Gaming Club Review from Actionflop Poker

GAMING CLUB REVIEW

SCREEN SHOTS

Gaming Club lobby

Gaming Club ring game

OVERVIEW

Gaming Club is part of the Prima Poker network, which also includes Royal Vegas Poker, Spin Palace Poker, and 7 Sultans Poker. This means that a Gaming Club table may include players from these other sites. However, Gaming Club offers its own unique promotions and tournaments. It is the largest "skin" of the Prima Poker network, which all told is the fifth or sixth largest online poker site.

BONUSES

Initial deposit:

Up to $50 - see below

Difficulty to clear:

Easy

Expiration:

30 days after initial deposit

Method of tabulation:

Bonus Redemption Points

Details:

Gaming Club's most recent promotion (beginning August 3, 2005) is a "deposit $50, receive $50" bonus. You must clear 350 raked hands to earn the $50 bonus. Players have to play these raked hands within 30 days of initial deposit.

Opinion:

Gaming club has once again changed its definition of a raked hand for the sign-up bonus. "A raked hand occurs when the Player is dealt cards and the pot is raked a minimum of $0.25."

However, only raked hands from limit tables $2/$4 or higher and pot limit/no limit tables $0.50/$1 or higher will count toward this bonus.

This last stipulation is a strange one, especially if Gaming Club is interested in recruiting new players. Many novices will want to begin at lower limits (such as $.50/$1 limit), but games played at these limits will not count toward clearing the sign-up bonus. This may be a decent bonus to claim if you have experience playing on other sites, but I would recommend other sites for absolute beginners wanting to play at limits lower than $2/$4.

Raked hands are not tabulated in real time, and you often need to log in the following day to find out how much of your bonus you have cleared.

GAME SELECTION/COMMENTS

Good. There is usually one 10-player $1/$2 fixed-limit table going at all times, sometimes two or three (rarely more than three). While you will find much more fixed-limit action at Party or Paradise, Gaming Club seems to specialize in no-limit cash games as well as 6-player fixed limit games. The tournament action is nothing special (high buy-ins for mediocre purses), but there is usually a special tournament running through which you can win your way into a prestigious land-based tournament.

RAKE

Gaming Club's rake trends a little higher than industry average. Like most sites, it caps the rake at a maximum of $3. See Gaming Club's rake structure.

PLAYER REWARDS

There is no frequent player point system like Party Poker's, UltimateBet's, Poker Stars', Poker Room's, or Pacific Poker's. There is a daily high hand bonus that pays $250 (usually split by up to ten people). I know because I called down a player who had a royal flush (he would have won nothing if I had folded). If you find yourself with quad kings or better at a low-limit game, you would do well to check down your hand since you'll win nothing if there's no showdown.

MISCELLANEOUS

There seem to be a lot of international players at Gaming Club, especially those from all parts of Scandanavia. Thus, you'll run into all styles of play (good and bad). Gaming Club just added a "mini view" feature that shrinks the table graphic for those who like to play more than one table at once. As for the games themselves, low-limit cash games at the Gaming Club seem tougher than those at other sites, meaning that you will not see as much action or that you will run into some fancy raises. During afternoon hours, for instance, it's not uncommon to see a $1/$2 fixed-limit game in which only 30% of the players see the flop and whose average pot is $9-$10 (less than the average $0.50/$1.00 pot at Party). Avoid these types of low-limit games--they are nearly unbeatable in the long run.

Recently, my Gaming Club account was marked "dormant" because I had not played any real-money games in six months. When this happens, Gaming Club sends you a warning email in advance, then levies an "administration" fee on your account. If I read their terms correctly, the site can take up to $30 monthly from your account until your account reaches zero or until you become an active player again. I knew I had only about $3 in my account, but Gaming Club took this anyway. Be careful not to leave a large sum in your Gaming Club account if you are a recreational player.

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