Summary

Sky Poker is a small, independent site attached to satellite television giants BSkyB. Although it caters primarily for UK players, with its '£' currency and live TV tournaments, there are plenty of reckless gamblers coming from Sky Bet and Sky Casino to keep many sharks happy. A juicy £1000 welcome bonus and a free £10 for every new registration, regardless of your initial deposit amount, greets players.

Registration is fast and simple and there is no downloand required meaning that you can be playing almost as soon as you land on the site.  The site prides itself on their frantic Texas Hold Em action and excellent graphics ensure that you can kick back and enjoy the game.

The most exciting thing about Sky Poker is the regular televised tournaments that are broadcasted in real time which means that players can become the star of the show from the comfort of their own home. 

Key Tournaments

As one of the UK’s leading poker sites, Sky Poker offers players the chance to play poker on live TV through Sky’s unique software.  Games can be watched daily on Sky channel 885 and all the action is real-time.  In addition to this Sky Poker also plays host to a plethora of exciting poker tournaments that can range from daily freerolls to high stakes guaranteed prize pool tournaments.

The flagship tournament on the site is Sunday’s £8000 guaranteed which sees the winner scoop a nice £3000 in prize money.  Although the prize pool is generous, the tournament actually represents decent value and entry is not to steep – meaning that there is a mixed standard of play at the tables.

Sky Poker also offers their players the chance to play in Bounty tournaments as well as live land events.

Game Variety

Game variety really is poor at Sky Poker - only Texas Hold'em (No Limit, Fixed Limit and Pot Limit) are available. It's a surprise there are no PLO games, despite Omaha having quite a fanbase in Britain.

At least Sky Poker fairs better in tournament variety. For a small site, there are some pretty funky SnG formats, including 'Last Man Standing' (winner takes all), Russian Roulette (one hand mayhem), 'Scary' (rapidly increasing blinds), and Bounty Hunter. There's also a decent range of MTT tournaments, particularly for low/mid stakes players. 'Bounty Hunters' seem to be very popular at Sky Poker, with the £33 buy-in £15k GTD Primo the crown jewel. Sky Poker runs the odd live satellite, listed under 'Special Events'. Earlier in the year a £12.5k WSOP Main Event package was up for grabs.

Traffic

For a small site, there is a strong core of low/mid stakes Hold'em players. You can expect up to 3500 players online at peak periods. Traffic is pretty concentrated up to the £2/4 limit, with emphasis on 6-max tables. Although games run up the £100/200 level, anything above £2/4 is mainly heads up orientated. Because Sky Poker has a predominatly British player base, you'll find games hard to come by at off peak hours.

Rake

In accordance with the industry standard -5% on low limit cash games, 5% on higher limit cash games. Sky Poker adopts a 'no flop no drop' policy.

Competition

Finally, the main plus point of Sky Poker. You can disregard all the quibbles about the software and game variety, because there is a feast of fish at the low / mid stakes. Games up to £2/4 contain some of the loosest players on the web - from reckless maniacs to weak, passive calling stations. Games aren't quite as loose as they were a few years ago, because sharks have explored these murky waters, but you'll still find a fair share of donks. At SkyPoker, you get alot of Sky Bet / Sky Casino, and generally disillusionsed sky customers looking to fritter away their chips at the poker tables.

Support

Sky Poker's gaming is carried out by Bonne Terre Ltd, which is owned and operated by the Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, one of the biggest companies in the UK. As a part of this massive company, the customer service is second to none, providing rapid responses to all customer inquiries, 24/7. Assistance can be obtained by email, phone or online posting. Email is recommended due to the sheer punctuality and accuracy of responses.

Deposit & Withdrawal Options

Deposit: Credit / Debit Card (Visa, Maestro, Solo, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Switch)

Withdrawal: Credit / Debit Card (Visa, Maestro, Solo, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Switch)

Plans to introduce e-wallets such as Moneybookers / Neteller are in the pipeline.

• Sky Poker offers players a healthy £1000 welcome bonus and a free £10 for every new registration

Bonus Summary

£1000 welcome bonus and a free £10 for every new registration.  All newly registered Sky Poker customers are eligible for a £10 Free Tournament Token when you enter promo code POKER.

The great thing about the Sky Poker welcome bonus is that, unlike other poker sites, it's not not '100% up to....'. At sites like Full Tilt Poker, you can only claim the full $600 bonus if you deposit $600. But at Sky Poker, you can deposit as little as £10 and claim the £1000 welcome bonus, as long as you accumulate the required Sky Poker points!

Signup Bonus

All newly registered Sky Poker customers are eligible for a £10 Free Tournament Token when you enter promo code POKER. You will also automatically be entered into our £1000 Welcome Bonus, when you earn 75 poker points in your first 30 days with Sky Poker you''''''''ll get a £10 cash bonus. Then for every increment of 75 points you will get additional cash! This will be credited within 72 hours of earning the points.

The more poker you play the more you earn up to a maximum of £1000. There is no minimum deposit required as long as you earn the required points you will get the cash bonus.

Bonus Payout Release

The bonus is payed out a rate of £10 per 150 Promo Points.

So to accumulate the full £1000 bonus, you need to accumulate 15,000 Promo Points.  These are accrued by paying rake at the cash tables.

For tournaments, each player earns 10 poker points for every £1 paid in tournament fees. E.G. if the buy is £5.00 (Prize contribution) + £0.50 (Fees), you will earn 5 poker points for playing in this tournament

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