Betfair Poker in a Nutshell

Betfair Poker is famous in the betting industry with its many land-based shops and massive online gambling website. Players can enjoy a lot more options alongside the large poker room without ever having to worry about anything going wrong.

Betfair holds the distinction of the largest online betting exchange operator in the world so it is definitely a company that can be trusted to provide fair gaming options and keep real money funds safe. It has its headquarters in London, England and is available in tens of countries from all over the globe. Players residing in New Zealand will be able to easily connect on the site and enjoy the games they like without any hassle.

It is safe to say that Betfair has plenty of big products on the internet and the online poker room it operates is one of them. There is also an awesome sportsbook, multiple sections for casino games, an online bingo room and more that can be found on the same website. What does make a good impression for visitors who are just now learning about Betfair Poker is the welcome package that goes up to $1,000 and adds extra incentives in the form of tournament entries and a casino slots bonus.

What you can discover in the Betfair Poker review:

• A breakdown of the big welcome package
• Info about the mobile apps and connecting on the move
• The various perks players receive here

With its unique style, Betfair Poker brings the famous game to players from New Zealand and Australia on a dedicated website where new customers can start in a couple of minutes and get a hefty bonus.

Betfair used to be one of the online betting giants that can be found on the London Stock Exchange. This changed in 2006 when Betfair merged with Paddy Power to become an even bigger powerhouse that goes by the name of Paddy Power Betfair.

The online poker room fits perfectly on the website where players can also find real money betting options in the form of casino games, sporting events, bingo, virtual sports, exchange and more.

Betfair Poker has a client powered by Playtech that can be downloaded for free from the website. The overall style is clean, while players can customize some of the aspects, such as avatar, table design, deck and more. It is a very reliable piece of software that can be found across the entire iPoker Network. The lobby in particular is very easy to navigate even with the hundreds of tables running for cash games and tournaments. The app can be installed on Mac and Windows PC while a version of the software comes in mobile form with applications for iOS and Android.

Playing poker everywhere is now easier than ever thanks to modern devices and the software that goes with it. Fans of mobile poker within New Zealand can have the tables just a few taps away on their phones with the help of the downloadable app. Available for iOS and Android, customers will just have to scan the QR code provided on the site to get the link. iPad and iPhone users can also just search on the Apple App Store for Betfair Poker to find it. Betfair has multiple mobile apps for its various products so make sure you get the poker one.

In addition, it is also possible to play from the internet browser by going to the online poker room from a compatible device. Again, the focus here is on iOS and Android but as long as the application supports HTML5 and Java, it is possible to play from a Windows phone as well.

Real money mobile poker is very easy thanks to the controls and the simple interface. Not all gaming options will be available in the lobby on a smartphone but there is definitely plenty of action to check out at the cash tables. Mobile players at Betfair Poker connect to the same player pool so the game remains the same no matter where you are and how you choose to play.

Online poker tournaments are a lot more appealing when they have guaranteed prize pools and Betfair will definitely show a great selection of events with big sums of money up for grabs. The guarantees on the network help increase the rating for poker.betfair.com since there are hundreds of events taking place every day. There are more than $3 million guaranteed every month in tournament prize pools and the Sunday line-up is just outstanding.

Betfair Poker has a good selection of cash games, Sit and Go tournaments and multi-table tournaments. Although the variation that is the most popular by far is Texas Hold'em, there are also games for Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo for players to check out from the lobby.

When it comes to cash games, the poker room covers a wide betting range that begins from one and two cents for the blinds at the table. The stakes go up to about $5/$10 for no limit hold'em but not much more than that. The skill level for these games is fairly low and it gets better as the blinds get higher but the overall gameplay is still loose. For pot limit Omaha cash games, there is plentiful traffic to cover a similar betting range but with fewer tables.

Like the other poker sites on iPoker, Betfair offers Speed Poker games. These are similar to cash tables since players can join and leave as they wish but they are actually played with a large group of users. As a result, you can fold a hand you don’t like and be quickly ushered to a new table where a new hand is ready to begin.

Another special form of online poker games available is called Twister Poker. This SNG format requires three players and has a hyper turbo structure for the blinds. The main appeal is that the prize will be randomly selected before the game starts and it can be as big as 1,000 times the buy-in. Winner takes all.

The traffic observed for the purposes of the Betfair Poker review is more than good enough to meet the expectations of recreational players. There are usually thousands of online players and hundreds of tournaments running on the poker network. According to recent statistics, iPoker is one of the top ten sites/networks with about 800 cash game players on average. Since most players are found at the low stakes, the actual traffic will appear to be much higher than this when looking for a table.

There is a big welcome package that is now available for new Betfair Poker players. After registering an account, the first deposit or transfer will land you 200% of the sum as a free bonus of up to $1,000. The money from this offer is not added all at once in the account but in $10 chunks released for every 1,250 Status Points obtained by playing. There is a limit of 45 days for getting the entire bonus and the current progress is displayed in the account.

Other perks included in this promotion are a token for entering a Twister tournament worth €5 where the prize pool can go up to €5,000, ten tokens for the €1 Team Betfair Tournaments and €10 for playing casino slots. The online slots games can be accessed from the installed poker client and the bonus must be wagered 40 times before withdrawing it.

Current promotions are most often presented in the form of races with large prizes. For example, the €10,000 Rake Race lasts an entire month and offers prizes for the players who earn the most Status Points.

Playing real money cash games or tournaments on desktop or mobile devices will add Status Points to the account as part of the loyalty program. €/$1 in rake or fees is worth 25 points and there are three VIP levels to achieve. Each level requires a set amount of Status Points earned within a month to be reached. The VIP level determines the multiplier for Status Points earned to calculate how many VIP Poker Points are received. These VPPs can be exchanged into real cash at a rate of 375 for €/$1.

We found in the Betfair Poker review that the cashier has a good range of payment methods. It isn’t limited to debit and credit cards and also includes web wallets, prepaid cards and bank transfers that customers from New Zealand can use to make secure deposits on the poker room. Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, NETELLER, Skrill, WebMoney and Paysafecard are all available as payment options and the minimum deposit is of $10.

For withdrawals, it is important to keep in mind that Betfair uses a closed loop policy. This means that withdrawing money can only be done through a banking method that has been used to deposit on the account. Requests are processed quickly and it normally takes between one and four days to receive the money, depending on the banking method.

The operator really knows how to take care of its customers. It hosts a large help section on the website with answers to the most frequently asked questions. Also, players can chat with a member of the support staff or call the provided phone number. It can take up to 10 minutes to connect by live chat while phone calls can have a waiting period of 30 seconds. Twitter users can direct their messages to Betfair directly on the social network.

Betfair can be trusted to keep your information safe and secure. It protects its customer data by using the latest in SSL encryption provided by Norton VeriSign with 128-bit Class 3 Certificates. As expected, the website is locked on all pages and the poker application is perfectly clean. The poker room is licensed by commissions in reputable jurisdictions and the random number generators are certified accordingly.

When it is all said and done, it is clear that Betfair Poker is a good choice. Not only is the company very reliable, but it continues to get better and improve its products. For online poker players who want to get good traffic and not have to worry about experienced grinders or sharks, Betfair brings the best of both worlds to your computer screen. Also, with the help of the mobile poker apps, it is even possible to take the tables with you wherever you go. We have to recap the 200% welcome bonus up to $1,000 since this will really help in the first month of being an active member at Betfair Poker.

Our Betfair Poker rating: 8.9/10