Accepts US players! Just recently upgraded their software to include many new features: multiple table views, better graphics, resizeable tables, faster card dealing, and more. Very nice bonus and constantly offers reloads. Very popular room.
Beats (Suck):
Recently added bad beat jackpots to tables which drastically increases the amount of rake paid (especially for lower limits.) Weekly tournaments smaller than other big named rooms.
Absolute Poker.com Review
is part of the CEREUS network, a conglomerate between Absolute and Ultimate Bet. This merger has created one of the largest players bases in the world. Infused with state of the art fraud detection software CEREUS has set out its stall as a safe and lively place to play. This is one of the networks that still allows US customers to play.
Absolute Poker is the host of an average of over 20,000 players daily, and offers a variety of games for ring and tournament play: limit, no-limit, and pot-limit Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo, and Razz. They also offered mixed games such as HORSE and HOSE, although these rarely get traffic. Most of the players are logged in to play low-mid stakes no-limit Hold’em, which has a lot more traffic since the addition of the bad beat jackpot (more on this below). There aren’t many high stakes games usually played at Absolute, but they have an occasional 10/20 table running. There also is usually quite a few Omaha/Stud tables being played as well, mostly low stakes.
The sit & go traffic at Absolute Poker is much like their ring traffic. There are plenty of games being played, most of them in the low-mid buyin range ($10 - $40). They offer all games listed above, but good luck getting anything but Hold’em to run. The most popular games are their regular or turbo 9 player Hold’em, with 6 max being a close second. Speaking of turbo, their ultra turbo tournaments are pretty crazy, with blinds going up every 2 minutes! Compare this to standard turbos which have 5 minute blind levels, and regular SnGs, which have 10 minute blinds levels. You can also find heads up, all the way up to $1000.
Absolute Poker isn’t really known for their multi-table tournaments, but they are still growing. They offer many daily guaranteed tournaments, and their weekend specials total $220k guaranteed. Some of their more popular MTTs are the $100,000 Pro Bounty every Wednesday, which have bounty's on Absolute pro players (buyin is quite large however, $1000 + $50) and anything from their $1000 guaranteed $1 rebuy, to their $17k guaranteed $30 rebuy. Their weekly tournaments are also growing, and they just recently raised the prize pool to a $150,000 on Saturday ($500 + $30) and $70,000 Sunday ($150 + $12). Most sites usually have their largest tournament on a Sunday, which can be good for the weekend players.
While playing for real money tournaments at Absolute Poker, you will earn points for their Absolute Rewards Program. They award points a bit differently than most sites, by pot size and not by rake. For example, “For every 40¢ in the final pot, 0.1 reward points are awarded and distributed among those players that have contributed to the pot. The distribution of points to players is based on their percentage contributions to the pot.” They also award .1 points for every 40¢ in tournament buyins, not including rake. Currently you can use these points for special tournaments or to purchase items in their store. They offer poker books, clothing, and some electronics.
I had not spent much time playing at in the past; this is mainly because of their software and interface. I never liked the layout or lobby, just wasn’t good to my eyes. However, since Absolute released Absolute Poker 8.0, which was a major software upgrade, there were some very impressive changes made. Since its release, Absolute has constantly been updating their software to keep up with competing poker rooms.
The lobby is very well organized in tabs with filters for most types of buyins or games. You will find many options at the top, cashier at the bottom right, along with the bad beat jackpot display. Under the tourney tab, joining a tournament opens a new lobby for that specific tournament. You might think this is standard, but until recently Absolute did not have this feature for sit and gos (I found it highly annoying).
The tables are vastly improved in the new software release. You can chose between three different views instead of just the standard top overview. While you’re sitting at a table, you will notice a lot of new features you can adjust. The most popular and best is the ability to resize tables. With multi-tabling being such a large part of online poker, the demand for the big rooms to offer this is a must. This is a great addition and really enhances your play. (And on that note they increased the number of tables you can play at once to over 10). Some other new features are preferred seating, and improved HH function; which can be displayed instantly and also saved to your computer.
The old features that are still unique to Absolute are definitely worth mentioning. They offer hotkeys to bet, raise, fold, etc; which is a neat feature most sites do not offer. They also offer that dang rabbit cam which can drive you crazy (rabbit cam shows you what the turn or river card would have been when you fold.) The custom avatars at the tables are also still a nice touch.
The graphics look a lot crisper and play feels smoother. They changed the way cards are dealt, and play is much faster now. There is no longer waiting 5-6 seconds before every gets their cards. They also now offer a one click sort arrangement for your tables. You can tile or cascade tables easily on your monitor. They also improved that pesky scroll bet, and you can now use your mouse wheel to higher or lower it.
One other recent addition is the bad beat jackpot tables. There are mixed emotions about this, but most people do not like them. The reason is because it greatly increases the amount of rake you pay, up to $.50 more per hand. There has been a lot of discussion and estimation, and it has been shown to have a huge impact on your winrate. Also, almost 95% of tables offered are bad beat format from $.25 - $.50 up to $3 - $6, so avoiding them is near impossible. On the flipside, it is a huge fish attractor. The fish love the idea of being able to win a mass amount of money on a bad beat, and do not worry about rake one bit. And who can blame them? It’s hard to ignore such a large jackpot (which as of August 25, 2007 stands at $570,000+!), which they claim is the largest jackpot offered anywhere.
Overall made some great recent upgrades so if in the past you stayed away, give it another shot.
AbsolutePoker.com Poker Room Action
has always hovered around being a medium-large room, but since becoming part of the CEREUS network its traffic has increased significantly. It is definitely one of the most popular and well known rooms today, and can get as many as 25,000 players connected during peak hours. Of these players, most are in the $50 - $200 category, with high stakes tables considerably less busy. This site is very well populated for mid-stakes Hold’em. Of course most of this has to do with their move onto a new network, as well as software upgrades and bad beat jackpots.
Absolute Poker.com Customer and Technical Support
Following the recent CEREUS merger, Absolute Poker and Ultimate bet are now sharing support staff. Whether this results in improved service remains to be seen.
If there is one thing Absolute can improve, it is their support. In my experience, I’ve always faced very long response times on all my e-mails, even if they include just easy questions. I had sent them a few e-mails with questions on their new software, and some even went unanswered! The ones that did receive a reply took over 48 hours. This is just much too long with how far online poker has come today. Currently the only offer e-mail as a mean of communication, and would be nice to see a live chat or phone number in the future:
Support@absolutepoker.com
Absolute Poker's Ease of Game, Ease of Making Money, Fish Rating
The pond has just been filled at . I already mentioned some things about the bad beat jackpot above, but if there is one good thing it is doing, it’s attracting fish. Not only is it attracting fish, but it is making fish play worse, and there is no better combination. The reason this is, is because they are more willing to play more speculative hands in order to maybe hit that huge jackpot. I don’t really know the odds of actually hitting this (very rare) and personally only know of 2 people hitting it in my experience, but if it gives you a chance to win a huge amount of money and bring it bad players, it might not be that bad.
Absolute Poker Referral/Promotional Code and Bonuses
offers a 100% first time deposit bonus up to $500. In order to get this, make sure you sign up through the links on this page and use the Absolute Poker bonus code AP500 when depositing. Earning this bonus is now easier than before, and it use to be a long grind.
How fast you earn the bonus depends on your "FAME Status," which is Absolute's VIP tier levels. If you're just starting out, you will be Bronze, and it will take 16 credits for every bonus dollar. However, you can work your way up the levels, shortening the amount of time to clear the bonus: Silver - 30 credits, Gold - 40 credits, Platinum - 60 credits, Diamond Elite - 70 credits. Now if you're scratching your head wondering why the amount of credits go up instead of down, it's because the higher you move up the faster you earn credits. For example, Diamond Elite's earn credits 5x faster than Bronze players. The bonus is released in $5 increments. Overall, this is a pretty average bonus. The amount is great, but it takes a pretty long grind at 100nl and below to clear.
Absolute also always offers reload bonuses to its loyal players. These vary from time to time, but it is one of the best sites for giving out free money. Always check the Absolute Poker website for details on reloads.
In addition to the deposit bonus, FTR and Absolute have teamed up to offer its members some added bonuses! By signing up through FTR, you will be able to play in the "FTR Absolutely Freerolls" which are $300 freerolls held on the last Friday of each month! This isn't just a one time offer by signing up, you can play in them, every single month! This is great for those who aren't sure if they want to deposit money yet - you may never have to! Just remember to sign up through the links on this page, and you will be able to participate in the FTR Absolutely Freerolls each month!
Only post commentary in your review. If you have questions about the poker room or would like to start a discussion, please post in our Online Poker Rooms forum.
“You are not safe @ Absolute” by seoul_child1, 19 Oct 2007
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
in light of the recent security
vulnerability concerning a superuser
acct. i highly recommend all new users
not to play @ Absolute or it's sister
site UB. solely based on the purpose of
protecting your small initial
investment, you may have
withdrawal/frozen acct. issues when and
if actions are taken. play at your own
risk, if you choose to disregard this
review.
“Not safe” by Badgers, 19 Oct 2007
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I wouldn't deposit a penny there. The
support is useless and they attempeted
to cover up a security breach.
“BEWARE! Stay away for the time being...” by zook, 19 Oct 2007
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I don't play at Absolute, never have.
But in light of recent events, I
recommend no one deposit there and
anyone with significant parts of their
roll there cash out. Please check out
these threads and others on
twoplustwo.com:
http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/view
topic.php?p=585366
http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/foru
m/poker-60478.htm
“MAJOR security concerns” by Knuckles, 19 Oct 2007
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
Recently, the online poker operator,
Absolute Poker, has been discovered to
have certain players able to see the
hole cards of other players.
It is still unclear whether the actual
staff and/or owners of the site were
directly responsible for this but at the
very least they turned a blind eye to
it.
At the beginning of this debacle they
flat out denied everything but facing
the mounting evidence and media coverage
they gave up and have admitted their
security has been compromised and will
take action.
WARNING! Do not play here until some
MAJOR changes occur in every level at
Absolute Poker's organization.
View this site for more information:
http://www.absolutepokercheats.com/
“boring” by Pirate Pete, 11 Oct 2007
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
What can i say, The slowest most boring
site I have ever seen, Ive seen faster
snail races than their tournaments
“Absolute Update” by givememyleg, 03 Sep 2007
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
Updated the Absolute review in August
2007.
“Absolute - Boring” by Frank, 22 May 2007
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
Dude, this interface is weak. Players
are pretty good, decent action.
Tournaments aren't that great and
support is horrific. Twice have I not
even received a response. Payment
system right is now is a mess too.
Paper checks only that takes 21 business
days?! VegasPoker247 is a skin and they
treat their customers way better. But
I'm going to Full Tilt. Later.
“First time at Absolute” by cardsman1992, 04 Nov 2006
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I signed up with Absolute to get the
$750 bonus, plus take advantage of a
rakeback offer. It was also one of the
rooms that will accept US customers
after the UIGEA was signed. Absolute
doesn't seem to get quite as much
traffic as Stars does now. Playing $100
FR, there are only 5 or 6 tables running
at any time. There is usually a good
selection of 6 max tables, though. I
play mostly FR, but having to play 6 max
has been a good addition for me. The
players are a mix of rocks and fish, and
it seems slightly looser than the Ongame
network, where I played most of my
poker. The bonus clears at one point
per hand raked at .50 or more, so at
$100 it clears reasonably fast. I
understand the reloads are plentiful and
you get rakeback while clearing bonuses.
Support was prompt in response to my
email, so I was pleased there as well.
I think the software is much faster than
Ongame as well. The only trouble I had
with it was figuring out how to stay on
the waiting list once I sat at a table,
but I have that squared away now too. If
there were more traffic here, I would
consider playing here more once my bonus
clears. As is, the best incentive to
play here is the rakeback.
“Absolute's Sign Up Bonus” by Bruce, 16 Oct 2006
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I had just previously signed up for
Absolute Poker to get the 100 %
bonus. By reading your review of the
site plus information from other
sources, I thought it would be easy to
get the bonus. Not so. You get
one point for a $10 sit-n-go and 1 point
for every hand you play that
has a .50 rake. To get $ 10 bonus
released - you need to accumulate a
100 points. Which for me to get the
$100, I would need to play 1000 -
$ 10 sit-n-go's. I was assuming you
needed to play a certain amount of
hands to get points released, but I
misunderstood the concept. I played
at the .10-.25 limit table (playing on 2
table at same time) ( and I hate
limit) for about 2 hours and acculated a
total of 2 points. I didn't think I
wouldl live long enough to get my bonus
released - so I cashed out and
will look for new site. The bonus
sounds good, but unless you want to
risk a reasonable amount of your own
cash or more than the $100
bonus you will receive, there must be
better sites.
“FAR from my favorite” by larryflew, 22 Apr 2006
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
All of my remarks are as they purtain to
single tqable tourneys or sit and goes
as that is primarily what I play.
Summary - will not go back if and when
my initial deposit runs out. So far
Doylesroom and Ultimate bet are the ones
I like the best overall.
the good: site has disconnect
protection, stats are easy to see and
use, intant replay of last hand, use
your own picture of anything as an
avatar.
The bad: No player profiles or
information, bet slider is a PITA as you
have to backspace over it to place bet,
No $ labels once you are at the singlt
table tourney tables-for those playing 2
tables that can be a pain in the behind
not knowing which is a $10 table and
which is a $1. Play feels slow and
bulky, tables are dark and cards are
small, tables are way to "busy" do not
need to see drink tables extra chairs
etc, if disconnected and you reconnect
you have to find the table you were on
as the site does not take you to it,
chat is a pain to use, does not show
your folded cards, no blind timers so
you have no idea how much time is left
before they go up, low stakes STT have
HIGH rakes like 40 cents on $2 table -
double what most sites are. NEVER clear
their bonus structure, charge a fee
withdraw by check,
“Take A LOOK” by CorkyHoldem, 28 Feb 2006
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
Absolute Poker is the BEST, well maybe
not the best but close to it.
If you havent been there recently DO IT,
they have made lots of software upgrades
and the player base is GROWING, The guys
at AP really are sweet
To start off, Support is amazing-Dont
know what the guy below me is whining
about, support is very helpful and WILL
get your problems solved, also AP has
their own forum where the PRM Richard is
really cool and makes sure you get taken
care of if you have problems.
AP listens, The guys at the forum all
give ideas on improvements to the sites
and they actually have done almost
everything that we have asked them to do
to change the site.
Small and Friendly, you will know all of
the regulars by the first week of play
(including me stop in some time and say
hi) plus there is still plenty of
players to get games going (15,000
during the peak nowadays)
Check out AP it really is a blast
“Absolute support is lacking” by jrblackie, 25 Feb 2006
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I have been with Absolute for a long
long time. I find it hard to write this
review but I must. I am not at all
happy with absolute support. Let me
tell you what ocurred. I recently won a
satellite tourney that gave me a ticket
to enter into a 100K tourney. The
tourney was scheduled for 4:30pm ET on a
Saturday. Not a particularly good time
to have to sit at home and play poker
when you live in Tampa and the weather
was 81 and sunny. I would have
preferred to go the beach. But I won
the satellite and looked forward to
playing. Sorta my first big chance to
win some good money. Well, about 2
hours before the tourney I went to
register only to find I was unable. I
emailed support and decided to call.
The rep was at the cashier office but
tried to help. He got a hold of support
and suppossedly they corrected the
situation and I would be able to
register in about 15 minutes. This was
now an hour and half before tourney.
Nothing!! I sent another email to
tourneydirector and support. Nothing
again!! I called again and all I could
get was a "Sorry" and email someone
named "Sophie". I was so pissed off
that I withdrew my money. I have not
heard from support and it is 2 hours
post tourney. Absolute support sucks!!
However, I must say this about their
site. The interface is nice, the bonus
is ok and they have good action. Just
don't have any problems they don't do
anything.
“Good overall, but...” by metaxy6, 13 Jan 2006
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
AP is a decent site. I've been playing
there awhile - I even recognize most of
the players in the screenshot!!
The interface is nice, functions are
good, the games are good enough at peak
times.
The new bonus req.s make clearing bonus
there more than moderatley difficult.
But there's reloads every single
weekend. If you want to play with
bonuses, then plan for the weekend
reloads. If your BR is tied up on other
sites, or you just don't have $ readily
available in Neteller, you've got to
withdraw your AP money by Thursday to
get it and re-deposit during re-loads.
You get a lot of player (ARP) points
that you can use to enter tourneys, but
the tourneys have pretty measly payouts.
Better off saving them and using them
for fewer bigger tourneys.
One thing that really bugs me is the
ring game lobby. This is not user
friendly at all, as the tables are not
organized by stakes and they are
constantly shifting as they refresh.
So, you might be looking down the list
and find a game w/55% flop rate that you
want to check out. Then BAM, it's gone
because everything just shifted and now
you've got to hunt it down all over
again. If you like to be careful about
selecting your game, this might start to
drive you nuts.
In case this is a concern for anyone -
I'll just add that I've never had any
problem with a payout - they're not the
very fastest, but you'll have it in
48-72 hours every time. Also, the
bonuses clear automatically in $10
increments - no emailing support to
claim the bonus or any of that stuff.
“REFERAL BONUS” by cherokeekidd, 11 Jan 2006
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I have been at absolute poker for a very
long time now and find that it is by far
the best site. However, I recently used
their refer a friend program to do just
that refer a friend to their site.
Absolute poker states they will pay you
for your referal. I have written several
and i do mean several emails to support
concerning my bonus credit. The first
response was we can not find your
friends account. Which he had already
made a deposit. Second was you will
recieve the credit once the required
points has been earned. Thinking this
matter was finally resolved I do not
pursue the matter further. Then i get a
call from my friend who states he
received half of the bonus for earning
half the required points. I again email
support to inquire if i would receive
half of my bonus at this time. The
response this time was that someone else
had refered him a private tourney group.
I am the member of this group and not
him and they did not refer him I did.
More emails to support which all have
been responded to in a timely manner but
to no avail. So i would like to say this
BEWARE, apparently giving out this
referal bonus is something that they are
not really interested in doing. I ask
you the reader which would have been
better for Absolute Poker to give the
bonus (which they would get the majority
of back anyways) to keep a member happy
or just say no you do not deserve this
and we are not going to give it to you?
With all the money they certainly make
in one days time a mere $50 would seem
like less than pocket change. So members
satisfaction and integrity of the site
it would seem here is of very little
impotantance. Doing a better than most
job is what has gotten Absoulut Poker to
where they are and they seem to have
forgotten this somewhere along the way.
I can not find any agency to handle this
dispute so i would appreciate any help
in that area. I will be posting this
anywhere I can to let everyone know my
story. thank you.
“Love the Bonus, but that's all” by GatorJerryH, 02 Jan 2006
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
As others have stated the bonuses at
Absolute Poker are great, however there
are just too many other thinigs that i
don't like about it. Their software is
buggy which causes problems on a regular
basis. A couple of problems are that
the chat window freezes up on a regular
basis, periodically you will get the
popup that a table you are on the
waitlist is for is ready, but the table
doesn't open. The only way to get
around that is to remove yourself from
the waitlist, open the window, leave it
open, and then get back on the waitlist.
I also don't like that there is not an
option to e-mail results of SNG tourneys
to you so you can import them into your
tracker software.
“Absolute Poker vs Ultimate Bet” by J Sparrow, 07 Dec 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I like both of these sites for different
reasons first Absolute Poker is the
first site that I won a $5. multi table
at with over 150 people in it. Pay out
was a little slow but I had them send me
a check and it took two to three weeks
to get it, so now I use FirePay. I like
their game selection and how most of the
players play the idiot factor is lower
on this site vs others. Customer service
is very fast and effective even though
there are a few gliches in thier
software. I love playing thier single
table tourneys. I finish 1st or second
over 60% of the time. I don't like
thier bonus structure, because if you
don't play for it right away you lose
it.
Now Ultimate Bet I like thier selection
of games, but I don't care to much for
their waiting list. I guess I'm still
trying to get use to them. The players
on this site are mainly maniacs, but
most of them are nice. If you are
patient enough you can catch them. I do
like playing thier single table
tourney's I've won a good 50% of the
time, but I'm still trying to win my
first multi table. I have place several
times but still havent won first.
Customer service is good here too, and I
like the way they do thier bonus
structure. At least it never goes away.
“Pretty tough” by hongster, 17 Nov 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
AP is the first site I started playing
at for real money. They have great
bonuses to boost starting bankrolls...
sometimes as much as 200% up to $200 for
starting players. However, they don't
have a lot of games going outside of
peak periods, and the games tend to be
fairly tight. Around 30% flop percentage
and 4-6x big bets is about average for
limit ring games. I get the feeling that
a lot of the people who play at 0.50/1
(which I did) were bonus whores clearing
the bonuses (as I was). That made the
games quite a bit tougher. I've cleared
the bonus and moved onto greener
pastures at party poker. Its a good site
to start off on but I wouldnt play on it
regularly. The sit and go's have a
weird rake structure... you are better
off playing the $2+0.20 or $10+1 rather
than the $6+1 because of the rake
percentages. Customer support and
cashouts are average. Software is
visually uninspiring and sometimes just
plain slow. I agree with other ppl on
this forum... the waitlist system is
just plain screwy. But the bonuses are
worth it =) As long as you are a break
even player, you can clear the $200
bonus fairly easily.
“Bonusrakeback heaven” by uaw420rook, 04 Nov 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
The game Selection is poor for full
table NL. US daytime selection is
allright. The guy that said it dries up
after 11:00 p.m. is telling the truth.
The waiting list issue is problematic,
but it's minor. The software is pretty
fast, so you aren't waiting all day to
play a hand. The bonuses with rakeback,
are the Nuts if you multitable. I
haven't had to use customer support,
and have recieved my cashouts to
neteller in 3-4 days. The NL games are
pretty standard.About the same as the
Cryptos USD tables.
“Mixed feelings” by LeFou, 28 Sep 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I've made money at absolute, so I
can't really complain, but a couple
things pretty much kill my desire to
play there:
1. Waiting list system is screwy. You
want to multitable? Get on a list, wait
and wait. Only after you get seated are
you able to get on a second list,
'cause when you sit down it boots you
off any lists you're on.
2. Other quirks in the interface: stats
are not per-table. :( Also, click
"don't show this again" when it
starts up. I dare you! It shows it
again. And when you join a table the
windows pile up all screwy. You'll see
what I mean when you sign up to clear
their bonus, which you should do. Then
you should head for the hills.
“My FAVE!” by Rattle, 05 Jul 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I guess the people at the top,
talkin´bad about this site, wrote their
rewievs after taking a BAD beat.
I cannot understand why anyone should
rate this site so low? It's by far the
best site I played! Sure people play
REAL suicidal on the FRs, but then again
this is a common problem on ALL sites in
FRs.
Also people who claim having problem
with customer support. I don't get it?
Customer support is EXCELLENT on AP.
Great multi and single tourneys with all
kinda buy in's ... My fave!
“Decent site” by Big slick, 22 Jun 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I like the site. It's good to see a
newer site compete with the big boys.
Keep up the good work.
“My Review” by SleepOnIce, 19 Jun 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I've been playing here for just over a
year and have enjoyed it most of the
time. Customer Support is top-notch in
my experience, and there are a relative
mixture of both good and bad players.
Overall the players are pretty tight but
there are still maniacs in there. I also
like the bonuses and Guarenteed
tournies.
“Absolute Poker Bad Experience” by v, 28 May 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
Had some bad experiences with customer
service. I will not be using AP again
“Absolute is Solid” by Vanquish, 16 Apr 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
This is a great poker site. I have
played at both Empire Poker and Absolute
Poker, and as a somewhat of an above
average poker player, it is a much more
rewarding experience to play at AP. You
suffer less beats and the monstrous
flops of A Q 10 are a rarity in
comparison to Empire.
The downsides are the occasionally
annoying character who chats too much
(block chat option available) and the
fact that there are sometimes not enough
players for your suitable stakes.
Everything else is great. The tournament
sit-n-go's are perfect, with 1500 in
chips and incremental increases in the
blinds. Great site.
“My favorite by far” by pikygrl, 05 Apr 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I have been playing at Absolute for a
few years now and it is my favorite
poker site. Emails answered quickly.
Action good, Good promos.
“ABSOLUTE POKER-UNDER RATED!!!” by MP#11, 03 Apr 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
i dont understand how absolute is ranked
so low on the list of best poker gaming
sites. i have played at about 75% of
these "alleged" best sites and they
are somewhat of a joke in comparison to
absolute. absolutepoker.com has by far
the best interface of any poker site not
to mention the ease of use and ability
to find any game that u could possibly
want is great! sites like poker room,
empire poker or party poker seem to be
somewhat of a joke to me-especially the
graphics. when i first tried playing at
these poker rooms i could barely stand
looking at the screen without puking
because the graphics are such a joke.
there is no better poker room on the net
than AP if u ask me.
“absolute” by bamadave, 19 Mar 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
Interface usability: very easy to use
and functional. Some nice touches like
the snack bar etc
Poker action: its usually not a problem
to get a table
Tech support: I have never had a
problem
ease of game: many tight players but
there are quite a few good players that
are regulars. By far my favorite site
“Absolute...” by JJDylan, 08 Mar 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
Interface - I really like absolutes
software/interface, it looks nice and
works great, ive never had any issues
with dissconects or anything of that
nature, and the player avatars make it
really easy to remember people youve
played before.
Action - One of the downsides of
Absolute is that there are a limited
number of tables, but ive never had to
wait more than 5 minutes to get into the
game i wanted, so it isnt a big deal for
me.
Ease of Game - the players at absolute
are TIGHT. even the .5/1 games i was
playing were super tight, but upon
further inspection, they play very
tight/passive so just crank up the
agression and there is plenty of money
to be made.
Bonus - I signed up and got 35% on my
initial bonus, and it wasnt hard at all
to clear, plus the cashier window lets
you know exactly how far you have to go
to clear the next part of your bonus
(they release $10 for every 100 raked
hands of .25) Overall ive had a great
experience at Absolute, and the tight
games are actually a nice change of pace
from the loose party games ive become
used to.
“Absolute poker” by Red Dog, 14 Feb 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I have only played a few sites and I
like Absolute the best. They have great
bonuses and I like the player avatars
since they are easier to remember than
names of other players. I have had a few
questions and their support e-mail has
been prompt. I am new to online poker,
but think that settling in to this site
is a good decision for me.
“I like the support” by anonymous, 28 Jan 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I've been playing at Absolute on and
off for 3 or 4 months. The interface is
fine, but not great. My only complaint
is that sometimes it seems slow.
I've found very easy games there and
some not so easy. At low limits I'll
see pre-flop calls range from 20% to
40%, so I can't say it's fishy or
tough. It can be either.
I do like their promotions. They have
one almost every single weekend! And
they don't really take all that long to
clear. Playing at a single table, I can
clear $10 every 3 or so hours. Not
great, but not too bad either.
I like their support. A lot. When I
deposited money for a bonus, only to
find out that my withdrawal the day
before made me ineligible, they were
willing to meet me halfway and give me a
bonus on the difference between the
deposit (which was big) and the
withdrawal (which was little). They
could have just said "The rules are the
rules", but they were willing to work
with me.
My only real complaint about the site is
that there's not a lot of action.
There's enough, but just barely.
“Absolute Poker Review” by ttanaka, 07 Jan 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
Hey guys, I kinda like this site. I
played in the NL ring games over there,
and I was surprised how soft the games
were. It's not maniac-style,
super-loose and throwing money away, but
more like a tight passive game. At
first I thought the game might be tough,
since everyone was playing pretty tight,
not seeing too many flops. But then I
noticed they would fold to most bets.
And they would fold to re-raises.
Obviously, this is when you turn up the
aggression a notch and win every hand
you play. It was a nice, easy game,
IMHO, and I think I'll play at Absolute
for a while longer. Especially cuz that
bonus is so large and will take a while
to earn. Definitely worth checking out,
though, at least if you're interested
in the no limit ring game.
“Not too shabby” by Xianti, 06 Jan 2005
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
The action and fishing at Absolute are
pretty damn good! There are usually
plenty of players. One thing I noticed,
though. The interface is a bit slow. It
stalls quite a bit. And, one time, I was
playing a MTT and the interface stopped
responding to my clicks after I was
moved to a different table. I had to
quit and re-launch AP to get back into
the game. I think the stupid pop-up
windows has something to do with that.
The pop-ups come up each time you're
moved to let you know you've been
moved. That's just silly.
“subpar” by ilikeaces86, 02 Dec 2004
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
I put 600 dollars in absolute poker so
that I could get the large bonus they
offer. I found that the players there
are incredibly tight. I found it very
tough to make money there. The bonus
was pretty tough to clear because of the
fact that you only get 10 dollars for
ever 100 raked hands you play that pay
the house at least 25 cents. This is a
slow and tedious process playing the nl
tables. I suggest going to a Party skin
if you are looking to make money and the
bonuses are a lot easier to clear on
party.
“Absolute Review” by SteveO, 19 Nov 2004
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
Just started Absolute in November but
I've logged enough hands to get a good
feel for low limit games including
no-limit, limit and tournaments.
Interface: Interface is average.
Tables seat 9 max. I think it was
previously mentioned that the slide bar
is not easy to use and you have to
backspace and delete to manually enter
the amount bet. In any event, the table
is crisp, clear and colorful. The
action is easy to follow. The
"action" buttons are very large and
easy to read. I don't have any problem
with the interface. One problem I do
have is when you are multi tabling and
you are on another wait list, I have
difficulty joining the second table.
Poker Room Action: As of November,
there is a lot of action. Nothing
compared to Party Poker, but there is
usually no difficulty finding a game
whether it is limit, no limit or SNG
tournament. They have micro limits
which is good for beginners. They also
have very cheap MTT's with buy-ins in
the $1-3 range.
Customer Service: I only had one
question and I recieved a quick e-mail
response. I have not contacted Absolute
over the phone.
Ease of Game: Average. I find a mix of
good, average and poor players and the
low limit games ie. $.50 and $1 NL and
2-4 limit. I am not prepared to call it
a "fish pond" but an average player
should not have any problems.
Bonus: Very good. 35% bonus on initial
deposit and they always offer additional
bonus. Bonus is easy to clear. You get
a "reward point" for every hand you
are dealt into that has a rake of $.25.
This can be easily cleared at limits as
low as $1/2 limit or .25/.50 NL. Bonus
is released in $10 intervals after every
100 points earned. The 'cashier'
keeps very accurate record on where you
stand on reward points.
I don't have anything particularly bad
to say about Absolute except for maybe
the fact that they are constantly
updating their software which slows down
the start of many sessions.
“The bonus is the thing...” by koolmoe, 04 Oct 2004
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
Interface:
The interface is not too bad. The
animation and sound is not
objectionable, and the chat feature is
easy to use. I like that player
comments appear beside their avatars in
a ballon (sort of like comic strips), so
you don't have to follow a box with
action and chat intermingled. The
standard auto-play buttons are there,
and you can set an option for the tables
to pop up when action is required. I
really like that the lobby shows the %
pf players seeing the flop for each
table. I prefer this stat to average
pot size for table selection. That
said, there usually aren't a whole lot
of options for different tables for a
given limit.
There are some things that I don't
like.
First, there is no option to not show
uncalled hands automatically. This
means whenever you win an uncontested
pot, you have to click a button or wait
to not show your hand. This causes
unecessary delays.
Second, I don't like that the login
screen has no option to remember just
your login name. It either remembers
your login name AND password or
neither.
Third, I don't like the combination
slider-bar and text-edit box used on the
no-limit table. On almost every other
site, the text in the text box comes up
selected so that you may type in (and
automatically replace) the initial
amount that appears in the box. The
slider is hard to use to get a specific
amount, and typing takes time since you
typically have to backspace and type
rather than just type.
Finally, when a player takes action, the
avatar changes to the word (Call, Raise,
etc.). At least one player (and perhaps
more than one) who plays regularly on
the site uses "Raise" as his avatar,
presumably to angle shoot and get others
to fold their hands. If you multitable,
this avatar can be confusing.
Action:
At first I wasn't really happy with the
site because there were not always low
limit games available. Through time, I
found that if I am willing to vary my
play (some limit, some no-limit), it's
pretty easy to find a good game.
I particularly like that the NL tables
have relatively high max buy-ins
compared to other sites.
Technical/Customer Support:
I have never used this.
Ease of Game:
Absolute falls somewhere in the middle
in terms of players seeing the flop at
the lower limits. Typically, 3-4
players will see the flop at the $1/$2
to $3/$6 games. I find that a lot of
the players are reasonably tight and
pretty easy to read.
Bonus:
I signed up with Absolute specifically
to collect the 35% bonus - up to $210.
What is particularly good about this
bonus is that you collect it in $10
increments. If you fail to play the
required number of hands before the
bonus expires, you still collect a
portion of the bonus, unlike other sites
that are all-or-nothing. Lately
Absolute has been offering a lot of 15%
reload bonuses, which is rare compared
to most sites.
Absolute also offers Absolute Points
that you can use to buy into freerolls
and WSOP subqualifiers.
“Absolute Poker Review” by Eric, 01 Oct 2004
Interface: Action: Support: Fish: Bonus:
The interface at Absolute is kind of
cool, I like the avatars. The weakness
at Absolute is the lack of action. No
room is as big as PartyPoker but
Absolute has a ways to go to even get in
the same ball park. The technical
support is fairly responsive, they
usually get back to me fairly quickly
when I send emails. The tournament
players that I ran into weren't very
good but the players in the cash games
were not bad. I got the 35 percent bonus
which was really nice. It was paid out
in increments of $10 for every 100 hands
which is a decent pace.