The COTH is happy to present a Doyle's Room Poker review

When we first decided to review Doyle's Room Poker, it was quite an exciting time. Our man on the ground, holy roller Father Ashley, was looking forward to getting his teeth into a brand new website.

But it’s a careful overview, considering everything a new player will need to know. We don't make a habit of reviewing sites, simply because it takes so long to do properly. There are dozens of poker sites out there and, to get to know one in depth, you must load in a decent bankroll and play solidly for a month or more.

Which is why our site reviews are a slow, steady process. You won't find us recklessly recommending sites one after another. We want to speak from experience. After all, you may be playing for months or years at a site, based on our hearsay.

Come and read about Doyle's Room Poker and, if you see COTHPriest playing, say Hi to Father Ashley!

Doyle's Room Poker: Father Ashley's first impressions

I have to say that my first impressions of Doyle’s Room were very favourable. For one thing, while the menu page and navigation are a little murky and not necessarily intuitive, the in-game graphics are very solid.

Everything is clean, easy to see and intuitive to use. There are some really well thought-out features, like the 'darkened' hand that you keep to show you what two cards you folded.

A great bonus is their VIP match offer. Simply sign up to Doyle's Room, then email support at this address: vip@dbpn.com

They will match your current VIP level, so all your efforts at another site will not be in vain. You'll earn Action Points faster and get more value for them when you cash them in, as well as qualifying for better freerolls and numerous other benefits. Nice eh!

Not the easiest betting

Having been away from this platform for a long time, I don't find it at all intuitive upon my return. The betting controls are really looking dated now and the very sensitive slider bar is a pain. Even the bet-raise-fold buttons seem back to front and there's no check/fold any button.

I’ve mentioned the graphics already. It’s nice to see a very toned-down neutral carpet in the background – too many sites have hideous multi-coloured ones. That said, the interface is not immediately appealing and I much preferred the old style of graphics.

A particular beef is the "Seat available" icon being the same colour as occupied seats. In fact, the entire look of this interface is muted and could use a makeover. More colour would help a lot, if used in the right  places.

Your bonus maxes out at $135 cash. It’s true that it’s quite a small bonus, but it clears very fast. I cleared mine within four hours, but then I play higher than most starting players will.

The games and player traffic

Doyle's Room virtually died when they left the US market in early 2007 and now you'll find a few thousand online during peak periods. They need to rebuild their business and offering US players a new home is one way to do that.

I did note that some cash tables have a non-English language stipulated. Nice touch for French or Swedish players who hate the "English only chat" rules on most sites.

You really aren’t going to struggle for cash play here, unless you’re a super-high-roller. The NL games go from $0.05-$0.10 to $200-400 , but there's only serious action up to $10-20NL -- still bigger than most of us need to worry about.

Fixed limit play goes up to $150-$300. As usual, most of the action happens before you hit $20-40.

SNGs range from $0.10 to $1000 per seat. The bulk of the action seems to occur at the $10 to $50 level, as usual. Micro limit SNGs and ladder promotions are also available. There's heads-up SNGs too.

Multi-table tourneys are a real mixed bag. Many of the freerolls require you to use Action Points. That’s a shame, but other sites do the same thing too. There are freezeouts and other special events..

Fishyness of the play

Good news and bad news. The players at Doyle's Room Poker aren’t all complete mugs. That means less mug money (the bad news), but also less stupid bad beats (the good news!). Standard ABC tight and aggressive play should beat most levels under $1-$2NL.

What you find is people playing out of their depth.

You’ll see folks sitting with $10 at $0.50-$1NL tables. These guys are simple to mop up and you’ll scoop some nice pots as they gamble with the likes of AT or KQ, trying to double up.

The fixed limit games seem on average harder to beat, but I am a no-limit expert, so I’m not best positioned to judge. Tournaments are the usual mix of idiots and solid players.

Conclusion

Doyle's Room Poker is a site you will like right away. You don’t need to wait for it to grow on you, like some places. You won’t need sunglasses to look at the screen because the background is too garish.

The bonus is small, but it’s well within reach. You won’t be playing for 50 days to clear it. Support has always been quick and courteous and the offer to match your current VIP status is very generous, and makes a big difference in the Action Points store in particular.

There’s a lot to admire at Doyles Room Poker and I plan to play for a long time to come. I hope to see you at the tables soon!

Father Ashley’s Rating!

Visual presentation: 84% -- Microgaming's look needs a facelift.
Audio: 60% -- Average.
Software features: 85% -- No check/fold any button is a big miss.
Ease of use: 84% -- Same as any site, you need to adjust.
Fishiness: 75% (no limit) 60% (fixed limit) -- No real pushover games, but solid poker will win.

OVERALL SCORE: 83%

You won’t regret trying Doyle's Room Poker. It’s clean, attractive, busy and caters to most tastes and levels. The VIP match option is great. Recommended.

Ready to give it a try?

If you have any concerns about trying Doyle's Room Poker that this review may not have addressed, be sure to write to us first at Letters, Pray! (opens in a new window). We'll be happy to help.

Where you are asked for a referral code, use FatherAsh

Once you're ready to go, hit the banner or text link below.n up to Doyle's Room now!