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With one of the largest poker sites in the USA, with a wide variety of tournaments and state of the art software – PokerStars is the most popular place for dedicated poker players.
Given that the welcome bonus is worth up to $500, is it really any wonder that our PokerStars USA Review rated this as one of the best poker sites in the USA right now? We think not!
Proper poker aficionados will love the high stakes games and exciting tournaments available at PokerStars.
5 Stars |
|
35.7% |
4 Stars |
|
50.0% |
3 Stars |
|
14.3% |
2 Stars |
|
0.0% |
1 Star |
|
0.0% |
The PokerStars USA website is divided into the PokerStars casino and the PokerStars poker section. The external sportsbook is under the FoxBet banner, which is also part of The Stars Group, the parent company of PokerStars USA.
The PokerStars casino has a welcome offer that matches a player’s first three deposits, up to a total of $1,500. This should give the BetMGM bonus code offer a run for its money. You should take care to ensure you’re using the applicable PokerStars bonus codes in order to claim these matches. Each deposit match goes up to $500 and comes at a minimum deposit of $25. As usual, there are a few requirements that come with this PokerStars sign up offer.
Our PokerStars Casino review found that deposits must be made within 14 days of each other, and there are wagering requirements with game limitations as well. It’s a standard offer, although it does go quite high when compared to competitors.
The PokerStars poker section has a different offer available. Players can get a 100% deposit match up to $600, as well as $30 free play when depositing $20 or more. Again, be sure to use the relevant PokerStars promo code. Using these PokerStars promo codes will qualify you for the bonuses. Check out the Unibet bonus for a good alternative.
As far as bonuses go, the PokerStars sign up offers for the casino compare relatively well, as do the ones in the casino which helps to better answer the question, is PokerStars legit or scam?
Check out the table below to see if PokerStars is available in your state and to get your hands on your state-exclusive promo code to start taking advantage of their welcome offer today:
As part of our PokerStars review, we put the website itself through its paces. Although the PokerStars website design isn’t bad, per se, it could certainly have been much better. The design is simplistic, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
In this case, however, the simplicity doesn’t work. It’s not an element of minimalistic design, but it does look like someone on the design team got bored, lazy, or both.
When you do figure out how to navigate the website, things might go a little more smoothly. There are several navigation bars, with promotions and the PokerStars Stars Rewards sections hidden in a corner.
Our PokerStars Casino review found that many items on the navigation bar are icons only, so it’s a bit of a guessing game as to where you’re going to end up. Don’t expect any tooltips to give you a little hint, either.
Most of the important links are hidden in the footer, with no clear way to contact customer support. The PokerStars poker section isn’t much better off. In fact, for a site that’s dedicated to poker, the design is almost worse. Different sections of the site will also throw in random navigation menus like it wasn’t confusing enough already.
This doesn’t mean that your gaming experience will be horrible. We were hopeful, however, that the site would, at the very least, match the quality of its games. But, when the PokerStars app is better than the website, you can expect a bit of a bumpy experience. Even redeeming elements, such as the sign up offers, as well as bonus and promo codes, struggle to compensate for bad design.
For this part of our PokerStars review, we are not impressed.
The PokerStars casino has a wide variety of payment methods available, as is expected of any good online casino. The PokerStars casino and poker sections also share a wallet, which makes it easy to use your money across different platforms.
All the PokerStars deposit methods have the same minimum deposit requirement, which is $10. You can use one of several methods to make your deposit, including Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Skrill, and Stars Transfer.
The withdrawal methods are slightly different and include PayPal and Skrill, e-checks, and credit and prepaid cards. The PokerStars withdrawal times vary across the different withdrawal methods but are usually instant – 3 days. To see the payment methods that apply for the linked sportsbook, players can visit FoxBet.
With so many payment methods available, players will easily be able to make their deposits to claim the PokerStars sign up offers using the PokerStars promo codes.
All in all, PokerStars USA has a good selection of payment methods available to make PokerStars deposits. For the sake of this PokerStars review, the payment method selection is quite standard and should serve players well.
For a well-known brand such as PokerStars, you’d expect the PokerStars USA branch to have excellent customer service options available. Unfortunately, the ways you can contact customer service are extremely limited, and none of them are instantaneous.
Players can find support in the FAQ / Help section of the website, linked at the bottom of the page. Alternatively, players can contact support via email or by sending through a contact form via the website. Players can also request a call back between 10 AM and 10 PM but can’t call them directly. It may not be the quickest form of support but the customer support is still professional, helping to answer the question “is PokerStars legit or scam?”
We were disappointed by the lack of a live chat feature for our PokerStars review. This is one of the most commonly available and most effective customer support features on gambling sites. Unfortunately, players won’t be able to receive live support from PokerStars casino. This is an area in which PokerStars USA can improve in the future.
When introduced to a new gambling site like PokerStars USA, players might find themselves asking if PokerStars is a scam, or if PokerStars is a fraud. We’re happy to say, for this PokerStars review, that this is not the case. It is fully licensed by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and is 100% legal for players in that state.
There are many unlicensed sites that target US players. For instance, the bonuses and casino games highlighted in our Pots of Luck review and 32Red review are world-class. But, unlike these operators, PokerStars is legally permitted to offer entertainment to New Jersey and other parts of the USA.
PokerStars also adheres to PCI compliance standards, keeping your information secure by using the same 128-bit encryption that financial institutions use. Players who join PokerStars don’t need to worry about security and should feel more secure in answering the question “is PokerStars legit or scam?”
Instead of the usual loyalty or VIP program, PokerStars USA instead has a reward system. At the PokerStars USA casino, players can earn Stars Rewards. It’s a somewhat simple system by which players earn points by playing casino games and poker. The more you play, the more points you earn. For a full breakdown for the points assigned to the different types of games, visit the PokerStars casino website and check out the Stars Rewards section.
Depending on a player’s points level, they can qualify for a rewards chest. These chests don’t require any PokerStars bonus codes or promo codes to claim them. There’s also no PokerStars sign up offer associated with the system.
Instead, players can earn a Blue, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, or Black chest. Each of these chests can hold a reward valued between $0.25 – $5 for the blue chest, and up to $35 – $700 in the Black Chest.
Players also stand a chance to earn StarsCoin. These can be spent in the rewards store, where players can buy anything from merchandise to electronics. Players can also trade them in for cash bonuses, to win live event seats, or to participate in tournaments.
For such a simple system, it works well. For this part of our PokerStars review, we’re excited to encourage players to try out this rewards system.
In 2014, PokerStars updated their platform, designed by Stellar. Despite some glitches at launch, the site has since shown much improvement. The PokerStars casino also offers a variety of games, including slots, most of which are provided from NetEnt. There are more developers in the pipeline, hinting at an expansion on the PokerStars USA game selection in the future.
There’s also a PokerStars app for players who want to play on the go. The app is well designed and easy to use, which is a strong pro point for our PokerStars review.
There are currently over 150 games available at the PokerStars casino. The variety is enough to appeal to many different players.
There are several different slot games, including Divine Fortune, Asgardian Stone, and Fruit Shop. The slots section has the largest variety of games on the website, though.
In comparison, many of the other game selections still need some work. For example, only Premium Atlantic City Blackjack is currently available, as well as only one European Roulette game. There’s also Deuces Wild and Baccarat for players who want something different.
Finally, there are also a few different table games and video poker games to choose from, and a minor selection of live dealer games as well. Although this part of the PokerStars review scores a solid average, the addition of games in the future could provide a better gaming experience for players.
The PokerStars USA live casino is still quite limited. There are a few live table games available for such games as Blackjack, Roulette, and Baccarat. Players need to download the required software and can then join any of the live casino games via the live lobby. There are also no welcome bonuses and other promotions associated with the live casino.
Although the casino isn’t the main priority, we did expect a little more from the PokerStars USA live casino selection for our PokerStars review.
PokerStars casino is big on responsible gambling. The website allows players to control their limits and restrictions for specific games, even allowing players to self-exclude.
That said, most of the games have their own limits, and players should check the limits on the specific games they want to play. We also encourage players to set their own limits, as encouraged by responsible gambling associations.
When compared to other New Jersey online casinos, PokerStars casino falls rather flat. Despite the great sign up offer and bonuses, the rest of the casino leaves a lot to be desired. We look forward to seeing the game selection expanding in the future.
The live dealer section is barely existent, which is also a disappointment considering that PokerStars is about live gambling. Hopefully, we’ll see some improvement here soon.
Despite its shortcomings, PokerStars has a fun selection of games provided by a trustworthy software developer. At least the PokerStars sign up offer is generous.
Though we think that the PokerStars casino needs some improvements, it could still provide a fun experience to players. This is especially the case for poker players who want to spend time in an online casino.
In this part of our PokerStars review, we’ll be looking at the poker section of the site. To enjoy the poker games, players need a downloadable client. The client is compatible with PC and Mac, as well as mobile devices.
It should come as no surprise that PokerStars has one of the best software platforms available to their players.
PokerStars USA is the second busiest online poker site in New Jersey, and averages about 150 players on the site at any time, with 600 players or more over weekends. Players can enjoy cash games, multi-table tournaments, spin and go’s, and sit and go’s.
The main limitation on poker games is the number of players permitted. Unlike its global partner, PokerStars USA is limited to the players from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Even so, they offer several different poker variants, including Hold’em, Stud games, Draw games, as well as Five-card games. The stakes also range from micro-stakes to high-stakes.
Tournament rake fees can go up to 5% for some of the cash games and tournaments, with some tournaments going up to 10%.
While PokerStars holds the record for the size of an online poker tournament, it’s not yet ready to compete on that level. That said, PokerStars USA have had guaranteed pots going as high as $200,000, and we’re sure that this will increase in the future.
There’s an impressive variety of tournaments available, including Fifty50, Shootouts, Spin and Go, Knockouts, and more. We highly recommend that avid poker players try the site out.
The limits set for players depend on which tables, games, and tournaments they join. Players can see the table limits before joining a table in the PokerStars USA poker section.
While the site might be lacking in some areas, the poker platform more than makes up for it. That said, there have been some negative player PokerStars reviews due to the rakes, but that doesn’t keep players from joining the site every month.
The poker client is an excellent piece of software, and the tournaments are some of the best poker tournaments available online. The welcome bonuses and rewards for the poker section are also excellent. We look forward to seeing what lies ahead for PokerStars.
It’s become a standard feature for online bookmakers to offer new customers a sign up offer. Bonuses of this sort will provide you with an added range of flexibility and freedom to explore the operator’s site. At GamblingGuy.com US, we aim to bring you the latest bonus offers when they’re released. Our coverage of the current PokerStars casino review will highlight whether there are any bonuses available to you.
Betting limits are implemented on each online betting site. The extent to which these limits might affect you will vary across the board. It’s important to find out what the relevant betting limits are before you sign up and place your first wager. If the bet limits are low and you’re a high roller, you might prefer to look elsewhere. Our PokerStars casino review will detail the bet limits for different online games for your convenience.
Many of the top online bookmakers offer interesting loyalty programs to existing customers. This way, you can cash in on your bets over time. You might be rewarded on a continuous basis, or receive exclusive bonuses as you progress. Either way, it’s a great way for bookmakers to show their appreciation. Our PokerStars casino review has delved into the online casino and brings you more information pertaining to this.
Many casino gaming fans will know that PokerStars is one of the biggest brands in the online gaming realm. Despite this, we think that it’s always good to check to see whether any gaming site is fully licensed. This is something that we do in all of our online casino reviews. Make sure that you read our PokerStars casino review where you’ll get to learn exactly how the brand is licensed and encrypted for your online safety.
You will have to carry out some specific tasks in order to claim each special offer put on by PokerStars. Our detailed PokerStars review will walk you through each step that you need to take to claim all of the brand’s casino promotions. This means that you will get an easy way to see if you need to use a special promo code, or whether you can claim the special offer with a mere qualifying deposit.
As with any gambling site, PokerStars has its highs and lows. Although players cannot make use of a no deposit poker bonus, the welcome bonus that was offered and the range of ongoing rewards were a definite highlight. Its license and security also makes it clear that PokerStars isn’t a scam, and PokerStars isn’t a fraud. The poker selection and the tournaments are also some of the best available in the USA.
That said, PokerStars does need to work on its usability, as well as customer service. Even though the game selection in the casino is adequate, we look forward to seeing more in the future. The live dealer section can also use a little more work.
Overall, for our PokerStars review, we think that PokerStars USA could still use a little work. Even so, any self-respecting poker player must give this site a try as there is no doubt now in answering the question “is PokerStars legit or scam?”
i really like it, it’s lots of fun and sometimes I even win!
yep, the poker is great and works better than other apps, but what surprised me was the slots. OK, there could be more but I’m glad there aren’t because I don’t like casinos with so many rows and rows of slots that you can’t see anything. Recommended
great customer service and was able to resolve issues quickly, good slots and variety
the poker isn’t as good (in my opinion) but the casino is excellent
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the VIP program is pretty satysfatory and the poke is very good
I really like poker and I loved the experience on this site in terms of poker. Anyone who likes this type will like it.
Great welcome offer, you can get started for around 3k, one of the best places to have fun playing poker
the designer could be better. You get used to it over time but for new users it can be a little confusing at first. However, it has good options for making payments and that helped me a lot!
I like the massive bonus
Poker or Casino…doesnt matter. There are solid welcome bonuses for both worlds.
Get signed up.
Great poker platform. Easy to use with a great welcome bonus to get you started!
Not too bad of a site.
Excellent casino bonus with these guys. The site is quite straightforward to use too.
21+ and present in VA. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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