OUR SCORE
9.0/10
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A screenshot of the action at Carbon Poker
Since joining Merge, Carbon has been the leader of new player sign-ups and is considered to be their flagship site. Its growth can be attributed to the fact they still allow American players. In 2006 when the UIGEA made many poker rooms leave the U.S. market, Carbon and Merge decided to stay. Even after the Black Friday fiasco, Merge remains in the American market. As of today they are the largest American facing network, and according to Pokerscout.com, one of the top 10 overall poker rooms online.
Promotions and bonuses
Deposit bonus
Carbon Poker offers it players numerous promotions and incentive to play. For new players that sign-up via one of the links on our website, they hand out a very generous 200% deposit bonus up to $5000. This promotion is only available to new players making a first time deposit. The bonus clears at a rate of $5 for every 375 VIP points earned and is one of the easiest bonuses to clear online.
VIP Rewards Program
One of the most intriguing and luring aspects of Carbon Poker is their VIP Program. The program is broken down into tiers and rewards players playing real money poker. Each month you must acquire X amount of points to reach certain levels. The level you are at will determine what rewards you are eligible for. Each tier offers some percentage of cash back and special free rolls. The higher the level you achieve, the more rewards you will earn. Points earned can also be used to purchase cash bonuses and entry into large buy in tournaments among other items. Here is a complete breakdown of the VIP program.
| VIP Level | Earth | Wind | Fire | Water | Ether | Ether+ |
| Points Required | 250 | 750 | 3,000 | 10,000 | 25,000 | 150,000 |
| Cash Back | 12% | 14.5% | 18% | 23.8% | 45% | 45% |
| $10,000 Free roll | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Free Drag the Bar | no | no | no | yes | yes | yes |
| VIP Host | no | no | no | yes | yes | yes |
| Free Check Withdrawals | no | no | no | no | yes | yes |
| $3,500 Free Roll | no | no | no | no | yes | yes |
| Personal Poker Coaching | no | no | no | no | no | yes |
| Concierge Service | no | no | no | no | No | yes |
| $500 cash Bonus | no | no | no | no | no | yes |
You can see the Rewards program has some extensive value. Even for those who play recreationally, there are still plenty of rewards. The higher levels can receive free poker coaching and free membership to the popular training site, Drag the Bar. The VIP host and concierge service is a 24/7 customer representative that is at your disposal for any questions or problems that may come up.
$10K sit-n-go (SNG) and $20K multi table tournament (MTT) leader boards
Along with the VIP and deposit bonuses, Carbon Poker also runs a leader board for SNG’s and MTT’s. Win your share of $10,000 in the SNG leader board and $20,000 in the MTT leader board each month. The top 25 spots are paid out in the SNG leader board and 50 spots for the MTT. The MTT part is broken down into a low and high limit as well. Buy ins under $20 are considered low and anything above is high.
Bad Beat Jackpot
For cash game players Carbon has what’s called Bad Beat Jackpot (BBJ) tables. These tables are ones that pay out a huge jackpot for big hands getting beat. To qualify you must have four sevens or better and use both hole cards. The jackpot is progressive and money from each pot is taken out by the house to grow the prize pool. It regularly reaches in the hundreds of thousands and has paid out the largest Bad Beat Jackpot of any site on the web which was in excess of $400,000.
$100K Rake Race
To top it all off, every month at Carbon Poker is their Race For Riches rake race. $100,000 is paid out over 400 spots for those who accumulate the most points. The race is broken down into 4 weeks each month and first place is $2,000. Bonus points are also given for special tournaments to help push your way up the ranks. For complete details as to which tournaments hand out bonuses, please check the Carbon Poker website as they change regularly.
Our Verdict: 10/10
Software and Graphics
Carbon Poker has recently released a brand new software client. Officially called Carbon 6.0, the software is amazing and innovative. The search and filter functions allow players to easily find the games they want in a flash. Find friends, specific games and limits with a simple click of the mouse allowing you to play more hands and games per hour. There are too many features to list completely, but if it’s out there, Carbon Poker has it. Tiling tables, note taking and auto top up at cash tables; it’s all there plus more.
The graphics are eye popping and fresh which makes for a pleasurable playing experience. Everything runs smooth and glitches are rare. You may find an occasional minor glitch, but since the software is newly released, this is to be expected. By now they should all be worked out and Carbon has worked diligently to make sure the software is top notch.
Our Verdict: 10/10
Games Offered
All popular games are offered at Carbon Poker along with some nontraditional ones as well. This is the complete list of games available for play at Carbon Poker.
- Texas Hold ‘Em
- Omaha
- Omaha Hi/Lo
- 7 Card Stud
- 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo
- Razz
- 5 Card Draw
- Triple Draw
- Badugi
- 2-7 Lowball
- 5 Card Stud
- H.O.R.S.E.
- A-5 Lowball
Our Verdict: 10/10
Tournaments
The tournament schedule at Carbon is growing on a regular basis. They already have plenty of guarantees that run daily, including a $125,000 GTD running every Sunday. In total, over $4 million is up for grabs at Carbon Poker every month. This last year also saw rise to the newly added Poker Maximus Series. The event was met with open arms from poker players around the world and is set to continue each year. A total of 70 events and over $2.5 million in cash is added to the already hefty schedule.
Our Verdict: 9/10
Competition and Traffic
The majority of traffic at Carbon is from the U.S. Since Black Friday, a large percentage of the Americans who played on Poker Stars and Full Tilt have migrated to Carbon. This makes games slightly tougher than at some of the other rooms, but still very beatable. The cash games have solid traffic and are ranked in the top 10 on Pokerscout.com. Finding an easy table should be no problem with an average of over 1800 and a peak of 2100. Total traffic averages around 8k and tops the 10k mark towards the end of the week. The SNGs and tournaments are where the easiest games are on Carbon. The big guarantees and leader boards attract the weaker players looking to score some extra cash.
Our Verdict: 8/10
Support
At this time the only method of contacting support is through e-email. They do respond within 48 hours though, and all queries are handled professionally and efficiently. If you are a high volume player and reach Ether+ in the VIP program, a 24/7 VIP representative will be at your disposal for any problems you may have.
Our verdict: 8/10
Deposit and withdrawal methods
The methods to get money on and off Carbon Poker are plentiful and reliable. They offer a wide range of options for both American and rest of world players. They do make you verify your identity by submitting documents, but this is a procedure in place to protect you and it is used by many sites. Once the verification process is complete (which only takes a short time) you will never have to do it again.
American player deposit options
Visa, MasterCard, Click2Pay
American player withdrawal options
Check, Wire Transfer for some players only (check with support to see if you are available for this option)
Rest of world deposit options
Visa, MasterCard, Neteller, Click2Pay, 1 Pay, Moneybookers (Skrill), EcoCard, Instadebit, ClickandBuy, Pay Safe Card, Web Money
Withdrawal options
Check, Wire transfer, Neteller, Click2Pay, Moneybookers,
Our verdict: 9/10
Overall
If you are looking for a new place to call home, Carbon Poker will be a great choice. The promotions alone are enough to make your choice an easy one. Add in their outstanding reputation, plenty of games and fish at the tables and one of the best platforms around, you have what is in my opinion the best poker room on the internet. For American players, Carbon is your best option to play online poker. Our overall score for Carbon Poker is 9.0/10.
Reviewed by Plenty Poker‘s team of poker experts on
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