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Site
Rating (7.6/10):
Launched
in 1999, Paradise Poker (or the Dise, to those
in the know) was one of the first online poker
rooms. In the early days of online poker,
Paradise was the industry leader, and its
software has served as the model for every site
that has followed it. Paradise has built up an
excellent reputation, with some of the highest
traffic on the net. Paradise has a loyal
following of players who have been with the site
since 1999, meaning the competition can often be
very tough. In 2004, Paradise was sold to
SportingBet PLC, a sports book company based in
England. SportingBet PLC has spent a lot of
money upgrading and marketing Paradise Poker, in
an attempt to return the site to the pinnacle of
online poker rooms (it currently ranks fourth).
Still, Paradise is one of the best poker sites
going, with excellent game selection and
tournaments.
Software
/ Graphics (7.5/10):
Paradise
Poker's software is solid and stable. It always
runs smoothly and quickly, with many detection
devices in place to prevent collusion. Paradise
offers player notes and player stats, nice
features for tracking opponents and maintaining
an honest assessment of one's game. You can
track things like session start, session games,
flops seen, showdowns won, when you folded etc.
The Paradise lobby page is well organized and
colourful, with a ton of information, like the
number of tournament re-buys and add-ons and a
live blind timer. One common complaint is that
pot sizes are not provided numerically, you must
drag your cursor over the pot. This is annoying
when the timer is running down and you're trying
to calculate pot odds.
The
graphics are somewhat outdated, with no avatars.
Like Pacific Poker, all you get is an oval with
the players name and chip count. However, there
are a couple of cool features. If you scroll
over a players name, for instance, you can see
their hometown, and when you bust out of a game
a smoke explosion covers your chair. The first
time this happened to me I thought I was having
a bad acid flashback.
Bonuses
/ Promotions (7/10):
Paradise's
deposit bonus is somewhat below industry
standards. There is a 25% first deposit bonus (standard),
but it only pays up to $50, which is low. In
order to clear the bonus you must play 500 raked
hands, and the bonus is doled out in increments
of $10. Paradise does not offer very good
promotions (no loyalty programs, for instance)
for such a large site, preferring to stick to
their meat and potatoes of offering good traffic
and competition. Recently, in line with their
sale to SportingBet PLC, Paradise has been
offering more promotions, including guaranteed
tournaments and WSOP and WPT qualifiers. This is
a work in progress, and definitely still needs
improvement.
Player
Skill (7/10):
Without
a doubt, Paradise Poker has some of the toughest
competition going, with many people who have
been playing on the site since its inception in
1999. The games are tough and tight, with viewed
flop percentages somewhere around 30% at most
limits. If you're looking for an easy score,
forget about playing here! But if you're looking
to make strides as a player and get an honest
assessment of your game, you have definitely
come to the right place. I have played quite a
bit in the $3-$6 games, and I'm embarrassed to
say I'm still struggling to show a profit on
this site.
Number
Of Players (9/10):
Paradise
Poker has always had solid traffic, and finding
a game is never a problem. During peak hours in
December 2005, there were 3500-4000 ring game
players, and 4000-5000 tournament players. I
have frequented the $20 sit and gos, and they
always fill up fairly quickly.
Cashouts
/ Customer Support (8.5/10):
Paradise
presently offers no live or telephone support,
which is always a negative. But the email
support is second to none, incredibly quick and
knowledgeable. I have received responses within
a couple of minutes.
Deposit options: VISA, MasterCard, bank draft,
NETeller, FirePay, wire transfer.
Cash out options: VISA, NETeller, FirePay and
check.
Paradise
Poker Pros & Cons:
Pros:
-
Lobby is colourful and well organized
- Good statistical and note taking
functions
- Good tournament and game selection
- All stakes from micro limits to high
stakes
- Email support provides fast responses
- Heads up play is offered
- Software is efficient and stable
Cons:
-
Table graphics are dull, no avatars
- Extremely tough competition
- No live or telephone support
- Sign-up bonus is below industry standard
- Promotions are lacking (no loyalty programs)
- $5 sit and gos have $1 entry fee not 0.50
Paradise
Poker Site Review Conclusion:
Overall,
Paradise is a top notch poker room, and it has
served as an industry leader since its
inception. It sticks to the basics, offering
reliable software, great traffic and some of the
best online players on the net. The bonuses and
promotions are lacking, but I don't come to
Paradise for that. I come to Paradise to work on
my game, and it delivers that in spades. Just
bring a bankroll, cause there are no freebies
here.
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