Carbon Poker
Carbon Poker is one of my favorite small, lesser known rooms. Here is an honest, brief review:
Carbon poker proudly accepts players from around the world, including the United States. As we all know by now, in 2006 the United States’ government seemed determined to stop the growing online gaming market in the United States. They produced the UIGEA, which was supposed to put all online gambling done by United States citizens to a halt. There has been little to no enforcement of the bill, but several major poker rooms were spooked out of offering their services to US citizens. Carbon poker was an offspring of poker.com, and has been up and running since 2007. Carbon does not have the age or history that other sites have, but they do have an excellent track record for treating their players right.
Carbon’s software is state of the art, similar to other top notch software’s on the online gaming market. Three or four years ago, only a few online gaming websites had impressive software, increases in technology has fostered much sleeker, cleaner, better poker software. Online poker rooms and poker players did not put a big emphasis on the software the room used until the past few years. Your playing experience is greatly affected by what software you end up playing on. Carbon’s software is very impressive, but not quite at the level of Bodog for example. Carbon has a minimalist theme, they rely less on flashy, unnecessary design options and more on the “meat and potatoes” of online gaming.
Carbon’s support team is rock solid. Many online gaming websites put support on the back burner and focus on attracting players only. The best way to keep their players business is to treat their customers like royalty, Carbon realizes this. Bodog and Cake poker both offer just E-mail support while Carbon offers E-mail support and live chat. If you have any problem withdrawing money, depositing money, with software or the intricacies of the game, a short talk with Carbon’s support team will clear it up, period. Many websites offer E-mail support, but most take days to respond to your question, Carbon will get back to you in minutes or hours at the worst. Carbon’s support team is what helps separate them from the rest of the pack.
Carbon offers an initial deposit bonus of 100% up to 600 dollars which is about as good as it gets. As long as you play enough hands, you will be granted the bonus without any hassle. If you end up being a premiere player for Carbon you may be granted access to exclusive freeroll tournaments, which never hurts.
Carbon offers a variety of deposit and withdraw options. What good is an online poker room that does not allow you to easily deposit money and withdraw money anyways? You can deposit money at Carbon using a Visa or Mastercard credit card, by wire transfer, or by a myriad of other payment processing options. You can withdraw your money by requesting a check, or by Moneybookers or Netellers just to name a few options. Most unseasoned players take depositing and withdrawing money online for granted. You have to remember that you are using real money here, this is not play money or Monopoly money. Protect your money and work with rooms like Carbon that make depositing and withdrawing money seemless.
The lack of competition at Carbon is perhaps the most intriguing thing about the room. Competition at micro and low stakes tables online is generally weak, players play very loosely and do not seem to care about losing a little money here or there. Players playing for just a dollar or two a hand are not going to be as skilled as players playing for 100 dollar pots obviously, but you would still expect them to know the basics of the game and protect their bankroll. The low stakes tables at Carbon also stand for ultra low competition. It may be that players at a lesser known room are generally weaker, or it could be just a coincidence, but if you know poker you have the potentially to rake in a lot of cash.
Ask your friends that do not play poker if that know what Bodog or Pokerstars are, they will likely tell you they are online gaming sites. Ask you friends if they know what Carbon is, they will tell you it is an element on the periodic table. The fact that Carbon is not well known can have its pro’s and its con’s, one of the major downsides to this is the lack of player volume you will experience. The more players playing online the better, for the most part. More players means more tables, more hands, more opportunities, more and larger tournaments… It simply gives you a better opportunity to play and win. An average of 2000-5000 players are playing online at carbonpoker.com at any given time. This is a nice amount of players and there will certainly be opportunities for you to join tables at all times, but it still cannot compare to bigger poker sites like Pokerstars and Bodog. Carbon does offer all of the standard poker games: Texas Hold Em, 5 and 7 card stud, Razz poker, Omaha… All of the most popular games are covered, so you have nothing to worry about in that regard.
Another thing that is keeping me from outright recommending Carbon poker is the lack of other gaming options. You can play poker online at Carbon, that is about it. I like to join online gaming sites that allow me to play poker, play casino games, bet on sports… Anything I am feeling up to. If you are looking for a jack of all trades with regards to online gaming, check out Bodog, if you are looking to play poker online only, Carbon is a great choice. There is no perfect room for everyone, each player has different tendencies and needs.
Carbon is a great mid sized poker room. You will find soft competition and a decent flow of player traffic. Other sites focus on attracting players only, Carbon is committed to keeping its players by offering the best support online.
