InterPoker Review

InterCasinoPoker, or InterPoker as it is also known, is the online poker arm of the popular InterCasino. InterCasino is the biggest of all the Wagerlogic-powered online casinos, so I anticipated good things when deciding to review this poker room.

Before playing poker, a player must firstly visit the InterPoker website to download the client application. The software connects players to the poker room, allowing gamblers to play poker with people from all around the world.

The Interpoker website itself is easy to navigate, although I personally found it a little dark - the color black is used quite predominantly. Of course, the colors used are just a matter of personal preference and does not detract at all from the actual site setup! Downloading is possible from every page simply by clicking the 'download' button - naturally, websites want to make playing as simple as possible to attract as many people as possible. Within a couple of clicks the 200k application was being downloaded.

However, it turned out that the download is actually just an installer - a further download of nearly 3mb is required to fully install the application. It should be noted, however, that should players not want to download the software, they can order a software CD which will be delivered free of charge. This is a good option for dial-up users, although the delay in playing can be frustrating for the very eager gambler!

With the software installed I now had to create an account. Players who are already members at InterCasino will not have to re-register their details - rather they just need to activate their account in the poker room. However, since I was completely new to the InterCasino properties, I clicked the new user button and signed up. After completing a pretty standard form I was signed up with the username 'OnlineJan', and was ready to see what InterPoker had to offer.

InterPoker presents its games in a lobby format, split into cash-games / tournaments and then in to type of game. In terms of games offered, the usual poker variants are available - Texas Hold'em (by far the most popular) as well as Stud Poker and Omaha. Having orientated myself with the setup of InterPoker, I decided to click the cashier button and make a deposit.

The InterPoker cashier is fully integrated into the poker software, and deposits can be made using a variety of methods (credit cards, NETeller etc.) I opted to make a $50 deposit via NETeller which was processed without hassle. It should be noted, however, that cashouts are not processed as smoothly (not initially as least) - all new players are posted a PIN that must be entered to make withdrawals. This supposedly is intended to protect the player, but does mean that new players can wait up to 3-4 weeks before being allowed to make their first cashout.

Players should also note the bonuses available for playing at InterPoker. Each month, a player's first deposit is matched to the value of $100. This is a very generous bonus offer and meant that my $50 was matched with a bonus of $50. However, a player must participate in raked hands equal to 8 times any bonus amount given to withdraw or even to PLAY with bonus money. As such, while I had $100 showing in my account, only $50 was available until I had completed 400 raked hands (something I never achieved). Therefore, I would advise against making bigger-than-average deposits at the start of each month as a player is unlikely to meet the raked-hand requirements. As a side note though, I found that the poker bonus was bizarrely available to play within InterCasino as well - this must be something to do with the 'one account' configuration.

So, with $50 in my bankroll I had to choose where to play! Although deposit and withdrawals are denominated in USD$, games are actually playable in UK pounds and Euros as well. Upon entering a non-USD denominated game, a player's bankroll is converted at the appropriate exchange rate to the correct currency. Although this currency conversion is completely hassle free, I decided to sit at a Texas Hold'em Limit $2/$4 table.

After playing a few hands, I have to say I was pretty impressed with what InterPoker had to offer. The graphics used are very good - sharp and pleasing on the eye. It is also clear to see what cards you are holding as well as the community cards in play. There is even the option to change to a 4-colour deck, which is great for those that have problems distinguishing the onscreen cards.

The game play is also smooth. Cards are dealt with nice animation and, as play commences, it is easy to see whose turn it is to play and how much time they have remaining to make their decision (each player has a 'countdown' indicator bar). The speed of play also proved to be reasonably fast, although this is very dependant on the speed of the players at the table. My only criticism is that when the hole cards were dealt, the software seemed to jitter abruptly, although this could be because I was playing on a dial-up connection - at no other time during play did I experience problems.

Finally, I was pleased that each game is accompanied by fitting sounds. A dealer announces when cards are dealt as well as when the turn, flop and river are revealed. He also indicated in his heavy-American accent that it's 'your turn' when I was slow to respond with a decision.

In terms of the players I came up against, I found they were of a reasonable standard. The majority actually played pretty well on my table, with only a few fish 'gambling' on getting lucky with turns and rivers. In fact, quite early on I was dealt AA, or pocket rockets as they are known. I played this out nicely to win a pot just shy of $40.

I then decided to move to a 7-card stud limit game. It has to be noted that the choice of tables for this game was limited - the majority of InterPoker players are Texas Hold'em fans. However, I still found a full $1/$2 limit table to play at. My choice of table was nicely rewarded with a three-of-a-kind hand on the very first game dealt.

Although InterPoker does offer tournament play, I decided to carry on playing on the cash-game tables and after a while the inevitable happened and I lost the lot. However, the InterPoker tournaments do offer great value for money - for a one off entry fee players participate in a knockout-style competition where the last remaining people take the winnings. InterPoker offers both single-table tournaments (10 entrants) as well as multi-table tournaments where many hundreds participate. InterPoker also offers guaranteed-prize tables where minimum prizes are guaranteed regardless of player numbers. At the time of playing, players could even play for a seat at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas - what a prize! As such it's clear to see that much fun can be had checking out the tournaments available.

As stated earlier, I didn't win this time and as such the PIN-drawback of withdrawals was not a problem. Similarly, if I had played before, any cash-in would have been processed within a couple of business days - pretty good.

Finally, as always I will comment on customer support. Support is available via email worldwide and for US customers (plus a few other countries - e.g. UK) via telephone. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with email support - a response, although promised within 24 hours, came 48 hours after I sent an easy question via email. However, telephone support proved to be fine - after a few rings of the phone I was speaking to a real person who answered my question (regarding the bonus issue) there and then.

To conclude, I was say that InterPoker is a pretty solid poker room to play at. The game variety is good, although there are fewer players for the more obscure games. Banking is handled well, although the need for a withdrawal PIN is a shame. Bonuses are very generous - particularly for those who can play enough to free-up the $100 monthly promotion. Finally, support is OK - knowledgeable, although slow to respond via email. Generally though, InterPoker is a respected and trusted name, and players should not experience problems with this well-known poker destination.

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