Empire Poker: [Visit
The Site] [Latest Freerolls]
[Latest Tournaments]
This is the largest poker site we have reviewed. They
commonly have over 10,000 real-money players playing
during peak hours. When you include play money players,
they have over 50,000 players during peak hours. Most of
their traffic is their live games and their single table
tournaments. Their graphics are very slick and enjoyable.
Currently their promotions center on giving away seats to
the 2005 WSOP.
Empire Poker: [Visit
The Site] [Latest Freerolls]
[Latest Tournaments]
In addition to bonuses, Empire has many promotions for its
players. Most of these center on rewarding players with
seats to the World Series of Poker. They will have a
freeroll tournament each month with the top two finishers
winning seats to the 2005 WSOP. This will occur near the
end of the month and is open to players who played 3000
raked hands or more in a given month.
Empire also has a Tournament Masters promotion. Each
month, the top fifty single-table tournament players and
top fifty multi-table tournament players compete in a
multi-table tournament. The winner gets a free entry into
the 2005 WSOP.
Empire Poker: [Visit
The Site] [Latest Freerolls]
[Latest Tournaments]
Empire also will be hosting freerolls for entries into
the WSOP through their VIP Club. The cost to enter these
freerolls is 2000 VIP Points, which does not take too long
to earn, provided you do not blow all of your VIP points
on Empire Poker t-shirts.
Empire also hosts daily and monthly cash freerolls. For
example, Empire hosts two daily $500 freerolls. They are
open to the first 250 or 500 players who register. They
also host a $5000 freroll for new, real-money players that
is held at the end of the month.
Empire also has been having a lot of guaranteed prize
pool tournaments lately. This means that no matter how
many people enter the tournament, Empire will make sure
that the prize pool is at least as much as they guarantee
it to be. For example, suppose they run a $1000 guaranteed
tournament. The buyin is $10. If 100 or more people enter
the tournament, then it will just be run like any other
tournament. However, if only 70 people entered that
tournament, then Empire would add $300 to the prize pool
to make sure that the prize pool is at least $1000.
Empire Poker: [Visit
The Site] [Latest Freerolls]
[Latest Tournaments]
Empire
Poker has also launched a VIP club. It rewards players
for playing at Empire Poker. Players receive a VIP point
for every 10 raked hands they play, 1 point for every $2
in single table tournament fees they pay, and 1 point for
every $1 in multi-table tournament fees they pay. These
VIP point rates are doubled when someone is officiallly a
VIP, which means they have 5000 points or more. So, once
you are a VIP, you will earn 2 points for every 10 raked
hands you play. Currently, VIP points help you earn entry
into special freerolls, such as freerolls that reward
seats to the WSOP, and may also be redeemed for prizes
such as T-shirts. It takes a long time to earn a lot of
VIP points, but they are a nice bonus if you are a very
active player.
This place is great about cashouts. The first one may take
a bit longer, but afterwards, the process is very quick
(generally 24-48 hours through Neteller). If you have the
highest level of player status (I'm not sure how you
achieve it; I just know that it takes awhile and occurs
once you have many deposits/cashouts), cashouts to
Neteller routinely come within 6 hours.
Empire Poker: [Visit
The Site] [Latest Freerolls]
[Latest Tournaments]
They only display the average pot size in the ring games,
which is very frustrating. All in all, they provide you
with little information about the games. I recommend
watching the game for a minute or two before joining to
see how loose everyone is playing.
The competition is somewhat soft at Empire. There are tens
of thousands of players at this site. Many are beginners
or casual players, but some are seasoned professionals.
The games here are easier than at most sites. However, the
games are harder than they once were.
Empire Poker: [Visit
The Site] [Latest Freerolls]
[Latest Tournaments]
Their live help feature is pretty helpful. But some of the
agents aren't as competent as you'd hope. They also have
phone support, which is nice.
Texas Holdem, Omaha hi-lo, Omaha, 7-stud
Fixed Limit: $.50-1, $1-2,$2-4,$3-6, $5-10, $10-20,
$15-30 (all are popular)
Pot Limit/No Limit: $.50-1, $1-2, $2-4
Empire Poker: [Visit
The Site] [Latest Freerolls]
[Latest Tournaments]
Single- and Multi-table Fixed-limit Holdem, NL/PL Holdem,
Fixed Omaha hi-lo, PL Omaha hi-lo, Fixed 7-stud
(single-table only). They have tons of single-table
tournaments but few multi-table ones. They also have
sit-n-go multi-table tournaments.
Empire Poker: [Visit
The Site] [Latest Freerolls]
[Latest Tournaments]
Single-table: $5, $10, $20, $30, $50, $100, $200
($50 and $100 are only for holdem, holdem tournaments at
all limits are popular for both single and multi)
Multi-table: $5, $10, $20, $30, $50, $100
$50
Click
here to visit Empire Poker
