Here you can find my unbiased reviews of online poker rooms. I have no obligations toward any site I review. The OPG started reviewing sites in the Summer of '05 with only four reviews. Currently, I am working on nine different sites. The five aspects of each site I take into consideration the most are customer service, user-friendliness, player promotions, variety, and popularity. Five stars are better than one. Before each review there is a section titled "US Players". This will give you information specific to each site about their polocies in regards to the new laws passed.

---

FullTiltPoker.com *****
US Players: FullTiltPoker.com has made it clear that the bill passed will have no impact on US players using their site.
Customer Service: Great customer service at this site all around, emails get a rapid reply usually in less than an hour.
User-Friendliness: Full Tilt Poker has always been a leader in user-friendliness from the website to the tables, getting better with each update. The website has a good setup and an easy-to-follow home page. At the tables, you are able to change the background, player graphic, cards, etc. Full Tilt Poker has also introduced a fully compatible and downloadable version for Macintosh users. The Mac software works exaclty like the Windows version. This is great because it brings in new Mac users, who otherwise might not be playing, into the Full Tilt tables.
Promotions: 100% first time deposit bonus up to $600. You really can't find anything better than this. However, it is not recommended to deposit any more that $200 if this will be your first site. They also have a constant flow of other promtions. The Iron Man Challenge and Tournament Leaderboards are two of their biggest promotions. They do have a refer-a-friend bonus and a type of loyalty points that can be used to buy items from the store or to buy-in to tournaments.
Variety: Ring game offered are Omaha H/L, Hold 'em, Omaha, Stud H/L, Stud Hi, and Razz. They offer heads-up, 6-player, full table, and multi-table tournaments.
Popularity: FullTiltPoker.com has been amoung the top 5 most popular poker websites since the beginning and in my opinion is doing the most to stay there.
This is the best. After testing all the sites, Full Tilt Poker was by far the best remembered. The original reason might have been the many professionals they have affiliated with their site, but as I kept reviewing, I definitely felt comfortable with this site having the top spot. Over the years, they have made numerous changes, including developing a fully compatible and downloadable version for Macintosh users, the only site who offers that to date. They also have updated the graphics to be more appealing and user friendly, as well as giving you choices of the display you prefer while playing. A few more updates we like is the number and quality of promotions, Full Tilt Store (which use to have a very limited selection), customer service, disconnect protection feature, easy hand history access, and the extra time given for a hard decision. One promotion they have always kept the same is the 100% initial deposit bonus with new players. One thing they have yet to change is their freeroll tournaments which they offer daily with a prize pool of only $40. With even hundreds of players entering, don't count on making any solid income here, although any freeroll is always good for practice.

---

PokerStars.com ****
US Players: PokerStars.com uses an "honor-system" type scheme. In the terms of service, PokerStars.com makes it clear that their services are not for use in jurisdictions where it is illegal to do so and they encourage their players to follow local laws. However, PokerStars.com has players in many countries worldwide making it impossible for them to stay up-to-date on all new laws, leaving it up to the players to decide what is best for them.
Customer Service: Sometime you get replies within a few hours and others you have to wait a day, it just depends on when you email them.
User-Friendliness: I like what they have done, the layout is easy to figure out and the graphics are well designed. They have all the basics mastered.
Promotions:
Variety:
Popularity: PokerStars.com is the second most popular site behind PartyPoker.com.

---

UltimateBet.com ***1/2
US Players: UltimateBet.com is still available to all players worldwide. The laws passed on September 30 neither prohibits nor makes it illegal for any US customer to play with them. Their strong belief is that poker is a game of skill and therefore not encompassed by the law.
Customer Service: Customer service here average, you can expect to wait a day per email to get a response.
User-Friendliness: The user-friendliness is also average. Thery have no specifal features and the layouts and designs are not clean and easy to navigate.
Promotions:
Variety:
Popularity: UltimateBet.com, Phil Hellmuth's website, is within the top 10 most popular sites, usually sitting in the middle.

---

PartyPoker.com ***
US Players: PartyPoker.com is not allowing any US players access to their real money games due to the current laws.

---

PacificPoker.com (www.888.com) ***
US Players: PacificPoker.com has restrcited access to anyone who has a mailing address in the US, is using a US financial institution to deposit/withdraw funds, or logs on from a US IP address due to the current laws passed in America.

---

PokerRoom.com ***1/2
US Players: PokerRoom.com no longer offers real money games to US players. This is a partial review due to my restricted access to the site, however I will keep it posted.
Customer Service: PokerRoom.com has good customer service, they will get back with you in a timely manner with infomration on your question.
User-Friendliness: PokerRoom.com has always been userfriendly, even when other online poker sites were not. From the beginning it was easy on the eyes and easy to navigate. It has all the normal controls as other sites do. You can also play directly from their site if you need to, which is also compatible for Macs, but there is nothing to download so you have to go online to their site everytime you want to play.
Promotions: There are many promotions on this site. In addition to a few others, they have loyalty program, refer-a-friend bonus, and freerolls worth some money. They have many types of freerolls whcih range in prize money. There are $300 and $500 freerolls. The first time deposit bonus is 50% up to $100 and 3 free tournament tickets.
Variety: PokerRoom.com offers a variety from 5-card draw to Omaha/Stud/Hold 'em.
Popularity: Poker Room is amoung the most played sites online today. You will never find a shortness of players on this site.
Another favorite of ours, PokerRoom.com is exteremly user friendly, which we believe makes all the difference. This website beats out FullTiltPoker.com with their freerolls which boast a prize pool in the hundreds of dollars. Thier initial sign up bonus is 50% up to $100.