Review of CD Poker

In my review of CD Poker, I outline this poker site with great potential. Up until now, this site had some of the best graphics online with detailed 3D avatars that would actually move chips into the pot and speak their actions. Unfortunately, CD Poker has recently disabled this 3D mode and I've been told that they don't play to reintegrate this feature.

Still, for users who weren't attached to the graphics, this poker site offers a large amount of daily promotions and very soft ring game action.

Categories Reviewed at CDPoker.com

Fish: 4.5
Attracting largely inexperienced poker players with their enormous promotions, CD Poker has managed to reel in a large number of fish at the tables. The no-limit ring games are particularly soft, and I find that players here tend to be looser with their calls when you have a big hand. The flop percentages are usually very high and resident fish like to see a cheap flop with trash cards. Be sure to clamp the jaws down and raise with your strong hands to limit the field.

Sharks: 1.5 (inverse rating)
The competition is extremely soft on CD Poker and all of the partner iPoker Network sites, which also includes Titan Poker and Noble Poker. I find this site to have a relatively low number of sharks; hence you will most likely be the only ruthless carnivore at the table. Use this to your advantage by crushing opponents when you have a monster hand. Don't be afraid to raise, as players seem to reraise more often giving you all the action you want. Of course, you'll still need to observe the players at your table and make proper decisions based on their actual play, but it's safe to assume that the fish-to-shark ratio is very high at CD.

Bait (promotions): 3.5
As is a staple for iPoker sites, CD Poker offers a generous first time deposit bonus of 50%. Unfortunately, they recently dropped their 120% deposit bonus and it's one of the most difficult bonuses to cash out. For low-limit players, you'll need to play in excess of 500 raked hands per $10 of bonus, which is much too stringent in my opinion. However, CD Poker does also offer a good number of other promotions such as the CD Poker Tour, a poker school, and sizeable jackpots for winning a number of consecutive Sit 'n Go tournaments. It's a difficult feat to accomplish, but it's nice to know that it's there if you're putting the Hammer down and wiping up the seafloor with your opponents.

Skin (software): 3.5
Previously, CD Poker had some of my favorite software. The 3D table mode was excellent for players like me who appreciate advanced graphics. However, as I mentioned above, they have ceased to offer this feature on their tables. Still, the software is sharp and is similar to other iPoker Network sites. You are also able to choose your avatar at the table, but the number of avatars available is extremely limited. Games do tend to move along smoothly and the hand history feature is presented in a unique layout. One other nice feature is the easy-to-click "all-in" button for no-limit games.

Prey (tournaments): 2.5
The main drawback of CD Poker is the amount of traffic currently playing on the site. During off-peak hours, the number of players can be as low as 400 or less. Unfortunately, they aren't able to sustain many tournaments, especially those with buy-ins higher than $5. Due to this lack of traffic, I don't play tourneys very often here. The number of tournaments here is also typically lower than other poker sites. One positive about their daily freerolls is the limit of players to 500, which keeps them playable.

Overall CD Poker Rating

Pearls (positives)
CD Poker has extremely soft-passive games and a fair number of attractive promotions. Limit hold 'em traffic is also pretty good.

Hooks (negatives)
The number of players on the network is still pretty low as the site is still building its player base. They've also lowered their deposit bonus and removed the 3D graphics mode.

The Hammer (overall rating): 3

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Tips for Playing at CD Poker

Meat (tips)
As CD Poker generally hosts soft games with lots of players calling the minimum bet preflop, you might consider opening up your starting hand requirements from late position. Since you'll be getting great pot odds with so many limpers, it makes sense to play unexpected holdings with lots of draw potential, like baby suited connectors. You can hit a monster hand on the flop or at least a good draw to one. Since you're playing lower cards like 4-5 and 5-6, your opponents often won't suspect that a flop of 3-6-7 has hit anyone.

Blubber (babble)
A little while back, I played a huge pot on CD Poker with A-K from the big blind. Since there were several limpers in preflop by the time the action got around to me, I put in a hefty raise to try to take control of the hand and discourage potential draws. A couple of my opponents folded but 2 stayed in the hand. The flop came out with K-7-8 of mixed suits, so I figure that I have the best hand at this point. I didn't have a lot of chips left at the table, so I just went all-in. They both had me covered in chips, and both just called. The turn came with a 6 and they got the rest of their chips in at this point. The river came with another 8 and we showed our cards. My first opponent had pocket Jacks and my second opponent had A-8 for a rivered set and a huge pot. I did raise preflop, so I don't know what else I could have done besides swallowing the entire school of fish on the spot. The best lesson to take home is to expect these kind of online bad beats and not to let it get you too frustrated. I know, better said than done but there will always be another hand in 2 minutes…

♣ ♣ For further details and ratings for CDPoker.com, you can visit our basic CD Poker review.

     

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