Bet365 Poker
Bet365 was the first iPoker room to roll out Sprint Poker - a fast-fold variant similar to PokerStar's Zoom Poker. The product is quickly moving out of beta and already boasts substantial player pools at a variety of games and limits, starting with micro-stakes and moving up from there. Sign Up & Play Poker Games. No Downloads Required. Play In Your Browser. Sign Up & Play Poker Games. No Downloads Required. Play In Your Browser.
Enjoy playing poker on the move? If the answer is yes, you will be delighted to learn that bet365 has a mobile app that is available for iPhone and iPad.
At present, only cash games and Speed Poker cash games are available on the app, but plans are to add more formats and features during the year. Play on the mobile app counts towards all promotions, including the VIP scheme, and bet365’s exclusive Premium Tables are available, too.
One great feature of the bet365 mobile poker app is the fact there is no need to download the actual app because it has been specially designed to run in the iPhone and iPad browser!
You have probably heard of Bet365 before.
They are the worlds largest betting company.
But, not so many have heard that they also offer their customers to play poker.
I sure didn’t know.
So, I went ahead and signed up and tried playing poker on Bet365.
I spent many hours playing real money poker using their PC and mobile client.
So, if you give me ten minutes of your time, I will answer must-known questions like:
- What bonus codes can you use?
- Can you play on Mac?
- How is their mobile app?
- Where do you download Bet365 poker client?
- Is Bet365 poker rigged?
- Which poker network are they on?
How I did this bet365 Poker Review
- Deposited USD 50 with NETELLER
- Played 17,038 micro cash games
- Played these hands using the poker strategy tough by Alton Hardin
- Recorded the hand history with PokerTracker
- Played all the game variants
About
Bet365 Poker is (obviously) a part of the Bet365 brand. Bet365 claims to be the world largest online gambling company with over 3,000 employees and 22 million customers worldwide. They are licensed by the Government of Gibraltar and regulated by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner. They were founded in 2000 by Denise Coates, who is still runs the show together with her family.
With having been around for so long and being so large they automatically gain a lot of trust in my book. This is as far away from a small shady company as you can come.
Bet365 is using the iPoker network, which ensures a large player base to compete against.
Registration
I did the registration directly on their website and I could do this without having to download any poker client. The process was easy and straightforward. After being registered I was automatically logged in as a user on their website and was presented with the option to make a deposit.
I chose the NETELLER option and sent over $50. The minimum deposit is $10.
After my $50 was in place, I went ahead and downloaded the poker client for Windows (sorry, no MAC version available).
You also have the option to play via your mobile browser and/or Android or iPhone app. More on that under the gameplay section.
Bonuses
Bet365 Poker operates with two main new player bonuses.
The first one being a 100% first deposit match up to €100. This might at first glance look unimpressive. I mean, you have poker sites offering up to $2,500 as first deposit bonuses.
However, you should know that it is always required a lot of effort to realize these kind of bonuses. And, it is here Bet365 Poker really shines. It won’t require much of you to receive your first bonus release of €1, and the second release comes shortly after that. In comparison to other poker sites, you will receive your bonus money much quicker.
Easy dashboard to keep track of your first time deposit bonus.
The other bonus is, as expected, the mandatory free tournament tickets. The thing that stands out with the tickets from Bet365 Poker is that you can use them immediately. For some other poker sites you will have to wait to a certain day and time in order to use them.
I much prefer these “non-time-bound” tickets since it can get me right into to the action without having to wait.
In addition to these two main bonuses Bet365 Poker also enrolls you in their “missions”. This means even more rewards if you complete these. I for example, quickly finished one of the missions and received tournament tickets valued at €5.
Gameplay
There are plenty of game options to choose from inside the poker client.
Lobby view from the Windows client.
You can very easily get right into the action by clicking one of the Windows-styled tiles. If you have more specific needs, you also have the option to filter and dig down to find the right game for you.
Besides the normal Cash Games, Sit & Go and Tournaments they offer the following types:
- 6+ Hold’em: In this version they have removed all cards under the value of 6. That means you (and your competitors) will more often get better hands. This could make the games a bit more fun, but in reality it won’t do anything to improve your winning chances since it is the same for all players.
- Twister: These games are like Sit & Gos with a chance of a higher payout. I found myself playing these a lot since they are really fun and you only play against two other opponents making it a total of 3 players at the table.
- Speed: This is cash games but with the ability to quick fold and be directly seated at another table with a new hand.
At first, I was a bit skeptical of the Windows client. It is based out of Flash and doesn’t look like all the other poker clients. It takes a little bit of extra time to get used to their layout and functionality. But, after spending some time with it I kinda like it.
Table view in a Twister Sit & Go tournament (which I won :)).
One good thing with Bet365 Poker is that you can play with your mobile using their Android and iPhone apps. They also have an option to play inside your mobile phone’s internet browser. I thought this would be a nice option since I didn’t have to download an app then.
Boy, was I wrong. The mobile browser experience is horrendous. It didn’t work at all, the screen was capped at 60% with no possibility to scroll.
I quickly abandoned this option and went ahead and downloaded the Android app instead. This app has to be downloaded directly from Bet365 and is not available in Google Play. In order to install it you will also have to enable third party app installations in your Android settings.
Bet365 Poker Premium Steps
Once the app was installed I found myself really enjoying it. The interface is well thought out and you have access to everything you need. Exactly the same functionality that you have in the Windows client.
Table view from Bet365 Poker Android App
Rake & Loyalty Program
Bet365 operates with a normal rake of 5% with a €4 cap, for more details see their website.
Every time you play you earn what they call Merit Points. You earn Merit Points at the same rate on the cash tables and in tournaments: 15 for every £1 or €1 of attributed rake or tournament fees.
These points can then be turned into different rewards based on the amount you have and what your VIP level is.
Support
Bet365 Poker has a great support center. You can contact them in a variety of different ways and their response time is really quick. At least with the chat option I tried.
On top of this they have an extensive FAQ section where you will find answers to the most common questions.
Worldwide availability
There is no public information available on which countries that are allowed to play on Bet365 Poker or not. The reason for this is that regulations keep changing all the time. So, if you need to find out their position on a specific country you must contact their customer support.
However, US players are not welcome.
Player Skill Level
For most of you, this might be the most interesting part of this review. We will now look deeper into the skill level of the poker players playing at bet365.
I played 17,038 micro cash games at No Limit Hold’em $0.02/0.05, 6 player max. I did this by multi-tabling four tables and this made me average around 300 hands per hour. The strategy I used is the one tough by Alton Hardin in his course “Crush Micro Stakes Online Poker“. I am by no means a professional poker player. I am an amateur player, playing mostly for fun and thus that is my benchmark.
I tracked all my games using PokerTracker and turned my initial deposit of $50 into $245,69
As you can see from the graph I manage to make some profit from bet365. This illustrates that it is possible for amateur players to make some cash out of the micro stakes. At least when playing a good and well proven strategy. Now, this is a sample from around 17,000 hands, and in poker, variance plays a huge role. But, I would say this gives quite a good indication about the skill level of the bet365 poker players.
But, there are sites where you probably will win more, like 888 Poker and PokerStars.
Bet365 Poker App
Should you play On Bet365 Poker?
Being such a big and successful gambling company as bet365 are, one would be surprised if they didn’t deliver a great gaming experience.
And I am not surprised.
They do deliver a great experience. Especially for new players. You get clear and precise information about the bonuses you receive and how to keep track of them. I found myself wanting to play more, and I actually received my bonuses as expected.
I had a great time playing and reviewing and I am sure I will continue using bet365 Poker as one of my main poker sites.
Please let me and the readers know your experience of bet365 Poker in the comments below.
Largest betting company online!
Awesome mobile application!
Bet365 Poker Premium Steps
Very nice bonuses for new players!
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