefer to wait until the installation has finished, you can create an account via the client too.

Once the software has been installed and you’ve logged in, you can make a deposit – see below – and get playing the games on offer.

PartyPoker games

The poker client is quite basic – it features a grey colour scheme with navigational friendly categories including icons which direct you to the cashier, a place to chat and invite friends, your account overview, promotions known as ‘Missions’, the loyalty program known as ‘Rewards’, the casino and of course the poker room.

Once you’ve had a look around and you’re in the poker room, you will notice the menu panel featuring an array of game categories, as detailed below. The games offered by PartyPoker are considered to be soft – in other words the competition is soft.

Cash Games

Cash games allow you to play the poker game of your choice out of No Limit or Fixed Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Hold’em, and Pot-Limit Omaha for as long as you like, and whenever you like.

Fast Forward

Fast Forward offers No Limit Hold’em in a fast paced format. There’s no waiting for your turn even if you want to Fold.

Sit & Gos

These tournaments are best for new players as they’re cheap to enter and don’t go for long. Just pick the table you want to sit at, wait until there’s five or more players and the game begins. Tables available include No Limit Hold’em, Fixed Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha Hi, and Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo.

Sit & Go HERO

This is basically a fast-paced Sit & Go tournament but you can buy in for just $1 and win up to 10,000 times your buy in stake.

Tournaments

For those who want to get into the real poker action, PartyPoker has a range of competitive options. To participate in a tournament players need to pay an entry fee and pay the buy-in.

You are then given a certain number of chips and a seat at the tournament table. Once gameplay commences players verse each other until you are either knocked out or you run out of chips. The winner of the tournament is the player with all the chips at the end.

There’s huge prize pools available at PartyPoker, and as we mentioned above soft competition so it’s worth playing a few hands if you think you have what it takes.

Play Money

For those who are new to the online realm of poker, or for those who have used their bankroll up but want to keep playing, PartyPoker offer the players the option to play the poker games for free.

You are given play money to learn the game rules or polish up on your skills and when you’re ready to play you can make a deposit at PartyPoker.

PartyPoker casino

PartyPoker also offers a casino option where you can play casino games including blackjack, pokies, roulette, and a huge range of other table games by top providers including Net Entertainment, Microgaming, BetSoft and more..

You can also play the casino games via your web browser.

PartyPoker mobile play

If you prefer to play on your smartphone or tablet you can download the app directly from the website via your mobile browser. The design of the app is a bit more stylish than the desktop client too.

All the aforementioned categories and games are available on your Apple or Android device and you can even play a select range of casino games via the app too.

PartyPoker deposit and withdrawal options

PartyPoker offers a range of payment methods suitable for players worldwide. Australians can’t make a deposit in AUD so if they do go to fund their PartyPoker account with the following methods, a conversion fee will be charged.

The following payment methods are available;

• Visa – not available for withdrawals
• MasterCard – not available for withdrawals
• Maestro – not available for withdrawals
• Skrill
• Neteller
• Paysafecard – not available for withdrawals
• Diners Club
• Fast Bank Transfer
• Wire Transfer

The maximum deposit available is $USD50,000 and this is with Neteller and Skrill – Visa and MasterCard, as well as the rest of the payments have a maximum deposit limit of $USD1000.

PartyPoker regulation

Security is first and foremost when it comes to gambling at online poker rooms and to be considered as a good site by real players it has to be licensed. Fortunately, PartyPoker is licensed by both the UK Gambling Commission and the Government of Gibraltar – two advanced gaming regulators.

Following the hit the operator took from withdrawing from the US market, PartyPoker has founded its return on the basis of being a reputable site and offering fair games. Both eCOGRA and iTech Labs, the best auditing agencies in the industry, perform regular testing of the games on offer to ensure they are free of manipulation. You can view the certification by clicking on their logos at the bottom of the PartyPoker homepage.

PartyPoker support

PartyPoker offers 24/7 support via their live chat – which is incredibly important when playing online.

Australian players can also contact a support member by calling 0011-800-7278-9100, but charges may be incurred. Avoid the fee and email [email protected] instead.