Absolute Poker

Flint Bones

I went to this site almost a year ago Bonus Whoring. Well I bought in for a huge $25 (my bankroll was very small then) and I evetually dropped it to about $.50. I never claimed the bonus.

Recently I went back for my 50 cents. I was bored at work and played penny games. I now realise I hate hate Absolute Poker. It has nothing to do with the players. They have a lot of fish and the micro limit SNGs which I played are easy money finishes. Which isn't as different from the $100 or $50 SNGs I play at Party. So let me explain my reasons for detest at Absolute.

1) Support sucks. Recently I had an issue and sent an e-mail and got a canned response to an entirely different issue.

2) Clearing the bonus is hard. Basically to clear a $20 bonus you need to get 200 points (1 point for each dollar raked that you supply).

3) The site is really slow. I have had problems with my connection on this site more than once. It isn't me.

4) There are constant updates to the site (at least 1/week). This makes me wonder why update it so frequently when a site like Party doesn't do it nearly as often.

5) Cashing out. First, it takes forever. Second you are only allowed to cash out a minimum $50. If you want a check they charge an $8 processing fee. My issue with the minimum cashout is simple, why let people buy in for less and then force them to leave their money with you. Other site may have this minimum as well, but I have never cashed out for less than $200 so perhaps I never noticed.

So I built my stack back to $51 and promptly cashed out to Netteller. I just wanted to rant. I am deleting my account and getting the hell out of Dodge.

GTA Poker

I've played there alot and have never had any problems at all. You can clear bonus and get rakeback at the same time, which you can't do on many sites. 3 tabling 6max games it only takes a couple days to clear $200 in bonus. Cash outs are slower than other sites, but you can't play that high there anyhow as the mid to high limit games are usualy low to empty, I just play low limits on there to relax. I find the structures of the HU sngs pretty reasonable but not too long, way better than say paradise but much shorter than stars and a bit faster than UB...just a nice killing-time-playing $10 or $20 HU matches structure.

I've only dealt with support once for a FPP purchase and response time was slow. Oh yeah, once when they didn't place a bonus in my account and it only took a few hours to be rectified.

The major nice feature for low limit ring games is the frequency of the reload bonuses and as stated above, that you can layer rakeback ontop.

All I ever play there is low limit 6max omaha8 or LHE (2 4 to 5 10) and HU sngs, so I can't comment on anything else.

There are much worse sites IMO.

Hork42

I found the software to be clunky at first but i got used to it and I actually don't mind playing at Absolute anymore. The bonuses never stop coming, and once you get the bankroll big enough to play 3/6 or 5/10, they are not all that hard to clear. The game quality is good (very poor players) but the selection is not great, which is why I choose Party over Absolute.

Wolffhound

I played there a ton in 2005 albeit at .50/1.00. The games were ok, minimal selection at times as there aren't that many players on the site.

Bonus used to be simple to clear at low limits until they changed their raked hand definition prior to Christmas. I won't be back, but, that's more because I found I prefer the 10 handed tables at Party/Ultimate Bet.

You can't beat AP for reloads, at least once a week for 20%. Tough to beat that. I'm sure Hork is right that at 5/10 its easy to clear.

I never had a problem with support or cashouts while I was there and I moved money in and out weekly.
There are so many places to play, no need to play one that you don't like.

Metro

I dont like the icons for AP.  They are all the same unless someone has actually put a picture in. I dont know why it makes a difference, but I much prefer the 3D effect of most other sites. Also the ability to make easy notes on players is more difficult on AP.

moose

The thing I hate about Absolute is that even though you can multi-table - as soon as you sit at a table on your list you automatically get taken off all your other waiting lists. What a PITA!

hockref

I love absolute poker! One simple reason.....It let me claim the "new deposit" bonus twice and I assume it will let me claim it again if I reload. I think they have moved the bonus to 200% up to $300.

They play is also Great! I had never seen tables with more than one true fish or maniac sitting until I started to play at AP.

Big E

I totally agree, I hate absolute but:

1) Support sucks. Recently I had an issue and sent an e-mail and got a canned response to an entirely different issue.

I actually applaud their support, in my case they have always responded quickly and to the point.

2) Clearing the bonus is hard. Basically to clear a $20 bonus you need to get 200 points (1 point for each dollar raked that you supply).

This is my main beef and my reason for leaving, last year you would get a point if the pot got to $5, at .50/1.00 it was easy to multi-table and clear the bonuses which usually were more then once a weak.....now that requirement has doubled, the pot has to hit $10 to count....I can't afford more then $1/2 at this site so in that sense it is difficult to clear...if you have the roll to play 3/6 or 5/10 it should be a breeze?

3) The site is really slow. I have had problems with my connection on this site more than once. It isn't me.

I've heard this happen to some, for me it runs smooth as silk...how do you know it's not you?

)4) There are constant updates to the site (at least 1/week). This makes me wonder why update it so frequently when a site like Party doesn't do it nearly as often.

not to worry they are just tweaking their 'runner-runner suck out' algorithm.

5) Cashing out. First, it takes forever. Second you are only allowed to cash out a minimum $50. If you want a check they charge an $8 processing fee.  My issue with the minimum cashout is simple, why let people buy in for less and then force them to leave their money with you. Other site may have this minimum as well, but I have never cashed out for less than $200 so perhaps I never noticed.

It has never taken more then 48 hours to get me money, usually around 24, not bad I think?


That said, when my roll gets bigger and my game gets better and I can move up in limits I will be reloading here as much as possible!!!

westside8

Absolute was the first site I played at when I started whoring, and from my experience, they are a decent site to play at, but not the top ones from my personal experience (in terms of overall ranking). However, I haven't played at that many (6 so far) so I can't really say whats what.

During my times there, I found majoriy of my table consisted of alot of tight players who were also there whoring their bonuses, it was difficult to find a juicy game. And since the change, I think it heavily favours those who plays middle limit which makes it very tough for the low limit players to clear their bonuses. With that said, I think as Big E said, once my roll and skills can handle some 3/6 or 5/10 game, I think I will definitely check out their site again.