Aced Poker Review

Aced Poker resides on the Merge Network which means that US players are accepted. However, despite this, the number of active players is less than many other sites.

Because the site is based in Europe the peak times are when the majority f the US market is asleep which may explain why the American demographic doesn’t boost the site’s numbers.

The majority of the players will be found in the Hold’em ring games as well as tournaments.

Action, action and more action would be an apt description of the ethos behind Aced Poker. Having built their reputation offering an unrivalled amount of freerolls the chief demographic of Aced Poker is new and intermediate players.

This focus on regular freerolls (one every four hours) is still maintained today and the plethora of penny games on offer means that newbies can find their feet in the game without risking their entire net worth.

Indeed the site’s homepage provides a range of strategy articles for those looking to progress and deepen their understanding of the game. Once players are accustomed to the site they will find that the games on offer and the software are geared towards providing maximum action.

Players are greeted by a lobby that can be filtered in a variety of ways to help players easily and efficiently dive into some action. Each variant has its own designated tab and within each tab players have the ability to further filter the tables by criteria such as, number of players and type of game.

Windows Vista users can keep abreast of all the latest action and promotions by downloading the Aced Sidebar Gadget. This desktop application alerts users to any upcoming tournaments, the number of players currently active on the site, any jackpots available and all other promotions without having to log into the game client.

This means that players never need to miss out on the action and can instantly plunge into the fray without searching out a tempting proposition.

The table design is simple and uncomplicated. If you’re looking for a well decorated table with bells and whistles then you’re going to be disappointed because Aced uses a birds-eye view layout and a very simple colour scheme.

There are no fancy backdrops or avatars and, in all honestly, the simplicity can be criticised for giving off a slightly cheap image.

In my opinion this is shame because the engine behind the site’s software is actually very good and the game play is very smooth and runs at a good pace. The reason behind the limited graphics seems to be centred on wanting to create a pure poker environment that focuses on creating lots of action.

Players can choose to play with a 4 colour deck and the fully resizable tables means that multi-tablers can squeeze a mind-boggling amount of games onto one screen and never miss a beat.

The site has recently upped the ante for crazy gamblers and added winner take all shove fest. Their new Blitzkrieg and Flipament tournaments are perfect for those players who want all the adrenaline and action of the game without any of the skill.

The 6 handed Blitzkriegs and HU Flipaments see players all-in on the first hand and operate on a “no skill, all gamble policy.”

The buy-ins range from $3 to $100 and these are sure to satisfy the throngs of young poker whiz kids with more money than sense. The crazy action doesn’t end there as for those brave enough to try there are No Limit Omaha games available.

If you consider that Pot Limit Omaha isn’t for the faint hearted then you’ll appreciate that, even at low stakes, a lot of money can change hands in a No Limit version. Aced also has a eye popping bad beat jackpot which regular exceeds $500,000 to help generate even more action at their tables.

Recent site improvements have seen a new grid system implemented. This is an excellent feature that fits all your tables into a single window which therefore takes up less space on your desktop.

Another impressive new feature is the STT rematch button. There’s nothing better than finding a player whose mission seems to be to donate all of his money to you. Equally there’s nothing more frustrating when you play them once and they vanish never to be found again.

Luckily you can now instantly challenge your opponent to a rematch a (if luck’s on your side) they agree and a new game will automatically start.

One major problem that mid stakes players are going to find is that the action begins to dry-up the further you progress up the limits. Smaller player pools mean that the fish start to become less plentiful and with the site focusing a lot of their energy at the lower stakes players the larger games suffer slightly.

The one benefit for mid stakes players though is that overall the competition is going to be less tough than on many of the larger sites.

New players to the game will struggle to find a site that offers a better package. Frequent freerolls, excellent bonuses and impressive loyalty scheme means that anyone, even micro stakes players, can earn some impressive rewards.

The graphics are uncomplicated and allow players to focus solely on the game and not get distracted by unnecessary features.

More experienced players will also find the loyalty scheme one of most innovative around and although the site can’t boast the numbers that others do the level of competition is much softer than almost anywhere else.