BetFred Poker - The Bonus King

Due to U.S. legislation preventing credit card companies from collecting payments for wagers made by U.S. residents, Betfred Poker has determined to suspend all real-money gaming business in the United States.

Betfred Poker is one of the leading poker rooms in the iPoker network initiative developed by PlayTech. The network took a hit, like everybody else, with the new U.S. gaming regulations, but it is recuperating fast. Games are somewhat loose, with lots of casino players and new recruits, and there are often some very high-value promotions through Betfred Poker and other channels, so players are continually being drawn to the site.

The software has an innovative and good-looking interface with colorful and attractive graphics. The functionality is good, and any early minor glitches in the software have since been fixed. Games offered include Hold'em, Omaha Hi and Hi-Lo, Seven-Card Stud Hi, and Five-Card Stud. Ring games, heads-up tables, various sit-and-gos and multi-table tournaments are all available.

Betfred Poker also offers plenty of tournaments (over $7,000,000 a month in guarantees) and freerolls with great value. The traffic volume overall is in the middle segment of the industry. Real-money player statistics as of October 2007 show 6,600 ring-game players at peak hours, and 35,000 tournament players at peak hours.

Overall, Betfred Poker offers relatively loose games and good software that plays well, even though the game pace can be on the slow side. The software is updated frequently to ensure safety and stability, and there is little downtime as a result.

Game Variety
Betfred Poker has good game variety, with Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi and Seven-Card Stud Hi all available in Limit and Pot-Limit, and Hold'em offered in No-Limit as well. Table stakes range from 50¢/$1 to $300/$600 in the fixed limit games and 1¢/2¢ to $50/$100 in Pot-Limit and No-Limit games.

There are both heads-up, sit-and-go and fixed-schedule multi-table tournaments offered, and traffic is especially excellent at the sit-and-go tournaments, thanks to the unique jackpot sit n go’s.

Ring Game Traffic
Traffic at Betfred Poker is growing. There are many games at low to mid-stakes No-Limit and Limit Hold'em games. Betfred Poker has peak cash-game traffic of 6,600 real-money players at peak hours (October 2007).

Soft Competition
Play at most tables at Betfred Poker is relatively soft. Most volume is in the No-Limit Texas Hold'em games, where the viewed-flop percentage is normally in the 30s or 40s. Players will sometimes be able to find a full table with pre-flop percentages all the way in the 50s. The players are also quite passive, so it is easy for skilled players to be winning players.

Rake
The rake at Betfred Poker is lower than industry standard. The general policy is the standard 5% rake taken in increments up to $3. But on several types of tables there are lower maximum rakes. On Fixed-Limit tables up to $1/$2 there is a $1 maximum rake. More importantly, all tables with 2-3 players have a max. rake of $1 and tables with 4-5 players have a $2 max. rake - which also includes No-Limit and Pot-Limit short-handed games. Betfred Poker uses a "no flop, no drop" policy for hands not reaching the flop.

Support
Betfred Poker offers great support, with 24/7 telephone support and live online and e-mail support. The support is very fast and offers good answer quality.

Financial Security
Betfred Poker has no reported financial security problems to date. The site is secure and is part of the iPoker network, which is backed by renowned casino software developer and operator PlayTech.

Deposit & Withdrawal Options
Deposit Options: VISA, MasterCard, Citadel, NETeller, FirePay, MoneyBookers, InstaCash, EcoCard, UseMyBank, wire transfer, bank draft and personal check.

Withdrawal Options: NETeller, FirePay, MoneyBookers, EcoCard, bank draft express and wire transfer.