BitsPoker Review

Suggesting that it makes bitcoin poker easier, BitsPoker provides poker enthusiasts a web-based platform for playing poker using bitcoins. It is a relatively young poker site that focuses on BTC gambling.

As a web-based poker site created for those who want to play using bitcoins, there’s no need to download anything with BitsPoker. Except for the account registration, there’s nothing much you need to do to be able to play. It provides all of the benefits and conveniences of bitcoin betting.

BitsPoker was launched in the early part of 2013, initially offering No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. When it started, it bragged of offering low rake, freerolls every hour, not having a minimum deposit limit, and instant deposit and withdrawal transactions. Being micro-stakes-friendly was also one of its highlights. However, as the years passed, issues have emerged. Know what these are while learning about the different aspects of this bitcoin poker site through our BitsPoker review.

Account Registration

Signing up for a BitsPoker account only takes a few seconds as its registration form only asks for a few details: username, email address, location, and nickname. The location and nickname fields are actually optional so you may just skip them. You can complete the form in less than 10 seconds.  Normally, you can expect your account to be created a few seconds after clicking on the red Create Account button.

We have to note in this BitsPoker review, though, that at the time we evaluated the site, account registration was suspended. Only those who have already registered for an account before can access the games. Only the Login section (the username and password fields) was available. Nevertheless, we are presenting useful details here to guide players in the future in case BitsPoker already decides to accept new players. Also, we noticed that the number of players regularly playing on the site, over the days we observed BitsPoker, was not significantly lower compared to when BitsPoker was still accepting new players.

We sent an inquiry on a few matters about BitsPoker through the contact form in its Support page. Unfortunately,  we didn’t get a response so we had to look for other possible sources of information regarding the site. We stumbled upon a thread on the Bitcointalk forums that mentions some issues about BitsPoker, particularly in relation to the change in ownership. The suspension of the registration of new players may have been related to these issues.

The Games on BitsPoker

Before going into details with the games on BitsPoker, we want to highlight the apparent intention of the site in offering its games. As written on its About Us page, BitsPoker wants to be a good alternative for those who seek to avoid the common issues associated with poker sites such as tables that are often empty and the hassle of transferring money back and forth. It aims to provide the the simple and high traffic bitcoin poker rooms players want. It serves players in different parts of the world.

BitsPoker offers the following games:

1. No Limit Texas Hold’em
2. Pot Limit Omaha
3. Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo.

It’s great to see a bitcoin poker site that offers a variety of games. They may not necessarily make the site outstanding but we are inclined to offer favorable words for the variety this poker site is offering. If you are into these games, you will likely enjoy playing them on BitsPoker.

Even without logging in, the BitsPoker website readily tells you how many players there are on the site at the moment, and how many tables are being played. This is a basic feature for a poker site but we really like how clearly and conspicuously this is being presented on BitsPoker. Once you enter the poker room, you just have to click on the greyed out seats or circles to join a game.

The game interface looks okay, although many may say it’s just mediocre and dull. What you’ll see on the site are just the plain green oval table with circles around it and icons for players (greyed out circle if there is no player), player name, balances, and cards. To promote some engagement among players, there’s a chat function but it seems not many are making use of it.

The game interface occupies only a small portion of the Poker Room page by default but there’s a button to switch them to fullscreen mode.

BitsPoker Game Software and Fairness

There’s nothing mentioned on BitsPoker’s website regarding its software. However, after doing some research, we learned that BitsPoker runs on Poker Mavens (information shared by the previous owner of the site as posted on Bitcointalk.) We also discovered that the game used to be in Flash but has been changed into HTML5. As such, we can consider BitsPoker as something comparable to an HTML5 bitcoin casino.

BitsPoker Is Mobile-Friendly

BitsPoker does not have an iOS, Android, or Windows mobile app for playing the games on smartphones or tablets. Fortunately, the site is mobile-friendly. It adapts to the size of the display of the device used to access it. There’s no need to download anything. You can log in and play through your mobile web browser. It does not even require a device that supports Flash because the game is in HTML5.

Currencies, Deposits, Withdrawals, Buy-In and Rake

The only currency used on BitsPoker is bitcoin. We have no reason to complain about this although some other sites accept the depositing of amounts in other currencies because they support multiple payment methods. The bets, however, are not stated in BTC or bitcoins on the games. Instead, you need to obtain chips that will be used in the games.

To obtain chips, you need to make a deposit into the bitcoin wallet address indicated in your account (the Cashier page). There is no minimum or maximum limit for the deposit you make. You just have to transfer the bitcoins from your personal wallet address to the BitsPoker wallet address.  The bitcoins you send will be indicated in your account as chips after two confirmations. You will get 4,000 chips for every mBTC transferred and confirmed. That means if you deposit 1 BTC, you are going to see 4 million chips reflected in your account after 2 confirmations.

Withdrawals, on the other hand, can be done to any bitcoin wallet address you specify. Despite the promise of instant withdrawals and deposits on its homepage, BitsPoker’s FAQ page actually says that withdrawals may take up to 48 hours. Still, the FAQ page also states that withdrawals usually get completed in just a matter of minutes.

At the time we were doing this review, the minimum buy-in for the 500/1000-bit table on BitsPoker is 20,000 chips or only 0.02 BTC. This is not a bad price. We are inclined to write in this BitsPoker review that this is an affordable price. This bitcoin poker site also has a relatively low rake of only 2% for each and every ring game it offers.

Bonuses, Promotions, and Affiliate Program

If a bitcoin deposit bonus is a deal breaker for you, BitsPoker is not going to be a good option to consider. This bitcoin poker site does not offer any—no first deposit bonus or reload bonuses. Also, there are no VIP programs and rewards offered on this BTC gambling poker site.

Based on the forum postings about BitsPoker, though, freerolls and occasional promotions were being offered. BitsPoker, also, has an affiliate program that shares 30% of the poker rake collected from the referred player.

Country Restrictions, Anonymity, and Site Languages

BitsPoker does not present a list of restricted countries on its website. However, as we confirmed it with multiple sources, the site does accept players from Europe and the United States. It operates just like a typical US-accepted bitcoin casino. You need to be at least 18 years old or of legal age to be able to play.

Since BitsPoker does not have anything on its website that requires players to provide proofs of identity or address at any point during the account registration process, game playing, and bitcoin depositing and withdrawal, we can state in this BitsPoker review that this site affords its players the advantages of an anonymous bitcoin casino. You will not be obliged to reveal your identity as you play on this site.

The BitsPoker website is only available in the English language.

BitsPoker Player Support

Player support on BitsPoker is provided through email. If you have questions, requests for assistance, or other concerns, just head to the Support page and use the contact form. On the form, there’s a note that says that BitsPoker’s support staff will provide a response within 48 hours. Because of this, we would like to assume that the site does not provide 24/7 customer support. We tried using this support facility but as of the time this BitsPoker review was posted, we still did not get a reply.

BitsPoker does not have social media accounts indicated on its website but we found two of its apparent official social media accounts (Twitter and Facebook). There are actually a number of threads related to BitsPoker on Bitcointalk. Just do a little search and you should quickly find them. You may want to post something there in case you don’t get a response from BitsPoker via email. Unfortunately, the last posts on BitsPoker’s social media accounts and discussion threads were only in January 2014.

BitsPoker License, Regulation, and Security

Unfortunately, there’s no information about BitsPoker’s license and regulation presented on its website. Again, we did not get a response for the inquiries we sent. We are not keen on making this a major drawback for this BitsPoker review, though, since most other comparable bitcoin betting sites similarly don’t have details about their licenses presented.

When it comes to security, we are not sure if we can vouch for the security system implemented by the site. After going over forums centered on BitsPoker, we discovered quite a few instances when the site was hacked. The site’s administrator admitted the incidents. That was a few years ago, though, and the site has already been sold to a new owner. At present, the site already comes with the option for two factor authentication.

Notes

BitsPoker takes pride in being able to provide instant bitcoin deposits and withdrawals, high stakes tables, as well as daily and weekly tournaments. It also continues to make the convenience of bitcoins one of its main selling points and offers a good affiliate program. However, there seems to be some issues that need to be resolved. Even after the site already decides to open registration to new players, we want to remind players to make sure that they get a response when requesting for support or making inquiries. Also, it would be better to wait until there are active and current player discussions, like the ones on Bitcointalk, to get insights from other players and ascertain that you will not just be wasting your bitcoins by betting them on this site.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Fully web-based bitcoin poker rooms
• Mobile-friendly bitcoin betting site
• Relatively low rake
• Supports anonymous online gambling

Cons

• No deposit bonuses and player loyalty rewards
• No live chat support and unresponsive email support (as of the time this BitsPoker review was written)
• Some issues (accusations) about the site have not been addressed publicly yet. They cast doubt on the credibility of the site.