Getting Started

PLAY WITH THE PROS

Interface & Software

The software is excellent.  The main lobby is simple to navigate.  You can choose from real money or play money.  You can also select tournaments or ring tables.  The best feature is the  "Last Hand"  button which allows you to view up to the last 50 hands played.  And they have a  "Fold to Any"  button, which is a feature that quickens the pace of the game.

Full Tilt offers you a variety of cartoon-like avatars to choose from.  You can also control the expressions of each avatar and let your opponents know if you are in a good mood or running bad.  You also have the option to choose the background scene of your game from a view of the Las Vegas strip,  the beach, a jungle,  ski lodge,  outer space,  and even a black background.  If you are in a tournament and make the final table,  the background will be  "the feature table" with bright lights and a crowd of railbirds,  just like on a televised poker tournament.  The only drawback is that Full Tilt does not offer up emailed hand histories for ring tables and tournaments.  Full Tilt support assures me that they will be setting up that feature in the future.

Games

Full Tilt offers a wide selection of games such as Limit Holdem,  No Limit Holdem,  Omaha,  Omaha Hi/Lo,  Seven Card Stud,  Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, and Razz.  Yes, Full Tilt is one of the few online poker rooms that spread Razz games and tournaments.  The highest ring games they offer are $200/$400 Limit and $25/$50 NL.  They also specialize in low limit tables with $0.50/$1 Limit Holdem,  and they even have a $2 max buy-in NL table with ten-cent big blinds.  The only downside to a new site is that the table and game selections during off-peak hours are not very good.  Sometimes during peak hours you might be stuck on a waiting list for a lengthy amount of time.  Usually there are 2,000 to 3,000 players on Full Tilt during peak hours.

Tournaments

Full Tilt hosts single table tournaments  (Sit & Go)  and multi table tournaments (MTT).  The buy-ins range from $1 to $200 for the MTT and from $4 to $200 for the Sit and Gos.  Tournaments run 24 hours a day for every game that they offer, including Razz.  You will frequently see pros playing in random tournaments. One evening,  I played in a $5 Omaha Hi/Lo multi table tournament with Erik Seidel.  Full Tilt also offers up special bounties if you knock out a pro in a tournament.

Full Tilt hosts satellite tournaments for World Poker Tour events and for the World Series of Poker.  They even run Razz WSoP satellites!  No matter what game you play  (Stud Hi/Lo, Omaha, NL)  there is a chance for you to win a seat at a WSOP event for as little as $14.  Full Tilt is currently running a special WSOP promotion.  If you qualify for the WSOP main event through Full Tilt and you happen to win the championship,  then they will reward you with a $10 million bonus!  You can't beat that.

Deposit Bonus

FTP offers a 100% first-time deposit bonus up to $600.  That is one of the best in the business.  They release the bonus in increments of $5.  The only drawback is that it takes a very long time to clear the bonus,  especially if you play low limits.  They recommend playing $3/6 limit Holdem to clear the bonus the fastest.  I normally play that limit anyway and it took me about a month and a half to clear my bonus. It was worth it because I turned a profit at the tables and was rewarded with a free $600.

Full Tilt Points

They offer players 1 point per $1 in rake that is dropped.  You also earn 7 points per $1 in entry fees in tournaments.  New players have one month to earn 100 Full Tilt Points.  Once that happens,  you are automatically entered into a World Series of Poker freeroll,  from which the winner goes to Las Vegas to play in the main event.  You can use your Full Tilt Points to purchase merchandise or use your points to play in freerolls and other tournaments.

The Players

Aside from a few pros lurking at the higher limits  the low limit tables are very soft.  The low buy-in NL tables are the most popular and are filled with lower-than-average players.  The higher limits are the most difficult.  It is not unusual to see online players trying to take down Phil Ivey or John Juanda.  Most of the time, the pros end up winning.  But that's what is great about Full Tilt  ...  you have the opportunity to play against real professionals.

Customer Service

Full Tilt does not host a live support center where you can call an operator.  They rely strictly on email and their response times are fast.

Summary