Summary
Located on the Microgaming (formerPrima) network, Stan James Poker is attached to esteemed British betting company, Stan James. With a strong European player base, you can expect up to 16,000 players online during peak periods.
At peak times you can expect between 7000 and 10000 seated players whether at ring games or cash tournaments. About 3000 can be expected at ring games during busy times.
Action dwindles severely above €5/10, with most play confined to heads up. Since there is a strong European core playing on the site, off peak hours can be a real bore. Because Stud is more of a staple in America, and US players are forbidden, don't expect these games to be heavily populated.
The Microgaming network is connected with several sports betting sites.This means you get alot of sports bettors looking for a quick gamble, meaning low and mid stakes games are quite soft. However, the influx of Scandinavian regulars over the past few years mean the games have toughened up. Scandinavian players are regarded as some of the shrewdest opposition online.
Key Tournaments
Stan James offers guaranteed tournaments ranging from €1 to €109, with an emphasis on smaller tournament buy-ins for aspiring bank roll builders. There isn''''t much joy here for the MTT high roller, however the numerous satellites into live events make the site more appealing.
Game Variety
Hold'em (NL, Fixed, Pot Limit), Omaha (Hi, Hi-lo), Razz, 7 Card Stud, 5 Card Stud and 5 Card draw are all available, which is pretty impressive for a smaller network. However, there are no mixed games, which is disappointing.
Stan James offers guaranteed tournaments ranging from €1 to €109, with an emphasis on smaller tournament buy-ins for aspiring bank roll builders. There isn't much joy here for the MTT high roller, however the numerous satellites into live events (steps to the European Poker Classic in Austria are running at the moment) make the site more appealing.
Traffic
At peak times you can expect between 7000 and 10000 seated players whether at ring games or cash tournaments. About 3000 can be expected at ring games during busy times.
Action dwindles severely above €5/10, with most play confined to heads up. Since there is a strong European core playing on the site, off peak hours can be a real bore. Because Stud is more of a staple in America, and US players are forbidden, don't expect these games to be heavily populated.
Rake
-Rake on low stakes ring games is about 10% while at the medium or higher stakes it is only about 5%.
-They cap the rake at certain values though (that's good); for example, for all tables with blinds $0.05/$0.10 and up the most rake they will collect on a hand is $3
-On Sit'n' Go tournaments the rake is 10% at virtually all levels although our staff found that $100 Sit 'n' Go tournaments gave a very slight deal at 9%
-Scheduled tournaments are basically the same: 10% applied against low entry fees with better rake ratio for higher stakes
-The best rake our staff found was 7.5% on a $200 entry fee.
Competition
The Microgaming network is connected with several sports betting sites, including Ladbrokes and Unibet. This means you get alot of sports bettors looking for a quick gamble, meaning low and mid stakes games are quite soft. However, the influx of Scandinavian regulars over the past few years mean the games have toughened up. Scandinavian players are regarded as some of the shrewdest opposition online.
Support
Stan James offers comprehensive player support, with 24/7 email support, live chat, and a freephone number all available.
Deposit & Withdrawal Options
(1) Credit card (VISA, Mastercard, Visa Electron, Solo, or Delta), (2) Neteller, (3) Instacash, (4) Western Union Transfer (5) myCitadel Wallet, (6) MoneyBookers, (7) Paysafecard, (8) Mail (Cashier Cheques - Money Orders - Bankers Draft - Personal Cheques), (9) Bank Transfers
Withdrawal Options:
(1) UK issued debit card.
(2) UK issued credit card - no transaction costs.
(3) Customers are allowed 1 free Neteller refund per 30 day period from the date of their 1st Neteller payment, additional withdrawals in that period invoke a $20 charge.
(4) If you have deposit via moneybookers Stan James will pay back any balance into your moneybookers account for free at this time.
(5) Stan James can send you a personal cheque upon request if you have deposited via cheque method. The minimum withdrawal is £25 or currency equivalent for cheques.
(6) Bank transfer - if you deposit with a non-UK credit card and won money then you could request a bank transfer to withdraw. Stan James doesn't charge you for this, but your bank might.
Take note that before withdrawals can be made there is a standard authorisation procedure. They will likely require the following from you:
(1) Card verification - a copy of both sides of the credit card registered to your account, clearly showing your signature.
(2) Identity verification - a copy of your passport or driving license.
(3) Proof of address - a copy of your Bank statement, Utility bill or official document showing address.
- Sign up with Stan James Poker using bonus code POKER and get a $500 welcome bonus for all tournament and cash players.
Bonus Summary
Promotional offer: Bad Beat Jackpot
Bad Beat Jackpots are offered by various poker sites and they make your worst nightmare as a poker player into a dream come true.
Typically you win a Bad Beat Jackpot if you are playing at a ring game table (they are usually designated) and you get an absolutely killer hand that ends up being second best.
An example would be pocket kings on a board with two kings and two aces and another card.
In that case you would have quad kings and of course you would be raising and calling another player's all in right? What if, all of a sudden, that player springs pocket aces on you and his quads are better. Usually you lose your entire stack and in a way that still happens to you, but with a Bad Beat Jackpot at least you get it back (many times over).
This is how your qualify for the Bad Beat Jackpot at Stan James Poker:
1. At least four players have to be dealt hole cards in the hand.
2. The losing hand, the hand that takes the 'bad beat' must be at least quad eights.
3. The hand of the winner and loser must use both hole cards and the hand must go to a showdown.
4. The hand must have contributed to the jackpot to qualify (you have to be playing at a table where a portion of the rake goes into the bad beat jackpot).
5. 50% of the jackpot is awarded to the loser of the bad beat, 25% to the winner of the hand and 25% goes to the rest of the players in the hand. (A portion of the jackpot is retained by the house in rake and to seed the next jackpot).
Some players get confused by the third statement. Basically what it means is that both of your hole cards have to play in your hand in order for the Bad Beat Jackpot promo to apply. For example say you have 9s 2s and your opponent had As 5s on the board was as follows:
Ts Js Qs Ks Ad
Both of you have a straight flush, your opponent's being a Royal Flush yours being to the king. However, since your 2s does not play because you play four cards on the board, you would not qualify. Also since your opponent's 5s doesn't play that would also disqualify you as well, even if you weren't already.
Signup Bonus
The first deposit bonus is 100% up to $500, so if you deposit anything between $20 and $500, Stan James will match it.
To complete the bonus, you have to earn Loyalty Points (i.e. accumulate a certain amount of rake) to the value of 25 times your first deposit. So if you were to deposit $20, you require 500 Loyalty points to receive your $20 bonus.
On completion (you have 60 days), you must email poker@stanjames.com. Should you fail to complete the bonus in the designated time frame, you have a further 30 days to earn the required points for 50% of your initial deposit.
Bonus Payout Release
100% up to $500 when you register using bonus code POKER
Reload bonuses
The reload bonus is by invitation only and our staff believe that it will be used by Stan James to retain the interest of customers that may be moving on or are dormant. The reload bonus is subject to change but for June 2009 you had to make a $100 reload deposit and then earn 3000 loyalty points (more on earning loyalty points in the "Sign-up bonus" section) in the month that the bonus is applied to. Basically to earn those kinds of loyalty points you will have to either play tons and tons of poker on a $100 deposit or you will have to play at really high stakes against good competition and risk losing your deposit quickly.
Unless you are some kind of wicked poker ace this bonus is not going to work for you.