Truly one of the pioneers of online poker, Party Poker was at one time the holy grail of earning potential. At one stage home to both U.S. and international players, the golden years of online poker were once solely dedicated to this site. Although those days of easy money have come and gone, Party Poker still continues to deliver to its devoted poker community. Players from around the globe still continue to call Party Poker home, and the online poker giant has done everything but move backwards in terms of offering the best features and gameplay found anywhere on the 'net.

Since being established in 2001, Party Poker has taken the title of being the biggest online poker room around. While it has since been overtaken by several other U.S. friendly sites in terms of popularity, the recent merger between Bwin and PartyGaming has steadily increased its volume statistics. Bringing in thousands upon thousands of ring game and tournament players alike, Party Poker is once again establishing itself as a premier destination for online poker.

With player participation being at such a high level, it's understandable to see big-name faces such as Kara Scott, Mike Sexton and Tony G as a few of the site's top pros and leading endorsers. Although the site has its fair share of high-stakes pros, Party Poker has traditionally be labeled as a place where the soft competition has been unbelievably soft. Although not being close to what it used to be, there's still a few soft spots to be examined if you can search the right areas.

The UIGEA may have stopped the participation of players from the United States, but the new legislation also helped Party Poker remain as one of the most secure sites within the online poker community. The Bwin-Party merger has allowed the top conglomerates to combine their online gaming expertise into a well-organized and safe environment for players to participate in.

Party Poker was lucky enough to receive an exciting "face-lift" within the past year, and it definitely shows brightly on the platform. Newly designed graphic animations, clean edges and a multitude of additional options have been added to the player's delight.

By being one of the biggest players in the online poker industry, you indirectly accept the responsibility of providing consumers with the best level of functionality available. Party Poker handles that responsibility with excellence, by being host to some of the fastest, most uninterrupted gameplay to be found anywhere. Always reliable, long-time gamers were rewarded with a revamped lobby that displays every item a poker player could wish for.

The recent update has allowed players on the site to find games easier than ever before, and the implementation of a new top menu bar adds to the program's accessibility. Functions such as retreiving your Account Information, Deposit and Withdrawal statistics, Game Rules and News are are located within the menu. By delegating all of this information here, it freed up additional space within the main lobby window for table game information.

In the main screen, you'll find every tool you'll need to access your favorite tournament, cash game or Sit & Go with ease. Regardless of whether it's No-Limit, Pot-Limit or Limit structure, Party Poker has the appropriate game for you. Buy-in amounts, stakes, hands per hour and average pot are all displayed to help visitors find the most profitable tables. If you're more apt to search for specific characteristics however, the filters on Party Poker are very good at weeding out unwanted search results.

More detailed game specifics such as Quick Seating, customizable Multi-Table Options, Table Previews, Custom Player Images, and the unique Hot Hand feature add to Party Poker's already dominating online presence. The aforementioned option, Hot Hand, has the great advantage of notifying players when they're holding a particular hand that's one of their favorites. By designating specific hands to be "Hot Hands," you'll now be aware when pocket aces, pocket queens, or maybe your lucky 5-4 suited is within your grasp. This nice bonus grabs player's attention, and should also help improve profitability and focus after spending those long, exhausting hours at your computer screen.

Party Poker has the benefit of having several different forms of contact available to its players. Live chat, telephone, and email may be used to notify Party Poker of any issues you may have.

The Party Poker web site also has the addition of a helpful 24/7 Support Center, that includes a detailed Frequently Asked Questions page along with additional topics such as account closings and Responsible Gaming. You may even ask a question of your own, directly from the Support Center, and Party Poker will pull up all information directly associated with the inquiry you've provided.

Online Security, being a major topic of concern for poker players, has caused many online poker sites to designate more effort and responsibility in that area. Party Poker has done this, and Game Fairness is a topic that's covered in detail on the company web site. Random Number Generators, which is the engine behind the random distribution of playing cards at each table, has been scrutinized carefully to ensure the most level playing field possible.

Other integral categories, such as Collusion, Cashout and Deposit Verification and Account Transfers are all handled stringently by the Party Poker Investigations Team. They handle each instance as a separate occurance, and look into the dirt and bones of each case to find out what's happening behind the scenes. This level of dedication certainly puts Party Poker at the top of the class when it concerns player and game safety, and also puts player minds at ease when it comes to their hard-earned winnings.

Party Poker's days as an outright fishing ground are unfortunately over. While the site does still provide a fair amount of easy games, it's definitely not close to what it used to be in terms of profitability. Nonetheless, there are beatable games on the platform, if you search in the right forums.

Similar to pre-2006 UIGEA law, Party Poker still has its heaviest concentration of fish located within the low to mid-stakes No-Limit Hold'em games. However, Party Poker is one of the few lucky sites in this generation to also host juicy Omaha and Stud games. Having a large number of players during its peak hours certainly helps, but this new pond of fish can mostly be contributed to the willingness of one-game specialists to venture out and test new areas of increased monetary gain.

Poker has been one of the most popular, and adaptable games in the world for quite some time. Party Poker has kept this into consideration, by offering players a variety of different games to play on their site. Texas Hold'em, 7-Card Stud, 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo, Omaha Hi, Omaha Hi-Lo and Double Hold'em are these games. Although some may have not heard of Double Hold'em, the interesting spin on the popular Texas Hold'em variety is very appealing in-and-of itself.

In Double Hold'em you'll start with 3 cards instead of two, and you'll need to designate before the hand begins which card of the three you'd like to feature as the "Point Card." The Point Card may not be changed at any time after you've chosen it, and the remaining two cards can be used in connection with the Point Card at any time in order to make the best five card hand.

Just like original Texas Hold'em, five community cards will be dealt. They can be used in correlation with any combination of your two qualifying hands. You ARE allowed to use just one card in your hand, whether it be the actual Point Card itself, or one of your two other remaining holdings.

If you happen to be interested in Blackjack, that offering is also available on the Party Poker platform. It can be located directly from the main lobby window, just below the poker games. Blackjack offers several different forms of play, including Single-Player, Single-Player Multi-hand, Multi-Player Multi-hand and Mini Blackjack. These games are often used as a nice relief from the everyday grind of cash game or tournament poker.

It's undeniable; there's truly no bigger feeling than winning a large Multi-Table Tournament for thousands, or even millions of dollars. If that's a dream you're interested in fulfilling, Party Poker can help you realize that fantasy by putting you in some of the best online and live tournaments in the world.

On Party Poker you'll find two types of tournaments; Sit & Gos and Scheduled Tournaments. These two entities are similar in that they both offer multi-entries and defined prize structures, but unfortunately, that's where the similarities end. Sit & Go tournaments have slowly become the ideal way to build a bankroll, as there are many Sit & Go professionals who have defined unique strategies and theories to completely dominate this area. Games are characterized by very little risk, and you don't need to battle against massive fields and odds in order to be successful. You usually just need to finish within the Top 3 places!

However, the larger Multi-Table Tournaments (MTTs) is where players earn big bucks, and also where Party Poker truly shines. The site regularly gives away packages to the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker, which are two of the biggest live destinations for not only pros, but aspiring amateurs alike. Currently, $8,000 luxury packages to the WPT Spanish Championship are being given away, alongside $14,000 WSOP bundles, so you definitely want to start participating in as many qualifying tournaments as you can.

Although live events are great for large fields, amazing prize money and exquisite neighboring attractions, some players still prefer the convenience of playing great MTTs from the comfort of their own home. For those types of players, Party Poker also structures some of the best Guaranteed Tournaments found online. Re-buys, Add-ons, Freezeouts, Bounties and Shootouts are all masterfully designed to give back the most in prizes to those who finish in the money. Party Poker's $300,000 Guarantee is currently the most popular, although they're in the midst of holding a $1 million Spring Guarantee on May 1st, 2011! You wouldn't want to miss out on that tournament!

Freerolls are one of the easiest ways to sharpen your poker skills, and Party Poker gives away over $100,000 in their Freerolls every month. One of the few ways to earn real-money without ever making a real-money deposit, Party Poker understands this type of poker player and makes an effort to provide as many options for them as possible.

For new players, they can enter the $1,500 New Players Freeroll that's held every Saturday at 19:00 GMT. The game is always No-Limit Hold'em, and you can find it under the "Freeroll" tab within the Tournament Lobby. Registration only allows for 5,000 players, so you'll need to be fast in order to register on time! (This tournament does have some requirements for depositing, and be sure to check out PartyPoker.com for specific details.)

If you're not a new player to PartyPoker, you can also use some of their country-specific Freeroll opportunities to cash in on some real cash. Either giving prizes in the form of a $150 prize pool or an entry to the Monthly Million Special which could lead to even more cash, these tournaments can be beneficial to the tournament grinder.

With some of the best players and celebrities calling Party Poker home for all of their cash game and tournament needs, it's not surprising to see Party Poker offer a wide selection of different stakes to play for all different types of players. The micros start at $1c/$2c, and increase right up to $100/$200. Whether it's Limit poker, No-Limit or Pot-Limit, you can find these stakes and everything in between at just about any game.

The concentration of action is heavily weighted towards No-Limit Hold'em games of the micro to low stakes variety, but if you search long and hard enough (especially during peak hours) you'll find several games at higher stakes.

Although the 100 for 100 bonus offer to new depositors can be beneficial, Party Poker was aware that it was going to need to offer more than this to keep players coming back. Although there's money to be made at the tables, Party Poker gives back by awarding cashback and bonuses to players who participate in real-money games. Dependent on where you fall within the Reward Levels, you'll need to earn a certain amount of points to receive cash and bonuses. Ranging from 4% right up to 33%, you'll begin earning cash quickly if you play big stakes or large volume on the site.

From Bronze to Palladium Elite, you may advance through a series of levels within a calendar term to boost your overall point accumulation. By accumulating points, you'll be able to spend them on many different things such as tournament buy-ins, merchandise and electronics. Party Poker points are earned through rake distribution, and also through tournament fees paid. For every $.25 you give in rake, you'll earn 10 Party Poker points. When it comes to tournament fees, you'll be alloted 1 Party Poker point for every $.50 you pay.

Not stopping there, Party Poker also provides occasional reload bonuses for players. Reload bonuses give players extra incentive to re-deposit funds, as they can earn a quarter (or sometimes half) of their original deposit in pending bonus money. It's a great way to re-build a bankroll that has seen better days as of late.

One of the best rewards a player can receive on any online poker site is a Bad Beat Jackpot. Although it's every poker player's worst nightmare, you can at least benefit from losing with your amazing hand on Party Poker. With $.50 raked on each and every Bad Beat Jackpot table, this enormous jackpot grows quickly and the lucky loser can be the recipient of tens of thousands of dollars. Just lose with four-of-a-kind 8s or better, and you'll likely be on your way to the biggest payday of your life!

For Deposits: Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Maestro, EntroPay, Neteller, Moneybookers, Click2Pay, Western Union, Bank Money Transfer, Webmoney, INSTADEBIT, Paypal, Ukash, paysafecard, and ClickandBuy amongst many others. Some deposit options are country dependent.

For Withdrawals: Bank Wire Transfer, Checks by Mail, Checks by Premium Delivery, and Electronic Transfer are some methods used. The same methods as above are also available for withdrawal in some countries.