Payday
Players can redeem their VIP Player Points (VPPs) daily.
Bonus
100% up to $600 First Deposit Bonus; 100% up to £400 (UK Players) and 100% up to €500 (Spanish Players):
- Make up to three deposits in 90 days for a total of $600 (or £400 for UK players)
- Bonus codes STARS600, DK100 (Danish players), STARS400 (UK players) or EURO500 (Spanish players)
- Use the same bonus code for each of your first 3 deposits
- Bonus is awarded in $10 increments (or £10 for UK players)
- Bonus is awarded in €5 increments (Spanish players)
- Receive $10 for every 170 VPPs (or £10 for every 260 VPPs for UK players)
- Bonus is valid for 180 days
- To check when your bonus expires go to the PokerStars game software
VIP Details
All new players start at the BronzeStar Level and can climb all the way up to the highest VIP Club level Supernova Elite. Once you reach the required number of VIPs in a month or a year for a particular VIP Club level, you begin to receive the benefits that VIP Club level offer including play in VIP freerolls, faster VPPs accumulation rates, cash bonuses and other benefits.
Your status lasts until the end of the following calendar month or until you qualify for a higher status. The rewards and benefits offered to each VIP Club level are explained below:
Monthly VIP Levels
| VIP Level | VPPs
Required | FPPs per 1 VPP | Cash-only
Rewards
| Cash & Tournament
Rewards
|
| BronzeStar |
N/A |
1 |
5-13% |
9-17% |
| SilverStar |
750 |
1.5 |
13-16% |
16-21% |
| GoldStar |
3,000 |
2.0 |
17-21% |
19-26% |
| PlatinumStar |
7,500 |
9 |
20-26% |
23-31% |
Yearly VIP Levels
| VIP Level | VPPs
Required | FPPs per 1 VPP | Cash-only
Rewards
| Cash&Tournaments
Rewards
|
| Supernova |
100,000 |
3.5 |
28-62% |
25-63% |
| SupernovaElite |
1,000,000 |
5 |
54-71% |
57-74% |
* Table does not include estimated value from VIP Tournaments.
** Cash-only Rewards estimate the value of FPPs based on purchasing the best value VIP Reward Bonus available to each VIPs.
*** Cash &Tournament Rewards presume redeeming FPPs at a rate of 1.6c each. These values may remain unrealized until FPPs and other rewards are redeemed.
Comment
Poker rooms use different methods to calculate rake. According to PokerStars, the method used to calculate rake is the weighted contributed rake method.
PokerStars review
PokerStars used to be the largest online poker room in the world, serving a massive number of US players every day. It was basically the #1 destination for US players, well ahead of rival Full Tilt Poker. Its US traffic crippled by the Black Friday events, PokerStars still retains that dominant market-leading position today, thanks to its long-time strategy of targeting various areas of the globe by hiring representatives there and by promoting poker through various local-focused poker tours and live events.
Even online, there are countless local-specific events running for players all over the world. A healthy marketing approach is definitely the mark of a great online poker operation and the software can’t fall behind either. PokerStars have the best online poker software in the world today. Their game selection is unparalleled. They offer poker variants one can’t really play anywhere else, and what’s even more important: they have enough players to generate decent traffic on their less popular games as well.
The cash game traffic is more than decent at the site (there are around 22,000 cash game players at the tables in peak hours), but the true strength of the operation resides in the tournaments section. PokerStars has always been and it still is THE place for online poker tournaments. Their Sunday Million is a true trail-blazer of a weekend guarantee, drawing thousands upon thousands of players each week, handily covering its generous guarantee time and time again. The Sunday Million gives players the opportunity to play for life-altering monster-prizes for a reasonably-sized buy-in. The popularity of the event hasn’t really been dented by the Black Friday woes either. What's more, PokerStars have beaten several online poker records during their 10th annniversary celebrations in December. PokerStars Radio was also revived for a brief while to push some interesting promotions and to garner even more player interest.
Because the cream of the online poker crop plays there, PokerStars' higher buy-in tournaments and cash games can be pretty tough to crack for beginners. Fortunately, the smaller buy-in tournaments offer plenty of juice for talented and skilled individuals who do not shy away from a little bit of grinding.
PokerStars do not currently offer live support through phone or online chat, but their email support staff is more than knowledgeable and their response times are decent too.
The bottom line: If you’re outside the US, PokerStars should still be your #1 pick for online poker. Their generous cash back scheme will surely make it worth your while, even if none of the other perks touched above appeal to you.
PokerStars have recently obtained a Maltese license, which prompted them to launch pokerstars.eu, a site geared towards European players. Swedish and Finnish players have already been transferred to the new software. The new Maltese license means that EU-based players will henceforth enjoy tax-free winnings. A new reload bonus has also been added to the offer.
PokerStars have also secured a Spanish operating license, and launched pokerstars.es. Spanish players are currently being transferred to the new domain, without any sort of downtimes involved, or without any major changes to their PokerStars experience. Players will have to consent to the move before PokerStars actually make it happen.
PokerStars have a license to operate in Denmark and will be accepted Danish players after 1st January 2012.
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