Full Tilt Poker, the online home of some the most respected poker players in the world. Designed by the pros, They try to incorporate all the best features that make playing and learning a pleasurable experience. Not only do their pros have decades of cumulative experience playing at the poker tables, they also bring a wealth of knowledge about the online poker world.

PROS

• Great software for both PC and Mac
• Excellent promotions and guaranteed tournaments
• Very good 24/7 support
• $8 million in guaranteed prize money each wee
• Accepts U.S. players
• Great points store with Full Tilt Poker merchandise
• Chance to play with famous Full Tilt pros
• Great mini-view functions for multi-tabling
• Supports completely automated import of tournament and ring-game data to Poker Tracker
• Extreme game variety
• Sponsored by well known pros

CONS

• Low sit-&-go volume
• Only support per e-mail
• Very tough competition at higher levels
• No-download software isn't available

Summary of Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is still open to US players and one of the few authentic poker rooms out there - you'll definitely not find any casino links at the poker tables in this client. Kudos for that!

Adding to its visibility and prestige is of course "Team Full Tilt," the site's main sponsored pros and the bulk of its ownership group, including poker legends Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Allen Cunningham, Phil Ivey, Mike Matusow and Andy Bloch.

The site's famous catchphrase is "Learn, chat and play with the pros," and they definitely live up to it, with the main sponsored team plus with a growing list of Full Tilt "red pros" found playing regularly at a variety of limits.

Promotions and Bonus Information
They also have other promotions. For example, they hold satellites to various World Series of Poker tournaments.

In addition, there are many high-value promotions such as daily guaranteed prize pools ($5 million each week) and satellites to major live events.

Downside is the standard sign-up bonus, which is nothing special and takes a long time to clear.

For each $1 raked from a pot, every player dealt cards earns one point. Players can earn partial points if less than $1 is raked, and up to three points per hand.

Poker Traffic & Competition
Although Full Tilt is an independent poker room and is not part of a large network, it's one of the biggest poker rooms today. This is partly due to the fact that they still welcome US players.

I have to be honest here, the competition at FullTiltPoker is some of the toughest on the internet. I've played at a lot of other online poker rooms before playing at fulltilt poker and there are some really good games at FullTilt poker. Granted, that's no good if you're looking for some fish but if you want some serious competition (and not so many suck outs), then this online poker room is definitely for you.

Software & Graphics
The software is definitely unique. People can choose among an array of cartoon characters as their avatar. You are also able to display various emotions with the avatar. This adds a level of enjoyment to the game and is attractive to recreational players. From a hands per hour standpoint, the software is a little on the slow side.

The Full Tilt client has some very innovative functionality. For example you can set up default values for your buy-in and rebuy at cash tables. There are also numbers of choices for the table view, with different backgrounds, avatars etc. You can also customize the poker lobby in a number of ways.

Game Variety
When it comes to game variety, Full Tilt Poker really stands out in the crowd. Besides the commonly offered Holdem, Omaha and (to a lesser degree) 7-Card Stud, you can also play Razz and a number of mixed games like H.O.R.S.E. and H.O.S.E. These are combinations of Holdem, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7-Card Stud, 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo and Razz.

Overall, Full Tilt delivers what you expect - plenty of tables and games to pick from, a strong pro presence to give you the cool "poker experience" and a chance to watch some super sick games at the marquee $500/$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em tables.

The hard work and huge advertising budget has definitely paid off, as real-money player statistics as of September 2009 show 10,500 ring-game players at peak hours, and 70,000 tournament players at peak hours.