Bet At Home Poker Review
Written by Keith Brown
As the name implies, Bet At Home didn't begin its life as a poker site but as a sports betting hub. Since then, the site has added a number of other strings to its bow with a casino, live dealer casino, poker and other games all now available.
But just because poker was added to the site later doesn't mean that it's a mere afterthought. Poker has been part of Bet At Home for over a decade and they are now, in fact, one of the larger members of the iPoker network. You'll find thousands of players to challenge across hundreds of tables at just about any time of day.
Main Features of Bet at Home
Bet At Home boasts software that's very easy to use, an intuitive lobby and tables that look decent enough. Players can even tweak the appearance of the game to suit their personality or mood. True, there are fancier looking replications of poker out there, but this one will suit most players just fine.
The site is primarily licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, but also holds a license for sports betting/online casino gaming from the Gambling Commission in the UK and the Italian gaming authority, plus one for sports betting from the Irish Government. In other words, it's difficult to imagine that the site could do much more to prove that it's a legitimate place to play poker, make cash wagers and play casino games for real money.
Another neat feature of Bet At Home is that they offer a poker school service that teaches new players all about the intricacies of the game. As well as being helpful for beginners, this also means that there are lots of newbies looking to put their lessons to the test and inevitably making silly mistakes during play which longtime poker players will no doubt be very pleased to learn.
The result is that, as things go, the competition on Bet At Home can be pretty soft. Obviously, that won't be true in high stakes tournaments where players are likely to be more skilled, but the average Bet At Home table is likely to include several inexperienced players who may bet big without the hands to back it up. Their loss could very well be your gain!
Cash isn't the only thing on offer at Bet At Home, although there are plenty of lucrative tournaments if that is your main concern. It's possible to win trips to Las Vegas or the WPT (World Poker Tour), including accommodation, pocket money and buy-ins to live events, when playing on the site. It has to be said that the site offers some great promotions, with various giveaways and offers going above and beyond the usual poker action you'll find at most other sites.
The site's VIP club doesn't really offer too many benefits worth shouting about except for the fact that, when you reach Platinum or Diamond level, you'll be eligible for weekly 400 EUR and monthly 800 EUR freerolls respectively. Of course, to get to such a high level, you'll already need to have spent a hefty chunk of change. Still, it's a nice perk that we thought was worth mentioning.
Mobile
Many online gamblers like the option to play on their tablet or smartphone, with a few sites putting out such impressive mobile offerings that some players are replacing gambling on their laptop or desktop with mobile versions entirely. Well, they wouldn't be doing that with Bet At Home any time soon.
Poker is a particularly fiddly game to replicate well on a small screen, which explains why mobile poker apps/sites are less common than mobile casinos. This is indeed the case with Bet At Home, who currently don't offer a mobile version of their poker site.
They do, however, offer mobile versions of their casino and live dealer casino so it's clear that they are invested in the progression of smartphone/tablet gambling technology. It's safe to assume that they may well follow these up with a mobile version of their poker site when the technology to do so is a bit more stable.
Deposit Options
Bet At Home has plenty of deposit options to choose from, including Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, PayPal (not available in Australia, unfortunately), Neteller and Paysafecard, as well as bank transfers and Western Union. Most of these methods result in immediate deposits, but be aware that using credit cards to make deposits with Bet At Home incurs a 2% processing fee.
You don't have quite so many options for withdrawing your winnings, but it's easy to forgive that fact because those that they do offer are generally very quick and painless. Always a good thing!
Games Offered
Fans of most types of poker will find something to enjoy when playing with Bet At Home; Texas Hold 'Em, Seven Card Stud, Five Card Stud, Omaha High, Omaha Hi/Lo and Razz are all potential options.
For those who like to play quickly, the site also offers Speed Poker so you can jump to a new table as soon as you fold. No draw poker here, which may disappoint some players, but the situation could be much worse on Bet At Home.
If you ever decide that you want to take a break from playing poker (perhaps not too likely given the site you're on right now!) then Bet At Home's casino, sportsbook and other games are only ever a click or two away.
Customer Service
With support available via email, phone and live chat, any problems you have when playing should be resolved very quickly. The site even lists a physical address if you'd prefer to write to them via snail mail!
There's also a separate form to submit any technical problems, which is a nice touch. We asked the Bet At Home crew a few questions via live chat support and received answers within a couple of minutes, which is about as efficient as you can hope for when playing on the web.
FAQs:
Does Bet At Home have a good game variety?
Yes! Bet At Home offers Texas Hold 'Em, Seven Card Stud, Five Card Stud, Omaha High, Omaha Hi/Lo and Razz, which is a much healthier range of games than at many other sites which tend to focus all their efforts on the popular Hold 'Em and Omaha.
Because there are thousands of players online at any one time, you should have no trouble finding a game with stakes and a buy-in to suit your budget and experience level.
What is the most popular game?
No surprises here: low to mid stakes Texas Hold 'Em is the most popular game on Bet At Home, as it is on virtually every online poker site that doesn't actively try to specialise in another type of game.
Freerolls and larger tournaments are also very well-trafficked, so there's always some hustle and bustle on Bet At Home that you can throw yourself into if you like things busy.
How quick are their payouts?
Withdrawals aren't possible via credit card in Australia, which is a bit of a shame, but if you're planning to withdraw via Skrill or Neteller than you can expect a withdrawal that's practically immediate.
Western Union and bank transfers will take a little longer, but should usually reach you in a matter of days. As withdrawals go, Bet At Home does a pretty good job of getting your money to you without any lengthy delays.
Can I play on a mobile or tablet?
Although it's possible to play casino games (including video poker) on your mobile via Bet At Home, poker players are not able to enjoy that same luxury. The poker software used on the site only works on Windows computers, so mobile users are out of luck with Bet At Home.
Another group that will struggle to play poker here is Mac users. The site has no client for Apple devices or instant play/no download poker option so, unless your Mac is capable of running some virtual PC software, you'll need to find somewhere else to play.
Are they recommended for Australian players?
Yes indeed. Except for not allowing withdrawals using credit cards, Bet At Home is very friendly to Australian players and is frequented by plenty of poker players from Oz.
The site has players online at all times of day, including peak hours in Aussie timezones, so you should be able to find some action whether you're a night owl or up with the larks.
Do they have a good number of regular players?
Perhaps a little surprisingly, given that sports betting is what the site is best known for, they really do. Bet At Home has thousands of players online every day that are spread across various different game types, stakes and so on.
An obvious reason for this is that they offer lots of giveaways and promotions, working very hard to build loyalty with their customers. You'll see exactly what we're talking about if you decide to join the site!
Reviewed By: OnlinePoker.com.au
