Opening in 1999, Paradise Poker was one of the first large online poker sites. They used to have the largest number of players, but have since been surpassed by PartyPoker, with Poker Stars close by. But Paradise has a loyal following, and their experience at running a poker site is evident, as they keep things running smooth, like a well-oiled machine.

The basic graphics are clean and very practical. Their proprietary software allows for play on multiple tables, and provides the useful option to track your playing statistics. As good as the site looks, Paradise still only ranked in the middle of our Top 10 in this category because we found the software prone to latency issues. Whether it was due to multiple table play, Internet traffic on their end or mine, there was still a slightly above average amount of lag. (Software may work with Macs using Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac software.)

Paradise offers one of the largest varieties of poker games. They have the usual Limit, Pot-Limit and No-Limit variations of Texas Hold’em, Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo, they also have decent action on their 7-Card Stud tables, with 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo games available as well. In addition to those games, they also offer Crazy Pineapple (Hold’em variation sometimes just called “Pineapple”), 5-Card Stud and 5-Card Draw. They even offer Blackjack through the main lobby. While the 7-Card Stud action can thin out quite a bit during the late hours, there is regular 24-hour action for the nice spread of Multi-Table and Sit & Go tournaments offered.

Similar rules apply here as with other popular poker sites with a regular player traffic: A usual mix of weak/passive and strong/aggressive players, which can be more distinguishable between players at the lower and higher limit games. And at Paradise, the balanced pool of players can work to your benefit, which is one reason they scored near the top for this category. There are definitely some seasoned players at the table games and tournaments, but nothing another skilled player (like yourself?!) should worry about too much.

While the 25% initial deposit bonus mentioned above is less attractive with a $50 max, it can still make sense if you only plan to make a small initial deposit to try out a very popular site. There is no time limit to earning your bonus, which is paid in $10 increments at a rate of 1 bonus dollar for every 10 raked pots you play in.
Also contributing to Paradise scoring in the lowest bracket of this category is the lack of any consistent reload bonus offers (but they do have them!). In February 2006, they launched the Paradise Players Club, a points program that allows frequent players to earn points redeemable for cold hard cash and incredible prizes such as free trips to The Conquest of Paradise Island, Paradise Masters, WPT and other prestigious tournaments. All players are rewarded for the hands they play in Paradise - poker cash games, tournaments and blackjack. The higher the stakes, the faster the points. So the more they play, the more your Players Club points balance will grow. They have recently started the huge Million Dollar Freeroll tournament (which they claim is the world’s first), which awards $1 million to the 1 st place finisher. Their flagship tournament is the Paradise Masters, which has a guaranteed $1 million prize pool, and the final table players get sent to a tropical destination to finish the tournament (televised, as well).

They have a rake structure fairly similar amongst the poker sites that scored high in this category. However, their rakes for Pot-Limit and No-Limit games in general was slightly higher, thus the less than perfect score here. For detailed rake info, go to the Paradise Poker site, click on the “game info” drop-down menu on top, and then click on the “real money” tab. The rake info is halfway down the page.