Empire Poker has been sold to Party
Poker and will no longer be a standalone poker room.
For a suitable alternative, please
visit
Party Poker.
Overall: 4.5
Up until just recently,
Empire Poker has been a skin on the
Party Poker network, sharing both a player
base and software. While
Empire retained its software, the two
companies have parted ways and
Empire players now share traffic with other
Party skins. I still give this site high
marks, and it has been one of my niche favorites for a
couple of years now because of their guaranteed
tournaments. I believe that this split will eventually
help
Empire to grow into its own, and I think that
new players will benefit from a tighter player base that
they can get to know. Fixed limit players will
appreciate the full tables up to the mid-high stakes.
Overall, I think that this is a choice for players who
value a good loyalty program, weak competition, and
guaranteed tournaments.
Bonus: 4.5 ($25
free or 20%)
Normal visitors to their homepage won’t find a deposit
bonus. However, we do have a couple of bonus codes for
you to get a couple of nice deposit extras. If you visit
the site through one of our links, download the
software, and use bonus code “EP25BUCKS”, you’ll
get $25 free on any deposit. It really only takes a
couple hours of play to clear the $25, so it’s a pretty
nice perk. You’ll get this regardless of how much you
deposit. If you’re depositing more than $100, you should
probably use our other code. If you go to the site
through one of our links, download the software, and use
bonus code “FREEPOKER20”, you’ll get a 20% good
up to $100 extra. I give them a good score for being
able to choose the best bonus for your deposit.
Promotions: 4.5
Empire has always run a pretty good amount of
promotions other than the deposit bonus. They’ve just
added a new freeroll structure with 5 daily $500 and
$200 events. These don’t usually fill up to capacity, so
it’s a decent tournament to keep open as a second
window. They’ve also added a monthly $200,000 guaranteed
tournament for larger tourney players. The VIP Club is
probably their promotion, allowing you to build
“EPoints” and cash them in for free merchandise like
iPods, poker books, or cash into your account. They also
run the occasional freeroll open only to VIP club
members. Overall, I think that
Empire does a good job of showing loyalty to
regular players.
Fish: 3.5
Now that
Empire has its own player traffic, it seems
like the main word to describe the competition is weak.
While some tables are still pretty wild, players now
seem to be more weak-tight than they ever have been.
Many pots are won with a preflop raise, and I recommend
playing an aggressive game from middle and late
position. On the other hand, many players are still
inexperienced calling stations who will often stay in
with thin draws or bottom pair so you shouldn’t be
afraid to bet out with your strong hands. Fortunately,
the tables are still pretty beatable and I find that I
can usually play smaller limits than normal but still
expect the same hourly profit. This is also a good site
for limit players, and you’ll find full 10-player tables
up to $5/10 and $10/20 limits.
Tournaments: 5
I like the tournaments here not because of the volume,
but because of the structure. They do run a good number
of events daily, but over half of them are guaranteed
events. Since overall traffic at
Empire hovers around 5,000 players or so
during peak hours, many of these tournaments don’t meet
the guarantee. For example, let’s say that 100 players
show up to a $1,000 guaranteed $5 buy-in event. Since
the total player prize pool is only $500, Empire adds
another $500 to meet the guarantee of $1,000. This means
that you get the prize pool advantage being in a larger
event but only have to face half the number of players.
They also have begun offering 5 freerolls daily, so
freebie players will appreciate that. The big $200,000
guaranteed event runs on the last Sunday of each month,
and they’ve also started offering turbo tournaments with
increased blind times.
Software: 4
The
Empire Poker software basically gives you
what you need and not much more. I like the blue color
scheme, and the graphics are decent but probably will
become monotonous after some time. Fortunately, graphics
are probably the least important aspect of a poker room
unless you’re playing more for entertainment. The hand
history feature is pretty detailed, and allows you to
see everyone’s hole cards at the showdown. Game speed is
pretty good, but they could “deal” out the cards a bit
faster and cut down on transition time between hands.
The lobby is very natural and it’s easy to find your
desired game.
Best Features
-Good deposit bonuses. These are pretty easy to earn and
you can get a flat $25 regardless of your deposit
amount.
-Player loyalty program. They have a unique rewards
system including cash bonuses.
-Weak players. The best way to describe many of them is
weak-tight.
-Guaranteed tournaments. They fall short of the
guarantee in terms of players often so you'll have money
added to the pool
Cashouts: 5
Their banking options are pretty extensive, and
EmpireOnline is a financially stable corporation. Heck,
they do have the guts to take on a lawsuit against
PartyGaming. I’ve always prompt cashouts – within 24
hours via NETeller.
Customer Service: 5
I appreciate when sites have an instantaneous help
feature, and
Empire has a live chat feature from within
the poker software. If you need help, this is probably
the fastest way to get it. If you do write to them via
e-mail, responses are usually handles pretty quickly.
Game Selection: Hold'em, Omaha, Stud
Limits: Fixed Limit: .50/$1 - $100/200
No Limit: .10/.25 - $10/20
Tips
Playing at one of the weak-tight tables at
Empire is one of the few opportunities that
you’ll have online to employ a Doyle Brunson-esque
strategy of pure aggression. I definitely recommend an
aggressive approach from middle and/or late position if
no one has shown any strength in the hand. Since you’ll
probably be picking up a lot of pots uncalled, your
opponents will start to get suspicious of your holdings.
This is exactly what you want. Sometimes, you’ll be
raising with a premium hand. Let your opponents try to
reraise you and try to put you on a bluff. You’ll
probably take down a big pot and then the cycle starts
over again: you keep raising and your opponents will
probably still be scared from you dragging that huge pot
recently. Of course, you’ll need to pick and choose the
best opportunities for aggressive play. If you do run
into a check-raise or a reraise on a bluff, you should
simply let the hand go and wait for a strong hand to
make your next move.
Click
here to visit Empire Poker.
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