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Borgata Poker Review
When Black Friday came, and the top American poker sites vanished, were you thinking you might have to wait forever to have another chance to play your favorite game online? If you live in or plan to visit New Jersey, your long wait is over. More than 120,000 poker players have already signed up, and if you wish, even if you are not already in New Jersey, as long as you can get there, you can join them. But first you must decide which NJ poker site to sign up with, and we suggest the best of the bunch, Borgata Online Poker. Borgata Poker is ranked the No. 1 poker room in the state both in ratings and revenue. If the Borgata Poker Room is your favorite Atlantic City poker room, too, why not make Borgata Poker NJ your favorite new place to play online poker?
New Jersey Players Welcome
State-regulated online poker has been operating legally in New Jersey since November 26, 2013, and Borgata New Jersey Online Poker was the first state-run poker site out of the starting gate. The Borgata Poker NJ online gambling site was not only up and running, but getting rave reviews on day 1, partnering with back in the U.S.A. again partypoker.com to create the best online poker site associated with an Atlantic City casino. With Borgata Poker, NJ online players can enjoy the same 24/7 access to real cash games, tournaments, special promotions, casino games (in the adjoining online casino ) and generous loyalty rewards as Borgata Atlantic City poker players. So what’s not to like? You can even play Borgata live poker on your mobile device. If you’re really lucky, you might even win a WPT seat or become the Borgata Poker NJ 30 millionth hand winner and win $10K!
So far, only two states besides New Jersey-Nevada and Delaware-offer state-run online poker. The most impressive figures by far have been in New Jersey, which became apparent from the very start, largely due to the tremendous turnout for Borgata online Poker.
In March, 2011, two online gambling firms, the Austria-based sports book Bwin and the UK-based online poker site PartyGaming, merged to form PartyPoker.com, the world’s largest publicly traded online gambling company. Then, in 2013, the No. 1 land-based poker room and casino in Atlantic City, the Borgata Poker Room and Casino, picked partypoker.com to be its online gambling partner. Unsurprisingly, njpartypoker.com and poker.theborgata.com wasted no time in jumping way out in front and, with a whopping 45% share of the New Jersey online market, have practically left the other NJ sites in the dust. If you would like to experience this winning combination, what are you waiting for? Simply log on to either of these highly rated sites today and start playing.
Security and Fair Play
Poker.theborgata.com, like all of the legal New Jersey based poker sites, is licensed and regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. In order to play, you must be at least 21 years old, and in order to play for real money, you must also be in New Jersey at least while you are playing, although you don’t necessarily have to live there. If you try to stay logged on as a real cash player from anywhere else, the Borgata Poker New Jersey software will immediately identify you and disconnect you from the site.
Software
Poker.theborgata.com and njpartypoker.com share the same software from the latter’s parent company, win.party. Like any website, the Borgata Poker New Jersey site can be viewed as having both pluses and minuses, depending on individual taste and preference. There is no doubt that the colorful site is both visually exciting and easy to navigate. However, the seemingly endless array of options and promotions can be overwhelming to a gambler who doesn’t really care and just wants to play. The heavy tie-in to social media is really geared to younger players, and more specifically to those who are not only tech savvy but have the time and money to indulge in and appreciate what the Borgata Poker New Jersey site has to offer. In other words, online poker New Jersey Borgata players are, to a large extent, very much like those who frequent the Borgata Poker Room and Casino in Atlantic City. Old school players might feel like a fish out of water.
The Borgata Poker NJ Online games can be accessed in three ways. The first is to download the software onto your computer. This quick and easy process will assure you of full access to everything Borgata online poker has to offer, including the many special customizable features that might not be available otherwise. Or, if you prefer, there is a download instant play flash version, which is not only both PC and MAC compatible, but gives you the added flexibility of playing away from home on any browser. Your third option, new as of 2014, is to play on your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Android.
If you are playing on a desktop or laptop, be sure to double check that your computer’s Wi-Fi signal is turned on. If it isn’t, you could receive an error message that you are not playing Borgata poker in New Jersey and be disconnected from the site.
When navigating the Borgata game lobby you'll see a variety of games offered including:
Welcome Bonus
Viable online poker rooms are finally starting to catch up with online casinos and recognize that new poker players deserve a Welcome Bonus, too. And Borgata Poker NJ Online won’t disappoint with the attractive Welcome Bonus available to its first time players. The current offer, but only guaranteed through April 30, 2014, includes a generous 100% match bonus up to $600 of the first deposit. Players who already made a deposit at BorgataCasino.com are excluded. The bonus is cleared by playing online in Borgata poker tournaments and cash games and earning iReward Points (iRP). Every $1 a player contributes toward the rake in a cash game or spends in tournament fees is worth 2 iRPs.
The bonus is released in 10% increments of the total amount deposited, which entails earning 4x the deposited amount in iRPs each time. For example, 40 iRPs would need to be earned to release $10 of a $100 bonus on a deposit of $100. Players have 45 days to clear all parts of the bonus.
As a new Borgata Poker NJ player, the site has another great welcome offer for you, a $1,000 New Depositor Freeroll Tournament Ticket. This particular tournament runs every Sunday through 4/27/14 at 5 p.m. You don’t have to register for it and play the very first Sunday after opening your account, as long as you do so before the offer expires.
Recently, in lieu of the Welcome Bonus described above, newcomers to the site received a $20 bonus. This consisted of $10 cash upon earning 1 iRP and an additional $10 upon earning 40 iRPs. The offer is still posted on the website, with an expiration date that has already passed, so it is probably no longer available.
Obviously, the Welcome Bonus up to $600 is much better, so grab it while you can. If you wait until a later date to sign up, you will need to check the website to see if any of the offers are different. Online offers can be withdrawn or altered, with or without notice, at any time, but the one thing you can be certain of is that you will be offered something. Still, when you see an offer you like, try not to delay because what is here today can be gone tomorrow.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Like the other sites offering legal online poker in New Jersey, Borgata Poker NJ offers nowhere near the number of banking options that foreign sites provide, but the choice is much better than on some sites. You will incur fees with some of these banking methods. Deposit options include MasterCard and Visa credit and debit cards, ACH bank transfers, online banking transfer, Neteller (the most recent addition), the Borgata Online Prepaid Card, and cash deposits made in person at the Borgata casino cashier.
The minimum deposit is only $10, which is ideal for anyone new to poker or on a limited budget.
Withdrawal options include ACH bank transfers, check by mail (up to 7 business days), Neteller, the Borgata Online Prepaid Card, and collecting the cash in person at the Borgata Casino cashier. Regardless of which banking method you select, the safety of your money is guaranteed. The use of advanced encryption technology ensures that all of your personal information and financial transactions are fully protected.
Cash Games
While you can probably play limit or no limit hold ‘em for low stakes at any of the New Jersey online poker sites, you may be out of luck if you have another game or higher stakes in mind. The Borgata online poker room is a place where you can choose from a variety of cash games and playing stakes. No Limit and Limit Hold ‘Em, Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo, 7 Card Stud and 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo are all available, along with a strictly low stakes game called Fast Forward Poker. NLHE games typically range from .01/.02 to $5/$10, but can go as high as $25/$50. Limit games can go all the way up to $30/$60. Fast Forward Poker, on the other hand, is played at.05/.10 to .25/.50 limits. Don’t worry if you feel like playing at a non peak time. Online poker New Jersey Borgata players are in action 24/7. Unsurprisingly, NLHE is by far the most popular game. While about 70% of the games are 6 players max. There are also plenty of full and heads up tables.
The tremendous popularity of Borgata online poker naturally means a very broad spectrum of players. It is probably not the “fishiest” site if that is what you are looking for, but it is not so shark infested either that less skilled players cannot find the affordable fun to play games they like, too. Just like in the Atlantic City Borgata poker room, your best bet for finding soft competition online would be the lower stakes tables. That is where many of your opponents will be newcomers to the game who play poorly, call liberally, and can be read like a book. Because Borgata.com is a full service gambling site, some of the poker room traffic of this type will be from people who are primarily casino game players rather than poker players and simply want to try poker as another form of gambling. As you move up in stakes, there will be many more regulars displaying a higher level of skill and these players will be tougher to beat. Novice players, even if they can afford high stakes action, should probably hold off and start with more modest action There is a special section of the website covering poker terms, rules, strategy, and playing tips which any beginning player should find very helpful and informative.
Tournaments
Borgata poker tournaments are as varied as the cash games and extremely popular. More often than not, even the sit and gos fill up. It is not unusual for 50 or more, costing anywhere from .10 to .50, to be running at once. Some sit and gos have 6 players, while others are heads up.
The biggest regularly scheduled tournament is the $50,000 guaranteed tournament every Sunday at 5 p.m. The buy-in is $200, with a guaranteed first place prize of $10,000. Blinds start at 25-50.
Or, for a lot less money, you can put your poker skills to the test in one of the Bounty Hunter Tournaments taking place every Tuesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. Borgata Poker was the first NJ online poker room to offer this popular tournament format. The cost to enter is only $18 + $2, of which $9 goes into the prize pool and $9 is for the bounty on your head if you are eliminated. On the other hand, every time you knock out a player, you pick up a $9 bounty. So, even if you don’t finish in the money, winning several bounties can still put you ahead of the game. If you play multiple tournaments and collect a lot of bounties, your name could be on the Bounty Hunter leaderboard. At the end of the month, whoever is at the top of the leaderboard wins $500! (If there is a leaderboard first place tie, a sit and go will decide, winner takes all!)
Because the online Borgata poker tournaments pay the top 20% rather than the more common top 10%, many people will finish “in the money” but with very small wins. Most of the tournaments are either very cheap (under $20) or quite expensive ($100 and up).There are very few mid-stakes tournaments.
Loyalty Rewards and Special Promotions
While most casinos, both online and offline, offer loyalty rewards and other promotions, more often than not, poker players are not big beneficiaries. However, that is not the case with online poker NJ Borgata players. From day 1, every time you play for real money, in both cash games and tournaments, you receive iRewards points (IRPs). Even after the Welcome Bonus has been fully cleared, every $1 contributed toward the rake in a cash game or spent in tournament fees continues to be worth 2 IRPs. You can redeem your IRPs for cash or tournament entries, or use them for purchases in the Borgata iRewards Store, or for rooms, meals and entertainment at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.
In addition, all Borgata Poker online players are assigned one of five loyalty levels. The first four, which are updated monthly, based on play, are Red Label, Red Label Plus, Silver Label, and Black Label, requiring 0, 150, 650, and 2,500 points respectively. The 5th level, Black Label Elite, requires 15,000 points and is based on quarterly activity.
As you move up in level, your rewards and benefits increase accordingly.
Regardless of your level of play, being bored is nearly impossible because the Borgata Poker New Jersey website is filled with special promotions that open to everybody. Here are some of the special promotions that might interest you right now.
- $1,000 Daily Freerolls - These no-risk tournaments, which take place every day at 6:30 p.m. through the end of April, are completely free and are open to all players. The top 40 spots are paid. The payout amounts are $200 for 1st place, $150 for 2nd place, $100 for 3rd place, and $80 for 4th place. After that, there is a $10 decrease for each next place down to $20 for 10th place, then $10 for 11th-20th place, and $5 for 21st-40th place.
- Facebook Freerolls - Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 6 p.m., if you visit the Borgata.com Facebook page, you will be just in time for an exclusive Facebook Freeroll! The top 22 spots get paid. While the payout for a 15th-22nd place finish is just $1, if you finish first, you win $25.
- Mega Missions - Starting with 0 stakes play but building up to potentially high stakes play, the object is to see how many missions you can accomplish during one month’s time. There are 17 levels, or missions, in all, to which you can advance before the month is over based on your play. As you move up in level, or mission accomplished, the rewards get progressively bigger.
The first mission is accomplished when you earn 250 IRPs, and your reward is a $2 tournament ticket. However, if you manage to accomplish every mission, which requires earning 50,000 IRPs, besides all of the previous tournament tickets and cash rewards you have already received, you get $1,200 more. Obviously, most players won’t even come close to completing “Mission 50K.”
- Poker Happy Hour - If you’re playing in the Borgata poker room in Atlantic City, drinks are always on the house, and if you visit one of the casino’s bars or lounges during Happy Hour, you get free food plus a cheap drink. However, through April 30, 2014, the Borgata online poker room has its own version of Happy Hour. Instead of drinks and snacks, the online Borgata Poker Room serves up double points! Play Fast Forward poker during the designated time periods: 12 noon-1p.m., 6 p.m.-7 p.m., or 11 p.m.-1 a.m. any day of the week and get double iRPs. (But since these games are for very low stakes only, the extra points earned won’t be that great.) Unfortunately, other cash games, Sit and Gos and tournaments are not included in the offer. In March this promotion did include all cash games, but most likely, more people than expected took full advantage and played at high stakes tables. The specifics of this promotion, like all of the limited time promotions listed here, are subject to change month to month.
- Countdown to $30,000,000 Hands - Poker.theborgata.com and PartyPoker.com are getting closer every day to dealing one lucky player, maybe you, the 30 millionth hand. $1,000 prizes for winning hands and $100 to everyone else at the table are already being awarded for various milestone hands leading up to the big event. For the grand finale, the winner of the 30 millionth hand will get $10,000 and everyone else at the table will celebrate, too, with $1,000.
- The Borgata Spring Open - The Borgata Spring Open is already in progress, but if you hurry, you might still be able to get in on some of the action (or at least watch it). The championship event is a $1 million guaranteed $2,500 + $200 NLHE tournament (with rebuys) taking place April 14- 19. Check the website for further information.
- Opportunity to win a place at the WPT Championships - Time is running out, but Poker.theBorgata.com is giving some lucky players a chance to win their way into the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championships taking place in April. For the first time ever, Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City will host the WPT Championships. Your one shot at actually winning the WPT $15 000 + $400 buy-in and entry fee is to win Step 6, which is possible either by paying $2,000 and skipping the sequential steps or by winning your way in by playing in the preliminary steps. At any point in the sequence, you can buy in to the next level if you don’t think you can win the previous one, but with each successive step, the buy-in gets bigger.
Theoretically, by winning every tournament, it is possible to get into the WPT for just $2, but extremely unlikely. See the website for additional information.
- New Jersey Championship of Online Poker - Last, but certainly not least, Poker.theborgata.com is inviting you to take part in the first ever $600,000 guaranteed New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOP) running from April 1 through April 27. The NJCOP is the state’s largest guaranteed online poker series thus far. The tournament schedule (which can be found on the website) includes 15 exciting events in all. With a variety of formats and buy-ins ranging from 0 to $500, the NJCOP has something for everyone. Saving the biggest and best event for last, the grand finale is the $200,000 Guaranteed NJCOP Main Event on April 27, with a guaranteed first place prize of $50,000.
Customer Support
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Reviewed By: Pokersites.com™
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