Sky Poker

Sky Poker - Where It Is Easy to Play and Win

Through its satellite television broadcasting since 1989, Sky has become a valued aspect of daily life in some 10 million U.K. homes. The BSkyB Group Plc has since branched into online gaming, including sites for bingo, sports betting, casino games, and now Sky Poker. The Internet poker room here is powered by software from Orbis Technology and licensed in Alderney. Players can get right into the action without any downloads, with as many as 162 tournaments in play at any given time. As an indication of just how popular the web site has become, in April of 2010, Sky Poker dealt its 250 millionth hand.

Games to Play

Navigation through Sky Poker is as easy as can be. There are quick access tabs for Cash Games, Sit & Go, and Tournaments. A Community Tab provides access to articles, blog entries, weekly caption contests, and discussions, while the Find A Player tab allows searching for online buddies (or prey). The My Sky Poker tab brings up pertinent account information and statistics, and there is a "More" tab for help, tutorials, leagues, promotions, and other news and information.

Three basic games are played at Sky Poker: Hold'em, Omaha, and Omaha HiLo. Each can be filtered in any of five ways; No Limit, Pot Limit, Fixed Limit, Televised, and Free Play. Blinds start a 2p/4p and range as high as £50/£100. Tables seat 2, 6 or 10 players.

What is especially convenient about the Sky Poker user interface is the ability to identify the exact kind of game desired through the Quickplay control panel that appears next to the games listing. Using pull-down menus, a player can select the type of game, limits, blinds, and seating, and then click on the "Find A Table" button to bring up a list of ideal matches. Table lists can also be sorted by clicking on the column headers for stakes, limit, players, and average pot.

Among Sit & Go tournaments offered, there are six different types: Regular, Double You Money, Scary, Speed, Heads Up, and Bounty Hunter. Stakes range from high, medium, and low to micro, where buy-ins cost just 30p-60p. Similar opportunities can be found in the scheduled tournaments area, plus the addition of satellites, re-buys, freerolls, and contests that are actually televised on Sky Poker TV, Channel 865.

One intriguing aspect of Sky Poker is its Poker League. Players are awarded points for their results in all real-money game types: Cash tables, Sit & Go tournaments, and Multi-table tournaments. The top ten leaders in various categories at the end of each month earn from £25 to £270, plus the opportunity to slug it out in the Sky Sports Double Stack freeroll with its £8,000 guaranteed prize pool

A number of side games are offered directly through links at the bottom of the Sky Poker games window. These include Blackjack, Roulette, Video Poker, and Virtual Dogs. Tabs for Sky Bet, Sky Vegas, and Sky Bingo also appear at the top of the screen.

Bonuses to Claim

As with most online poker rooms, Poker Points are awarded to players for all real-money games they play in, based upon the type of games, limits, and blind levels. Ten points are also earned for every £1 paid in entry fees for multi-table or single-table tournaments.

Cash bonuses can be claimed according to the amount of Poker Points collected, starting from as few as 500 points. At the high end, every 4,000 points earned above 40,000 is worth an extra £250 I bonus cash.

Registered members at Sky Poker also earn £50 for each friend they refer, and the friends get £25 each in addition to their own welcome bonuses. Ongoing promotions include freerolls for friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter, as well as daily leader boards and seasonal giveaways.