I decided to take advantage of Full Tilt's 100% deposit bonus which is active through the end of this month. My cashout from Pacific finally hit the Neteller account today (five days after the request) and so I plopped most of it onto Full Tilt. And then I looked at the terms. Let me just say that it will take approximately 3-4 hours of play 5 nights a week from now until the deadline in December - you have 90 days to get the bonus released completely. The bonus is released in increments of 20% of your deposit and you earn points towards those dollars for each raked hand you participate in (ie.: you can't fold your way into a bonus).
I don't know if I will be able to tolerate the site for that length of time due to the lack of active tables. Perhaps the bonus will attract some more players - if they don't clue in to the draconian release policy. They may have done better to offer a lesser deposit, but with immediate release and restrict the cashout.
It took me a bit to get comfortable with the interface. I eventually discovered I could change the background to a less busy and distracting one. The avatars are ridiculous - fortunately you can turn them off. I like the hand history - it's an immediate graphic of the hand played and shows the mucked cards from a show down. An immediate visual which is very helpful.
I plunged right into a low buy-in S-n-G. Seating is for nine (as is the cash games) and you receive 1500 chips. The blinds are lightening fast, going up at 6 minute intervals. The speed of the blinds are tempered somewhat by the amount of starting chips. The play was very tight and, again, at a more skilled level than at Party or Empire, for example. Unfortunately I had no success at the 3 S-n-G's I played - each bust-out due to my own mistakes.
I sat at a $1/$2 ring game and quickly became bored. I left it for a $1/$2 NL game. At Full Tilt there is not a ceiling on the buy-in, but there is a minimum depending on the blind structure. The game was good and the level of play less fishy than I've experienced at that level at other sites. Now this may not appeal to some who prefer fishy-ness, however, I found it to be a nice change of pace to have raises respected and my reads to be correct based on how the cards were being played. It also made it prime pickings for some well-timed pot steals - bluffs were more profitable. I felt like I was playing a game instead of the lottery.
One nice feature is the gentle tone (no honk!) that alerts you to your turn. Instead of a countdown clock, though, the little 'stand' at your place starts to blink and gets faster and faster as the time runs out. Positively orgasmic.
Another plus, I guess, is the opportunity to play with the 'pros'. While I was on the site, Phil Gordon, Jennifer Harmon, Eric Lundgren, David Grey, Andy Bloch and at least one other pro whose name I don't recall, were all playing. Jennifer was at a $2/$4 table - so you don't have to hit the high stakes tables to play with them. I hope they get paid well to sit at the tables. I know it must be tough to endure the same inane questions over and over again.
At the risk of fueling the Online Poker is Rigged myth I will offer these hands I witnessed in the time I was on the site:
2 hands with quad Kings
1 showdown with a flush, full-house and quads
1 hand that had a 3-way flush (this one I participated in, guess who had the lesser flush..)
Overall, I give Full Tilt a ranking of, say, a pair of Jacks. Lots of potential but very vulnerable. It might be worth a visit to take advantage of the bonus for a while. Plus, this may be a good sight to hit up for the World Poker Bloggers Tour. Look for Maudie and, please, be gentle.
