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Online, Ladbrokes is moving forward at a rapid rate. Ladbrokes Poker is already the most active site across Europe. Although, being a part of the well respected Prima Network, Ladbrokes Poker has maintained it's uniqueness and opted to develop their own specially designed site and software. With a mass following, they were also able to use their own player base, away from the Prima Network. Online Ladbrokes already have over two million registered users.
Bonus: 7
Being a huge company, Ladbrokes Poker can offer a vast selection of special bonuses and promotional incentives to their players. The initial signup bonus is 25% up to $100. Although seemingly not extravagant, they have many ongoing deals which makes the site a worthy contender. Players have 14 days to play through the poker bonus requirements. The plus side is that the bonus is far easier to clear than most other poker sites on the internet and you should have no problem collecting the bonus within the two weeks.
Players can also collect an additional $25 bonus for simply completing their player profile online. These player profiles are useful because it shows where a particular player is from. You can work out their time zone, and it may give you a little insight into their mindset at the table. To access this additional bonus, you need to complete 200 real money hands.
Promotions: 8
Currently there is no specific loyalty bonus at Ladbrokes Poker, but when you earn points at the site by playing in the real money games, you will gain access into some of their special poker events online. They have special promotions such as the $500,000 Cash Bonanza, whereby a player can enter into one of their raked hands freerolls and walk away with a cool $100,000. To qualify for entry a player needs to accumulate at least 500 player points.
Ladbrokes Poker has a wide variety of promotional events, the pinnacle being "The Ladbrokes Poker Million." The later stages of this event is televised. their are other special events, such as the "Ladbrokes Poker Cruise," and several other qualifiers to live events.
Ladbrokes have a host of celebrities playing on the site including old Liverpool footballing legends Kenny Dalgleish and Ian Rush. Word champion Snooker players such as the great Ronnie O'Sullivan, Steve Davis and well known snooker referee, Michaela Tabb. Darts world champion Phil Taylor, and the gorgeous ex page three model Leilani Dowding. Ladbrokes Poker also have a following of professional poker players including Lucy Rokach, Julian Gardner, Roy Brindley just to name a few.
Fish: 9
Ladbrokes is traditionally a gamblers haven. You will find many first time players here coming straight from their sportsbook section, bringing their gamblers mentality with them. Ladbrokes Poker has a lot of newbies and a lot of fish. As their are no American players on the site, I have found that the play is easier in the evenings and can be a little more competitive in the daytime (BST). Weekends are when the overall standard of play is at its weakest. Like every other large site, Ladbrokes Poker have their sharks but in general, the site has some very easy competition. Beware of the Swedish players though. They are known to play very aggressively and many play at a very high standard.
Tournaments: 7
Ladbrokes Poker seem to give more weight to rebuy tournaments. This is great for building up the eventual prize pool and you might find yourself walking away with a healthy prize. The rebuy's are a little erratic, as you would expect from a predominant gamblers site. generally the tournaments are fairly small in size, usually pulling in around 150 players in their standard tournaments. This gives you a better opportunity of making the payout positions. For the High Stakes tournament players, the $100 rebuy tournament is very popular. This is a daily $30,000 guaranteed tournament. If you enjoy the SNG tournaments, you will find plenty of action at the $10 price range or less.
Software: 7
The graphics at Ladbrokes Poker is plain, clean and crisp. There is not much to distract you from your game. If graphics is your main reason for playing at a poker site then Ladbrokes Poker might not be in your top list. There are no player aviators. although this could be a bad thing, it helps you focus more on player names and you will find it easier to remember players in the future. Ladbrokes have laid down the foundation of a great site. They are developing it in a constant basis, and as the feedback filters in, so does the site improvements. For techno phobic poker players, the current layout of the site might be refreshing.
You can chose three different sizes of table. The action buttons are a little too small for my liking. To view the hand histories, you can go to the browser on Ladbrokes Poker's online website. You have the option to add player notes and look at your player stats at the click of a button.
When selecting a table to suit your style of play, Ladbrokes offers table stats such as, chip stack amounts, average pot sizes, players to the flop, and player location.
All in all I would say that the site graphics and feature are fairly basic but simple, clear and very easy to understand and navigate.
The common stats used for making intelligent table choices, such as and player locations are all available from the lobby, which being a bit on the primitive side, is pretty easy to read and navigate.
Cashouts: 10
Ladbrokes are known for their security and integrity. All financial tractions with Ladbrokes Poker are secure. They use an independent auditor to ensure fairness.
Most forms of credit cards are accepted, including Visa and Mastercard. Players also have the option to pay via NeTeller, Firepay and Western Union. Bank drafts, wire transfers and paper cheques are also an accepted form of currency.
I have noticed that cashouts at Ladbrokes Poker are fairly quick, especially transfers back into your bank account.
The good thing about Ladbrokes Poker is that unlike other online poker sites they don't have much restrictions when it comes to cashing out. Players can receive all their money quickly. Recently, a new system was launched where players can get their funds transferred to their bank accounts directly without the need for a third party.
Customer Service: 10
Ladbrokes Poker offer great customer service. They have built their massive reputation on catering for the customers. They have a large Q&A section.
If the Q&A section does not answer your queries, you can call Ladbrokes Poker directly and deal converse their staff. You can use the online chat facility or contact them by e-mail. The staff are readily available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also access the Ladbrokes forum and speak to one of their helpful moderators.
Ladbrokes is holds a highly respected position within the gaming industry so you can be assured of a top class, polite and accurate service.
Game Selection: 9
Games offered at Ladbrokes Poker include Texas holdem, Omaha poker (both the standard and hi.low versions), 7 card stud and the game made famous in films, 5-card stud.
Fixed Limits: $.25-$.40 to $300-$600
NL & PL Blinds: $.15-$.30 to $25-$50
Single table tournaments range from $5 buyins all the way up to $10,000 for the major players and special challenges.
Multi Table Tournament buyins range from $1 to $2500. Competitions include all of the above games. Omaha tournament games seem to be more popular here than at most other sites.
Take me to Ladbrokes Poker now!!!
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