BetOnline Poker
BetOnline Poker Review
“BetOnline Poker is one of the strongest options left in the market in terms of company history and financial stability.”
Read the most in-depth BetOnline Poker review anywhere online, with a step by step guide to downloading BetOnline Poker with an exclusive 200% sign up bonus.
BetOnline Poker has been a respected member in the online gaming and betting business for more than a decade, with that beginning in 1991 as a land-based bookmaker. The poker market is considered one of the most hostile environments in existence and BetOnline entered the market with a completely independent platform, along with an aggressive marketing scheme, aimed to claim the hearts and minds of the world.
Instead of taking the tried and tested route, like most poker start-up sites that piggy-back on an existing brand, BetOnline Poker has basically formed their own network, even though they initially resurrected the old Chico software platform instead of creating their own platform. This smart route of bypassing the software skin has allowed the company to reap the benefits in the form of complete control over the player base and cashier.
Sign Up and Download BetOnline Poker
In 2016, BetOnline Poker finally developed their own platform, with the assistance from Connective games, and ditched the old Chico platform. BetOnline is considered the flagship brand but the software is also used by their popular sister site, SportsBetting Poker. The new software platform is quickly being recognised as the better option for US players, providing far better functionality and offering more flexibility for future mobile options.
Player traffic has always been a problem with a new network, but BetOnline Poker is one of the only remaining poker rooms catering to new U.S signups, ensuring they stay between 2nd and 3rd place in the US market according to poker site metrics. We’ve been highly impressed with the rapid growth of BetOnline Poker, featuring active 10-seat no-limit tables, even up to £5/£10 levels, along with tons of active tables at lower levels. A further spike in traffic can easily occur thanks to their soft games and easy deposit options.
Prior to the UIGEA of 2006, online poker rooms in the United States were literally in every corner of the internet with thousands of online players on countless poker networks. Most players even categorized the different poker networks by tournaments, number of games, and initial deposit bonuses. However, these days, it’s a completely different story. There are far fewer players making a first-time appearance in online poker to loosen up the games, and the range of deposit options are becoming more uncommon. This means players are continuously seeking a respectable poker room that will accept their business through realistic deposit options. This is exactly why BetOnline Poker is such a diamond in the ruff. They offer cash games filled with players who don’t treat their money like it’s their last, and enjoy tremendous success with their poker network because they succeeded in offering easy deposit options, super-quick payouts, and relatively loose games, making BetOnline an incredibly rare gem in the market.
BetOnline does however have a few disadvantages when compared to other leading online poker rooms. They do not provide enormous tournament numbers or offer they own mobile poker software platform. In addition, players won’t be treated to promotions from the glory days of poker, but let’s face it, you won’t be able to find that anywhere anymore. At the end of the day, BetOnline is taking a stab at the poker market and honestly speaking, it couldn’t have come at a better time. BetOnline Poker is one of the top-rated poker sites, and if you’re able to deal with the minor disadvantages, you’ll receive easy deposit options, quick payouts, and excellent customer service.
Summary
Overall, BetOnline Poker is one of the strongest options left in the market in terms of company history and financial stability. They are currently ranked the 3rd best online poker room in the US market and offer an innovative app to US players, making it the second available app in the country. In addition, BetOnline Poker boasts with nearly a 100% credit card deposit rate along with an impressive bonus coupled with an achievable clearing rate. Furthermore, they offer a great variety of payment methods, and an improved software platform after ditching the Chico platform.
BetOnline Poker Downloads
BetOnline provides a user-friendly interface offering several products, including sportsbook, casino, horse racing, and a poker room all under one roof. Visitors are able to download the BetOnline software free of charge, giving you access to each of their incredible products. When it comes to poker, the downloadable software will connect you to play against thousands of other poker enthusiasts whether it’s on a Windows PC or Mac. Once the software is download onto your computer, you simply have to register a new account and log in.
Downloading the BetOnline software on a Mac also does a fantastic job at enabling users to gain access to content-on-demand through Apple devices. Another great feature is the BetOnline Mobile app available by simply visiting the site and scanning the QR code. The poker software can also be easily downloaded on Android devices, giving those that are always on the move access to their favourite poker tournament or cash games regardless of where they are. The BetOnline Poker software is also available for Blackberry and Windows phones.
How to Download
It is easy to find the BetOnline Poker download, and downloading the poker software from BetOnline is one of the easiest things on planet earth, and doesn’t require a rocket scientist to guide you through the process. You simply have to visit the BetOnline.ag website and click on the Poker section at the top of the page. You will then see three options listed in the middle of the page, including ‘Download for PC’, ‘Download for Mac’, and ‘Poker Promotions’. The process is the same on both PC and Mac. You simply click on the corresponding download button and the installation file will either automatically start downloading or you’ll need to accept the download, depending on your browser settings on your computer.
Downloading the poker software from BetOnline is easy and you only need to follow these steps:
- Step 1
You simply need to visit the BetOnline.ag website, www.betonline.ag and click on the Poker section at the top of the page.
- Step 2
You will then see three options listed in the middle of the page, including ‘Download for PC’, ‘Download for Mac’, and ‘Poker Promotions’. The process is the same on both PC and Mac. You simply click on the corresponding download button and the installation file will either automatically start downloading or you’ll need to accept the download, depending on your browser settings on your computer.
- Step 3
The file size is 653kb and takes a couple of seconds to complete the download, it’s not a big file at all. Once the installation file is downloaded, simply click on it to open the BetOnline installation process.
- Step 4
You’ll be prompted to select a language and will need to decide where you would like the poker software to be unpacked on your computer. Thereafter you can click on ‘Install’. This time round, the file size will be around 10Mb.
- Step 5
Once the BetOnline software is fully downloaded, the software will display the login page. If you don’t have an account with BetOnline, simply click on ‘Create Account’. You will then be transported to the web browser where you’ll need to add a few personal details to register a new account. Alternatively, if you already have an account, you can simply login with your username and password and start playing.
The file size is 653kb and takes a couple of seconds to complete the download, it’s really not a big file at all. Once the installation file is downloaded, simply click on it to open the BetOnline installation process. You’ll be prompted to select a language and decide where you would like the poker software to be unpacked on your computer. Thereafter you can click on ‘Install’. This time around, the file size will be around 10Mb. Once the BetOnline software is fully downloaded, the software will display the login page. If you don’t have an account with BetOnline, simply click on ‘Create Account’. You will then be transported to the web browser where you’ll need to add a few personal details to register a new account. Alternatively, if you already have an account, you can simply log-in with your username and password and start playing.
BetOnline Poker Mobile App
For more than 5 years, we’ve been under the impression that most US-facing online poker rooms are operated by people who dislike money. They were idly sitting by while Ignition was running the scene with the only mobile client for US players. The world has been living on mobile devices for more than a decade and BetOnline had to eventually realise this from their end. Obviously, they won’t get the official app approved, but they either had to make it happen or suffer an extremely slow death. Fortunately, BetOnline woke up one day and released a fully functional mobile app. It was essentially a soft launch and yet to be fully advertised, but once we heard about it, we decided to put it through its paces.
Graphics
BetOnline has done a fantastic job in terms of graphic quality since they manage to update everything in 2016. The update clearly carried over to their mobile app, providing extremely sharp and detailed graphics. The poker lobby can be filtered and you’ll notice a mini-graphic on every cash game to display the number of seats. The menus are designed extremely well with a graphical replay hand feature, a VIP Points display feature, and support for their built-in cashier. Simple animations and sound effects can be switched off or on, and the mobile app from BetOnline even displays tiny chat bubbles next to the speaking player which you can disable as well. The bet slider is another innovative feature, allowing players to either drag a slider, enter their bet amount manually or by selecting incremental bets that are based on the pot size. The only downside is the lack of a button to bet the full pot size.
Stability
This is normally one of the most common areas where complaints are raised against any mobile app due to the number of bugs that normally occur. However, the mobile app from BetOnline was quite stable in all our tests, and performed much better than most clients we’ve tried before. That doesn’t mean things were perfect though. We experienced some hanging in the middle of certain hands where the entire game managed to freeze for a couple of seconds, but we could resume the hand afterwards. It’s worth mentioning that this occurred while we went through the settings menu during a game being played, so we would advise that you avoid the settings menu when playing a big hand.
Multi-table Support
The best addition to the mobile app is how BetOnline executed multiple tables. Players can join up to 4 different tables, making it one of the best implementations of mobile gaming we’ve encountered so far. When you joined multiple tables, you will notice a small section at the top of your mobile screen, indicating your cards on that specific table along with a yellow timer if it’s your turn to play. You simply tap on the smaller table, expanding it to fill the screen, and make your play. We love this idea from BetOnline. There’s also an automatic table switch option, but we disliked this option as its switched just as another table needed a bet to be placed, so it’s better to switch it off.
Tournaments
Another massive advantage the mobile app from BetOnline has over Bovada, is the ability to play Sit and Go’s and Tournaments, and this cant be overstated. This was a very clever move from BetOnline and many players will greatly appreciate this. Through the mobile app, players can easily view any tournament, register, and play directly from their mobile devices. The only downside is that there’s no registration confirmation on the mobile app, so please make sure you keep this in mind.
Advanced Settings
You’ll be quite surprised at the sheer number of settings you can alter with the mobile app from BetOnline. You obviously won’t have the entire suite of settings you would expect on a desktop for instance, but it’s fantastic for a no-download offering. You can toggle player chat, toggle animations and sounds, adjust visual table themes, and change turn notifications to mention a few.
Themes
The BetOnline Poker default theme looks outstanding, but for those who wish to change things up, you will find a great variety of colour options for the carpeting below the table and the table felt itself. You’ll find a small eyedropper icon on the screen where you can make all your customizations.
Overall, we were quite pleased with the mobile offering from BetOnline. They are only the second poker room to offer a mobile poker client for real money. In our opinion, this is certainly the better of the two, due to multi-table functionality and the ability to play Sit and Go’s and tournaments. In addition, its also very stable and can easily be a replacement for the desktop version.
How to Play Mobile Poker from BetOnline
Well firstly, you will need to visit the BetOnline Poker site and click on ‘Join Now’ to create your own player account, or simply click on ‘Log in’ when you already have an account. You are welcome to create your account either on your desktop, tablet, or mobile device. Once you are logged into your account, make your way to the poker section of the site. Depending on your mobile device, you’ll need to click on ‘Play Now’ on an iPad or iPhone, and ‘Download Now’ if you’re using an Android tablet or phone. The software will be installed, and once it’s installed, simply click on the BetOnline Poker icon to open it.
Apple/iOS Download
Android Download
When the software is busy launching, turn your mobile device to landscape mode where you’ll be prompted to log in again. You’ll enter your account number next to the human bust and your password next to the padlock. Once you are logged in, and wish to make a deposit, you simply tap on the three-bar hamburger menu located next to the player icon and select ‘Cashier’. When you tap ‘Cashier’, another browser window will open where you’ll need to input your credit card, bitcoin, or other deposit information. The poker lobby will immediately show you the available cash games where you can join. You can also toggle between Sit and Go or Tournament tabs under the player icon to register for either one of them. Once you selected a tournament to join, simply use the slider to select your buy-in and patiently wait for the tournament table to open automatically.
Bonuses
When the poker room was initially added to the cross-platform back in 2010, the company managed to overlook the poker-only crowd and completely forgot, or neglected, to add an outright poker bonus. It took them a few years to realize it, but BetOnline finally managed to see their mistake and are now offering one of the largest poker-specific bonus schemes in the US market. The bonus consists of a generous 200% first deposit bonus up to a maximum of £2,500. Both numbers look extremely large, but as most of you already know with any type of bonus offered, it’s the wagering requirements that are far more important than the impressive numbers being offered in big bold writing.
Surprisingly, the 200% welcome bonus release rate is extremely good when compared to other poker rooms, earning you around £2-3 of your bonus every hour of play at every £0.50/£1 No-Limit table. You will quickly realise that other poker rooms are averaging around £1-1.50 of your bonus per hour, making the bonus terms at BetOnline Poker stand out significantly. As with almost every bonus structure, there is a rakeback system, supplying a percentage of your bonus as you accumulate Comp Points, given every time you contribute to a dealt hand. The formula that activated the transfer of cash from your bonus amount to your cash balance was quite complex, but BetOnline has recently simplified it. You can now receive £5 in your cash balance every time you accumulate 1,500 Comp Points. You will have a total of 60 days to earn as much of the pending bonus as possible, making it much longer when compared to other poker rooms in the online gaming industry.
Although its clearly stipulated on the promotions page at BetOnline Poker, it’s still extremely frustrating that you must manually email the support desk to activate the bonus within your account. This aspect of the bonus structure is unnecessary with the advancement of modern software tracking, but at the end of the day, it’s one simple email to receive an extremely great bonus. So, ensure you follow the instructions correctly to activate the bonus once your initial deposit has been made.
Poker Player Rewards
BetOnline Poker has also embedded a unique player reward system known as Comp Points, awarded by entering tournaments or through cash game play. Accumulated Comp Points can then be used as a buy-in for daily tournaments that reward you with real money. There should be plenty of uses for Comp Points on the horizon, but at least for now, there’s a risk-way of earning real money.
Leaderboard Prizes
One of the leading promotions, other than the free bets and 100% bonus is the Sit and Go leaderboard. It will reset every week and will add up to £5,000 that will be divided amongst the winners. It’s not bad, but it’s something that been seen a hundred times before. That being said, there are certain aspects that make it shine, especially when you’re a recreational player. For instance, there are 3 leaderboards that are separated by different buy-in amounts. These amounts include either £2 buy-in’s, buy-in’s for under £20, and buy-ins for anything over £20. The leaderboard is also updated regularly and available directly through the software. This is quite handy as every leaderboard is updated in real time, so players can quickly check after every tournament. Although BetOnline Poker is one of the biggest poker networks still around, tournaments aren’t as busy as you would imagine they would be. The benefit to this is that non-grinders will actually have a chance of these leaderboards purely because the participation count is lower.
Looking at BetOnline from a poker-only player perspective, you will be flattered to see the management team has started understanding the value of providing more poker-specific bonuses and promotions, as well as responded to player criticisms. The free bet was always cherished, but BetOnline Poker has a far greater opportunity to acquire bonus-driven players by competing with the rest of the market with their incredible 100% match offer. Although players still have to email support to claim the bonus, this poker room offers the best bang for your buck when it comes to bonus size and wagering requirements.
One of the best leaderboard prizes includes the £10,000 Weekly Cash Race. Players are treated to £10,000 worth of extra cash prizes that will be up for the taking every week for existing poker players. Players simply have to play any real-money ring games to qualify for the leaderboard prizes. While playing, you will earn points that will be based on play. The more points you earn, the higher up the leaderboard you’ll climb. There are 3 different leaderboards, including Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
Other Promotions
There are a handful of other poker related promotions available at BetOnline Poker, and although they might not occur around the calendar, they still complement the Sit and Go prizes with something extra for both the cash game players and multi-table tournament players, based on Comp Points. The leaderboard prizes normally climb up to £20,000. Lastly, freerolls are available one or twice every hour and provide prizes of up to £250.
Free Bets
BetOnline also offers a great assortment of non-poker free plays that it’s certainly worth taking a few minutes of your time to browse through their vast selection. At the end of the day, these offers are risk-free entertainment and can potentially contribute to your overall bankroll. There are two offers in particular that we would like to mention, as they are truly unique in an industry that is ultimately trying to rob you, or take up most of your time to simply meet the playthrough requirements.
The first is the 50% in free sports bets. The 50% match bonus automatically added to your account once your deposit has been made in the sports section of BetOnline. The 50% bonus can be used towards an unlimited number of bets until you lose it all or until you manage to roll it over 10 times by winning. The funds can then be transferred over to your poker account or you can simply cash it out. The maximum you can claim in bonus funds is £1,000. The second free bet offer is a single bet that needs to be wagered from your cash balance. Should you win, you get to keep it, and if you lose, you simply email support and request a refund of the amount you bet, usually taking up to 24 hours. The single bets include:
- £10 on a Skill Game
- £25 on a Live Dealer Game
- £25 on a Racebook Bet
- £25 on a Live Bet
- £50 on a Mobile Bet
It’s an extremely clever way to get more players to test their other range of products, and the range of free plays is quite remarkable.
Bad Beat Jackpot
BetOnline Poker also offers a Bad Beat promotion, allowing you to join in on the bad beat jackpot tables. If your hand holds 4 of a kind jacks or better and it’s not good enough to win the pot, you as well as everyone around you will be entitled to the six-figure bad beat jackpot. The pool is divided as follows: 35% will go towards the player with the bad beat, 17.5% of the pot will go towards the winner of the hand, 17.5% will be split amongst the players around the table, and 30% will go towards the seed of the next Bad Beat Jackpot.
BetOnline Promo Codes
Exclusive Poker Bonus – 200% bonus up to $2500 – TTOPS + 5k Freeroll
Lifetime Reload Bonus – 25% deposit bonus for life – LIFEBONUS
Bitcoin Bonus -100% up to 1btc – BTC2017
BetOnline Casino Bonus – 25% bonus up to $2500 – CASINO25
Sportsbetting Bonus – 50% bonus up to $2500 – NEW2500
Software
For the initial 5 years, BetOnline managed to get by with a rather simplistic software package. We gave it a rather average score, cause in all honesty, it wasn’t more than an average software platform. It functioned properly and provided support for Mac users, but that was basically all it did. It wasn’t until mid-2016 that BetOnline decided to get a complete makeover and revamped the entire look and feel of the site. Every single aspect was improved that we now consider BetOnline Poker to be one of the best destinations in the US market.
In 2017, the company revealed their very own mobile poker platform that is currently available for all Android and iOS users, be it a mobile device or tablet. In this review, we also put it through its paces and it provided some astonishing results with quite a few rare and innovative features, including chat bubbles, multi-tabling, and a built-in cashier. We haven’t encountered any crashes, but did see a slight lag when you mess around with the settings during a game session. The mobile platform is the second mobile poker offering in the US, and we strongly believe it’s the better option of the two.
From a network perspective, BetOnline decided to ditch the old Chico software, and it was probably the best move the company has made since its inception. It was a very outdated client with an unsure reputation with other skins over the years. BetOnline Poker is now developed by Connective Games, and we couldn’t be happier with this new partnership.
To start things off, we had a look at the lobby and the layout looks very similar to the old one without any major changes. You can still view common table information, including player flop percentages and average pot sizes. The lobby also offers various filters that other poker rooms have included with the ability to display tournaments and cash games that’s been based on specific parameters such as the type of game and limit. However, it doesn’t display the average number of hands played every hour. While we were reviewing the software, we found it to operate at an average speed of up to 65 hands per hour for 10-seated tables and up to 75 hands per hour for 6-seated tables.
BetOnline Poker now comes with a buddy list feature, allowing you to play with friends, gives you the opportunity to follow fish around, and lets you avoid obnoxious players and sharks who you don’t want to see while enjoying your gaming session. Table sizing has also been made friendlier at multi-tables with maximization, cascade, and tile all easily accessible. New games have been added to the game variety apart from the age-old classics like Omaha and Texas Hold’em. Players can also indulge in 7 Card Stud, 32 Card Draw, and Americana.
Once you open up a table, you will quickly notice the graphics overhaul. The visual effects are much more attractive with an innovative and sharp table layout. Players can finally toggle between carpet colour, card graphics, and felt colour, all of which look truly amazing. What’s more impressive is the fact that BetOnline removed the awful blackjack table that was linked to your poker game. This has thankfully been replaced by a casino icon. Furthermore, players can finally choose their own avatars by either uploading their own image or by selecting from a list of generic photos and pictures.
The time remaining displayed during your turn is presented much more clearly along with a brand-new time bank options when more important decisions need to be made. In addition, there’s even an obnoxious posture you can use. Table functionality is extremely good with your current hand strength displayed in words, as well as for those who are part of an all-in showdown scenario. Players are also treated to additional features such as chat to table size and animation speed.
BetOnline Poker currently provides standalone installations for Mac and Windows. It’s always nice to see support for Mac users as Apple continues to gain popularity around the world. The company loves advertising that they offer mobile betting, and although it’s nice, it’s only available for non-poker casino games. There’s a massive opportunity for mobile poker players that are being missed, but we feel something is currently being developed for that exact purpose in mind. The look and feel of the poker software reminds us a lot of 888 Poker, and the new software update took something quite negative at the time and transformed it into a fantastic software platform that’s arguably one of the best in the poker industry.
BetOnline Poker Download for PC BetOnline Poker Download for Mac Mobile Download
Traffic
The previous traffic level at BetOnline Poker was always the biggest crux, but the poker room has shown remarkable growth since its inception. BetOnline now competes with America’s Cardroom and Bovada for the most traffic. The overall increase in traffic can be attributed to the weekly Cash Race promotion. This weekly promotion rewards 20 players in each of the 3 price-range categories for the amount of action they placed into the tables. With £10,000 up for the taking every week, competition for the top prize in every category is extremely fierce and usually players like to compete in every prize range category to further enhance their chances of walking away with a decent bankroll.
Another contributing factor to the increasing traffic is poker refugees that are continuously registering with BetOnline Poker. A large portion of European based players in ring-fenced countries will choose to register at offshore sites due to its lower rake. With strict regulations being passed in several countries more regularly, online poker players are searching for respectable and trustworthy offshore poker sites such as BetOnline Poker. The third possible factor contributing to the continued growth at BetOnline Poker is its generous welcome offer available to poker players.
Tournaments
The tournament schedule featured at BetOnline is mostly considered a token feature as opposed to a serious draw, especially for newly registered players. While there is still loads of fun to be had with casual games in the sub £10 category, players are quickly growing impatient with dedicated tournaments featuring a guaranteed prize pool of between £1,000 and £20,000. The most popular daily tournaments draw on average between 100 and 200 players, which in our experience is quite modest. Some of the largest high valued tournaments include the new guaranteed £15,000 event with a mere £0.99 buy-in. That is excellent value for money, regardless of how you look at it.
BetOnline also offers numerous weekly events with some incredible value, especially in their £1,000, £3,000, and £4,000 guarantee tournaments. All are offering a buy-in of less than £12. There’s also freerolls available every hour along with prize pools ranging between £50 and £250. However, you’ll be competing with over 800 different players for that prize, but since there’s no requirement to enter these freerolls, they remain the best open freerolls on the World Wide Web. In addition, players can participate in overlay opportunities where BetOnline guarantees a minimum prize pool. However, the actual buy-ins from online players usually fall short of that rate. For instance, there’s an excellent £3,000 weekly tournament with a rather small buy-in of £11. The entrants will usually only make up £2,000 of the prize pool, which means the poker room will add the remaining £1,000.
£20,000 is the largest monthly guarantee, and although it might not turn any heads, the buy-in stays extremely reasonable at £60 for low-limit players. BetOnline’s unique reward system that dispenses Comp Points can also be used to buy into the tournament. Players can earn Comp Points through a deposit bonus or through special poker tournaments that offer Comp Points as prizes. The Sit and Go events are quite popular at BetOnline Poker right up to the £33 turbo level, allowing only a few minutes of wait time on every table. The 1-Up tables are basically the equivalent of the very addictive Double Up format where the remaining half of the table also doubles their buy-in.
The tournament section at BetOnline Poker is obviously still being developed with only a handful of guaranteed tournaments and a modest flow of traffic. Luckily, there’s still a great deal of value for dedicated tournament players, including numerous hourly low buy-in events, hourly freerolls, busy sit and go tables, and overlay opportunities got guaranteed tournaments.
Flagship Tournament
The most value available at BetOnline Poker is through their amazing tournaments, and the one that truly stands out above the rest is their monthly £100k guaranteed main event that takes place on a Sunday at the end of every month. During the course of every month, players will have several opportunities to obtain a seat for the main event, including satellite qualifiers as well as Sit & Go Steps that begins at a freeroll level. Most players will take the qualification route to get into the main event, as this tournament is one of only a handful offering players the opportunity to enter the satellite qualifiers with their Comp Points.
Those that would like to enter the main event without having to go through the qualifying stages can do so with a buy-in of £109.00. This is an extremely popular event that gets underway at 7:00pm ET along with late registration available for 5 different levels, or 50 minutes. At level 5, the starting stack will be 3,000 chips and will be worth 37.50 Big Blinds. For the first 60 minutes, those that dip below the 3,000-chip mark will also have the option to rebuy for an additional £109. After 60 minutes, the main event will be treated in a freezeout format.
Players can easily win a seat at a fraction of the cost in multiple ways, allowing them to qualify for the £100k GTD. There is a £100k GT Step 1 Entry Freeroll that’s available to players every Friday at 7:30 ET, giving players the chance to gain access to the Main event completely free. The Step 1 Entry Freeroll will award £0.24 tickets for the Step 1 Sit and Go Turbo Satellites. Another method is through the four Sit & Go steps that will lead up to the £100k GTD with buy-in’s that range from £0.24 for Step 1 up to £19.99 for Step 4. You can either win each of the Sit & Go steps or buy into them directly to win a seat at the Main Event.
In addition, you can also win a ticket to the main event by playing the MTT qualifiers that run on Saturdays at 2:00pm ET. You will notice a £100k GT Satellite £44 Qualifier running on Tigergaming, Sportsbetting, and BetOnline. The buy-in value is only £4.40 and will guarantee 2 tickets into the £100k GT Satellite that are both worth £44. The £44 Satellite is available on Saturdays at 8pm and will guarantee 4 tickets into the £100k GTD.
Then, players can also get more seats thanks to the £100k GT Hyper Satellite running every Sunday at 2pm as well as 5pm ET. The GT Hyper will guarantee 3 seats into the 100k GTD for a buy-in value of only £16.50. Furthermore, every weekday at 10pm, players can enter the £33 Satellite that will guarantee another 3 tickets into the £100k GTD, and another 2 guaranteed seats when participating in the £11 buy-in GT Satellite running 6 times every single day, or every 4 hours so to speak.
Freerolls
BetOnline Poker added a terrific £5,000 New Player Freeroll when they recently overhauled their software. I know what you are thinking, ignore anything with the word ‘freeroll’ right? Struggle with thousands of poker players to receive a few pennies, no thanks. However, it would be a mistake to miss this one as its one of the more improved parts of the bonus. Firstly, the freeroll prize pool is £5,000, making this freeroll edition far more significant and worth bothering with. Secondly, its available every single week, keeping the total number of entrants just under 300. The freeroll takes place every Sunday at 19:00 EST.
So, what makes a small field of players so important? Well, with freerolls, the buy-in is effectively the total prize pool that’s been divided by the number of entrants. With a freeroll only attracting around 300 entrants every week, you’ll be looking at an effective free buy-in that’s worth over £16. You’ll receive this even if you just deposit a minimum of £25, and unlike other tournaments tickets, you won’t be locked to redeem it on a certain date. The ticket tournament will remain in your cashier’s ticket section, ready to be redeemed. None of us is sure how long it’s going to last, as it’s not drawing a massive number of players, so be sure to redeem yours eventually. Couldn’t hurt to test your luck in a £5,000 tournament, right?
Available Cash Games
The range of available cash games at BetOnline Poker is divided into Medium/High stakes and Micro/Low stakes. Most of the cash tables offer between 6 and 10 seats, along with heads up games as well. What’s quite interesting is that you can also find 4 player seats at BetOnline Poker. The Micro/Low stakes section comes equipped with table limits ranging from £0.01/£0.02 up to £0.25/£0.50, and the Medium/High stakes section comes equipped with table limits ranging from £0.50/£1.00 up to £5/£10. You will find both fixed limit and no-limit games here with the no-limit games obviously being the busiest of the two. Aside from Texas Hold’em, you can also find Omaha tables along with the choice of either High/Low or High tables.
Level of players
During peak times, BetOnline Poker normally features around 2,000 online players where most of them will be populating the cash games. As it stands, there are between 10 to 20 active tables for every limit up to the £1/£2 level, and that’s 24 hours a day along with a dozen more going all the way up to the £5/£10 level. You’ll also be quite surprised to see that the Omaha tables are filled with between 5 to 10 games continuously going around the clock.
If you much rather enjoy 10-seated cash tables, you’ll be happy to discover almost as many filled tables along with shorthanded ones. Then, in terms of tournament numbers, you are looking at around 300 players. The sit and Go events are also constantly busy with very little waiting time for all buy-ins under £30. The overall traffic has really picked up in recent years, taking BetOnline Poker to a very competitive level on a variety of different table limits.
Deposit and Withdrawal Options
Deposits
The very first deposit option to consider, after the registration process is completed at BetOnline Poker, is Bitcoin. You won’t struggle with your deposit being declined, it’s essentially anonymous as banks will have no idea where you are sending the money or who you are sending the money to, bitcoin offers the lowest deposit amount at BetOnline, and takes a mere 24 hours to 48 hours to receive your winnings. In addition, BetOnline also recently started offering Litecoin which is another cryptocurrency supported for your depositing needs. It operates in the same way as Bitcoin and comes with the same benefits.
One of the best advantages at BetOnline Poker, when compared to the rest of the US market, is their almost 100% success rate with all credit card deposits. By using proprietary processors along with over two decades of industry experience, they can accept all major credit and debit cards, and even those that might have been previously rejected by other leading poker rooms.
Pre-paid credit cards, or gift cards, are also accepted at BetOnline Poker, if the issuing bank will allow international transactions of course. There are no third-party fees involved either, making this poker room the current industry leader when it comes to hassle-free card deposits for US players. BetOnline further impresses by continuously adding new deposit methods to their already vast collection of methods available. These rare methods might even not be used all the time, but it still gives players a wide range of options when they want to deposit, and that’s what ultimately counts.
The next major player when it comes to depositing is cash transfers, being one of the more dependable deposit options in the United States since 2006. You’ll be pleased to know that BetOnline offers two of the largest transfer services in the business, including Moneygram and Western Union. Both offer a minimum deposit value of £50 with Moneygram offering a maximum of £600 and Western Union a maximum of £700. These two options are available just about everywhere including pharmacies, convenient stores, and grocery stores. Luckily, both made their way online, so you’ll only need to use their websites to successfully make a deposit at a poker room. Unfortunately, there are fees involved that usually start at around £12, but BetOnline will gladly cover the fees when you wish to deposit more than £300.
If you’re a high roller and want to deposit more than £1,000, your best option would be the use Wire Transfer. This option allows you to send money directly from your bank account straight to the poker room banking processor. BetOnline will also be kind enough to reimburse you for any fees you will pay at the bank, normally working out to around £50.
If that’s not enough deposit options to choose from, you can also opt-in for the paper alternatives such as mailing BetOnline with a cashier’s check or by a money order via courier. You’ll also find out that BetOnline is quite generous in this regard as well, as they’ll gladly reimburse you for any courier fees you encounter. Once you selected one of the paper alternatives in the banking section, a live chat window will automatically open. You can quickly ask the chat representative for the payee and mailing address.
The online poker industry suffered a great deal in both 2006 and 2011, and US players are finding it difficult to find a reputable online poker room where they can effortlessly deposit their hard-earned money for some well-deserved poker entertainment. Luckily, BetOnline has largely succeeded in this department because they offer hassle free deposit options to players in the US. They offer every method known to man and further impress with extremely low fees.
Withdrawals
Before we dive into the range of payment methods that are available at BetOnline, it’s worth mentioning that you’ll receive a £50 monthly credit specifically aimed towards payout fees. If you request your cash-in on a Friday, and state in the comments section that you’ll be using it, the £50 credit can be used to your advantage, especially when you request an Express check. So, keep this in mind for any future cash-in requests where a payout is involved.
The main reason BetOnline has done so unbelievably well in the online gaming industry is due to their stellar reputation for lightning-fast payouts. BetOnline has basically structured themselves to cater to loyal, returning players as oppose to bonus-hunting players who only stay until the bonuses run out. With that said, let’s have a look at the withdrawal option on offer.
As mentioned above, Bitcoin is by far the best option for both deposit and withdrawals. The minimum withdrawal amount that will be requested by Bitcoin is a mere £20, making it the lowest from all other payment methods offered at BetOnline. Furthermore, you can expect BetOnline to reflect the funds in your account with 24 hours. There is, however, a small 2% fee involved when using bitcoin, but it’s still cheaper than a withdrawal via check until you reach £1,000 amount.
A new offering at BetOnline is the Express Check option, but it’s not to be overlooked if you able to meet the £500 minimum withdrawal amount. BetOnline guarantees that you’ll receive your winning by courier, normally FedEx for signature and tracking purposes, within 7 working days. The fee involved with Express Check is £50, but as you already aware, that is waived through the £50 monthly credit. There are also regular checks via courier and even snail mail that can save on the fees involved, but it will take twice as long to receive your winnings.
If you wish to cash-in less than £500, you are not going to beat Bitcoin with a minimum of £20. However, if you are not interested in Bitcoin, you can also look at the Moneygram cash transfer option. The minimum you can transfer from your poker account via Moneygram is £50 along with a maximum of £400. Keep in mind that you’ll also need to physically pick up your winnings at a local location along with showing your ID, but at least the winnings will be straight cash.
Another interesting choice to consider is the ATM Card option, which we must admit is an extremely rare option that only a handful of poker rooms offer. It provides the best combination of speedy payouts and small cash-in amounts. It will cost you £80, you can use the £50 credit to bring this amount way down, along with another £25 every time you load it. The good thing is, loading takes between 1 to 2 days after your cash-in request has been made, so rather quick to say the least. You’ll also receive a physical debit card that will be mailed to you, and you’ll get to choose your own PIN, allowing you to withdraw the cash from any ATM. So, if you someone that makes a lot of cash-ins, this will certainly be one of the best payment options.
Then, you can also look at Wire Transfers. These are quite nice to have and requires a minimum of £500 or less when compared to other wide services. The waiting period for Wire Transfers are around 2 to 3 weeks, but with this option you’ll receive your winnings electronically straight into your bank account, so at the end of the day there’s nothing else for you to do but wait. The fees involved with Wire Transfers are normally £50 that’s conveniently covered by your monthly credit.
Lastly, if you are playing from outside the United States, you can look at Neteller or Skill for a small £20 fee. The best thing about these e-wallets is that you’ll have your winnings within a matter of hours.
We believe that the payouts at BetOnline are extremely underrated online. BetOnline not only expended the options in their cashier section, but also greatly improved on their turnaround time in recent years, placing them in pole position when compared to their competitors. The turnaround time is the fastest in the United States, they provide more payment methods than any other poker room, and they waive £50 worth of payment fees for everyone every single month. No one else even comes close to what they are offering. The fact that they offer rare payment methods is also a good indication of how well they are looking after their loyal customers.
Support
Another vital component to any online poker room’s success is customer support. BetOnline clearly understands this and focuses more on customer support and banking ease instead of flashy bonuses and promotions to attract players. Not only can you get in touch with their support team via email and call, but you can also take advantage of the live chat facility, offering friendly and helpful support by trained professionals. The support team is available 24 hours and day and 7 days a week to ensure you have support available around the clock.
Reputation (trustworthiness)
It takes two decades to build a solid reputation and less than five minutes to destroy it. If more gaming companies followed this advice, online gambling would be more entertaining and fun, and far less stressful. BetOnline wished they followed this advice since they started in 1991. The company has made some horrible choices in the past that probably cost them millions, all due to bad PR. The company’s poor choices range from withholding money from players to telling lies about their network.
When BetOnline initially introduced their poker product, the company lied about the network they were using. BetOnline stated they were on the Hero Poker Network when they were actually on the Action Poker Network. There were also plenty of stories going around that they were on the Chico Poker Network, but were later kicked off. Later reports from the company itself made things clear, stating that they were still on the Chico Network up until 2016 when they ditched the network. Everyone agrees that the company lie was a stupid move and an extremely poor way to market the poker product. It also makes you wonder why BetOnline lied about something so trivial as well?
There has also been plenty of reports about how the company confiscated money from customers. The reasons always had something to do with cheating, even though BetOnline never provided proof. One example that stands out is a professional poker player who had £60,000 confiscated because the company said he cheated. When he asked for his hands, BetOnline refused to send it, but did offer to provide him with his hand history indicating that he cheated. However, he never got them either. The company eventually informed him that they couldn’t send him the hand histories as the file was too big. Sportsbook Review eventually got involved and assisted in getting his money back.
During the same time, BetOnline and SportsBetting.ag were struggling to pay their customers. Then, a few months later, BetOnline decided to acquire SportsBetting.ag. In addition, BetOnline also agreed to take on all current, as well as fast payouts. No one knew how much the company had to make in past payments, but the company was shocked to find over £1.5 million in liabilities that was never reported by previous management. BetOnline paid this in full.
However, everything mentioned above occurred during 2011 and 2012. Once BetOnline cleaned up their act and paid their customers, it’s been near impossible to find anything negative to report. There have been a few player complaints. But all of them have been resolved by BetOnline. So, although they have a shady history with customers, they have ultimately righted their wrongs and are continuously improving on what they are offering their players. Therefore, BetOnline’s current reputation is solid and continue to reinforce it with quick-payouts, stellar customer support, and fantastic security to ensure players enjoy a safe and secure gaming environment.
Should I play at BetOnline?
The short answer is yes. Although the company has a shady history of withholding funds from players and lying about their previous poker network, they have since resolved all disputes against them. They are now committed to offering one of the best poker rooms in the world, as evident by the amount of traffic they receive. Apart from a revamped poker room, players can also enjoy other products, including their online casino and sportsbook. They further impress with stellar customer service that is available around the clock to assist you with anything you might need, a wide variety of payment methods to easily funds your account or to withdraw your latest win, and a remarkable degree of security to ensure each of their players are well looked after. BetOnline is doing everything right and with the way things are going, it can only improve going forward.
History Timeline
- 1991
A land-based betting shop opened its doors in New York by a man who used Joe Junior as his alias.
- 2001
After suffering through several encounters with the law, Joe Junior grew tired and relocated his entire operation to Costa Rica. During the same year, the betting company opened its virtual doors online and was initially known as BestLineSports.com. The company quickly experienced rapid growth in the online gaming industry, especially after collaborating with another top-rated bookmaker that was also operating out of Costa Rica that was operated by a man who used John Magnum as his alias.
- 2004
New investors started realising the rapid growth of the company and invested a great deal into the site. The company was later relocated to Panama City where it still operates from to this day.
- 2006
BetOnSports, considered one of the biggest betting sites in the world, went under and their management team, marketing staff, and employees joined up with BestLineSports.
- 2007
The company was rebranded to BetOnline and proceeded to successfully cater to the US market despite the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.
- 2011
The black Friday impeachments are revealed against the former top three poker operations and forced them to stop serving the US market. This caused BetOnline to launch their own poker room and completely took advantage of the opportunity. This led to BetOnline becoming one of the top poker sites to serve US players.
- 2016
BetOnline decides to ditch the old Chico platform and released a new software platform with the help of Connective Games.
FAQ
- Can I play for real money against other players?
Yes, it’s one of the greatest benefits of playing at BetOnline Poker. You simply have to download the poker software, register a new account, make a deposit, and start enjoying the thrill of playing against other players.
- Can I transfer funds from my Sportsbook Account to my Poker Account?
Yes, you can. Once you are logged into your poker account, simply visit the cashier, and look for the ‘Transfer to Poker’ option. You will then need to fill in the amount you wish to transfer from your Sportsbook Account over to your Poker Account. Once you are satisfied, simply click on transfer and it will immediately appear in your Poker Account.
- When will I receive my tournament winnings?
Tournament winnings are only processed after the tournament has ended and can take up to 24 hours to be credited to your poker account. If the tournament has ended and you still haven’t received your tournament winnings, you are more than welcome to contact support for further assistance.
- Can I watch a cash game even if I’m not playing?
Yes, BetOnline Poker will allow you to watch a cash game without playing. It’s a great way to check how other people are playing, especially if you wish to move up a level with your betting limits.
- What is allowed in chat and what isn’t?
The BetOnline chat facility is quite flexible when it comes to chatting to other players. However, don’t discuss your hand with other players or when there are more opponents at the same table and you chatting to your friend about it. It’s considered bad manners, or even worse, cheating. You also can’t taunt or abuse other players. Yes, there are rude players with no manners, but it some cases players can be banned for being too rude.
- What are raked hands?
A raked hand is a scaled commission fee that is taken by BetOnline. It’s normally between 2.5% and 10% of the pot in each poker hand. Each time BetOnline takes a rake, you will be awarded Comp Points. These Comp Points are then used to enter other tournaments in the lobby.
- What’s the difference between a re-buy and an add-on?
An Add-on is the purchase of additional chips regardless of how many chips a player has. A Re-buy is the purchase of additional chips when a player ran out of chips. In Online Poker, add-ons are normally offered during the second break of a tournament.
- What is a poker room skin?
A ‘Skin’ is a poker room that is using someone else’s software platform, but still utilising their own original graphical content. For instance, BetOnline is a skin of Connective Games.
- Is BetOnline Poker able to see what is going happening on my computer?
In a way, yes. Part of their user agreement includes a bit about them being allowed to monitor your computer while you are playing. The company is basically looking for applications that will allow you to cheat at the game. If you don’t have any third-party software running in the background, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. For instance, you can’t use a chat service like AOL Instant Massager to chat to another player who is sitting at the same table. Your account will immediately be flagged and BetOnline will investigate. So, it’s best to avoid all of this by just being honest.
BetOnline Casino review
The BetOnline casino is beautifully integrated into the BetOnline gaming network, offering players a full range of casino games from Betsoft. Players will also be treated to a 24/7 Live Casino section that can be enjoyed directly through their web browsers. The casino, as well as other products from BetOnline, is licensed and regulated by the government of Panama. Players residing in the Ukraine, Serbia, Panama, Pakistan, Nigeria, Morocco, Montenegro, Malta, Macedonia, Indonesia, Ghana, and Egypt will not be able to register with BetOnline.
Range of Casino Games
The biggest section of the casino games on offer has to be slots, and its nothing short of impressive. The slots department is filled with several 3D video slots thanks to Betsoft, a world-renowned software provider offering some of the most realistic and immersive slot games in the world. Players can indulge in various themes and interesting bonus features in top slot titles like The Slotfather, Paco and the Popping Peppers, Heist, Mr. Vegas, and Curious Machine. There’s also a great range of classic 3-reel slots such as Chase the Cheese, Mermaid’s Pearl, and plenty others.
If you are more interested in table games, you won’t be disappointed at BetOnline. You’ll find a wide variety of virtual table games, including 9 different blackjack variations, several roulette variations such as American roulette and European roulette, baccarat, craps, and 5 different casino pokers. BetOnline also boasts as one of the few online casino destinations where you can enjoy Draw High-Low.
The video poker section is just as impressive at BetOnline. Players are treated to either single-hand or multi-hand denominations on a variety of different variants. The most popular video poker titles include Aces and Faces, Bonus Deluxe, Joker Poker, Deuces Wild, Double Double Bonus Poker, and Jacks or Better.
For those looking for a more realistic experience, giving the impression that you are actually in a land-based casino, then the Live Casino section is where you’ll want to be. The BetOnline Live Casino section is home to top-quality live dealer games that are streamed from professional studios through top-notch webcam technology. The range of live dealer games includes Live Baccarat, Live Roulette, Live Blackjack, and Live Super 6.
Bonuses
If you are looking for a range of sensational bonuses and promotions, look no further than BetOnline Casino. Players will not only be treated to a generous welcome offer, but will also be well-looked after as a loyal, existing player long after the welcome offer has been claimed in full. The welcome offer consists of either a 100% match bonus on slots or a 100% match offer on video poker. To clear the wagering requirements on the welcome bonus, players only need to wager the bonus 30 times before a withdrawal request will be accepted at the casino.
There’s also a range of other promotions to look forward to, including a Live Casino Weekly Challenge where BetOnline places £1,800 in a pool and players compete on a roulette and blackjack leaderboard to win their share of the cash, a 20% casino rebate promotion, a £2,500 Blackjack Boss tournament on Thursdays, and a £25 Free Play on your first bet in the Live Casino section.
Support and Security
Much like the poker section of BetOnline, support at the casino is also available around the clock to assist you with any query or request you might have. They can either be contacted via telephone, call, or through a live chat facility. The casino representatives are well trained and extremely friendly.
The security measures used by BetOnline is exceptional. All sensitive information, such as your personal and financial information, is well protected through the latest SSL encryption technology. This basically means that no third-party company or hacker will have access to the information you send to and from the casino. In addition, the casino is also audited on a regular basis to ensure fairness and randomness on all their random number generator (RNG) casino games. Information about the latest audits can be easily found on their website.
BetOnline Sportsbook review
BetOnline is considered an all-in-one company. This means you can place a bet on sports, play casino games and poker. The company’s longest standing, and most popular product, is their online sportsbook. BetOnline provides action on finances, horses, and a wide range of sports. In their sportsbook, they cover almost every popular sport known to man, including Auto Racing, Martial Arts, Baseball, Rugby, Basketball, Snooker, Boxing, Soccer, Cricket, Tennis, Darts, Lacrosse, Football, Softball, Golf, Olympics, Hockey, and eSports. You can also bet on prop bets and futures on the following markets: Canadian Football, Horses, College Basketball, Cycling, Pro Football, Women’s Pro Basketball, Formula One, College Football, Rugby, Darts, Pro Baseball, Soccer, Hockey, and Pro Basketball.
One option the company has recently added it eSports, and this comes as no surprise, as evident by the rapidly growing industry. Every single bookmaker is jumping on the action, offering odds on some of the biggest tournaments and leagues. BetOnline has also decided to dip their toe in the water, checking the temperature of this market. Currently, you will only find moneyline odds for one league or match-up, as oppose to Bovada covering more than 5 games across 10 different tournaments and leagues. Although eSports is still relatively new to BetOnline, they will eventually expand to cover more tournaments and leagues, that’s for sure.
One thing that BetOnline has going for them is their competitive odds when compared to other leading sportsbooks. They offer slightly betting odds all around, and this is something online bettors are always searching for prior to placing their bets. What’s even more impressive is that BetOnline also offers Live Betting. Players can watch the game in real-time and place bets accordingly. In addition, you can also keep track of several games being played simultaneously by utilising the innovative multi-event tab, and you can plan for any future games by utilising the live betting calendar.
Another thing the sportsbook section of BetOnline is known for is its higher-than-average betting limits. The betting limits vary between £1 up to £25,000. Most of the markets will allow a maximum of up to £3,000, but it greatly depends on the markets. You can also adjust, or increase, your wagering limits to simply contacting support.
Bonuses and Promotions
One of the best factors when joining BetOnline’s sportsbook is a number of promotions you’ll be introduced to. Straight off the bat, players will be treated to the £25 Live Betting Free Play, allowing you to make you’re first ever bet in live betting thanks to BetOnline. You simply need to place a £25 bet of your own money, and if you win you already making a profit, and if you lose, you’ll be reimbursed with your initial bet. Players will also be treated to a £50 Free Play mobile betting promotion. Place your first ever mobile bet of £50, and should you lose, BetOnline will happily reimburse you up to £50 by simply emailing them and requesting the £50 to be added to your account. Both of these sportsbook free play bonuses are credited within 24 hours after contacting support.