The action

Full Tilt Poker offers a unique, solid product. In my opinion it's top to bottom the best poker site on the internet. With terrific tourney offerings, superior bonuses, goods levels of traffic that have consistently increased each month (15,000 players online on a more or less perpetual basis), top notch software, a favorable mix of solid, intelligent opposition and fishing holes (depending on limits, games, and times of day), it's a great place to improve your poker, and to build a bankroll.

Rake is on par with the industry, with maximum rake on any hand set at $3.00. FTP caps the rake in heads-up play at .50 cents.

Full Tilt offers Texas Hold 'em, Omaha, Omaha hi/lo, 7 card stud, 7 stud hi/lo and Razz in ring game, SnG and MTT formats.

They also run 2-table SnGs, which are gaining in popularity. There is a noticeable shortage of micro-level multi-table tournaments (other sites run several 5+.50 MTTs per night) but overall, the tournament variety and frequency, the sheer number of satellites
(in July they ran a single tournament that sent a ridiculous 100 players to the WSOP main event), and events with guaranteed prize pools (63 Guarantees per week!) put Full Tilt way out in front, tournament wise.

The software

The network is stable and reliable, and software updates are automatic. The fluid graphics and the cartoon-esque avatars make Full Tilt entertaining to look at. A common complaint about many poker sites is that they're hard on the eyes after a few hours. Not the case with Full Tilt. Although the poker is serious, the client's look and feel is friendly. The navigation system makes sense, and windows and buttons are responsive.

One complaint - when you select a tournament, the tournament lobby opens in a new window, and there is no countdown to let you know how many hours/mins until the event starts - for this you must refer back to the main console (pictured below):

The actual game controls also feature a 'bet pot' tab, which doesn't enter a bet but automatically moves the slider to the position reflecting a pot-sized bet... this intelligent, intuitive feature is glaringly absent from many poker clients.

Another nice touch is that the client also allows you to adjust your position at the table. You'll still be positioned the same relative to other players, but you just right-click on any seat at your table and choose "Put Me Here" -- the table and players will rotate so that you will be in that position.

You can also 'emote' with your avatars...a silly but amusing feature, possibly for people who miss the physical aspect of poker, absent from online play. Change the facial expression of your own avatar to suit your mood, or laugh as your opponent puts on a stupid grin and tries to pretend he really likes his hand.

Full Tilt also occasionally runs tournaments in which the winner receives their own custom avatar, definitely a point of prestiege, given that generally only FTP pros have custom avatars.

The Pros

Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Clonie Gowan, Andy Bloch and Mike Matusow make up Team Full Tilt...and 22 other players round out Full Tilt's stable of professionals. They regularly play on Full Tilt Poker, and fans and serious students of the game are free to observe, chat with, and play with them. Full Tilt players get periodic, free newsletters featuring "Lessons from the Pros" which prove to be genuinely useful pieces of poker theory.

Don't think of yourself as a star-gazer or "poker groupie"? You don't need to be. Watching (and of course playing) the world's best is a valid and worthwhile exercise. And the presence of world-class players gives Full Tilt some character.

Finally, players who meet an FTP pro in a tournament and manage to bust them, automatically win a 'bounty', equal to the buy-in for the event (as well as bragging rights).

Bonuses, Promotions

With a year-round 100% deposit bonus (up to $600) Full Tilt Poker outdoes the other elite poker sites, bonus-wise. Frequent reload bonuses of 50% beat most sites' first-deposit bonuses.

Unique promotions and special tournaments generate lots of interest, e.g. huge numbers of satellites to major land-based tournaments and more recently, "10K a day" and World Poker Tour/World Series of Poker Circuit "Winners Choice" Satellites. You can get more info by visiting Full Tilt Poker's homepage, and then clicking "News and Promos" at the top right.

Service

Email response time for customer service is occasionally slow, but they're helpful and reasonable. Cash transfers are generally fast (5-10 mins) and cashouts times via Neteller have improved greatly- most cashouts requests are completed within 2 hours.

Deposit options include Neteller, Epassporte, Firepay, Click2Pay, and Visa/Mastercard.

Rakeback

Full Tilt Poker does not administer rakeback themselves, but allows affiliates (ed. note: such as Full Tilt Payback) to offer rakeback, with a cap of 27%.

Summary

Tastes vary, but we believe there isn't a better playing arrangement anywhere in the online poker industry. Better software, a better bonus, better tournament structures, better mailings, and better promotions equal a better cardroom.