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Is there an online poker site you'd like to review? |
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Tell Us About It! |
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Big Dollar Poker |
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Pro Rating :
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User Ratings :
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Avg. Rating :
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| Reviewed By Lisa Canfield |
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About Big Dollar Poker |
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Poker Site
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Summary Review
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Big Dollar Poker is part of the Prima Poker network, which runs with the very familiar (if you're an online casino regular) Micrograming software. For an initial deposit of at least $20, you are promised a $30 sign-up bonus within 48 hours. Mine arrived in less than 24. Of course, getting the money back out is another problem, as you have to gamble a lot (150 raked poker hands or $150 raked dollars) to cash out. Banking options are a little more limited here than other sites - NETeller and Click2Pay are the only alternatives to the credit cards that will almost certainly turn down your usage of them at gambling sites. Support seemed a little spotty as well. When I first tried to register as a new user, my computer kept telling me it was an "illegal operation." I assumed that applied to the computer and not the poker room. In any event, phone support was of little help and my spouse had to sign me up on our other computer. Then I could enter the site back on my computer and gamble away. Multi-table tournaments are here, as well as some other good promotions (Bad Beat bonus for Texas Hold 'em among others). An okay online poker site overall, but nothing special in this player's eyes.
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Year Started
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2003
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Country
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Canada
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Languages
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English
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Overall Rating
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McPoker Big Dollar Style, rates 3 out of 5 stars.
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Big Dollar Poker Online Poker Features |
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Size Rating
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Player Feedback Rating
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Customer Service Rating
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Banking Rating
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Game Play Rating
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Game Selection Rating
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Security Rating
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Recommended For
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beginner
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Deposit Types
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Click2Pay
Credit Card
NETeller
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Minimum Deposit
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$20.00
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Withdrawal Terms
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Withdrawals processed via NETeller, Click2Pay, check or ACH bank transfer
Withdrawals processed within 48 hours
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Poker Games
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7 Card Stud
Omaha High
One on One
Poker (5 card draw)
Texas Hold'em
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Rake
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5% of the pot with $3 maximum
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Play Multiple
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1
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Play Free
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1
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Limits
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No Limits
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Recent Promotions
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Magic Hand Bonus - Random hand is selected, winner gets a special bonus and all other players win another bonus
High Hand Bonus - highest hand in Hold 'em wins $250
Bad Beat Bonus - When four of a kind or better is beaten, progressive jackpot is awarded; starts at $500 and $50 is added daily when not awarded
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Bonuses
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Bonus Description
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Tournaments
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Security
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128 bit SSL with digital encryption
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Big Dollar Poker Pros & Cons |
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Pros
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Easy to use, reliable software
Plenty of tables and betting levels to choose from
Good variety of games and tournaments
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Cons
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Very generic and identical to other poker sites on this network with this software
Support is less than ideal
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Big Dollar Poker Review |
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Reviewed by
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Lisa Canfield
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The Company
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Big Dollar Poker is a member of the Prima Poker Worldwide Network. They've been online since 2003 and are licensed for operation in Kahnawake, Canada.
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Site Navigation
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Very reliable, fast and easy.
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Site Response Speed
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Average
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Services Offered
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Poker Room
Tournament Play
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User Experience
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Average
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Full Review
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Big Dollar Poker gave me a lot of problems at the beginning. And I don't need problems, I need POKER, gol dang it! First of all, after I downloaded the poker table software and ran it, I tried to register as a new member. The splash screen kept informing me that an "illegal operation" was taking place. Assuming this was a technical problem and not something between the World Court and Big Dollar Poker, I called phone support.
I'll See Your One Minute and Raise You Two
After being on hold for several minutes, somebody finally came to my rescue. Or didn't, actually. The person, who at least didn't have a foreign accent that was impossible to understand (a common occurrence in online gambling phone support), told me it was probably a conflict with my virus program and told me to hang on for a minute. After another minute, he told me to hang on another minute. He finally said he had a walk-through on how to avoid the problem, but he didn't think reading it to me on the phone would work, so I should just call the virus company directly. This is technical support? Anyway, I shut down the virus program and tried to sign in again. Nothing. Rebooted the computer. Still didn't work. Finally, my spouse signed me up on our other computer. Success. And once I had a valid account, my computer worked with the site. So whatever was wrong is between God, Big Dollar and my computer.
What if I Just Overnighted You a Ten-Spot?
My second problem is I usually deposit money at gambling sites through Firepay and this site only offered NETeller and Click2Pay, as well as allowing credit cards that invariably won't work because credit card companies don't like you to gamble with THEIR money. I had to sign up with NETeller, which further delayed my entry into online poker funland. You have to tell them your father's middle name, where you lived ten years ago, have them call you after you make your first deposit, blah blah blah. I sometimes think it would be easier just to fly to wherever in the world the online gambling site is, hand them a twenty and fly back home. Easier, maybe; cost efficient, no.
Thirty Extra Big Dollars!
After I had jumped through all the hoops they could throw at me (that's some kind of mixed metaphor, but I like the imagery), I was IN the poker site at last. But NOW, I had to wait for my sign-up bonus. You get $30 if you deposit at least $20 of your own. As is fairly normal, they tell you it will take up to 48 hours to get the extra cash. As is fairly normal, it took less than 24.
Honey, Why Didn't You Tell Me You Had a Flush?
Finally, and before I started collecting Social Security in whatever form it ends up being, I had my account, I had my money in and I had my sign-up bonus. I could actually...play poker! But you know what? Not that exciting. You see, Big Dollar Poker is a member of the Prima Poker network which runs on Microgaming Software. Which means it's exactly like around thirty other poker sites. Which means you're also sharing poker tables with these other sites. I dragged my spouse into this filthy virtual gambling world once again and had him checking out a different poker site on the other computer at the same time. Only problem was, that poker site was also a member of this site - and to his surprise, he found me sitting at one of the tables at which he virtually sat down.
Big Dollar = Big Mac
What does this all mean? Big Dollar Poker is run a lot like your local Pizza Hut or Subway. It's a franchise. A franchise delivers what it delivers pretty efficiently, but with cookie-cutter features and without any real personal touches. There's a great variety of games (Omaha, 7 and 5 Card Stud, the ubiquitous Texas Hold 'em, among others) at different pot levels, there's some good promotional bonuses, but what you get here you can get a variety of other online poker sites. I'd say if you have to go through what I went through just to get on the site, bail and find a site that's a little more helpful.
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