Part 1 - PokerStars Rakeback Info
Mood:  a-ok
In this next article I’m going to talk about another incentive to download PokerStars, one of the best US poker sites. Like many other sites out there, PokerStars has a VIP program, but they have spent a lot of time making their program unique and extremely rewarding. As a way to thank their loyal players, PokerStars hands out VIP Player Points (VPPs) and Frequent Player Points (FPPs) to the people that play real money games at their tables. Playing higher stakes and more often will earn you more points, and the more points you earn, the more cash bonuses and merchandise you’ll receive in return.

When you’ve finally used the PokerStars marketing code and started playing some cards, you’ll start to accumulate FPPs and VPPs. The only purpose of VPPs is to keep track of your VIP level and to keep track of clearing bonuses. FPPs, however, can be redeemed in the VIP store on merchandise, or they can be spent on tournament buy-ins where applicable. There are four monthly VIP levels and two yearly VIP levels.

As soon as you download PokerStars, you automatically start at BronzeStar status. BronzeStar is the first status level, but it’s still possible for its members to earn extras and bonuses. They’ll still earn FPPs for sitting at the real money tables, and they can redeem FPPs for regular prizes in the VIP store. At the first VIP level, members also receive Stellar Rewards, cash bonuses deposited into player accounts when they hit set VPP counts. In total, there is $1,000 in Stellar Rewards to be earned over the course of a year.

Once you become a SilverStar (you must earn 750 VPPs in a month), you keep the BronzeStar benefits and you receive additional SilverStar perks. For the first thing, you are given an FPP multiplier of 1.5 so that you can collect FPPs 50% quicker. This means a higher amount of PokerStars rakeback. In the VIP store, you now have access to specific SilverStar merchandise. Last but not least, you are eligible to play in special VIP tournaments hosted on a weekly and monthly basis. Every week you can play in a $30k VIP tournament, and you now have the option to win your way into the monthly $100k tournament.

GoldStar perks are really good if you can earn 3,000 VPPs in a month. Now your FPPs get doubled, and you have access to GoldStar merchandise in the store. This VIP status also gives you the chance at some great VIP MTTs. You can play the $100k tournament for free instead of having to play satellites, and now you have access to the quarterly $1 million VIP tournaments. These tournaments are hosted four times per year and those with a monthly VIP statuses must satellite into them.

You will need to dedicate a lot of your free time to money poker sites to make PlatinumStar, but the rewards are great. To start, your FPPs are multiplied by 2.5 instead of the previous 2. You have access to PlatinumStar merchandise in the VIP store, and now you have an additional chance to win a seat into the quarterly $1 million tournaments. These satellites are exclusive to PlatinumStar members and give more seats than the GoldStar satellites.

There’s not much else to know about the monthly VIP statuses, but there is still plenty to know about the yearly VIP statuses. I’ve already rambled on too much for today, though, so that will be our topic for next time. Between now and then, get the PokerStars download and start earning some VPPs!

A+ for Traffic
When looking for the best US poker sites, nothing should be more important to you than traffic. If one site has particularly high traffic, then you can expect a lot from it, but high traffic is also awesome for one other reason. The higher the total number of players, the more bad players there are amongst them, and we all know bad players are where the money is. As I have said in previous entries, PokerStars is a top notch choice because they have the traffic situation well under control. It has the best volume in internet poker, peaking at over a quarter of a million users.

No day of the week is better than Sunday to take advantage of a PokerStars download. PokerStars hosts tournaments that shouldn't be missed on Sunday, such as the Sunday Million, which draw crowds of poker players to the site. The tables are always thriving with tournament players, sometimes well over 150,000 at a time. The traffic that these events bring to the site also entices ring game players to the tables, so even if you prefer getting PokerStars rakeback from cash games, Sundays will still feature one of your biggest days.

If the guaranteed prize pools on Sundays are all you're interested in, then you already know when you're going to be playing each week. If you want to find the juiciest cash games around, on the other hand, you should plan your schedule around the traffic. PokerStars enjoys a boost in traffic each day at 2pm ET, which is sustained right through until 10pm ET. This trend seems to hold true for most days. As with the other US friendly poker sites, though, weekday traffic lessens slightly earlier than weekend traffic.

The vast majority of players on PokerStars.com play mainly tournaments, with tournament traffic being consistently high and often reaching over 150,000 players logged on. Ring games are also never short of players, with an average of nearly 30,000 players usually found on the site and a very impressive 40,000 users during peak hours. Like all the best Mac poker sites, No Limit Texas Holdem is most players' game of choice, but the site also draws a good amount of Limit Holdem and Pot Limit Omaha traffic. The site even has enough traffic for other rarer games like Badugi.

So, tournament or cash game player, log on to PokerStars every Sunday or whichever days you have time between 2pm ET and 10pm ET. During these peak hours you are guaranteed to find that this is one of the top Texas Holdem sites around.

Fun in the Sun with Women and Poker
Mood:  on fire
Last entry I explained that PokerStars is one of the best US poker sites because they are providing women with plenty of amazing opportunities to have fun with the game of poker. The latest and greatest promotion is the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. The PCA has become an annual series that takes place at the start of every new year. The marketing team is encouraging women to give PokerStars a try and satellite into the Ladies Event.

The PCA is held at the Atlantis Resort and Casino. Every year people use a PokerStars marketing code in hopes of winning a prize package that pays for a vacation in the Bahamas. Next year’s series will feature 45 events running between January 7th and 16th. It will cost you $10,300 to play the Main Event of the series. This year first place paid $2.2 million to the winner, Harrison Gimbel.

Most women on US friendly poker sites cannot afford to pay $10,300 for one tournament, so PokerStars has a Ladies event for $1,100. To play this event, ladies will need to be at the Atlantis Casino on January 14th.

To get into this event, you will need to play the 5:30 ET $215 satellites on Sunday. Each prize package is worth $3,480, which means that one package will be awarded for every 17 people. If you can’t put aside $215 for online poker rooms, there are tons of satellites to this Sunday tournament. Monday through Saturday there is a $2.20 rebuy, several $11 rebuys, and a $33 freezeout.

If you take advantage of a PokerStars download and then win a PCA package, you win more than just the $1,100 buy-in. You get four nights in the hotel, $700 for your flights, and an entry into the Women’s Poker Bootcamp that Vanessa Rousso is hosting. These Bootcamp hours are worth $300, and the lessons happen on January 14th. This will help improve your game way more than any strategy article. Since Vanessa won the Ladies Event last year, she is a great person to have for a teacher.

I think it’s really wonderful that PokerStars is giving women fantastic opportunities to play in a huge tournament series. If you are new to poker, it might be good to read some strategy articles for a couple tips and tricks. Then play lots of hands on the best online poker sites. Good luck and have fun at the tables!

PokerStars League for Ladies
Mood:  accident prone
PokerStars is among the best US poker sites online because the team works hard to include as many different players as possible. A group of people that is vastly underrepresented in the poker world happens to be that of women, and now every effort is being made to encourage as many women as possible to play the game. The PokerStars site now has a special section called “PokerStars Women”, and it suggests that women have some fun with the game of poker. If you are female, you have the chance to play in an exclusive PokerStars Women’s Poker League.

To entice females from from everywhere in the world to use a PokerStars marketing code, PokerStars has split the league into two divisions: USD and EUR. Everyone is welcome to play in either division. The only differences between the two divisions are that the Euro tournaments are played much earlier in the day, and they are played in Euros rather than dollars. Since many of the league’s participants will be those new to poker, the entry costs for this league are very low. The tournaments are just 5.50 with Sunday being an exception; the Sunday event costs 55.00.

The goal is to collect as many points as possible for the leaderboard. You earn 5 points for cashing the tournament, and making the final table will earn anywhere from 10 to 20 points (depending on where you place). If you aren’t very experienced in online poker rooms, don’t worry because just participating earns you 1 point. To place as high as possible in the rankings, you will need to play as many of the league events as you can.

Prizes are handed out every month. Players win a sum of money for placing in the top 50, and it comes as no surprise that more money is given to those that finish higher. If you win 1st place, you win 300 USD (or 200 EUR). This extra cash will give women more money to practice their game or invest in a Roulette bonus.

You’ll be most interested in the yearly leaderboard, though. Even more cash is handed out to the top 50 winners, but the most coveted prize is reserved for the 1st place winner. If you can make it to the top, you will also receive a Ladies Luxury Event package! This package will include a tournament ticket for a major live event, as well as accommodations and travel expenses. I am sure that plenty more women would be seeking free poker training if they knew this prize were up for grabs!

If you are a woman, there has never been a better time than now to discover the game of poker. PokerStars has made it clear that they want you playing on their site! Un millón de dólares garantizados, todos los domingos. Más de 100,000 jugadores conectados. Los mejores jugadores profesionales de póquer. No esperes más para descargar PokerStars.

Big Rewards at Full Tilt
Mood:  suave
In the first entry, I stated that Full Tilt is one of the best US poker sites online partly because they offer Rush Poker. Playing Rush Poker Holdem or Omaha is a smart way to get the most out of the rewards program at Full Tilt. When you play real money poker, you earn points, and there are special tables during specific times in which you’re able to earn points two or three times faster. You can also show that you are among the best online poker players by participating in the Iron Man Challenge.

The site rewards players Full Tilt Points as they play real money poker as thanks for making a Full Tilt Poker download. In ring games, participants earn one Point for every $1 of rake paid in a given hand. As an example, if you were to receive cards in a hand and the rake ended up as $2.25, you would obtain 2.25 Points. The maximum Points that can be earned per hand is three. Perhaps you moved your bankroll from Tiger Gaming and were hoping to play tournaments. MTTs give seven Full Tilt Points per $1 in rake that you’re charged. So if you played in a $200+$16 tournament, you would obtain 112 Full Tilt Points. You can see how many Points you have by clicking the cashier button in the lobby.

Perhaps you already played tons of Rush Poker and now you’re asking, “What do I do with all these Points?” You can now head to the Full Tilt Poker Store and buy anything you want! The store features many items including Full Tilt apparel such as hats and outerwear, electronics such as laptops and televisions, and drinkware such as shot glasses and tumblers. You can choose from all sorts of poker items such as bar stools, you can become a better player by purchasing access to a poker video on Cardrunners, or you can select from a bunch of random items like umbrellas or dog leashes. If you just don’t like any of the items in the store, you have the option to redeem the Points to play some qualifying tournaments and get into some of the higher buy-in tourneys.

If you’d like to accumulate even more Points, play on your Full Tilt download during special Happy Hour times. Playing on Happy Hour tables earns you two or sometimes three times more Points than at regular tables. Happy Hour is different every day, so make sure you check the lobby every day to determine when Happy Hour is.

If you play tons of online poker on poker sites, you should check out the Iron Man Challenge. Maintaining a certain daily Point level for a number of days earns you medals. For instance, receiving 50 Points for 20 days or 100 Points for 15 days in a month would earn you bronze medal status on this download free poker site. You should strive to receive Iron Man medals which are awarded when you earn 200 Points for 25 days out of the month. The program has four different statuses, and reaching a status for multiple months in a row causes you to receive even more medals. These medals can be redeemed for special merchandise in the Iron Man Challenge Store. You can also participate in a special freeroll where you can win your way to a heads-up match with a $50k or $100k prize! If you regularly play an even larger number of hands, Iron Man Plus is there going from the regular 200 Points to 500 Points.

VIP programs are springing up at every site in order to tempt you to play at only one site. With freerolls, bonuses, and a great merchandise store, Full Tilt makes you want to forget you ever heard about that Roulette bonus. It’s a fact that maintaining the Iron Man status is far from an easy thing to do, but the goodies will make you glad you went the extra mile.

Full Tilt Poker Welcome Bonus
Mood:  happy
So far this blog has talked about the best US poker sites, PokerStars and Full Tilt. Now I am going to go over the Full Tilt Poker bonus where the site matches your first deposit 100% up to $600. The extra money is a painless way for both new and veteran players to increase the bankroll when they download Full Tilt Poker.

Right after you make a Full Tilt download and enter the necessary bonus code, you're ready to start earning your newly acquired bonus. Nothing free is ever quite as easy as you'd hope, though. The required hours to earn it will swing wildly based upon which real money games you play. The bonus can be had at a rate of $0.06 per Full Tilt Point (FTP), and you receive these by sitting for a spell in Full Tilt's real money games. So, let's say you bought in for $600 and became eligible for a bonus of $600. It will take a total of $600/$0.06 = 10,000 FTPs in order to clear the whole bonus. Now if you play cash games on your Full Tilt Poker download, you will have to remember that for each dollar taken in rake, every player that received cards for that hand will receive 1 point. That translates into a rake of $10,000 in order to claim the bonus in its entirety while participating in cash games, which is not as much as it sounds.

If you are in need of free poker training to win money at this game, you might want to play micro stakes at first. However, of course the higher you play stakes-wise, the faster the bonus is earned. If you sit at $25 No Limit, it will require approximately 156,187 hands of Full Ring or 108,652 hands of 6-max before you get the entire bonus. If 50NL is your thing on this download free poker site, it will take you a grand total of approximately 75,727 hands of Full Ring or 55,533 hands of 6-max play to clear it all. Remember that the numbers will be slightly different for you because you’ll probably play a variety of stakes in a variety of games. These numbers can at least give you a general idea, however.

Are you an MTT poker player on US poker sites? Every $1 raked gets you 7 FTP. If you play $10+$1 buy-ins, you will need to play 1,428 events in order to clear your whole bonus. Bump it up to the $20+$2 level, and the total will come down. You would only need to play 714 matches.

If you know what you’re getting into, clearing the bonus isn’t so bad. Not to mention that if you are just getting into money poker sites, the extra money is a fantastic way to increase your bankroll. Be sure to table select diligently, see a lot of hands, and don’t get impatient. Something to remember is that you get 120 days from the moment you make your deposit to clear the entire bonus.

Get a PokerStars Download
Mood:  cool
PokerStars has become one of the best US poker sites online today. The site of choice of many professional players such as Daniel Negreanu, Chris Moneymaker, and Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, PokerStars kept its doors open for Americans and without a doubt has the most impressive player traffic available for online poker players. You’ll learn that there are plenty of other reasons PokerStars is so popular. With a PokerStars marketing code the deposit bonus is large and easy to earn, the software is well-running with a multitude of options for personalization, and the support is without any doubt the greatest of any online poker site.

Let’s learn about the PokerStars bonus code first since bonuses are what most players are most keen about. After you deposit for the first time, PokerStars will give you 100% of what you deposit up to $600! If you can’t deposit $600 all in one shot, PokerStars has come up with a solution. You have 90 days to deposit $600 total (over 3 deposits) and PokerStars will match it all. They don't stop at this one bonus, either. The site often rewards deposit bonuses in the middle of the year, and you’ll be able to take more than a couple months to earn them. To clear the bonuses, you will need to take part in the PokerStars rakeback program and earn VPPs. Do this by sitting in real money poker games, you choose the type and stake.

How well the poker software runs is often an important factor that decides whether a person stays at a specific site. Many agree that PokerStars has some of the best online poker software online today. The play is always smoothly run and errors are few to none. It’s easy to navigate the lobby and there are several options to personalize it to help you find what you need faster. You’ll find that the tables also have many options, from changing the color of your cards to changing the sounds to enabling player chat. You can alter the size of your tables, select preferred seating, and choose from a large selection of advanced multi-tabling functions. It seems like the options are endless! And if you own a Mac, you will be happy to discover that PokerStars is one of the best Mac poker sites around.

And finally there is customer support, something many sites overlook or deem as insignificant. PokerStars has shown countless times that they provide the best support of the top Texas Holdem sites, no competition. When you send them an email, they will always reply very quickly. You could just need a couple hand histories or maybe even your entire deposit history, and either way you are sure to get it and you won’t have to wait days for it either. To ensure a safe site, they regularly check money transfers, deposits and withdrawals for illegal activity. PokerStars certainly believes that maintaining a good customer support is key for making its players loyal.

I could just keep writing about more great qualities about the site, but might be better for you to realize it yourself. Use a bonus code to get a generous bonus and then good luck choosing from the impressive number of tables open to you. It’s for sure that as soon as you start playing, you’ll see that you’re on one of the best money poker sites on the internet today.

Play at Full Tilt Poker
If you're a fellow poker enthusiast and you want to play as many hands as possible, online poker on the best US poker sites sounds like the right fit for you. It's natural to be a little concerned about making a real poker deposit over the internet. The trick is to choose a reputable poker site with outstanding customer support and also a large player base. One of the most popular US poker sites is Full Tilt Poker, the site of choice for many great poker players such as Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Gus Hansen.

A Full Tilt download is very respected for many reasons. To start off, their best bonus is great when you make your first deposit. This bonus will earn you a 100% match bonus up to $600, a nice way to pad the bankroll at the start of your poker playing days. You can also play special monthly tournaments called the FTR500 where $500 is added to the prize pool.

The biggest reason Full Tilt is one of the best casinos for US players is because the game selection is fantastic and the software is some of the best on the internet. Whether you're a fan of MTT poker, ring games, or even heads-up sit-n-gos, you can usually find the action you want and usually at the stake you prefer to play. Your Full Tilt Poker download will have smoothly operating software with many options to personalize your experience. You can change your lobby and table views, control the sounds you hear, and even re-size your tables to your liking. The Full Tilt experience is just overall satisfying.

A final reason you might want to get playing at Full Tilt is to try Rush Poker. Rush Poker, the fastest way to play poker on the internet, is not found on any of the other money poker sites, and it is the best way to play a bunch of hands in a short period of time. The reason you can play so many hands is because you don't have to wait around for the hand at your table to finish once you lay down your cards. Just click the quick fold button and you'll have a new hand at a new table right away!

Don't take my word that Full Tilt is a great poker site - see for yourself! Don't forget to submit a referral code before you play real money games. Once you finally start playing, you'll soon agree that you're playing at one of the best online poker sites.