Carbon Poker

Carbon Poker Review & Bonus

$600 deposit bonus and unique VIP program that goes over the top to reward players. Many different deposit options make it easy for US players to get started. Progressive Bad Beat Jackpot for both poker and Caribbean Stud that has topped $300,000.00 in the past!

Overview

One of the premier members of the Merge Gaming Network, Carbon Poker offers relatively tame player counts at the moment but makes up for it with great bonus offers and guaranteed tournaments. One twist compared to many online poker sites is that they have an active community of poker players that contribute to the forums. Inside the free to join forums you’ll find poker news and tips and strategies to help improve your game. This is something that many online poker rooms do NOT offer so even it’s worth signing up simply for the forums.

Supporting the forums is a Twitter feed, active Blog, and email updates on all of the fantastic happenings at Carbon Poker.

Software

All rooms on the Merge Network run on the Merge software platform. Highlights include very crisp graphics with a very modern look, easy to navigate players lobby, and many innovative features including the ability to “Rabbit Hunt” (see the turn and river even if you fold your hand).

Game play is very fluid with very little issues when it comes to lag or disconnects. Multi-tabling is supported up to 8 tables and you can easily resize tables to your personal preference. One factor that aids in the game speed is that it’s a “light” application using your PC’s processing power for the game only – the store, your player account, and other information is accessed via a web page. This adds up to a rich gaming experience that’s rivaled by few other poker sites.

Games

Carbon Poker offers you a virtual Cornucopia of games compared to their peers – Texas Hold’em, Omaha, HORSE, Seven Card Stud, RAZZ, Five Card Stud, Ace to Five Lowball, Badugi, and the respective Hi-Lo variants add up to an industry leading mix of games to choose from!

They also offer games other than poker so if you want to take a break from Hold’em and play Blackjack or Caribbean Stud you’ll find those in the player lobby.

Loyalty Program

Here’s where Carbon Poker begins to separate from the pack. The VIP program here offers players the freedom to choose their rewards based on a number of factors. While mostly tied to the amount of real money hands you play either in ring games or tournaments, you can also accelerate your points earnings as you play more.

Taking the loyalty program far beyond just merchandise (including iPods, iPads, clothes, and more) and tournament buy ins – Carbon Poker sets the bar high with their VIP program. For example, you can even save on banking fees for deposits/withdrawals as you move up levels. You can convert points to straight up cash as well as gain entry to live tournaments around the world. There’s also monthly freerolls that start at $500 for VIP Earth members up to the top tier $3,500 freeroll for VIP Ether members.

This is a multi-faceted loyalty so I encourage you to sign up for a free player account at Carbon to learn more about this today.

Cash Games

You’ll have no trouble at all finding decent action at the micro stakes up the average 1/2NL games but will find limited players at the higher limits. As the Merge Network grows (and it most certainly will) you’ll likely have more choices when it comes to games/limits.

Tournaments

You’ll find an array of SNG tournaments here that range from standard single table events to multi-table SNG’s with buyins for every bankroll. There’s also a SNG Leader board that awards points to players based on the buy in/finish position for each SNG and awards over 10K in prizes each month.

Ladies will enjoy the ladies only tournaments that are hosted several times a month with decent guarantees and reasonable buyins.

Larger guarantee tournaments include the monthly 20K Guarantee and following their trend of SNG Leader board promotions, they also have one for standard tournaments. With over 20K in cash and prizes (40K if you also play SNG’s) you’ll definitely want to check out the tournament action here at Carbon Poker.

Security

Merge Gaming Network provides players with an air-tight security system of state of the art monitoring software and a large team of security and fraud professionals. This all adds up to a safe place to deposit and withdraw your hard earned cash as well as a gaming environment free from collusion and cheating.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Good

• Lots of deposit options make it easy for both European as US players to begin playing
• Top notch graphics and software that make playing cards fun
• VIP program with countless perks
• Quick release of bonus funds and a big deposit bonus $600.00

The Bad

• Smallish player base at the moment (but growing)
• Funky XML export of hand histories if you want to track your play

The Ugly

• Rake is a little high, but gets fixed by the VIP program