Party Poker

1. At one time, the largest and best-marketed online poker site in the world.

Many of the young online pros in action today might remember the days before the UIGEA forced the publicly-traded company to withdraw from the US market and stop accepting American players.

Up until the UIGEA passed, Party Poker was considered the best place to find the softest games in all forms of poker - cash games, tournaments and SNGs.

Why Play on Party Poker

Once a titan of online poker, Party Poker lost a step following the UIGEA when they were forced to close their doors to US players. And while Party may have lost their elite status to sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, they still remain a solid option for all non-American players. Lately, with the poker world pushing for legalization, Party is making steps towards regaining prominence should they be allowed to once again accept action from Americans. If and when that happens, Party's strong foundation will no doubt put them back on top.

Bonuses: Party Poker offers a 100% match bonus up to $500 for new players. A minimum deposit of $25 is required, and all bonuses clear when you collect eight times the bonus amount in PartyPoints.

Client Software: In general, Party Poker's software is smooth, crisp, and problem free. As with many software clients, it could use some tweaking and navigation optimization, but the functionality is always there and any complaints are extremely minor.

Level of Competition: As mentioned, Party was a fish frenzy pre-UIGEA, and while it hasn't been quite as juicy in the aftermath, you'd still be hard pressed to find softer tournaments and cash games.

If you're worried that Party Poker is merely a shadow of it's former self and not worth your time, you're gravely mistaken. If you aren't an American poker player, there's absolutely no excuse for not having a Party Poker account.