1. The easiest players on internet. If you can't make it on CarbonPoker, you can't make it anywhere.
2. Their bonus-/VIP-systems award active players so much, it beats most of the rakeback deals.
(The review considers Texas Hold'em No Limit games only, if not otherwise mentioned.)
CarbonPoker is still, after years in business, relatively small site with only 4500-8000 players online. Even so the major sites in business can offer better and bigger tournaments, it is difficult to understand why more cash game players haven't found CarbonPoker? Especially when the players on all stake levels on CarbonPoker are bad, worse, poor, fishes, terrible, calling-stations... you name it. The worst and the easiest players in whole world have gathered around CarbonPoker's cash tables.
Usually you would think that the regulars would be good, (ok, there are few good ones as well), but not on Carbon; some of them who sit there every day are even worse than irregular visitors. Nowhere else I have met players who call huge bets on river with K-high. You would think that would be the world record? No. Next day other player called huge all in on river with 8-high! I think that tells quite a lot about the players there.
Naturally these sort of players eliminate some playing styles from your play. You can't bluff! Take this advise seriously. You will be called almost every time, especially on river.
Here is the list of hands needed (usually) to win all in bet on river:
$0.02/$0.04 Top pair.
$0.05/$0.10 Top pair with A kicker.
$0.10/$0.25 Two pairs, set or flush/straight.
$0.25/$0.50 Top pair with A kicker.
$0.50/$1.00 Top pair with A kicker.
$1/$2 Two pairs.
$2/$4 Top pair with A kicker.
$3/$6 Two pairs.
As you can see the players are extremely loose. Only the $0.10/$0.25 tables are tight. I have no idea why this stake level is the exception from all the other levels, but anyone going to CarbonPoker and playing on different levels will soon notice this fact.
Positive sides of CarbonPoker
- As mentioned above, the players in general are very loose. Calling stations and bluffers. Easy money.
- Fast buttons: 1/2 pot, 2/3 pot, 3/4 pot, pot, X2 bet, X4 bet and X8 bet are very useful. All in -button can be hidden.
- Very easy to write and read notes about other players.
- Bad Beat Jackpot. It works and most often it is huge.
- Mac-download available.
- USA players welcome.
- Fantastic VIP-system for active players. Lot's of extra money every week straight into player's account.
- Lot's of freerolls.
- CarbonPoker has good variety also other poker games than Texas Hold'em. They have Omaha, Stud, 5 Card Draw, Triple Draw, Badugi and mixed games. Those just weren't tested and reviewed in this review.
Negative sides of CarbonPoker
Why CarbonPoker still, after so tempting easy money available, is not one of the biggest sites? Some of the answers might be here:
- At the moment place is not for Sit & Go -players. The waiting times for Sit & Go to start is minutes, which can't compete with the biggest sites with their "less than minute to start" with almost any Sit & Go. (To make Sit & Gos more tempting and getting more players involved, why not to add extra 25% to payouts in all Sit & Gos? Would for sure attract players from everywhere and get that Sit & Go -side going for good. Free hint for all there in CarbonPoker.)
- The lobby and the system in general is heavy and slow. No matter if you use PC or Mac with the fastest internet connection available, it is slow. It takes too many seconds to open available table. And finally when it opens up, it again takes too many seconds to reserve available seat, which often is gone by then. That is very annoying after several attempts.
- CarbonPoker has great guaranteed tourneys all the time, but the guaranteed price money is small compared to larger sites. These guaranteed tourneys are fantastic for players who like buy ins from $1 to $60, but after that there isn't those "really big money" tourneys available. Missing those will for sure keep some players away.
- Withdraws takes days! That is awful, since in major sites withdraws takes just seconds or minutes.
CarbonPoker's support is terrible
Customer service sucks big time. When player contacts customer service, he must have reason to it. He assumes to get help with his problem and possibly some refund, if/when the problem is on site's end. However, CarbonPoker's customer service main policy seems to be "customer is always wrong".
Typical conversation with customer service's live-chat:
CS: "How may I help you?"
Me: "I was just in the middle of three different hands. I had quite a good amount of money on the game when your system tilted and all my money was gone. Can't get in."
CS: "Let me check this. Just a moment."
Me: "Ok."
CS: "Sir, I have checked this and our systems are running perfectly. The problem must be in your internet connection. Sorry."
Me: "Erhmm... now wait a moment. You are saying I lost my internet connection?! Ok, now tell me, if I don't have any internet connection, how in the h*** I am chatting here with you right now?! Here is little data for you... just tested and checked it. Downloading speed 8.90 Mbps and uploading speed 0.81 Mbps. All the other poker sites work well here, just tested while waited you. And here is some information where the problem is. (When the problem occurs CarbonPoker's platform is able to test and show where the problem is.) There you have it, and as you can see, it is in your end."
CS: "Ok Sir. You are correct. Yes, the problem is in our end."
Me: "Thank you for admitting this. Now... I lost some money there. Is there anything you can do?"
CS: "I'll check the hand numbers and forward this issue to right department. They will contact you with this matter."
Me: "Ok. Thank you."
Naturally I never got any mail, except one asking me which hands those were. The hand numbers were checked and listed with live chat customer service, who already forwarded them to the right department. I never got any refund or never heard from them later.
That was just one example. It wasn't even the worst. In fact, that gentleman in CS was the most willing to help and really worked there for me, when he tried to find out those hand numbers (the discussion was shortened from that part, since it last over an hour). Beside very usual start "customer is always wrong", which I wanted to show you with this example, he was really good, but unfortunately rare exception.
Others just lack knowledge of players, game itself, their own system... and intelligence to realize anything what might be out from their user's manual. I even lost over 600 notes of players, which were priceless, when one lady told me to uninstall and reinstall CarbonPoker software. I did so and lost all the notes. Contacted again: "What just happened?!" Answer from other CS: "Of yes, we had have some proxy problems lately. They should be fixed now in few hours." Whoah! This lady told me automatically to do that, uninstall and install their software, without warning me I would lost all my notes (lack of knowledge of their own system and lack of knowledge how important notes are to players) and without knowing they have problems with their proxy-servers (lack of knowledge of their own system and lack of will to find out what is wrong).
When something goes wrong and player loses money, because of poker-site is not working correctly, it is very important that customer service knows what they do. In CarbonPoker they don't. And customer is always wrong. And customer never get any refunds. All that can't be tolarated. So it is no wonder they lack some players, when for example Full Tilt have in similar situations refunded immediately exactly the amounts player have lost, when they had have problem in their system.
If I would be owner of CarbonPoker, I would without hesitation do like Donald Trump does. Say those famous words: "You are fired", to 80% of their customer service employees. Before they do so, and as long as they have these problems and not refunding players... it is no wonder that their online players will stay under 8000.
The results
(0 the minimum, 5 the maximum.)
Lobby: ***
Variety of games available: *****
Side games (blackjack, roulette etc): ****
Cash games: *****
Sit & Gos: **
Guaranteed tourneys: ****
Percentage of fishes and bad players: *****
Extra money & regular bonuses: *****
Customer service: -
Conclusion
Despite the fact that their system is heavy and slow, and the customer service is not customer service at all, CarbonPoker has that what is the most important to player: easy players. Lot's of easy players. The most easiest players on internet. It means easy money, and that should be the only thing that matters to any poker player. Highly recommended.
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