888 Poker Review
888 Holdings was one of the first companies to enter New Jersey’s closed Internet poker market, made possible by its ties to Caesars Entertainment, the international casino giant that owns the popular land-based gaming facility in Atlantic City. The first version of 888poker NJ was launched in 2013.
However, the site underwent a major change in 2015 when 888 signed a joint liquidity agreement with WSOP.com NJ , creating the WSOP.com/888 NJ network. Since then, both sites have been working with a common pool of players. This allows them to compete with other major NJ-licensed networks, including PokerStars and Party/Borgata.
How to sign up for 888poker NJ
Joining the promotion at 888poker NJ is quick and easy. Download the client, complete the registration process by filling out a simple form, and you’re good to go.
Keep in mind that while you don’t have to be a New Jersey resident to play on the 888poker New Jersey network, you must be physically located within the state. If you cross the limit while playing, your session will be automatically terminated.
It’s also worth noting that while 888poker NJ shares its player pool with WSOP NJ, an 888poker NJ account will not allow you to log into WSOP NJ – and vice versa. Both sites have separate welcome bonuses, regular promotions and member lists.
888poker NJ Traffic Review
888poker NJ shares its network with WSOP.com NJ, but it is worth noting that some of the games hosted there are exclusive to the site, which negatively affects the amount of traffic a player receives. This is despite the fact that the public stats are very similar to Party/Borgata and PokerStars. Fortunately, this is not the case for the low-limit cash games and big weekend tournaments that generate most of the network’s traffic.
Money movement
The average number of cash game players is usually in the 80-90 range most weeks. Traffic usually peaks between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM ET. The variance is much higher than at PokerStars.
On most days, you should expect between 180 and 250 players, most of whom will gather at the micro-limit no-limit hold’em tables. This represents approximately 30 percent of New Jersey’s total cash game traffic. Around this time, the total of all networks fluctuates between 600 and 700.
Tournament traffic
Today, the 888poker network in New Jersey is a bit behind in terms of tournament traffic. The number of applications for major events is about 10-20 percent lower than on PokerStars NJ and Party/Borgata.
For example, November’s first $215,888/WSOP Warrior tournament drew only 205 players. Meanwhile, similar events hosted by Party/Borgata and PokerStars attracted 221 and 254 players, respectively. Prize funds reflected the difference. While 888 customers were competing for a share of the $41,000 prize pool, PokerStars and Party/Borgata players had $47,244 and $44,200
888poker NJ Games
888poker NJ runs on classic 888 software. However, unlike PokerStars NJ, this poker room does not give you access to all the games available on its global sister network. What you see in the lobby is what players in New Jersey are interested in, so there’s less frustration from seeing completely empty tables.
For example, PokerStars NJ supports fast fold games even though no one in New Jersey plays them, while 888poker doesn’t, even though their global client is fully compatible with this game format.
888poker NJ Cash Games
Since PokerStars NJ is a favorite site for players in Omaha, New Jersey, cash games at 888poker NJ are virtually limited to no-limit hold’em. Other poker variants are also supported, but you won’t be able to play them regularly, even during peak hours.
Hold’em
The stakes range from $0.01/$0.02 to $50/$100 , but you’re likely to be stuck with micro and low stakes as low as $0.50/$1 if you play after hours.
People tend to have the occasional action with average 6-max bets during peak hours. In general, anything above $0.50/$1 is almost exclusively heads-up. Fixed limit games are supported by the software, but there are currently no tables in this category.
Omaha
As briefly mentioned above, 888/WSOP NJ is not an Omaha friendly network. The amount of Omaha traffic these sites receive is very small. It is usually impossible to make a full call during off-peak hours. Pot-limit Omaha bets range from $0.02/$0.04 to $5/$10.
Omaha Hi/Lo tables are currently disabled.
888poker NJ Multi-Table Tournaments
People tend to expect a lot when you team up with the WSOP and start offering MTTs. However, 888poker’s list of regular tournaments in New Jersey is surprisingly mediocre.
The ability to participate in WSOP satellites is the only advantage of choosing this network over its competitors. For standard weekend tournaments, PokerStars and Party/Borgata boast 10-20 percent prize pools and slightly higher traffic.
More poker offers at 888poker NJ
In addition to standard cash games and MTTs, 888poker NJ also supports Sit&Go tournaments. They are available in two versions:
Sit & Go tournaments
888poker NJ supports standard No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha and Pot-Limit Omaha High/Low Sit & Go tournaments. Hold’em players can also enjoy Turbo and Super Turbo STT, which unfortunately are not available for Omaha.
Buy-ins range from $1 to $10 for NLHE and $1 to $5 for PLO. The action is usually associated with 6-max and heads-up games. Players shouldn’t expect much in terms of 9-max gameplay.
Sit & Go Super-turbo BLAST tournaments
All BLAST STTs run in Super Turbo mode. What sets them apart from the standard Super Turbo S&G is that the prize pool is randomly generated before each game starts.
In most cases, players compete for two or five buy-ins , but if you’re really lucky during the draw, you can reach the maximum prize pool of 10,000 buy-ins . BLAST buy-ins range from $0.10 to $30
888poker NJ Rewards Program
How the 888poker NJ Rewards Program Works
888poker NJ has a volume based rewards program. Players earn status points, which determine their status level. They also earn bonus points that players can redeem for cash at a flat rate of 1,000 points for every $10 spent.
The amount of RP you get depends on your status level. The higher your level, the more points you get. Players always earn SP at the rate of two points per $1 paid in rake or tournament fees. Unlike PokerStars NJ, your status resets every month.
The above means that once you start playing, you’re participating in a fairly simple rakeback program. We ran the numbers for each status level and here’s what we got:
Blue Tier – 0 SP Required – 2.5 RP/1 SP – 5% Rakeback
Iron Tier – 50 SPs required – 4 RPs/1 SP gained – 8% rakeback
Bronze level – 200 SP required – 5 RP/1 SP received – 10% rakeback
Silver Level – 3000 SPs required – 7.5 RPs/1 SP earned – 15% rakeback
Gold Level – 6000 SP Required – 10 RP/1 SP Earned – 20% Rakeback
Platinum Tier – 20,000 SPs required – 17.5 RPs/1 SP earned – 35% rakeback
888poker NJ compared to other NJ sites
As you can see, reaching bronze status and getting 10 percent rakeback is very easy. However, climbing to silver is impossible for most players. Achieving the required amount of play these days is nearly impossible unless you are a high roller because most people playing 888/WSOP NJ focus exclusively on low and micro limits.
What’s more, paying the $100 required to reach Bronze will give you 5% more rakeback on PokerStars, so it’s hard to recommend 888poker NJ over any other major network based on the merits of its loyalty system.
However, the competition on 888poker is less than on PokerStars, so such direct comparisons will never be completely accurate when it comes to determining the more profitable site.
Deposit/Withdrawal Options at 888poker NJ
888poker New Jersey customers have several banking methods at their disposal, but some of them just aren’t very useful. In particular, we do not recommend using MasterCard or Visa to fund your poker account. There is a very high chance that your transaction will be blocked due to the general reluctance of banks to process gambling related payments.
888poker NJ support
888poker New Jersey customer support is available 24/7.
888poker New Jersey also has an extensive Support Center section with helpful articles on bonuses and promotions, banking, poker games, account management and registration. It also covers basic technical issues that can be resolved without the help of 888poker support. We recommend that you read this section before contacting a support representative. There is a good chance that the answer to your question or problem will be available there.
Other 888poker NJ promotions
888poker New Jersey customers have access to a wide selection of free tournaments with prize pools ranging from $50 to $3,000. Some are open to anyone with a real money account, while others are only available to people with the highest account levels . The largest periodic freeroll takes place on the last Sunday of every month.
888poker NJ doesn’t really like reload bonuses, but when they do come around, they’re worth checking out. A great game bonus is a good example of such a promotion. It offered players a 10 percent match on any deposit over $20 for up to $100 in bonus money.
Conclusion
Once you crunch the numbers, it’s hard not to conclude that 888poker’s overall package in New Jersey is mediocre. It doesn’t really disappoint, but it fails to excel in any major category. However, when it comes to online poker, the numbers don’t usually tell the whole story. The most popular sites tend to have a lot of players, and seemingly underperforming networks give you plenty of opportunities to play weaker, recreational players.