|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Prima network of poker sites does not accept US players.
We think of the Royal Vegas (a Prima network site) as the pickup truck of online poker--the handling in a tight curve can be nerve-wracking, but it's reliable and GREAT if you just want to bring home the groceries. And, while it's not our first choice for daily use, it IS for a lot of people. Compared to the other major sites, you'll probably find the software's pretty mundane, the graphics ok but not great, and the options and features pretty basic. In addition, the signup bonus is tough to clear, there's rarely an overlay in the MTTs and the SnGs have an accelerated blind structure and a confusing array of buy-ins, level times and payouts. As for support and help, the online help is incomplete and the email help sketchy. In all honesty, the only time you'll love the site is when it's time to cash-out, and therein lies the reason you have to play the network--the NL ring game and SnG play is as weak as any we've seen. In short, if you're just playing for fun, other sites will probably provide a more pleasant playing experience. But if you like to cash out on a regular basis, you should consider having an account on a Prima skin like Royal Vegas. |
|
|
|
| Note: traffic estimates are observed data circa Feb 06 unless otherwise noted |
| Ring Games |
| |
# of players |
% of total |
| Limit |
400 |
18% |
| No limit (NL) |
1 600 |
73% |
| Other |
0 |
200 |
9% |
| |
full |
s/h |
| Table size |
10 |
6 |
| Approximate mix (%) |
30% |
70% |
| Activity - Limit |
tables |
players |
| 5c/10c |
17 |
62 |
| 10c/20c |
6 |
18 |
| 25c/50c |
19 |
73 |
| 50c/$1 |
19 |
74 |
| $1/$2 |
21 |
70 |
| $2/$4 |
15 |
41 |
| $3/$6 |
3 |
6 |
| $4/$8 |
2 |
0 |
| $5/$10 |
10 |
28 |
| $8/$16 |
1 |
0 |
| $10/$20 |
3 |
10 |
| $15/$30 |
2 |
0 |
| $20/$40 |
4 |
10 |
| $25/$50 |
1 |
0 |
| $50/$100 |
2 |
0 |
| $100/$200 |
2 |
0 |
| Activity - No Limit |
tables |
players |
| 5c/10c |
74 |
275 |
| 10c/20c |
71 |
290 |
| 25c/50c |
65 |
320 |
| 50c/$1 |
66 |
250 |
| $1/$2 |
55 |
200 |
| $1.50/$3 |
9 |
30 |
| $2/$4 |
23 |
104 |
| $2.50/$5 |
5 |
12 |
| $3/$6 |
4 |
10 |
| $4/$8 |
4 |
9 |
| $5/$10 |
15 |
58 |
| $8/$16 |
1 |
0 |
| $10/$20 |
7 |
24 |
| $15/$30 |
2 |
1 |
| $20/$40 |
2 |
1 |
| $25/$50 |
2 |
1 |
| $50/$100 |
3 |
2 |
| $100/$200 |
3 |
0 |
| Lobby view |
Flop % |
yes |
|
| Avg pot |
yes |
|
| Hands/Hr |
yes |
|
| Real-time HH? |
yes |
|
| HH stored on computer? |
yes |
|
| Mucked hands in HH? |
no |
|
| Player notes? |
yes |
|
| Session stats at table? |
yes |
|
|
| Tournaments |
| |
# of players |
| Multi-table tournaments (MTTs) |
2 000 |
| Big weekly MTT |
Add to Calendar |
| |
Buy-in |
$50 + $5 |
|
| Entrants |
NA |
|
| Prize pool |
$100,000 |
|
| Overlay? |
no |
|
| Day/time (EST) |
Sun 3:30 PM EST |
|
| Big daily MTT |
Add to Calendar |
| |
Buy-in |
$100 + $10 |
|
| Entrants |
109 (plus R&As;) |
|
| Prize pool |
$20,000 |
|
| Time (EST) |
2:30 PM EST |
|
| |
# of players |
| Sit n Gos (SnGs) |
1 000 |
| |
full |
s/h |
| Table size (SnGs) |
10 |
5, 6 |
| Approx mix (%) |
30% |
70% |
| Range of buy-ins |
75c to $1000 |
|
| Time to seat |
|
| 75c +25c |
<2 min |
|
| $2 + 20c |
<5 min |
|
| $2 + 50c |
<5 min |
|
| $5 + 50c |
<10 min |
|
| $10 + $1 |
10+ min |
|
| $20 + $2 |
10+ min |
|
| $30 + $3 |
10+ min |
|
| $40 + $4 |
10+ min |
|
| $50 + $5 |
10+ min |
|
| $100 + $9 |
10+ min |
|
| $100 + $10 |
10+ min |
|
| $1000 + $50 |
10+ min |
|
| $1000 + $100 |
10+ min |
|
| Blinds increase every? |
| |
Regular |
10-12 hands |
|
| Turbo |
2, 4 or 6 hands |
|
| Other |
|
|
| Link to blind structure page |
|
Link |
| Hourly NL tournaments? |
yes |
$1 to $100
|
| WPT/WSOP satellites? |
yes |
| Tournament listing |
Link
|
|
| Max tables at once (ring) |
5 |
|
|
| Max tables at once (tournaments) |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Ring game play clears bonus? |
yes |
|
| You are able to cash in your deposit and winnings at any point, but the bonus amount will not be available for cashout until you have raked 10 times your bonus amount. Therefore, to cash out you need to play 1000 hands ($100 x 10 =1,000).
Royal Vegas Poker defines a player as raking a hand as: "any player that is dealt cards in a hand and the pot is raked at a minimum of 25c" |
|
| Tournament play clears bonus? |
no |
|
|
| Miscellaneous |
Match |
Max |
| Deposit bonus |
100% |
$100 |
| Reload bonus (NA) |
NA |
NA |
| Minimum deposit (NETeller) |
$20 |
|
| Minimum cashout |
$20 |
|
| Customer support |
NETeller cashout |
2 days |
|
| |
Response to email |
|
|
| Accurancy of responses |
|
|
|
| Endorsed by |
Affiliated Sites |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Plenty of soft cash games and beatable sit n gos
- Lots of 5 and 6-handed SnGs that pay 2-3 places (40-50% payouts)
- Quick Seat function takes you right to the game you're looking for
- The mini-table view is great; it's easy to use and follow the action
- You can pull up your raked hands status real-time (by day, week, month)
- Prima is supported by PokerTracker (with a free add-on) |
|
|
|
- The betting button placement is reversed from that found on other major sites
- You can't tell tell the details of SnGs (level times, payout, etc.) before trying to sit down
- The SnG blind structure doubles with each level; that's as steep as we've seen
- Session stats don't include number of hands
- Help feature is hard to navigate, inaccurate and incomplete
- Email support varied from immediate response to no response at all |
|
|
Why you should play the site
|
|
- The sign-up bonus (100%, $100 max) clears relatively quickly; you need to play 10 raked hand to clear $1 of bonus
- The soft NL cash games will pretty much pay your rent
- We had good luck in the SnGs even with the accelerated blind structure
- There's a $1000 daily freeroll for anyone who's played 100 raked hands in the prior 24 hours
- The daily freerolls are pretty sloppy; <500 entrants…done in <4 hrs |
|
|
|
- 75% of cash ring games are NL games; many have flop %s of 40%+
- The quality of play seemed equal to or worse than that we've seen elsewhere
- PokerTracker supports Prima network hand histories
- Royal Vegas allows 10-table multi-tabling |
|
|
For the tournament player
|
|
- Daily $1000 freerolls for any player with 100 raked hands in the prior 24 hr period
- A good selection of MTTs with reasonable buy-ins and manageable fields
- Tournament entry fees don't count toward bonus clearing
- The guaranteed tournaments draw enough entrants to cover the prize pool; no overlays
- The SnG blind structure doubles at each level; it's pretty steep
- The SnG blind levels and payouts aren't posted anywhere and vary even within buy-in amounts; you can't tell the level times (10, 12 or 15 hands for regular tourneys) until you select and view the table or the payouts (2 or 3 places) until you take a seat
- The Turbo (6 hand levels), Super Turbo (4 hands) and Extreme Turbo (2 hands) SnGs are push-fests; they're more lottery than poker
- That said, if you adjust for the blind structure, you'll beat these SnGs |
|
|
|
- 100% deposit bonus, max $100; you need to play 10 raked hands to clear $1 of bonus
- Every month, the top 1500 point earners on the site share in a $40k bonus pool; we found it easy to place in the top 1500 |
|
|
|
- If you're used to SnGs on Party or Stars, you'll need to make an adjustment to account for blinds; they double at each level
- If you play SnGs, check them carefully when you sit down; as stated above, the blind levels and payouts vary even with the same buy-in
- Your cashout will show up on NETeller as Selbourne, Ltd |
|
|
|
| Activity - Limit |
Avg # of tables |
Avg # of players |
Comments |
| 5c/10c |
17 |
62 |
|
| 10c/20c |
6 |
18 |
|
| 25c/50c |
19 |
73 |
|
| 50c/$1 |
19 |
74 |
|
| $1/$2 |
21 |
70 |
|
| $2/$4 |
15 |
41 |
|
| $3/$6 |
3 |
6 |
|
| $4/$8 |
2 |
0 |
|
| $5/$10 |
10 |
28 |
|
| $8/$16 |
1 |
0 |
|
| $10/$20 |
3 |
10 |
|
| $15/$30 |
2 |
0 |
|
| $20/$40 |
4 |
10 |
|
| $25/$50 |
1 |
0 |
|
| $50/$100 |
2 |
0 |
|
| $100/$200 |
2 |
0 |
|
| Activity - NL |
Avg # of tables |
Avg # of players |
Comments |
| 5c/10c |
74 |
275 |
|
| 10c/20c |
71 |
290 |
|
| 25c/50c |
65 |
320 |
|
| 50c/$1 |
66 |
250 |
|
| $1/$2 |
55 |
200 |
|
| $1.50/$3 |
9 |
30 |
|
| $2/$4 |
23 |
104 |
|
| $2.50/$5 |
5 |
12 |
|
| $3/$6 |
4 |
10 |
|
| $4/$8 |
4 |
9 |
|
| $5/$10 |
15 |
58 |
|
| $8/$16 |
1 |
0 |
|
| $10/$20 |
7 |
24 |
|
| $15/$30 |
2 |
1 |
|
| $20/$40 |
2 |
1 |
|
| $25/$50 |
2 |
1 |
|
| $50/$100 |
3 |
2 |
|
| $100/$200 |
3 |
0 |
|
| Link to our complete compilation of action by size of game |
|
|
|
|
| Big daily MTT |
Add to Calendar |
| |
Buy-in |
$100 + $10 |
| Entrants |
109 (plus R&As;) |
| Prize pool |
$20,000 |
| Time (EST) |
14:30 |
| Big weekly MTT |
Add to Calendar |
| |
Buy-in |
$50 + $5 |
| Entrants |
NA |
| Prize pool |
$100,000 |
| Day/Time (EST) |
Sun/15:30 |
| Hourly NL tournaments? |
yes |
$1 to $100
|
|
|
 |
|
Sit n Gos (active tables)
|
|
| Game |
Avg # of tables |
Time to seat |
Comments |
| 75c +25c |
32 |
<2 min |
|
| $2 + 20c |
21 |
<5 min |
|
| $2 + 50c |
23 |
<5 min |
|
| $5 + 50c |
86 |
<10 min |
|
| $10 + $1 |
60 |
10+ min |
|
| $20 + $2 |
44 |
10+ min |
|
| $30 + $3 |
3 |
10+ min |
|
| $40 + $4 |
1 |
10+ min |
|
| $50 + $5 |
20 |
10+ min |
|
| $100 + $9 |
5 |
10+ min |
|
| $100 + $10 |
4 |
10+ min |
s/h |
| $1000 + $50 |
4 |
10+ min |
|
| $1000 + $100 |
1 |
10+ min |
|
|
|
|
| Link to blind structure |
Link to site's tournament listing |
|
|
|
| If you're new to Royal Vegas (or any Prima site), you'll find the lobby design is great for ring game players; it offers comprehensive table info (flop %s, etc.), and there's a QuickStart/Search feature that will take you immediately to a table meeting a specified criteria. Unfortunately, if you're a tournament player, the lobby doesn't offer the same level of detail--blind structures, level times, etc. aren't visible from the lobbies of MTTs and SnGs until they start. We do like the search for player feature (note: there's no way to opt to hide from player searches), the fact that your raked hands (for the day, week and month) are shown in the lobby window and the ability to set up private tables. At the table, the action is easy-to-follow; we would, though, like an option to see bet amounts--they're visible by positioning the cursor over the bet or by viewing the chat/recap window. Note that the placement of the betting buttons on Royal Vegas (that is, the positioning of the fold and raise relative to each other) is the reverse of that found on other sites. You'll need to get used to the bet slider in NL games (it's a little touchy), but the raise button is a RAISE TO button. On a positive note, the software operates quickly, forcing faster action and more hands/hour than at other sites. Also, there are options to change the table size; we found the mini-view easy-to-use and effective for multi-tabling and the large table view (the chat/recap window is added to the right of the table) makes recapping action easy. Specific to SnGs, the hands left at a particular blind level are posted at the top of the table; we like that. Cards show on all-ins for both tournament and ring games. |
|
|
|
| The hand history functions PlayCheck (request a HH) and GameHistory (export to a file) are a little primitive; they take a while to retrieve and aren't particularly easy to follow. Note: Prima network software saves HHs locally and is supported by PokerTracker so these short-comings are manageable. Mucked hands are not shown in the HHs. |
|
|
|
| Players |
yes |
| Avg pot |
yes |
| Flop% |
yes |
| Wait list |
yes |
| Hands/hr |
yes |
| |
|
|
|
| Session stats |
yes |
| Player notes |
yes |
| Bet amounts |
no |
| Pot amounts |
yes |
| Max tables (ring) |
5 |
| Max tables (trnys) |
10 |
| |
|
|
|
| Choose own image |
no |
| Visible profile |
yes |
| Player search |
yes |
| Transfer money to player |
no |
| Private tables |
yes |
| Private trnys |
yes |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Date |
User |
Click below for review or trip report |
|
|
If you play this site we would love to hear your experiences.
Please click here.
You can also enter a trip report to share a story about a poker session at this site.
|
