Review of Carbon Poker

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Deposit Options

Visa, MasterCard, Neteller, MoneyBookers, Click2Pay, InstaDebit and e-checks are just a few of the ways you can deposit your money into Carbon Poker and test your skills at the tables. The available methods should make it possible for anyone to deposit money but if you can't find a suitable method the support team will gladly assist you with your transaction.

The only downfall of Carbon Poker is that they add charges to your withdrawals. Although they have recently changed their policy, you can't escape their high cash out fees unless you reach the top three VIP levels. For the smaller players, where every dollar counts, there is a $20 charge for check withdrawals in addition to the universal $100 minimum cash out.

Software

Serious online poker players know that the more tables you can play at once (while maintaining your focus) the better your earn rate will be. The ability to resize tables is crucial to this process and the majority of poker sites, including Carbon Poker, have this ability but Carbon has taken this one step further. For a small site their software is certainly slugging it out with the big boys, offering unique features to make punter's playing experiences as efficient and relaxing as possible. With Carbon's grid system you have the ability to force your tables into an independent window. Tables can be displayed in a separate window from your desktop, making it easier to control multiple tables and save precious desktop space. The mini mode feature wipes away any superfluous table decoration so that the table maintains its legibility even at the lowest resolutions.

Don't like the look of the cards? What about the carpets? Each table feature is fully customizable which means you can tweak the aesthetics to your specific tastes. A time bank and network diagnostic tool, to help reconnect players who get disconnected, are also incorporated in this high quality game client.

Type of Games

Being a comparatively small site doesn't mean that Carbon provide a small selection of games. Indeed, Hold'em, Omaha as well as all varieties of stud and draw poker can be found on Carbon's menu. This desire to push the boundaries and compete with the big boys of the poker world is demonstrated again as they offer Badugi, a game not generally found on many poker online poker sites. The weekly Sunday major is a $50k guaranteed and with comparatively cheap $100 buy-in, it also has regular overlays which is a major plus point.

Casino games are on hand if poker gets too much and those wishing to try something completely different can test their logic and skill with a game of backgammon or Euchre.

 Promotions and Bonuses

Players at Carbon Poker progress through different levels as they earn more VIP points and, unsurprisingly, the higher you go the better the prizes. Each level is named after different natural elements: Earth, Wind and Fire, with the upper two levels called Water and Ether. At each stage you can receive a certain amount of cash back for an assigned amount of points. Players can bag even more bucks by exchanging their points for more cash bonuses e.g. players at the Fire level can swap 30,000 points for $300 in cash. If the offer of free money is somehow unappealing to you then there are weekly freerolls (in contrast to many sites offering monthly freerolls). To add a final flourish to their fanfare of bonuses every player also receives free STT and MTT tickets once a month.

The obligatory poker shop hasn't been left out of the mix and punters can snag a basket full of bargains with everything from iPods to sea scooters. Points can also be used to supplement or cover the full amount of a tournament buy-in.

Customer Support

48 hours and counting. That's the amount of time Carbon Poker guarantee to respond to any query you have. The way to contact the support staff is via email which isn't always the most efficient method but the 48 hour guarantee streamlines the process adequately enough. If you prefer some instant help then the live chat client is on hand to provide advice on problems and direct you to the most efficient solution to your problem.

 The final option is an FAQ section on the website which provides answers to any minor problems that aren't worth taking to the support staff.

Summary

All good things come in small packages and despite their diminutive status within the poker community Carbon Poker is bursting at the seams with potential. The developers of the site have entered the poker market with a very clear objective, to take all the best features of the market leaders and fuse them with their own innovative ideas. Playing at Carbon Poker is like playing on a site like Pokerstars in terms of quality and for a relatively new site to achieve this is impressive. The software is of the highest quality and the game play excellent. The other major plus point for Carbon Poker is that because they are relatively new their client base is not infested with sharks, which means the games are marshmallow soft. Experienced players will appreciate the effort the developers have put into the game's interface and this coupled with juicy action makes the site hard to ignore. If you're looking for a site away from the crowds but don't want to compromise on quality then there's only one choice: Carbon Poker. To pack so much into their product is more than commendable, it's exceptional and worthy of a huge amount of praise.