Review of Hollywood Poker

Aside from being endorsed by some big names in the entertainment industry, this review of Hollywood Poker will give you the skinny on this fast-growing skin of PokerRoom. This site attracts some large players due to their awesome deposit bonuses and large tournaments. This network offers a ton of smaller tournaments as well. They also spread high stakes no-limit ring games that remain busy at all times.

Categories Reviewed at HollywoodPoker.com

Fish: 3.5
Players on this network have been around for a few years, and many are pretty savvy players. The lower limits still have pretty large fish tanks, but they turn into lobster tanks as the stakes increase. Did that make sense? See, lobsters have claws and… anyway, you'll probably be comfortable at this site as a tight-aggressive player. I expect the number of fish to increase over time, especially with Hollywood running some great promotions right now.

Sharks: 3 (inverse rating)
Most of the sharks that come to Hollywood are usually restricted to the higher stakes games. However, their network partner in PokerRoom has been a stable force in the online poker industry for years, thus their players have had time to study up on their game. As is usually the case, a long-time poker room with a loyal player base tends to offer tighter games than their startup counterparts. Also, while the game play is usually tougher at higher limits, it's not always because of improved play. A lot of the time, these big time players are willing to take gambles against hefty preflop raises with hands like small pocket pairs. When they hit on the flop, they can crush tight competition that has, properly, raised with their pocket Aces that didn't improve.

Bait (promotions): 5
While PokerRoom offers some great promotions, I think that Hollywood has surpassed them. They've recently started offering a choice in deposit bonuses based on your level of play. This is very unique and a great idea. If you usually play at the higher stakes, you can cash out on a 500% deposit bonus. This can be difficult for lower stakes players, which is why they offer a 25% deposit bonus with lower player points requirements. The third option is a free entry into one of their celebrity bounty tournaments, which are neat events. They've also started to offer a Royal Flush jackpot, which can earn you 100x the big blind at your table.

Skin (software): 5
The software is very detailed in terms of graphics, and it plays very smoothly. The 3-D graphics are very nice, and personally, I prefer the Hollywood software over PokerRoom's because of their rich color scheme. Players seem to be quite friendly on this network, and game speed is quite fast. Another advantage to the software is that player statistics are readily available in each window, making it easy to track your progress. Hollywood's software client is even available without download, so even Mac users can play directly from their web site.

Prey (tournaments): 5
It's tough not to give Hollywood a high score for tournaments, if only for sheer volume. They offer an enormous amount of tournaments daily, and they provide plenty of traffic to fill the seats. Not only will you find some big guaranteed tournaments, Hollywood also offers a weekly $1 buy-in tournament with $2,500 added to the prize pool. They also have some exclusive tournaments like the Celerity Invitational and Red Carpet Tournament. I am very impressed with their tournament offerings.

Overall Hollywood Poker Rating

Pearls (positives)
This is a very well-rounded poker room with excellent promotions, software, and tournaments.

Hooks (negatives)
The deposit bonuses may take a while to work off at lower limits.

The Hammer (overall rating): 4.5

♣ Visit hollywoodpoker.com

Tips for Playing at Hollywood Poker

Meat (tips)
Be wary of tight-aggressive players who hesitate and call your big raise preflop. I have lost a lot of big pots with pocket Aces and Kings in this situation. I raise the thin the field from early position, and I raise probably more than I should. Nevertheless, I usually get one or two callers from late position. The flop will come out with 3 rags, so I naturally bet at the pot. Surprisingly (or not so much after the 4th time it happens), the hesitating player from late position reraises me. I, of course, call the raise or go all-in, and he turns over pocket 77 or 99 with a 7 or 9 showing on the flop. I barely ever let go of Aces on the flop, and that is a self-admitted leak in my game. If you're obviously beat, try to be a better player than I and let them go.

Blubber (babble)
I don't really understand your culture's obsession with Hollywood actors and awards shows. Why is it so interesting to pry into the lives of people who are fakers by profession? Then, of course, you're on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what these plastically-enhanced individuals have to say up on a stage with bad music and cheesy trophies. I prefer awards of real merit. My favorite is the annual Sharkie, where awards are given to the shark based on three categories: teeth length, sharpness, and amount of rows. You're reading from a Triple Crown winner three years running!

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