The
Church of Texas Holdem reviews Titan Poker. Great signup bonus of 100%
to $500 for COTH readers!
The
Church of Texas Holdem is proud to review its first ever Internet poker
website: Titan Poker. Your EXCLUSIVE COTH bonus
code is: SALVATION. Enter it in the cashier box
when they ask for your code.
It's our very first website
review with an
affiliate link-up scheme for our readers. We've been very cautious
about this kind of offering and have investigated the site thoroughly
before doing this.
Most
of the poker 'advice' sites out there -- our competitors --
have dozens
of such "reviews". These are usually little more than
lick-arse advertorials. The sites simply hope to convert as many
players as possible, without concern for whether or not their
recommendation is justified and what effect that will have on YOU, the
consumer.
The
Church of Texas Holdem won't solicit for new affiliate link-ups. Titan
Poker came to us. Any company which recognises the power of
the poker gods must have excellent taste! But we weren't going to
blindly recommend a site without going through a painstaking review
process.
As regular readers
know all too well, we like to do things a little differently around
here. That's why we will NEVER recommend a poker site without first
setting Father Ashley off on the case, with a
decent bankroll tucked under his cassock. Without a thorough, lengthy
playtest, how could we possibly recommend Titan Poker,
or any other site?
Happily,
Father
Ashley has spent most of August logged onto the site. He
plans to spend a lot more time there, too, which should speak volumes
for how it's going for him so far!
(You
can probably catch him there most days -- look for the ID
"FatherAshley".
He says "Praise be!" whenever he wins a pot!)
And so, without further ado, on with the
review!
Titan
Poker: Father Ashley's first impressions
I'll be
brutally honest here and say that my first impressions of Titan
Poker weren't the best.
First
of all, when you download it, you will get 'attacked' with
instant messages from the cashier staff, encouraging you to
make a quick deposit, in return for which they will give you $10
free.
It's great to
feel wanted (make sure you get that free money!), but it's very
off-putting when you're trying to navigate your way around a new piece
of software for the first time.
Furthermore,
they were ill-informed about my bonus offer. Above all,
ensure they realise you are entitled to 100% up to $500. If
you have any trouble with this, write to Letters, Pray! (opens in a new
window). I've triple-checked and all seems to be arranged correctly
now.
Once I got around those
initial problems, I made a deposit of $1500 using Neteller (the easiest
way I have found to deposit at almost every poker site I've ever
played). Don't forget to use the bonus code SALVATION to
get
your 100% bonus up to $500.
I checked my account to see that
the $500 bonus was indeed pending. Then I dived in and looked for some
fish to fry!
The game
interface and controls
As you can see
from the screenshot, the game uses avatars (fake
people) to represent the players at the table.
These can be switched off if you find them
creepy in a Stepford Wives way!
There's an option you should consider
changing,
if you play no limit games.
You
can remove the ALL IN button as an option, which I
did right away. It's too easy to press this by accident, which is very
bad for your bankroll!
In fact,
the slider bar for no limit games is rather too sensitive. You
probably want to avoid playing no limit turbo tables, because
the time limit runs out so quickly that you can still be trying to set
the amount you want to bet as it times out on you. Not much fun.
Still, the tables are crisply drawn,
everything
works as it should and there are more useful 'action' buttons than on
the other site I play at, Paradise.
One
quirk of Titan Poker's software is that if you
reload table chips, it automatically unclicks the AutoPost button. Why,
I'm not sure.
The games
and levels available
What will strike you about Titan
Poker is how broadly they have cast their net. There really
is something here for everybody. First, I'll talk about what they have
to offer cash (ring) players.
Fixed
limit games start as cheaply as 2c-4c micro limits. There
always seem to be players, all the way up to $50-100. There's rarely a
long waiting list. At peak times, multiple tables of the popular levels
($2-$4 through $10-20) are running and full, or nearly full.
Pot limit games
are, as
usual, a graveyard. It seems that nobody ever wants to play pot limit
Holdem when no limit is available.
No
limit games are very popular. As usual, the maximum sit-down
is 100 times the big blind. Here, the micro limits start at 1c-2c
blinds. If you're feeling loaded, they offer as high as $10-20 no
limit.
Not as big as some
websites, but plenty big enough for most of us.
Other games are catered
for.
No surprises, really, to see Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo and regular Omaha. The
levels vary, but there is less support for these games, as you would
expect. Texas Holdem rules okay!
Tournaments are perhaps
not
the site's strongest point, if you compare Titan Poker
to some sites which offer huge, headline-grabbing prizes and satellites
to major real-world events. Titan has some of these, but can't compete
with other sites for depth and breadth.
However,
there's plenty of action for tourament players here. SNGs start at $1 +
10c and go all the way up to $200 + $15. They run three-seat winner
takes all SNGs too. MTTs are well covered, with buy-ins from
micro amounts up to $1000s. Plus there are tons of special events, with
chances to win cruises, big cash and even a Porsche!
What Titan Poker is
very
strong on is freerolls. Using your hard-earned
player points, you can buy into very frequent events, for varying prize
pools. They even have freerolls in languages for players whose mother
tongue is not English! They give a lot back to their loyal
players.
I think the quality,
depth and breadth of Titan Poker's games is
impressive. The structure is well-supported by the busy, populous site.
Whatever your poison, you won't go without here.
The level of player ability
Good news for people who HATE the bad
beats and outdraws at lower levels on most poker sites! Titan
Poker does offer a generous bonus of 100%, but of course to
get it you're going to have to play a lot.
The
way the bonus is awarded works by giving you player points. Every
thousand points awards $10. Sounds pretty tough, but as you'll see
later in the article, it's not too draconian, especially if you play at
higher levels.
There are still
fish, but this is not an aquarium. I'd say about one player on every
table is a lunatic, one is a professional and the rest fall somewhere
in the tight side of the middle. Once you have identified the
loony, you will find the play to be much more predictable than at most
online poker sites.
That
covers no limit. Let's talk about fixed limit poker. I'm more of a no
limit specialist, but the results I've enjoyed at Titan Poker
in the last few weeks at fixed limit have made me rethink my strategy.
To put it simply, if there are more sharks
than
plankton at Titan Poker's no limit tables, the
limit tables seem to be populated by clueless chasers.
I have never seen such a large
population relying on hope to triumph over experience: click here to read what I think about this
equation in a former Weekly Sermon! (Opens in a new window.)
They routinely call with second pair no
kicker;
backdoor draws; one overcard; and so on. And I'm not talking
about micro limits here either! I have played $3-6 and $5-10 on the
most part.
Another
word about the bonus structure. Playing no limit, it takes a
long time to earn $10. But when I stepped up to fixed limit,
suddenly I found myself clearing $10 per hour at least.
Multi-tabling two fixed limit tables
is no big deal and you get paid an hourly rate for it from your pending
bonus, no problem!
I
can scarcely believe I am recommending fixed limit over no limit Texas
Holdem. But trust me, it's a much better proposition at this site.
Conclusions
I have really grown to like Titan
Poker. Certainly I had my doubts for the first couple of
sessions. Having given it a good month, though, I can safely say I will
be sticking around. Not because it's an attractive, safe, secure poker
site: because I can predict it becoming my daily poker bread.
You'll seldom find a
better sign-up offer than 100% of $500, even if it will take a while to
clear it. There are plenty of players, too, usually 5,000 or
more online, which means you won't be one of a few dozen humans waiting
forever for a game to begin.
We're
happy to recommend Titan Poker. It is a solid,
well-presented and well-supported site, with lots of players and plenty
of opportunities to enjoy yourself. Plus that signup bonus is very
generous (their standard bonus is 100% of $250). The regular
reload bonuses and freerolls are the icing on a very tasty cake.
Father
Ashley's Rating!
Visual
presentation: 82% -- Sharp, avatars are creepy!
Audio:
55% -- Limited, a few little bell chimes.
Software
features: 84% -- Impressive options, everything works well.
Ease
of use: 78% -- A few niggles about time limits and the slider
bar.
Fishiness: 50% (no limit) 88% (fixed limit)
-- I'm a limit man, man!
OVERALL
SCORE: 85%
Will take
some adjusting to, but the poker gods will smile upon you when you give
yourself time to appreciate Titan Poker's many
strengths. You'll find me online there virtually every day. Be sure to
say Hi!
Ready to give it a try?
If you have any concerns about trying Titan
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.
Once you're ready to go, hit the banner or
text
link below. You'll be asked for a bonus code: enter SALVATION
for 100% up to $500!
