PokerStars Online Poker Review – Full Manual

Any newbie or experienced US punter has heard of PokerStars. This is one of the most powerful online poker resources in the world, where tens of thousands of people play daily. This expert manual is dedicated to an in-depth analysis of the poker room’s activities. You will learn how to open an account and replenish the balance, how to download a poker client and how to enjoy the game, challenges and missions from the mobile. We will talk about the legality and security of the platform, the incentives and the varieties of the game. Everything you need to know is in our PokerStars online review. 

Overview of PokerStars 

Since 2001, PokerStars has been providing punters from various locations of the Earth with a premium product. In this top poker room, you can find many game formats, and you practically do not have to wait for the tables to be filled with punters. 115+ million users are registered on the resource, which is a fantastic indicator, and at the same time from 90,000 to 300,000 people play on it. Along with its competitors from GGPoker, PokerStars is one of the premium and largest online poker rooms in the history of our world. 

A fully licensed poker resource of the brand guarantees the safety, reliability and comfort of the game. It is ideally available both on desktop devices and mobile gadgets. Conduct transactions using verified payment gates and regularly check the bonuses, incentives and events section so as not to miss anything interesting. Check out our quick facts table to learn more. 

Launch	2001
Services	Poker Room, Sportsbook, Casino, Live Casino
Licence	Malta Gaming Authority
Types of game	Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi, Omaha Hi/Lo, Courchevel, Badugi, Fusion, etc.
Spin & Go	Yes
Limits	No/Fixed/Pot
Play money availability	Yes
Platforms	Mobile, Desktop
USD	Accepted
Payment gates	Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, PaysafeCard, Bank transfer.
Customer Care	Contact Form, Email

Hit and Misses 

Over the years, the operator has collected millions of reviews about its activities. Our experts are guided by the principle that you need to trust other people’s opinions, but it is also important to check the situation yourself. So they competently analyzed the services and products of the poker room. We are ready to share with you the strengths and weaknesses of the poker operator that we have managed to identify when preparing our Pokerstars site review: 

What we like: 

• Worldwide brand;
• Malta Gaming Authority license;
• One account for all services;
• Numerous game modes;
• Top-end security;
• Large player pool;
• Poker school;
• Fast monetary operations;
• No fees;
• Two Welcome offers;
• Competent and polite customer care staff;
• Responsible Game options. 

What we don’t like: 

• US restrictions;
• No Live Chat support. 

How to Register? 

There are two ways to open a PokerStars account — we will tell you how to do it using the official website, but you can also use the options of the poker client: 

• Step 1. Go to the resource and press the green ‘Join’ button;
• Step 2. Pick the country of residence (if the resource is unavailable to punters from your location, you will receive a notification);
• Step 3. Create a username consisting of at least 4 characters;
• Step 4. Create a password;
• Step 5. Specify the email address;
• Step 6. Agree or refuse to send promos (you can change your decision at any time);
• Step 7. Specify your age and confirm that you have accepted the user agreement and the company’s Privacy policy;
• Step 8. End the registration procedure. 

How to Login? 

We will not load you with long instructions, because in fact, the authorization process in the poker room will take you only a few seconds. You will need to do the following: 

1. Go to the resource;
2. Press the ‘Login’ button;
3. Type your username and password;
4. Confirm authorization. 

Note: You will also have the option to reset your password if you have lost or forgotten it. 

Design and UI/UX 

When you visit the PokerStars resource for the first time, you will surely get positive emotions from its design. The main colors used on the platform are black, red, gray and white. They are perfectly combined and contribute to comfortable navigation. By going to the portal, you can see how many punters are currently on it, and how many tournaments are active. At the time of writing our expert review, 43398 players were active on the resource and 2900 tournaments were held! Of course, the indicators depend on the time of day, because typically people play more actively in the evening than in the morning, so take this into account. 

For the reason that PokerStars has been providing casino games and sports betting services in addition to online poker for several years, you can find links to these sections in the top menu. Just above are the Help and Responsible Gaming cells, as well as the account creation options, a section dedicated to the Rewards program, Promos and Store. 

Below is the horizontal menu, there are info cells about poker, payment gates, games and tournaments. Then, in the bright widgets, you can get better acquainted with PokerStars products (the first one provides an option to download a poker client). Scrolling to the bottom of the page, you can find a lot of info cells, links to the community in social networks, as well as details about the license. That’s all. 

How to Enjoy Poker at PokerStars? 

Access to numerous games and competitions with thousands of punters in the lobby is opened by downloading the official poker client of the brand. There is nothing complicated in this, and in our Pokerstars review we will help you go through all the steps necessary to start the game: 

• Step 1. Go to the portal of the poker operator;
• Step 2. Find and press the green ‘Download’ button;
• Step 3. Find the downloaded installation file on your gadget and run it;
• Step 4. Select a standard or a custom installation to determine the location of the client;
• Step 5. Run the installation process and wait for it to finish;
• Step 6. Launch the poker client via the PokerStars branded icon on the screen of your gadget;
• Step 7. Type your registration details;
• Step 8. Click on the green ‘Cashier’ button;
• Step 9. Pick the payment gate, type the amount and specify the required data;
• Step 10. Approve the transaction and after the funds are credited to the account, start playing! 

PokerStars Lobby 

The lobby of the poker client is impeccable if we talk about navigation and user convenience. Everything is well-structured so that you can easily navigate between sections, manage your account and enjoy games. So, in the Quick seat section, you can run five games at the same time. It also has an Observe tab, where the option to view games already in progress is accessible. 

In the ‘All games’ section, there are options to pick a game by its type, the size of stakes (Micro, Low, Medium, High, Custom) and the size of the table (2, 3-6 or 7-10 punters). The options are presented in the form of drop-down lists, so it will be easy for you to use them. 

Below is a list of accessible tables in the type of game you have picked. The following columns are listed in the table (Note: they can be sorted): 

• Table (name);
• Stakes (betting range);
• Game (game format);
• Type;
• Players (number of occupied seats at the table);
• Waiting list;
• Average pot;
• Players per Flop;
• Hands per Hour. 

After selecting a table, you will see its image and available seats on the right side of the screen. Click on any of the available seats to take it. Or click on the Observe button to become a spectator. 

The menu also provides an option to pick a game for Real Money or Play Money. Separate categories are dedicated to Challenges, Leaderboards, Home Games and User Awards. You will be able to customize the appearance and options of the lobby for yourself using a rich range of tools. Add your favorite games to your favorites and keep in mind the availability of the Responsible Game section. PokerStars helps problem customers to fight gambling addiction. 

Poker Games 

PokerStars punters can enjoy their favorite game 24 hours a day. There are always a lot of tables in the lobby and thousands of punters are waiting for their rivals. Pick from dozens of varieties: 

• Texas Hold’em;
• 6+ Hold’em;
• Showtime Hold’em;
• Omaha High;
• Omaha Hi/Lo;
• Swap Hold’em;
• Split Hold’em;
• 5 Card Omaha and 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo;
• 6 Card Omaha;
• Courchevel and Courchevel Hi/Lo;
• Seven Card Stud;
• Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo;
• Razz (7 Card Stud Low);
• HORSE & 8-Game Mix (Mixed games);
• Five Card Draw;
• 2-7 Triple Draw & 2-7 Single Draw;
• Badugi;
• Fusion. 

If you don’t understand the rules very well, then remember that there is a Poker School on the site — learn, practice and develop. 

Promos and Incentives 

Another strength of this poker room is the bonus policy, and we want to provide you with the details in our Pokerstars site review. In the Promo cell, you can always locate a cool incentive, announcements of exciting missions, top tournaments and events. Add this page to your browser bookmarks so that you don’t miss anything! 

Sign-Up Incentive 

By opening an account on the resource or in the brand’s poker client, you will be able to activate the Registration Bonus. You will get 100% of the amount of the debut replenishment of a balance, but no more than $600. To release the incentive, enjoy poker for cash. For every played dollar you will receive 5 redemption points (RP). You will have four months to collect the required amount of RP. To activate the incentive, type the promo code STARS600. 

$30 Free Play 

Another offer for fresh clients  allows you to get $30 for extra play. To do this, you will need to log in to the account, open a Cashier, load at least $20 to the balance and activate the promo code THIRTY. Within six days, you will get several benefits totalling $30: 

Day	Reward	Benefit
1	5 x $1 Spin & Go Tickets	Five chances to win up to 10,000 USD
2	5 x $1 Spin & Go Tickets	Five chances to win up to 10,000 USD
3	5 x $1 Spin & Go Tickets	Five chances to win up to 10,000 USD
4	$5 Cash Incentive	Try any game
5	5 x $1 Spin & Go Tickets	Five chances to win up to 10,000 USD
6	$5 Cash Incentive	Try any game

Banking Gates 

As a top brand, PokerStars allows its clients to use only proven and reliable payment gates (credit cards, prepaid vouchers, electronic wallets, and bank transfers). Their selection may vary depending on the country of residence. Among the available solutions you can find: 

• Visa;
• MasterCard;
• Skrill;
• Neteller;
• PaysafeCard;
• Local Bank transfer, etc. 

The operator does not charge fees for transactions, but the payment solution provider can take its commission. In the process of processing the operation, you will be able to enter a bonus code, if you have one. Please note that you need to confirm your email address and type personal details about yourself (first name, last name, etc.) before you get access to withdrawal operations. 

Privacy & Security 

PokerStars operates under the international license MGA/B2C/213/2011, issued and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority. The brand puts the safety of its customers at the forefront, so you can be sure of the reliability of both the operator’s official resource and its offline client. 

The company’s privacy policy clearly explains how each client’s data and funds will be protected. The verification procedure allows it to fight fraudsters and money laundering. Reliable payment gates guarantee the safety of punters’ funds during transactions. All these and other measures taken by the operator allow it to maintain the most comfortable and safe atmosphere of the game. 

How to Communicate With Customer Care Staff? 

One of the few misses of PokerStars that we were able to detect is the unavailability of Live Chat. We understand that the operator has a huge pool of punters, and it is very difficult to provide round-the-clock Live support in such conditions, but we believe that it would be right to provide clients with the max possible array of communication channels. 

The brand has tried to minimize the disadvantage of not having a Live chat by creating a massive Help Center, where you can find many answers to frequent Qs about the work of the poker client. There is also a green ‘Contact us’ button in this block. By pressing it, you can get access to the email [email protected]. Send your question, complaint or appeal to him so that the company’s staff can help you. 

Our Final Touch 

We are completing our PokerStars poker review, and hope that the info in it was useful for you. We have tried to reveal to you as much as possible all the nuances of the activities of one of the premium online poker rooms on our Earth. If you still have clarifying Qs, then you can communicate with the company’s support agents. Finally, we invite you to familiarize yourself with our expert assessments: 

• UI/UX — 10;
• Poker software — 10
• Game modes — 10;
• Safety and security — 10;
• Player pool — 10;
• Promos — 10;
• Payment Gates — 9;
• Mobile adaptability — 10;
• Customer Care — 8;
• Responsible Game — 10. 

The overall rating is 9.7. If you have not enjoyed poker at Pokerstars, then you need to fix this error urgently.

Read about Americas Cardroom in our review.

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