Review of Planet Poker

Our review of Planet Poker takes us to the very first online poker room. Their size has decreased significantly as of late, however they still maintain a loyal player base. The games are somewhat tight, although the competition isn't very tough. Tournament traffic has also dwindled here, and mainly traffic is concentrated on fixed limit holdem ring games.

Categories Reviewed at PlanetPoker.com

Fish: 3
As I normally expect with poker sites that have been around for a few years, the play is somewhat tight at Planet Poker. The players who've stuck around have had ample opportunity to improve their game. That being said, the competition is still beatable, especially at the lower-limits. Flop percentages are pretty low, usually hovering around 35-40%. Fortunately, pots still tend to be a bit high so you can still make some clamshells… sorry, money, on your monster hands. The number of fish is lower than many newer sites, but many still play as if it's their first time.

Sharks: 3.5 (inverse rating)
You'll find fellow sharks mainly at the higher fixed limit games, which is why Planet Poker receives a higher shark rating. They regularly host popular games as high as $20/40, which are full of experienced cardroom players. Unless you sit down at one of these tables, you're probably in safe waters. The smaller no-limit and fixed-limit games are pretty soft, so your typical action will be pretty beatable.

Bait (promotions): 1.5
I suspect one of the reasons why Planet Poker lost much of its player traffic is lack of promotions. They offer a modest $50 deposit bonus at 25% coupled with overly obsessive cashout rules. Generally, this is not the poker room to try out if you're looking for a great deposit bonus. Besides that, you can earn Planet Points through ring game play, which can be exchanged for merchandise.

Skin (software): 4
One major improvement that Planet Poker has made is in their software. Overall, I think it is very easy to use and has attractive graphics. I like their bluish color scheme, but you can even customize that if you'd rather a different set of color. The lobby is laid out very well, and you can easily view tournament details within any event. Even though they do not display hands/hour in the lobby, the game speed is very quick. Planet Poker's software is easy on the eyes with many customizable features and they receive a good score.

Prey (tournaments): 1.5
Tournaments have largely been forgotten at PP. While they do offer a few token events every couple of hours, they are largely restricted to $5 buy-ins or less. If you're looking for a $20 or $30 event, they will most likely be cancelled or turn into small Sit 'n Go tables. They do offer the occasional $50 freeroll, and one good thing is that they are limited to 500 players.

Overall Planet Poker Rating

Pearls (positives)
Planet Poker is a very experienced online poker room with good software. The games are friendly with relatively soft competition.

Hooks (negatives)
They lack big promotions and tournament traffic. They also don't offer too many ring games, so you'll be limited in terms of game selection.

The Hammer (overall rating): 2.5

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Tips for Playing at Planet Poker

Meat (tips)
Time and time again, I've seen players (including myself) lose huge pots after they get all their chips in on the flop with a premium pocket pair. After all, why should you be afraid of a flop like 4-6-2 with pocket Aces? The answer is that online players toss their chips in with all sorts of trash hands. That is a topic for another lesson, but this Meat is about the benefits of laying down a different hand - A-K. This hand is so much easier to play on the flop! If you hit a pair, it will be the top pair with the top kicker. If you miss the flop, there's no reason to continue unless you have some sort of other straight or flush draw. Sure, you will still lose big pots when you pair you're A-K at times, but you won't hesitate to throw them away to a bet if you don't hit. If you keep going with this hand without improving on the flop, perhaps you should start with our strategy section. Just a friendly reminder to put down the Hammer when you hit, and let the hand go without a second thought when you miss. Simply keeping this in mind on every hand could plug a major leak in your game.

Blubber (babble)
Being the original inventor of poker, I'm pretty well known with the modern poker executive-types. Thus, the savvier business owners usually approach me and ask for help developing some of their new poker ideas. About 7 or 8 years ago, the joint investors in Planet Poker came to me and asked if I wanted to buy into this new internet poker idea. I read through their proposal briefly, and ended up tossing it in the piranha-powered shredder figuring that no one would ever buy into a poker game where they couldn't actually hold the cards and chips… Here we are today, and I think that my head is a little flatter than it was a decade ago. Boy, those coral beds can be pretty brutal for repeat head-bangings.

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

     

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