Sky Poker Review - Poker Bonus 200% Up To £1000
Sky Poker is a division of Sky Betting and Gaming which itself is owned by UK based media giants Sky, best known for their industry leading satellite television company. Sky Betting and Gaming launched with a sportsbook, but added the poker room in 2007. This this was no ordinary poker site, as a dedicated TV channel would show the action from some of the tables. While the channel no longer exists, players still have that opportunity of a TV appearance through regular shows on other Sky channels - and a generous welcome bonus is another good reason to get involved.
Advantages and Disadvantages
One of the biggest reasons to play at Sky Poker is the innovative nature of the site. Sky poker try and keep things fresh in an industry where so many other sites follow the same line. The opportunity to appear on TV is popular, while the site also has an academy (with training videos) and a very popular forum where players discuss strategy at all levels of the game. The 200% new customer welcome bonus will attract a great deal of interest too. While being innovative, the traffic numbers at Sky Poker are on the low side, so finding a game away from small stakes Holdem can mean waiting around for a while.
Playing Legal Poker at SkyPoker.com
The majority of the player base at Sky Poker comes from the UK, although players can enjoy the games from across large parts of the globe – although currently players from the US are prohibited from playing due to regional gambling laws. In comparison to some of the bigger names in the industry, the traffic levels are low, currently ranked 24th by Poker Scout. On average, there’ll be around 300 players at the cash tables, although you can double this number at peak times, which occur during the European evenings. This makes for OK traffic levels at small and micro stakes Holdem cash games, sit and goes and tournaments, but as you rise through the stakes and move onto Omaha games, finding a table can be a struggle.
What you will find at Sky Poker is a weak player base. Yes, you have the forum and the training videos, but you’ll also find a bunch of players who come across from the betting site or the casino and chancing their arm at the poker table. You can spot these players a mile off as they splash their cash around the table meaning that there’ll be plenty of weak games.
Sky Poker Bonuses and Promotions
New customers at Sky Poker will receive £10 in free tournament tokens simply by registering at the site (before even making a deposit) – this risk-free offer a good way to try it out first. Having tested it out, your first real money deposit will be the subject of an impressive 200% bonus up to £1000. This bonus is released in increments of £10 every time you earn 250 poker points and you’ll have a total of 30 days to clear the deposit bonus. New players will also gain an instant 1000 poker points too, which can be used to buy into freerolls.
The Sky Poker rewards scheme has six different levels (blue, steel, bronze, silver, gold and platinum) and as you progress your player points will be worth more, while you’ll also gain entry into weekly freerolls as part of the scheme. The site also has regular giveaways with exotic prizes, while hitting the final table of both big nightly tournaments will see an immediate cash bonus added to your account.
Sky Poker Deposits and Withdrawals
Being a European based poker site, the deposits options are geared towards players from the region. The most popular method is via a debit or credit card such as MasterCard or Visa, while payments from a Maestro card are also accepted. E-wallet companies including PayPal, Neteller and Skrill can also be used to fund your account. The withdrawal options are largely the same, with a requirement to withdraw to the same method you used to deposit in the majority of cases.
Sky Poker Game Selection
At Sky Poker, you’ll find the standard mix of cash games, sit and goes and tournaments. This site doesn’t go as far as many of the popular sites today, where high speed cash games and Jackpot sit and goes are the order of the day, although there is some variety. For example, in the cash section you have the usual selection of buy-ins (ranging from $0.02/$0.04 through to £10/£20) and table sizes (6 max and heads up), but you’ll also find ‘spin-up’ games where you’ll have a maximum of 10 big blinds and a minimum bet size of 3 big blinds, a game primed for ‘all-in’ action.
The sit and go section offers games such as ‘double your money’ (where half the field cash) and Russian Roulette (all-in every hand games) alongside the more standard games, which come in a variety of different speeds. The tournament section has a similar wide range of games, mainly geared to recreational players, with a mini and major event every night, such as the ‘Hitman’, the ‘Marksman’ and the £15k Sunday Major.
Sky Poker History
Sky first came into being in 1990 when Sky Television and British Sky Broadcasting merged to form BskyB (now known as Sky PLC). The media giant started off in satellite television, but has expanded into broadband and telephone services, along with the gambling arm. Sky Poker was launched in 2007 alongside its own TV channel which would stream games from the studio. Professional poker players would analyze the action from the studio. While the channel no longer exists, there are dedicated poker shows which follow exactly the same format as the original channel.
Being linked to the giant media corporation means that you won’t find any scandal at Sky Poker. There is no danger of Sky PLC setting themselves up for any ‘bad press’, meaning the poker site is professional and has a good reputation throughout the industry.
