Only Poker Review

OnlyPoker.com

Onlypoker is a new skin on the rapidly growing Cake network, which attracts up to 5,000 players at peak times since its inception in 2005. The Cake network has acquired a reputation of being a happy hunting ground for low and mid stakes sharks, with a surplus of weak players and a lucrative, initial deposit bonus.

Bonus and Promotions

The bonus and reward schemes on Onlypoker are top notch, ideal for a budding low and mid stakes player. The main offer is a 110% first deposit bonus up to $600, 10% more than you’ll find anywhere else. Similar to Pokerstars, the bonus is released by accumulation of FPP’s (167 FPP’s release an increment of $10). So if you deposit $100, 1670 FPP’s will release a total of $110.For every dollar raked, you earn 1 FPP, and for every dollar paid in tournament fees, you are given 7 FPP. Once you settle in to cash games, you’ll find yourself racking up FPP’s quickly and with relative ease. But with every good offer, comes a host of people taking advantage of it. Onlypoker attracts a fair amount of bonus whoring nits, who can make full ring play a laborious grind. Coupled with 33 per cent flat rakeback available from several affiliates, the Cake network is a heaven for the cautious, conservative player.

The ‘Gold Cards’ and ‘Gold Chips’ reward scheme is a great carrot for high volume, grinders. When a rake limit is reached on a full ring table, out come a flurry of Gold Cards. These can be swapped for tournament entries, such as a satellite into the monster $250,000 guaranteed, and on other skins, items such as poker books and DVD’s in the shop. Additionally, there is a $2500 weekly ‘Gold Card’ rake race, with cash prizes for those who accumulate the highest number. The ultimate goal is to collect all 52, with the winner receiving a $52,000 jackpot prize. ‘Gold chips’ are handed out for FPP accumulation, and can be used in similar circumstances. The one criticism is that the Gold Cards system can be quite confusing. We had to dig around on the site to find out their exact value.

Tournaments

Onlypoker fairs pretty well in terms of tournament variety. As well as numerous freerolls and ‘Gold chip’ tournaments, which offer satellites into live WSOP events, the $50 buy-in ‘Daily 10k Guaranteed’ offers a juicy prize pool. Fields usually vary between 50 and 400 entrants, giving you a greater chance of victory. The $250,000 Guaranteed is the showpiece of Cake network tournaments, and with a first prize usually in the excess of $50K, it offers a ticket to the big time.

Games

Onlypoker has a solid Hold’em core, but struggles in other departments. Pot-Limit, Limit and NL Hold’em, as well as Omaha and Hi-Lo are all offered, but there are no Stud and Draw games. Bizarrely, there is a ‘7 Card Stud’ tab, but no games are ever available. Onlypoker and the Cake network really is a low to mid stakes Hold’em players paradise. Full ring, shorthanded and heads-up action is plentiful up to about the $2-4 limit, when play becomes more heads-up orientated. So for beginners looking to test the waters, or even experienced mid stakes players looking to make consistent profits, the site is inviting. Omaha action dwindles after the $0.50/1 level, which is disappointing. Omaha Hi-Lo, which is now considered a mainstream variant, is poorly represented, with only a few tables of players. If you envisage entering the $50K H.O.R.S.E tournament at the WSOP, then we suggest you hone your skills elsewhere! For high-stakes players already familiar with $5-10 and $10-20, and those who enjoy a variety, Onlypoker bares little appeal.

Level of Competition

The Cake network has a strong reputation for being a fruitful fishpond. Since it’s only been around from 2005, a year or so after the online poker boom, you’ll find yourself punishing the inexperienced calling-stations. The limited action above $2-4 and dearth of multi-tabling options won’t appeal to high stakes players, meaning there’s little stiff competition. You’ll find a fair proportion of loose passive players who call you down with second pair, and maniacs overplaying marginal hands – don’t be surprised to see big all ins with low pocket pairs and A10. There are also a fair share of nits there purely for bonus release purposes. These are less common at short-handed tables, are fortunately the lobby gives a good indication of play by offering a ‘percentage of players to the flop’ stat. If you do encounter them, be sure to exploit their tightness with aggression.

Software

In terms of presentation, the Onlypoker software is stable and polished. The lobby is clear and functional, with a drop down filter and pop-up boxes with key tournament alerts. Graphics are crisp and classy, with the colour scheme offering a ‘vintage’ feel. There are extensive, fully customisable player avatars. Tracking software compatibility is restricted - the latest Pokertracker, Version 3, does not support the Cake network, although Poker Edge does. It’s the functionality of the software as a whole that lets it down. Although re-sizing the tables doesn’t affect the quality of the graphics, there is no ‘mini-view’ option, which makes handling more than five tables practically impossible. Animations aren’t as smooth as on Full Tilt or Pokerstars, and, if we’re really nitpicking, pauses after a hand seem to be fractionally too long. The saving grace is the accessibility of instant hand history.

Support

A live chat feature, but now this, along with telephone support (you can call a toll free number and chat with a customer service representative), have been incorporated beside standard e-mail support. It seems that the live chat feature offers limited aid, with the site recommending you use email for more sophisticated, security and cashier problems. But the presence of this feature shouldn’t be underestimated – the likes of PokerStars and Everest are missing a trick by excluding it.

Deposit options

Although other Cake network skins offer a range of deposit options, Onlypoker offers only Visa Card and Master Card. This means that so many potential players are turned away. For starters, Solo, Maestro and Cash point card users are excluded. Many players prefer to use e-wallets, rather than key in their specific card details, but Moneybookers and Neteller aren’t available here.

In conclusion, Onlypoker is a new skin looking to get a slice of the Cake. There are signs from the site that show its still ‘work in progress’, so whilst it has all the perks of the Cake network, we advise you to plump for one of the more established skins.