Full Tilt Poker Review from Actionflop Poker

FULL TILT POKER REVIEW

SCREEN SHOTS

Full Tilt Poker lobby

Full Tilt Poker table

OVERVIEW

Launched in 2004, Full Tilt Poker is one of the fastest-growing online poker sites. FTP has benefited from heavy publicity featuring its association with many big-name professional poker players, including Phil Ivey, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Howard Lederer, and others. Players have the opportunity to test their skills against these pros in real-money games or just chat with them about poker and other topics.

Full Tilt Poker continues to serve all real-money players, including those from the U.S.

BONUSES

Initial deposit:	100% up to $600 - Use bonus code actionflop when creating new account
Difficulty to clear:	Moderate
Expiration:	First deposit bonus expires after 120 days
Method of tabulation:	Full Tilt Points (FTPs)
Details:	Each FTP you earn is worth $.06 (six cents) in bonus money. So, you must earn 10,000 FTPs to clear the maximum first deposit bonus of $600. You receive 1 FTP for every dollar that is raked from the pot, up to a maximum of 3 FTPs per hand. Partial points are awarded for pots that are raked less than a dollar. Unlike most sites, Full Tilt releases your bonus to you in increments: 10% of your initial deposit or $20, whichever you earn first. For tournaments (both scheduled and sit & go), you earn 7 FTPs for every dollar paid in tournament fees.
Opinion:	Full Tilt's maximum first deposit bonus is the largest in the industry among the leading sites. As is the case with most sites' bonuses, Full Tilt's bonus clears much more quickly at higher levels, such as NL $200 and $3/$6 limit and up. Some players like the thrill of having a large bonus released all at once, but I don't understand why. With most other sites, if you are unable to clear your bonus in the allotted time, you lose all of your bonus money. At Full Tilt, you still get partial credit (literally!) for your play if you run out of time.
Reload bonuses:	Full Tilt usually offers a reload bonus once every two months or so. The terms are usually 50% up to $300, with the same conditions for clearing as the first deposit bonus.

GAME SELECTION/COMMENTS

Game / Variation	Fixed Limit (ring)	No Limit (ring)	Pot Limit (ring)	Tournament

Texas Hold'em
Omaha
Omaha Hi/Lo
7 Card Stud
7 Card Stud Hi/Lo
Razz
5 Card Draw
2-7 Triple Draw
HORSE
HOSE
HA
HO

Full Tilt is one of the main beneficiaries of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), signed into law in October 2006. Because the site still allows residents of the U.S. to play for real money, many players from other sites have flocked to it. In September 2006, Full Tilt was averaging about 2,500 active real-money players; by November, this number had risen 40%, to about 3,500.

Full Tilt offers a large variety of games, and it seems to be creating a niche for itself among mixed-game players. It may be the only place to find regular HA (hold'em/omaha) and HO (hold'em/omaha hi/lo) games. The games have a reputation of higher-than-average competitiveness, but more fish should enter as the site grows.

RAKE

Full Tilt's rake is higher-than-average for the industry. Click here to see Full Tilt's rake structure.

PLAYER REWARDS

FTPs can be used to enter freeroll tournaments or to purchase an assortment of merchandise from the Full Tilt store. Choose from among Full Tilt-branded clothing, electronics, poker books, and other items. Get a 50-inch plasma TV for 400,000 points, or order a custom avatar for yourself for 1 million points!

MISCELLANEOUS

Full Tilt is banking on its association with the household names of the professional poker world: Lederer, Ivey, Ferguson, Hansen, et al., all of whom play exclusively there. Not only can players face off against these pros at the real-money tables but also at the play money tables as well. From time to time, you will be able to participate in an online chat with one of Full Tilt's poker pros.

The Full Tilt graphics have a colorful, cartoon-ish appearance. You can choose from many different cartoon avatars for yourself, from humans of all races and genders to animals and even anthropomorphized objects.

Full Tilt has an option to save your hand histories to your hard drive, making the use of software such as Poker Tracker much more convenient.

Although other leading sites such as Party Poker and Poker Stars have had a three-to-four year head start on Full Tilt, Full Tilt is gaining in size due to its own promotions and its policy to allow U.S. players to continue playing for real-money. It was positioning itself to be a major player in the industry, and a combination of circumstance and policy may just make it so.

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