Best Online Poker Site for 2019?

If two things have defined the 21st century so far they’d be the spread of high-speed internet access to the world, often via the mobile phone, and the rise of China and other South-East Asian economies.

The two phenomena come together in the latest gambling revolution – Asian poker apps. So far the biggest name to break through in this exciting new area is PokerMaster.

Mobile Poker

The gambling world has really woken up to mobile players in recent years, prioritizing mobile compatibility. All types of games – from online slots to poker – have seen mobile apps made to make them accessible on handheld devices.

Few run as fast and smooth as PokerMaster however. Because PokerMaster isn’t a poker site in itself – it’s only a way to connect people to play poker – it runs effortlessly. Deposits & cashouts are handled off the app over Skype, winnings and rake tallied up after you’re finished grinding. All the app does is deal the cards.

Now Also PC Compatible

Most of the recreational PokerMaster players – including many high roller gamblers in China and around Asia – are still one-tabling on their mobile phone or tablet.

However for serious grinders there is now easy-to-use, stable emulator software that allows you to multi-table on a desktop computer or laptop. Previously grinders would play multiple tables with several phones /iPads, but that’s no longer necessary.

100% Rakeback in Losing Sessions

Rather than paying rake each hand, how PokerMaster works is you pay 5% of your profits per session as rake, after you’re done playing.

That’s like playing at a normal online poker site with zero rake, then the site charging 5% of whatever you win. Many players find they earn more this way.

If you have losing or breakeven session, then there’s no fee – effectively the same as playing on a site with 100% rakeback.

Deposit With Cryptocurrency

To make things even easier, you can deposit and cashout with Bitcoin or Ethereum. Conversions to fiat currency (Chinese Yuan is used for PokerMaster games) will be done at Bitstamp market rate at the time.

If you prefer Skrill or Neteller ewallets, those are also accepted for deposits and withdrawals, either in USD or EUR. Our trusted agent, a longtime Rakeback.com VIP player, handles everything for you.

High Stakes

PokerMaster games (aka ‘clubs’) range in stakes from the equivalent of 50NL all the way up to $25/$50. No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha.

In Chinese Yuan (CNY), stakes are from 2/4 to 200/400, which in US dollars is $0.30/$0.60 up to $30/60. There are also ante games, to loosen up the action. No boring nitty games! Most players are one-tabling, and have to ante up – expect big pots.

All Countries Accepted

By far the biggest plus is that players from all countries can play – even in parts of the world where online poker laws are strict, e.g. the USA, Australia, ringfenced EU countries like France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, and of course Asia.

That’s possible since as mentioned the PokerMaster app doesn’t handle real money transactions – it’s all done via agents over Skype.

PartyPoker will no longer allow Thailand based players after Dec 31 2018, so it’s a good time for grinders living in the Land of Smiles to put their action onto PokerMaster heading into 2019. PokerStars recently stopped processing bank wire cashouts to Thailand.

Safe & Secure

While it’s our pick for softest and best poker site of 2019, PokerMaster has actually been around for a while now. We’ve been referring players to our trusted agent since 2017 with no complaints.

No scams, no need to enter credit card details, no phishing emails, no cashout delays, no shady companies – nothing to worry about as with traditional online poker sites.

To play at PokerMaster contact [email protected] and we’ll put you in touch with our agent who will guide you step by step over Skype, from installing the app to depositing and cashing out.

The UK’s Most Underrated Online Casinos

Marketing strategies can work in mysterious ways, often making an average product look like the best. As poker players, we know that the site with the most traffic is not necessarily the best.

Moreover, we also know that a poker site is not guaranteed to be great because we are subject to constant television commercials and internet adverts telling us so. It’s about a matter of taste, and sometimes that means we can uncover a hidden gem.

The same rule applies to online casinos, with the most popular casinos not always meaning the best. For example, did you know that Bet365, William Hill, Betfair, Paddy Power, Ladbrokes and Coral, six names who dominate the UK gambling market, all have exclusive software deals with Playtech?

There is nothing wrong with this of course, as Playtech is one of the most innovative games developers in the business. But it means that there is a sense of sameness at these casinos, with the game selection being almost identical.

Finding a hidden gem, then, might help you unearth casino games you have never experienced before, or give you a level of customer care that is only possible with a smaller operator. But who are these underrated heroes and where can you find them?

These UK casino reviews cover a lot of the underrated smaller players (and some of the big ones) operating online, also pinpointing the best new bonus offers for signing up to them. We’ve picked out four underrated UK online casinos below:

BGO

Everyone thinks of BGO as the Paris Hilton casino, but it’s also stuffed full of cool games and great promos. The focus mainly goes on slots, but BGO has another ace up its sleeve – a brilliant selection of video poker games.

Video poker is seemingly a dying art, especially among new operators who often seem reluctant to add a video poker section to their online casino site.

Live poker pro & Live at the Bike host Bart Hanson hits a Video Poker jackpot

Players should be more vocal in demanding video poker be included, because they have some of the best RTP (return to player) percentages.

Big praise for BGO casino for offering lots of video poker – some games you’ll find nowhere else.

Lucky 247

Continuing with the idea that a top online casino should carry a good selection of poker games, Lucky 247 casino takes the ball and runs with it.

There are 26 different video pokers available at the casino, including the excellent Power Poker series. There are also plenty of virtual poker games and an excellent live dealer suite.

Dunder Casino

Dunder has over 1000 games, with most of the focus going on slots. However, for poker fans there is a wide selection, especially in the live dealer section.

Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud and Casino Hold’em are all available in different formats. Dunder puts a lot of focus on its live casino promos too, you might even find that they are more lucrative than online poker rakeback.

Best of all, Dunder gets a lot of praise on review sites for its excellent customer service.

Casino Calzone

Just why someone thought it was a good idea to have a pizza-themed online casino is anyone’s guess, but Casino Calzone is, frankly, awesome. There are games by the bucketload, well over 700 at last count.

There are also loads of cool promotions that allow low stakes players to rake in plenty of extra bits of cash and free spins: You’ll just have to suffer the swathe of Italian food related puns – but it’s worth it.

Much Promise for Live Poker events in the UK in 2019

Live poker tournaments have taken off in the UK in a big way over the last couple of years and it’s fair to say that 2019 is going to be bigger and better than ever.

Increasingly, we are seeing the tournaments being held in venues outside of the big casinos of Manchester and London, with events like the WSOP UK Circuit in Nottingham, the Grosvenor Series touring the country with events in Leeds, Blackpool, Portsmouth and several other cities. Even Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are getting their fair share of events, which points to ripe health for the live poker industry.

If you’re based in the UK, one of the best events to check out is the Grosvenor Series. In total, there will be eight legs taking place throughout the year, all leading up to the Grand Final from 18th November to 1st December 2019 at the Grosvenor Casino, London. Grosvenor also run a series of 25/25 games around the country.

Goliath Series was huge success

Grosvenor Casinos are arguably leading the way in UK poker at the moment. The feedback for the 2018 Goliath Series in Coventry was widely positive, with a £125 buy-in giving the winner the opportunity to walk away with at least £100K.

The Goliath Series also had popular side competitions specifically focused on seniors and women. It was good for Grosvenor of course, but they really know how to put on a show. The Goliath Series will return to Coventry (Ricoh Arena) from 27th July – 4th August 2019. It’s really worth checking out.

Another date for your diary is the 20th January – 2nd February 2019, when the WSOP UK Circuit rolls into Nottingham. Across the two weeks there will be no less than 30 different events, including several exciting High Roller No Limit Hold’em tournaments. Each of those have a £2,000 buy-in.

In fact, Nottingham is probably the place to be for UK poker next year, as the Dusk Till Dawn Casino will play host to the WPT European Championships from 30th March -14th April.

Nottingham will also be the venue for the UK Poker Championships from the 17th-25th August.

Unibet Poker Tour big hit with Amateurs

For amateur players, it might be worth looking at the Unibet Poker Tour, which had a great reception across Brighton, Glasgow and Manchester in 2018.

Many of these poker operators like Unibet, 888, Grosvenor and Genting will also run competitions on their online casino and poker sites to gain free entry to the tournaments. You can check out this guide to no deposit mobile casino bonuses and see if any match up to the sponsor of your local poker festival, allowing you to perhaps grab a free buy-in or other special perks.

There will no doubt be plenty of other events added to the 2019 UK live poker schedule soon, but that’s a flavour of what is on offer. The best part about it all is that you can find some sort of event to suit your poker skill level and your wallet size.

Almost all the events listed above will have side events running alongside the bigger tournaments, so there will be something to get your teeth into when a poker festival comes along to your area.

Gordon Vayo Drops Lawsuit vs PokerStars as Evidence of Bank Forgery Emerges

US poker pro Gordon Vayo has dropped his near $700,000 lawsuit against PokerStars after the popular online poker provider uncovered evidence of fraud including forged bank statements.

Established online and live professional poker player Gordon Vayo has withdrawn his lawsuit against the PokerStars parent company Rational Entertainment Enterprises Limited (REEL) over withheld poker winnings.

Vayo, who has won over $6 million in lifetime earnings, filed his law suit against REEL over a claim of $690,000 that he won in an event whilst playing PokerStars’ 2017 Spring World Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP).

However, Vayo has since dropped his lawsuit after evidence was provided showing that Vayo had not only violated PokerStars’ terms of service by illicitly playing on the site from the USA, but also that the player had introduced forged and doctored bank statements in a bid to bolster his initial claim.

Reel have now made claims against Vayo for damages and legal expenses for the case. The damages are likely to exceed $300,000.

Within weeks of Vayo’s $692,000 win, PokerStars froze Vayo’s bankroll after discovering that he had played on the site from within the United States. Vayo allegedly used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to make it seem as if he was playing from Canada.

Vayo even went as far to claim that a “VPN malfunction” had made it appear that he was playing from the USA while actually in Canada – this has subsequently been exposed as an outright lie.

REEL received a tip from a third party that Vayo’s bank and internet records were altered by a document forger in order to create the false impression that Vayo was in Canada during the SCOOP event. REEL confronted Vayo about this and within 48 hrs Vayo filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of all of his claims.

PokerStars & The Stars Group

It is not clear why Vayo thought he could cheat PokerStars. Whether he knew the forger or not remains to be seen, however it is clear that Vayo would never have been able to get away with his intended purpose.

Since PokerStars became the world’s leading online poker provider, the company – The Stars Group – which is also under the umbrella of REEL, has branched out into various fields. Formerly known as Amaya, The Stars Group now sponsors a variety of sporting events and also offers other gaming products and services including a sportsbook and online casino.

Stars Interactive is the online gaming division of The Stars Group and has licenses to operate from 17 jurisdictions and offers its products and services in North America, Europe & elsewhere.

The Stars Groups’ venture into the online casino marketinspired their stock price to rise to an all-time high of $49.71 CAD per share in summer 2018.  The online casino industry, in Europe especially, continues to grow exponentially. The competition within the online casino market is extremely high, with casinos fighting tooth and nail to attract players.

Casino listing sites such as CasinoGuide UK are useful for players who like to compare and contrast different casinos before they choose one to sign up to. These casino listings sites showcase which casino bonuses each respective casino offers to players – to get the best bang for your buck. Rakeback from large deposit bonuses are why more and more poker players are grinding online casino games alongside their poker action.

PokerStars and The Stars Group have become an extremely well-trusted online games provider which has helped to ensure that their venture into the online casino world has been a successful one, as gamblers are happy to sign up to an online casino with the company’ branding. In addition, players are able to swap seamlessly between the online poker tables at PokerStars and the online casino tables at Stars Interactive.

What does the Gordon Vayo case means for PokerStars?

More than likely, nothing – at least not in any way substantial. If anything, it will make it less likely that more players will attempt to defraud the company.

Furthermore, the case should be a kind reminder that online poker players should never attempt to bypass the rules and regulations that are set out by PokerStars, for their own sake. If Vayo had played the SCOOP event in Canada, then he would be $698,000 richer rather than potentially $300,000+ out of pocket.

As mentioned, it is expected that REEL will now sue Vayo for damages after it emerged he was attempting to knowingly defraud the company. We will keep you updated with all the news that follows this case.

Another Million Dollar Sunday at Americas Cardroom

 

This past Sunday, Americas Cardroom (ACR) held yet another $1,000,000 Guaranteed tournament. The $2,650 buy-in multi table tourney was by far the largest tournament available for US based online poker players this past weekend.

Americas Cardroom is currently the number 1 US facing online poker site in the world. Part of the Winning Poker Network (WPN), ACR continues to provide US customers their best available option for online poker.

ACR Million Dollar Sunday Results

Here’s how the Million Dollar Encore finished up…

• 1st – ILOVEDANKMEMES – $193,500
• 2nd – Bitmexrekt – $145,000
• 3rd – AceofSpades33 – $110,000

The tournament had 356 entrants and had an “overlay” of $110,000. Huge overlays like this are uncommon in the poker world, but not as uncommon at Americas Cardroom. For a online poker tournament grinder, overlays are a good thing.

Major Sunday Action at ACR

ACR held 3 other major tournaments this past Sunday as well… “The $200,000 Guaranteed Warm Up”, “The $150,000 Guaranteed Sunday Special”, and “The $50,000 Guaranteed High Roller” events all topped the advertised guarantees.

The Sunday action at ACR is top notch, always available, and it never disappoints. Especially for US based players as it is more often than not the only option for big cash games and huge tournament action.

Right now players can get up to a 27% rakeback account by signing up via the links on this site.

Keep up with all your Americas Cardroom promotions and updates right here on Rakeback.com

Americas Cardroom OSS XIV Freebuy Oct 9

Find the passwords below to our upcoming freeroll on the Winning Poker Network.

Oct 10

• Tournament name: Rakeback OSS XIV Freebuy
• Time: 8:15PM ET
• Tournament Id: 9064453
• Password: 68UHJN

The top 5 finishers will receive a $60+6  tournament ticket to the OSS $1 Million MEGASat – 30 Seats GTD, Oct 12 at 4:30pm ET (TID 9058646). This will award seats to the OSS#75 – $1,000,000 Main Event on October 14 at 1:00pm ET.

Join this WSOP super satellite freeroll on either Americas Cardroom (US players) or Black Chip Poker (EU players).

If you don’t have an account yet, open one via Rakeback.com to receive 27% rakeback on demand.

Aymon Hata Wins 2018 Triton Poker High Roller

The 2018 partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Russia poker festival kicked off on August 3^rd at the Sochi Casino and Resort of Russia. Sochi has quickly become a go-to spot for poker gaming, with several top name poker brands hosting events in the region as well as poker tours.

For the partypoker series, the group worked in conjunction with the Triton Super High Roller Series to host the second-most expensive tournament of the 2018 stop. A total of 47 players competed in the event, with Aymon Hata earning the first-place finish.

The 2018 Triton Poker High Roller Sochi event had a buy-in of RUB3,000,000 ($50,000) and saw some of the biggest names in high stakes poker taking part. Registration for the event would stay open for the first three levels on Day 2. In the end, 47 players would compete, including top names like, Phil Ivey, Anatoly Filatov, Oleksii, Dietrich Fast, many more.

High Roller Final Table Gameplay

The event would eventually narrow down to the final table which would include:

• Triton Poker founder Paul Phua
• Timothy Adams
• Philipp Gruissem
• Patrik Antonius

The first to go from the final table would be Gruissem when he went up against Patrik Antonius with Ace-nine only to lose to Ace-jack.

Phua would hold the chip lead by this point, but not for long. The poker pro would lose the majority of his chips to Antonius when his nines didn’t hold up to the competitor’s kings. Just a few minutes later, Phua would be eliminated.

Next to go would be Patrik Antonius. The pro would post a three-bet holding pocket fives from the big blind. A snap-call was made by Vladimir Troyanovskiy who held pocket queens. The largest pot of the tournament was soon on the table and Aymon Hata would soon be on his way to the win.

Antonius would check-raise all-in on a ten-high paired flop with two hearts and Hata would shove with ace-four suited for a nut flush draw. A heart on the turn gave Antonius one out and it did not come, sending the pro home in fourth place.

Final Heads Up Between Troyanovskiy and Hata

Konstantin Uspenskii would be eliminated next, leaving Troyanovskiy and Hata to duke it out in heads-up play. Uspenskii would lose the majority of his chips early on with a bluff, losing to a full house of Hata. In the end, Hata would claim the title, winning with king-four suite against a jack-seven.

Hata has been on a roll as of late, having earned a third-place finish during the $100,000 High Roller of the WSOP this year. He earned close to $1.25 million during the tournament. Speaking on his most recent win, the poker pro commented that the field was tough and he had some tough spots, getting lucky once with ace-jack against kings and from that point, things went really well.

Final Results of the 2018 Triton Poker High Roller Sochi

Place	Player	Prize
1st	Aymon Hata	$756,000
2nd	Vladimir Troyanovskiy	$501,795
3rd	Konstantin Uspenskii	$354,375
4th	Patrik Antonius	$236,250
5th	Paul Phua	$165,375
6th	Philipp Gruissem	$118,125

Partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Russia Continues

The partypoker LIVE MILLIONS Russia continues this week with the Main Event in full swing along with several other tournaments on the schedule including a High Roller event, the Russian Poker Championship, a Turbo Bounty, Pot Limit Omaha and Turbo Deep Stack. There are plenty of other online poker tournaments for players that missed out on the chance to play in the live events.

Casino Sochi has played host to the series, located in the newest dedicated gambling zone of Russia. The complex is a five-star venue that opened in January of 2017 and is home to a very popular and busy poker room. Located near the Gorky Gorod ski resort, players can easily spend time on the slopes in between poker game play.

2018 World Series Of Poker – Main Event Qualifiers at Americas Cardroom

 

The 49th annual World Series Of Poker (WSOP) is underway, running now through July 15th in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino. This year’s WSOP includes 78 gold bracelet events, with the Main Event Championship beginning on Saturday, July 2nd at 11 am PT.

Americas Cardroom (ACR) is offering two more opportunities to get into the “Big One”, with Main Event qualifiers on each of the next two Sundays.

On Sunday June 17th and Sunday June 24th at 5:15 pm ET, ACR will offer up a guaranteed 34 seats to the Main Event.

Last year Scott Blumstein of Morristown, New Jersey won the championship gold bracelet and a staggering $8,150,000.

Americas Cardroom & The WSOP

The $540 Main Event qualifier on Sunday June 17th will guarantee at least 30 players a $12,500 package. The package includes the $10,000 tournament buy-in and $2,500 for travel and accommodations.

Your final shot at a $12,500 ACR Main Event package will be on Sunday June 24th. This $1050 buy-in tournament will guarantee at least 4 seats.

There are several other ways to satellite in much cheaper. Daily Satellites, Mega Satellites, and Step Tournaments are also available at ACR every day leading up to June 24th.

Mega Satellites for as low as $8.80 and Step Tournaments starting at just $0.28 make it affordable for any bankroll to take a shot at this year’s Main Event.

ACR Jackpot Poker Main Event Qualifiers

Americas Cardroom is also offering a new way for players to win their $12,500 Main Event package – Jackpot Poker.

Play in these 3-player, Hyper-Turbo Sit & Go Tournaments for a shot at your WSOP buy-in and travel expenses.

These tournaments are fast and fun and offer the opportunity to win a Main Event package for as little as $3.

Americas Cardroom Rakeback

Americas Cardroom is currently the number 1 US facing online poker site in the world. Part of the Winning Poker Network, ACR continues to provide US customers their best available option for online poker.

Players can get up to a 27% rakeback account by signing up via the links on this site.

Keep up with all your Americas Cardroom promotions and World Series Of Poker updates right here on Rakeback.com

 

By Dan Dececco, Rakeback.com Freelance Author

 

WSOP Qualifiers on Americas Cardroom – Freeroll Satellite

Find the passwords below to our upcoming May 24 freeroll on WPN.

May 24

• Tournament Name: Rakeback WSOP Mega
• Time: 20:15 ET
• Password: 32D1C5

The top 5 finishers will win a $17+$1.70 seat to the WSOP Mega 2 PKG Satellite – 2 Seats, scheduled for May 27.

Join this WSOP super satellite freeroll on either Americas Cardroom (US players) or Black Chip Poker (EU players).

If you don’t have an account yet, open one via Rakeback.com to receive 27% rakeback on demand.

PartyPoker POWERFEST – $40 Million Guaranteed

The latest PartyPoker POWERFEST kicks off this Sunday May 6th and runs through May 20th. This edition of POWERFEST will include a whopping 366 events and guarantee over $40 million.

The POWERFEST tournaments are split into 6 levels based on the buy-in amount, with Micro, Low, Medium, High, High Roller and Super High Roller levels.

POWERFEST Levels

POWERFEST Championship Events

This time around PartyPoker POWERFEST will include 17 Championship Events. Each winner of a championship tournament receives a custom trophy sent directly to their home and of course the huge cash prize.

13 of the Championship Events have a prize pool guarantee of at least $1 million, with $5 million guaranteed for the $25,500 Super High Roller on May 17th.

PartyPoker Satellites

PartyPoker is offering daily satellites into these tournaments, including the High Roller and Super High Roller events.

Feeder satellites offer you the opportunity to get in one of these high buy-in Championship Events for less than $1.

The satellite schedule includes multi table tournaments, as well as sit and go’s.

Get in on POWERFEST at PartyPoker

PartyPoker continues to be one of the most reputable online poker sites in the world. Open for business since 2001, PartyPoker has stood the test of time.

For many long-time players and supporters of the online poker industry, PartyPoker is where it all started.

Don’t miss out on the action, and for a complete POWERFEST schedule sign up for a PartyPoker account today at Rakeback.com.

Keep up with all your poker news and PartyPoker updates right here on Rakeback.com.

By Dan Dececco, Rakeback.com Freelance Author