PKR.com Review

Pkr.com

Pkr is somewhat of a pioneer in the online poker industry with its unique 3-D software, which boasts stunning visuals, slick animations and a range of bizarre character sounds. It’s not ‘just another place to play cards’ – Pkr offers a vibrant, overwhelming gaming experience as it seeks to capture the thrills and excitement of live poker on your monitor. It can attract up to 7,000 players at peak times – impressive for an independent network, however a high proportion are checking out the software and ‘playing for fun’ money.

Bonus and Promotions

The bonus and reward schemes at Pkr are expansive. The initial signup bonus is 100% up to $800 – slightly better than the likes of Full Tilt Poker which offer 100% up to $600. For all its presentational polish, the website doesn’t actual specify the details of bonus release, which a big grievance. With some research, we found out $1 is released for every 225 Pkr points (equivalent to about $2 in rake), and you have 60 days to clear the bonus. It isn’t the quickest online bonus to clear, but it’s one of the juiciest ones for a high volume player.

The main reward scheme involves the accumulation of ‘Pkr points’ which are awarded for participation in pots (rake accumulation). Rather like the FPP system on Pokerstars, these can be exchanged for items in the Pkr Shop, ranging from poker literature and DVD’s to clothing and electronics. The more you play, the quicker you’ll advance up the ‘Pkr Club Ladder’. There are several VIP levels, from bronze to platinum, with unique perks for each. Gold members for instance, are granted entry in monthly $5,000 freerolls, a $24 token for the ‘Birthday Freeroll’, regular reload bonuses and a free lifetime subscription to Stacked magazine.

Rake is the standard 5% at Pkr, with a $3 cap. Flat rakeback of up to 30%, paid monthly into your cashier, is available from several affiliates.

Tournaments

Thankfully, the tournaments compensate for the limited ring game options. Numerous guaranteed, re-buy and bounty tournaments run hourly, with manageable fields between 20 and 250 giving you a better chance of success. The jewel in the crown of Pkr tournaments is the $530 buy-in ‘Saturday Big Shot’, and you really get the sense of ‘event’ with the final table hole-cards screened on Pkr TV. As well as loyalty freerolls such as the ‘$10,000 Monthly Freeroll’ for sufficient rake accumulators, there are satellites running for live poker, including the APT Macau in August.

Games

Pkr boasts a solid Hold’em foundation, with NL, Limit and Pot Limit all available. Full ring and shorthanded micro-stakes tables are well represented, however tables above the $2-4 limit are few and far between. PLO and Hi-Lo games are sparsely populated in off peak hours, and there are no Stud or Draw games available. SnG games range from the ’10 Cent giveaway’ – ideal for novices, to a $950 heads up, and adopt a standard, bounty or double or nothing format.

Level of Competition

Since Pkr is a relatively new site, it has its fair share of loose beginners. Such is the software’s in game playability, you get a lot of players entering a hand just for the sake of it. It’s far more entertaining to engage in a multi-way pot, ‘shouting’ across the table, than wait several minutes as action unfolds. High stakes action is pretty much a non event (play beyond the $2-4 level can be virtually non-existent), but there’s surplus fish at low stakes.

Software

You can’t help but admire the innovative software Pkr have designed. It may take an aeon to download, and require a PC with decent specifications, but it actually feels like the kind of online game you’d shell out $30 for in the shops. The lobby section is clear and easy to negotiate, with average pot and hands per hour statistics displayed. The graphics are slick, textures rich and animations smooth, with an option to pan the camera 360 degrees. It prides itself on realism – from the cliché player sounds of ‘take that!’ when a card hits the deck, to the actual lifting up of face down cards mid-way through a hand to jog your memory. Player attires are fully customisable, from jewellery to head gear. But are these superficial novelties really what players want? The only kind of ‘realism’ you may be after is the cards hitting the felt and poker being played, not all the jazz and environment that comes with it. Of course, PKR will argue that many of the in game features are synonymous with live poker, such as the option to ‘communicate’ player emotions. But believe us, the novelty of hearing someone remark ‘good hand sir’ soon wares off. The benchmark for online poker has been set by giant networks such as PokerStars, where ease and volume of play are the priorities, not so much enjoyment. Play ticks over frustratingly slow at Pkr.

Support

As well as standard e-mail support, Pkr offers live chat with an online customer services representative. They will do their best to resolve your queries, and forward the issue to the relevant department if not. The one gripe is the lack of phone support, which for software of such magnitude, is a slight let-down. Security wise, Pkr seems to have an impeccable record.

Deposit options

With transactions secured by the ‘thawte Digital Commission’, Pkr boasts a comprehensive set of deposit options. There are a range of credit/debit card options, including Solo and Maestro, which are not widely available. Additionally, there are the standard e-wallets – Moneybookers and Neteller, along with pre-paid cards Ukash and Paysafe. There is also a ‘fast bank transfer’ option.

Conclusions

If there was an ‘online poker room to try before you die’, then Pkr would be at the head of the queue with its gorgeous table interface and sheer difference from other networks. But for most players, certainly any serious poker players, the game is a ‘laborious’ grind with the sole objective being to develop your game and make money. To be brutally honest, Pkr hinders this. Whilst there are fish at low stakes, traffic really starts to dry up at mid and high stakes, and multi-tabling options are limited to four. At least tracking tools such as Poker Office are compatible, despite the intricacy of the software. So whilst the loose ring games and guaranteed tournaments (approximately 60 % of traffic is tournament orientated) are certainly worth a dabble, think of Pkr as a second holiday in Spain – nice to experience, but not practical to live there all the time.