A popular poker room with high traffic 24/7, Party Poker offers something for everyone, and its software quality and game variety make it stand out from the crowd of even the top online poker rooms.

Party Poker is well known in New Zealand for being one of the biggest online poker rooms. The operator is licensed and regulated in Gibraltar and listed on The London Stock Exchange. The site fell from dizzying heights in 2006 when it was no longer able to legally operate in the United States. Since then, it has managed to pull things together and gain recognition in other countries. After acquiring the rights to the World Poker Tour, it has slowly been able to make its way back into the US. Today, New Jersey players are legally able to play at PartyPoker.com. We suspect in the coming future, players in other states will be able to make real cash wagers too.

Since the major software upgrade, Party Poker has all kinds of great new features. When we did our own poker sites Party Poker review, we tested many of the games on the downloadable interface as well as the instant play version. The graphics are crisper and there is a quick-seat feature that reserves a seat for you for up to 15 seconds and enhanced multi-tabling options that make playing that much more fun. You’ll find a live action preview, customisable player images, hand histories and many extras that will help you to get more out of your game.

Whether you are a Mac or PC user, you can take a seat at any of the virtual green felt table games and enjoy them in 15+ languages. Currently, there is no Linux version, but Linux users can still play games using the browser and enabling Java.

Regarding the speed of the software, we found that it is absolutely top notch. Some sites will give seats to players with faster internet connections. However, on PartyPoker.com, there is no priority seating.

Multi-tabling is seriously amazing on Party Poker with the ability to play at 12 tables simultaneously and re-size them. Tiling and cascading is also available as is the unique “stacking” view, which many Kiwi players swear by. Let us know what you think about that!

One of the coolest features of the software is the “hot hand” hand alert, which you can set to notify you whenever you get a specific hand. Beginners take note: this is a valuable tool, so use it.

If you're a New Zealander on the go, you’ll be happy to know that Party Poker is one of the only networks that has a fully functional downloadable app for Android or Apple iOS devices. The software for smartphones is the best you’ll find if you want to win real cash online. You can find fastforward poker, tournaments and all the favourite variations. You can sign up for an account directly from your Apple iPhone, iPad, or Android device and collect your welcome bonus. Also handy is the HTML5 version of the app available to download in your smartphone's browser for more flexibility.

A nice feature available on the Party Poker mobile app is the ability to make in-app withdrawals. This literally means you could essentially always add cash to your bankroll without ever logging into an account via PC or Mac. The Party Poker software works on WiFi, 3G and 4G networks.

For those not downloading the apps, in browser gaming is very easy with Party Poker's mobile site, which is regularly updated and allows anyone having issues with the apps to play straight from their smartphone's browser and still enjoy a full range of games and features.

Party Poker does not offer as many weekly guarantees as some of the other sites. However, you can accumulate VIP points, play missions and refer a friend to receive special perks and rewards.

You can find all variations of Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo. No limit and fixed limit games and all sizes of wagers can be found on the ring games and sit & go’s, with the exception of micro-wagers which are not available in this poker room. Tournaments go down on a regular basis, so keep up to date with all the events going on.

Due to the site being so popular, you can find action at just about any game, at any hour. Unique to Party Poker is the speed poker variant called fastforward poker. In this game, once you fold your hole cards, you are instantly taken to a new table with new opponents and new hole cards. Not only is this ideal for anyone who is short on time, but it also adds a little extra something to the overall experience.

This Party Poker rating could not be complete without giving you a quick breakdown of your potential competition. We found that there were a lot of fish (a person who does not know how to play) at the games. This gives experienced players a good reason to take advantage of those that haven’t got the slightest clue about what’s going on. Even so, there are multiple tables on Party Poker that are of equal skill level. Remember, everyone has to start somewhere, and after this review of Party Poker online, we think this is a good place to make your first cash deposit.

As one of the leading online poker rooms, Party Poker has been making a strong come back since 2006. Currently, the sites competition is on the softer side, but this is not to say that you won’t find some champions lingering about the tables. Mike Sexton, Tony G, Kara Scott and Dragan Galic are all notable Party Poker players.

Whether you’re enjoying poker sites on your Android, iPad, tablet or laptop, you can collect a variety of bonuses and promotions. Most notably, an impressive welcome bonus exclusive is available exclusively to this site. Download the Party Poker app, via this page, and make your first cash deposit to qualify.

You can also take advantage of the Party Poker site's VIP program, which was updated on March 1, 2016, and is now easier to reach higher levels of the program. When you accumulate points, you can spend them in the onsite store on all sorts of things like bonuses and tournament tickets.

As if that wasn’t enough, you can get your adrenaline rushing in the ‘missions’, which will give you more rewards and special badges. Find your next mission by going to Achievements and then to Mission in the user interface. Choose the one you wish to complete, read the steps and get started.

Finally, at any time you can collect an extra $20 just for signing up.

Making a deposit at Party Poker is easy and fast. You can use their mobile App or your PC to add cash to your bankroll. Certain countries allow you to instantly make a deposit with a credit card, while in others you will have to use an intermediary. Options include MasterCard, Neteller, VISA, Western Union, FirePay, Citadel and eChecks. The speed varies, but is usually instant or within a few minutes.

When you’ve won cash and are ready to spend your winnings, you can make a withdrawal using Neteller, wire transfer, check, eChecks and Moneybookers. Making a withdrawal is safe and takes between 2 hours and 6 hours when using Neteller or Moneybookers and up to 72 hours with most of the other options.

Upon doing a review of Party Poker customer support, we found that it does lack the ability to instant chat. That said, email and phone support is available. We found them to be prompt at responding, so you shouldn't experience any problems. Before you contact them, it’s a good idea to read over the FAQ page to see if you can find what you’re looking for.

Security does not get better than this. Using a 128 bit, SSL security encryption, your details are completely private. All in all, this poker room is arguably the most secure site in the world with certification from eGaming, GamCare and eCOGRA.

After such an in-depth review of Party Poker, you’re probably ready to get to where all the action is. Simply collect your welcome bonus on this page and you’ll be redirected to PartyPoker.com. There you can sign up for an account and make a quick deposit. After just a few minutes, you can start to play for real money.

This is a site that seems to have it all. Party Poker is excellent for beginners and pros alike. You’ll meet avid poker fans from around the world, including New Zealand, have all kinds of fun and hopefully win some real money. You’ll get the best bonus codes from this site, so take advantage of them and start playing.

Our Party Poker rating: 7.8/10