Intertops Poker

This poker room has recently moved across to the Cake Gaming network, and is now using Cake Gaming software. Intertops Poker is not one of the really big poker rooms out there, but that isn`t necessarily a bad thing at all. It means it has to work a little harder to attract players, and one of the ways in which it does this is through a really generous welcome bonus - giving you a 110% match on your first deposit, up to $600 free. This rejuventated poker room is a place that we really enjoyed while reviewing it, with great software features and an excellent loyalty program. Intertops Poker is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

Let`s turn our attention to a closer examination of the software itself, which is the heart of the poker room experience. When you first open it you get a list of all the poker tables available, with all sorts of useful information and statistics about each one. You can see how many players are at each table, what the betting limits are, how many players on average see the flop, what the average pot size is and how many hands are played per hour on average. This is useful information in deciding what table will best suit your type of play. You can watch a table before joining it in order to get a feel for the texture of the table at any given time. Once you start playing at a table you`ll see a running commentary on the hand in play (which is retained as hand history), as well as playing stats. A very useful feature is the ability to make notes on the different players, and there is of course a live chat interface with all the other players.

We thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent at Intertops Poker and found that, by choosing our tables carefully, we were able to get a lot of play out of our welcome bonus. Of course we also tested the player support service and found them very responsive - our questions were answered expertly and in a friendly manner - without that dreaded rushed distractedness that makes one think of a call centre treadmill that the agents must be on. None of that here. A small poker room that we can highly recommend.

• First deposit match bonus of 110% up to $600 free - this is only available on your first deposit - paid in $10 increments as you earn player points
  

• Reload bonuses are offered periodically and communicated to you via email, as well as being advertised on the website

• You earn Gold Chips for the bets you make or tournament fees you pay, which accumulate to form Gold Stacks that you exchange for rewards

• Plenty of Guaranteed tournaments with large cash prize pools - like the $100K Weekly and the $250K Monthly

• Satellites to the WSOP - win your seat at poker`s most prestigious and richest tournament

Rake at Intertops Poker:
Intertops has a standard rake structure - rake is not taken if the flop is not dealt, and the rake varies from 3% to 5% of the pot.

Traffic:
At the time of review in April 2010, the number of real money players active on the poker room varied from a low of around 3,000 players playing at just over 600 tables during the morning, with numbers rising steadily throughout the day and peaking at around just over double that amount during the peak night hours. This was overwhelmingly skewed towards the Texas Holdem tables, with Omaha attracting a decent number of players. Numbers at the 7 Card Stud tables were significantly lower. Tournaments are a different story - when the weekly and monthly guaranteed tournaments are held, there is a large spike in traffic.

Game Limits and Games that you can play at Intertops Poker
Games available are quite varied, with most of the active tables featuring Texas Holdem. There are also lots of tables for Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo (although the latter two are often well patronised). Game types are fixed limit, pot limit and no limit, with betting limits varying from really low ($0.02 - $0.04) to nice and high for the high rollers ($100 - $200). There are always plenty of players at all limits on the Holdem tables at least.

Deposits / Withdrawals:
A good choice of deposit and withdrawal options are provided, including Click2Pay, Diners Club, EcoCard, Instadebit, Mastercard, Money Global, money transfer, NETeller, paysafecard and Visa.

Soft Competition:
Depending on the limits you choose, you`ll generally encounter some very loose play - at some of the lower limits an average of 80% of the players pay to see the flop - which is quite flabbergasting. If you`re a tight player who knows how to pick them off, this could be like shooting fish in a barrel for you. On the other hand, there are also lots of very tight looking games, with average players per flop as low as 7%. This is spread across all limits and not confined to the higher limit tables, so it`s very much a case of being able to pick a game texture that suits you.

The Pro`s
The welcome bonus is really generous, and the software downloads and installs quickly and easily. Everything is clearly laid out and there are game stats that are exposed upfront to allow you to make an informed choice about what tables to play at.
The avatars are not intrusive and you can choose to switch them off as well - the software is nicely customisable.
Transactions are processed quickly, with a minimum of fuss.

The Cons
There are not as many players at this poker room as at many others. This can sometimes mean that the limit you want to play is not available. It`s busier during times when US players are more active.
Play is almost entirely limited to Texas Holdem and to a lesser extent to Omaha; there is a distinct lack of players on the 7 Card Stud tables.
The tournament calendar is a little limited.

Player Loyalty Program and Service 
The poker room awards Frequent Player points for all the ring game betting you do, as well as for the real money tournaments that you pay to enter. You earn 1 point for every $1 that is raked in a hand that you participate in and for each $1 in tournament buy-in fees you earn 7 points. These points are converted into Gold Chips, which you accumulate towards completing Gold Stacks. As you complete a stack you become eligible to claim rewards in the form of cash bonuses. There are 50 levels to the bonus program, with increasing bonuses as you make your way up the levels.