Carbon Poker Review
Carbon Poker is a Canadian based poker room which was founded in 2005. It is regulated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and is one of the few poker rooms that have remained open to players from the United States. Carbon Poker still trails behind the big sites PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker in terms of popularity, but nevertheless is an up and coming poker room. Carbon Poker is a member of the Merge Network.
Carbon Poker offers a huge selection of games, ranging from the more popular games like Texas holdem to the obscure ones such as Ace to 5 lowball. The full list of games that are available is: Texas holdem, Omaha, Omaha hi lo, 7 card stud, 5 card stud, 7 card stud hi lo, Razz, 5 card draw, Badugi, Ace to 5 lowball, and Deuce to 7 lowball. The selection of stakes is equally impressive, ranging from $0.01/$0.02 to $300/$600. There are also progressive jackpots as well as a rewards program to make your poker experience at Carbon Poker enjoyable.
Carbon Poker Bonuses
Almost every online poker room offers a first time deposit bonus as its main promotion to attract new players, which can be one of the safest and quickest ways to build a bankroll. Carbon Poker offers a 100 % first time deposit match up $600, which is comparable to some of the best online promotions. An initial deposit of $600 dollars will result in a free $600 bonus from Carbon Poke. The minimum deposit on Carbon Poker is $10, and the bonus will expire on the date that is established at the time of your deposit or when you withdraw money from your account.
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Carbon Poker will also provide their players with reload bonuses several times throughout the year. These reload bonuses do not occur on any regular schedule, but they usually start on the first of the month and are available until the end of the month. The reload bonuses vary from 75 % to 125 % and range in maximum size from $200 to $1,000. Carbon Poker also has Refer a Friend Bonuses.
All Carbon Poker bonuses must be cleared by earning VIP points from real money tournaments or cash games. The bonus clears at a rate of $1 per $75 that is paid in rake and tournament fees and it is released in increments of $5.
Software
The software at Carbon Poker is very user friendly thanks to the simple layout of the lobby. The filters make the game you want easy to find and the tables are visually attractive. Sometimes the tables take a long time to load, but not long enough to really be a problem.
Everyone can play at Carbon Poker, as the poker client can be downloaded and installed on both the Windows and Mac operating systems. The biggest downside to the Carbon Poker software is the 4 table limit making it impossible to multi table to the extent that some players would like. The fact that hand histories cannot be saved is also a disappointment. This also means that tracking software like Poker Tracker and Holdem Manager are not compatible.
Competition
The player pool at Carbon Poker is generally pretty weak, as it is at most sites on the smaller networks. Offering blackjack adds another group of people who may not be very good at poker. The 4 table limit eliminates many of the more serious poker players, as well as the fact that tracking software cannot be used.
Tournaments
In terms of size, the tournaments are generally much smaller than the bigger sites, but the number of tournaments spread by Carbon Poker is very competitive. However, this also means that there are fewer players to compete against thus increasing your odds of winning a big one. You have the option to buy in to most tournaments here with either real money of VIP Points that you earn from playing in real money ring games and tournaments.
The guaranteed tournaments on the weekends are the largest offered at Carbon Poker. The $12,500 Guaranteed takes place at 1 PM ET with a buy in of $33 or 3,300 VIP points each Saturday. On Sunday at 3 PM, the $50,000 Guaranteed takes place with a buy in of $109 or 10,900 VIP points. Guaranteed tournaments also run around the clock on weekdays with over $97,000 in guaranteed prize money to play for every day.
Carbon Poker Summary
Carbon Poker is quickly becoming one of the best choices for American and non American poker players alike. The generous bonuses, rewards program, weak competition, and reliable software are all very good reasons to sign up. However, it would be nice to see some changes regarding the table limit and the ability to use poker tracking software before Carbon Poker can be one of the best places for everyone to play.