Full Tilt Poker Review 2022
Full Tilt was once the second largest online poker room, however in 2011, in a lightning raid they were closed down by US authorities as they were deemed to be operating illegally in the US. Recently our poker team has decided that the reincarnated Full Tilt merited another fresh in-depth review in order to truly give you a review of Full Tilt as it exists now.
Full Tilt Poker is now owned by Rational Group, the very same group who owns PokerStars. Full-Tilt is licensed in both Malta and the Isle Of Man, a result of which is that they are tax-free for all European players who are eligible to play on the site.
One of the reasons that Full Tilt grew so massively in terms of popularity in the first place, was that they managed to enlist some of the most famous poker players to represent their brand and just as importantly to actively play on their site, and thereby creating a massive buzz and interest among new poker players who actually got the chance to see their favourite poker players actually play in real time online.
Poker Competition:
After re-opening its doors, new and old players have found their way back to Full Tilt Poker again. Prior to closing down the action at Full Tilt had gotten quite tough. However, after a few recent lengthy sessions our poker team feels that the competition nowadays is a bit softer. The toughest competition is to be found in the higher stake Omaha and mixed games.
However, throughout the low stake games, in particular Omaha, Mixed games and SNG tournaments the standard is very soft. But even in HoldEm cash games, at the low stakes at least, competition has softened with plenty of fish to go around giving the action you need to make money!
One of the strongest selling points back in the day for Full Tilt Poker, if you had the money of course, was that you could play nose-bleed stakes any day of the week against some of the most famous names in poker. There was no shortage of some massive games with on some occasions literally millions of dollars changing hands in one game in a mere matter of hours, in some cases players even blowing entire 5 or 6 figure bankrolls.
While the same plethora of star players alas are no longer to be seen on Full Tilt, Full Tilt still offers the biggest cash games online, at the time of writing still surpassing PokerStars in this department, with blinds of 500/1000 for both No Limit Hold Em and Omaha compared to a maximum of 200/400 on PokerStars.
In light of the fact that the competition has softened somewhat on Full Tilt once again, giving good players the opportunity to reap rewards, all that’s left is to remind you to do all the other smart things you need to do away from the table in order to make a profit, good table selection, making detailed player notes on your opponents and bankroll management.
Poker Software:
One of the strongest points for Full Tilt Poker is their poker software. It was the only one that was truly able to compete with PokerStars and though it no longer holds the mantle as the second biggest site, the software is still great and perhaps arguably the best in terms of functionality and player experience.
Right away when you enter the poker lobby, you can see it has a very simple and clean look, with an overview of the ongoing poker games and tournaments. Their filter system is easy and efficient to use too and will help you find the poker game you are looking for quickly.
It’s user friendly design contains many great easy to use features, making your poker playing much easier. The design is sleek, modern, easy to navigate, allowing you to do what you do best, playing poker!
Full Tilt was one of the first poker brands with quick-fold function games, known as Rush on Full-Tilt and Zoom on PokerStars. Rush gives you the option to fold in advance, which you can do as soon as you see your cards if you so wish, and play a new hand on a new table with new players without having to wait your turn to act like a traditional game, allowing you to play hundreds of hands an hour per table, instead of the usual 60-70 hands. This has become a very popular type of poker and at Full Tilt Poker you can always find a Rush game at both Omaha and Texas Holdem.
Detailed Poker Software Features:
Resizeable Tables: Full Tilt has perhaps the most flexible resizing available of any online poker software brand with minimum dimensions of 488×364, you can maximize right up to the size of your screen!
Layout Options: You can choose to Tile tables with the software automatically arranging your tables so they appear to their maximum size but with no overlap. You can also choose to Stack, where all tables are put in the same coordinates on the screen, with the active table being the one that comes automatically to the top of the stack, once you make your play, the next most active table comes to the front and so forth. You can also choose Cascade which displays tables with the first table located at the top left, with just a small shift right and downwards for subsequent tables.
You can even save custom layouts, just position the tables where you like and choose save and name your custom layout and the Full Tilt software will save it for you to use whenever your like.
Tables come in two different layout types. Classical and Racetrack, in the second the table is a bit more elongated, like … you guessed it, a racetrack! You can also choose from several different table backgrounds.
Player Notes: You can make notes on players at any time by right clicking on the player. Full Tilt has 14 different color codes, the use of which id up to you, common uses by good players are to use colors to designate the type of player, for instance red might mean a shark, yellow might mean very tight, green a loose passive fish and so forth. Here you can also choose to ignore a player’s chat by either right clicking on player and clicking Muted or within the Player’s Notes themselves.
Find Player: Full Tilt also offers the option to find players, this could be used to find a poker playing pal, to watch a good player or most commonly to find the fish that you want to play against. Very useful for whatever purpose you wish to use it for. This is located under the Requests Menu.
Games Offered:
- Texas Hold’em
- Omaha Hi
- Omaha Hi/Lo
- Stud: Stud Hi, Stud Hi/Lo, Razz
- Draw: 2-7 Triple Draw, 5 Card Draw, 2-7 Single Draw
- Mixed Games
- Other Games: Irish
Sit N Gos: Full Tilt offer a truly huge range of Sit N Gos.
- Fierce 2-player (heads-up) tables where you and one other player battle each other directly.
- 4-man tournaments where you need to win two heads-up tournaments in a row to win the prize.
- The 6-player format where 1st and 2nd place each receive a prize,.
- 9-players where 1st to 3rd finish in the money.
- Jackpot Sngs where you can win anything from 2 to 2000 times the buy-in, this is a great way for those looking for a chance to win big money for a relatively small stake in a manner of minutes.
- Matrix Sngs : This novel Sng format gives a greater chance for the better players to win. 6 players play against each other across 4 individual tournaments. You get prizes for finishing in the top 2 in each tournament. There are also overall prizes awarded to the top two players based on Matrix points scored, which are earned by knocking out players during the individual tournaments and by your finishing position in each tournament. So if you get unlucky in one or two of the individual tournaments you still have a chance of making a profit by doing well in the other two.
- Steps: Step tournaments, currently they are 6 different steps, from Step 0 to Step 5. Steps are a tiered format where depending on your finishing position you can advance to a higher level, stay at the same level, drop down a level, receive a consolation cash price or drop out completely. Typically steps offer the opportunity for players to win up to $215 and players can choose whatever Step they like based on their preferences and budget.
- Other: Other formats include Flipout, Multiplayer games, Shootouts, Multiple-entry tournaments.
Sngs are also available in multi-player format, the only difference between these and standard multi-table tournaments is that they begin when a set number of players have registered rather than a scheduled time.
Multi-Table tournaments: Full Tilt has a wide range of Multi-table tournaments suitable for all budgets, tournaments entry fees start from as little as $.11, many of the small sake tournaments are in fact satellites to bigger buy-in tournaments, so there is always the chance to win big money for a very small initial stake. Currently the biggest buy-in weekly tournament is the Super Sized Sunday which will cost you $635, players play for a guaranteed $75,000 prize pool. The biggest guaranteed prize pool however is reserved for The Sunday Major, which boasts a guaranteed $150,000 prize pool and an entrance fee of $215.
Freerolls: Although pure freerolls are not spread too broadly, there is the The Daily Freeroll, itself a freeroll to the ‘$250 Weekly Freeroll’, most of the other ‘freerolls’ you actually need to have a minimum of a Bronze Card or to use your FTPs.
Casino Games: With Amaya having taken over the Rational Group, the move is on to diversify and increase revenues for their shareholders, one result of this is that Full Tilt now offers Casino Games. This might be an unwelcome distraction for the purist poker player, but one potential positive is it might attract more pure gamblers and the hope is that a decent proportion of them will try poker in addition to the casino games. At the time of writing these include Blackjack and Roulette.
Rake: Rake differs depending on the type of game, i.e. Fixed Limit, No Limit/Pot Limit and Rush and the size of the blinds, with higher stake games paying far less percentage wise in terms of rake than the lower stake games.
# of Players refers to the number of players dealt into the hand, players sitting out or otherwise not dealt into the hand are not included.
Fixed Limit
$0.05/$0.10, $0.10/$0.20 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $0.50 | |
| 3 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $1 | |
| 4 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $2 | |
| 5-9 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $3 | |
| $0.25/$0.50, $0.50/$1 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $0.05 | $1 in Pot | $0.25 | |
| 3-9 | $0.05 | $1 in Pot | $0.50 | |
| $1/$2 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $0.25 | $5 in Pot | $0.50 | |
| 3-9 | $0.25 | $5 in Pot | $1 | |
| $2/$4 – $50/$100 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $0.50 | $10 in Pot | $0.50 | |
| 3 | $0.50 | $10 in Pot | $1 | |
| 4 | $1 | $20 in Pot | $2 | |
| 5-9 | $1 | $20 in Pot | $3 | |
| $100/$200+ | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $1 | $20 in Pot | $1 | |
| 3 | $1 | $20 in Pot | $2 | |
| 4 | $1 | $20 in Pot | $3 | |
| 5-9 | $1 | $20 in Pot | $5 | |
No Limit/Pot Limit
| $0.01/$0.02, $0.02/$0.05, $0.05/$0.10 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $0.50 | |
| 3-4 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $1 | |
| 5-9 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $2 | |
| $0.10/$0.25 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $0.50 | |
| 3 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $1 | |
| 4 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $2 | |
| 5-9 | $0.01 | $0.20 in Pot | $3 | |
| $0.25/$0.50 – $25/$50 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $0.05 | $1 in Pot | $0.50 | |
| 3 | $0.05 | $1 in Pot | $1 | |
| 4 | $0.05 | $1 in Pot | $2 | |
| 5-9 | $0.05 | $1 in Pot | $3 | |
| $50/$100+ | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $0.05 | $1 in Pot | $1 | |
| 3 | $0.05 | $1 in Pot | $2 | |
| 4 | $0.05 | $1 in Pot | $3 | |
| 5-9 | $0.05 | $1 in Pot | $5 | |
Adrenaline Rush Poker
| $0.02/$0.05 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 – 4 | $0.01 | $0.30 in Pot | $0.05 | |
| $0.05/$0.10 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 – 4 | $0.01 | $0.30 in Pot | $0.10 | |
| $0.10/$0.20 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 – 4 | $0.01 | $0.30 in Pot | $0.20 | |
| $0.25/$0.50 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 – 4 | $0.01 | $0.30 in Pot | $0.50 | |
| $0.50/$1 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $0.01 | $0.30 in Pot | $0.50 | |
| 3 – 4 | $0.01 | $0.30 in Pot | $1 | |
| $1/$2, $2.50/$5 | ||||
| # of Players | Rake | Per | Max | |
| 2 | $0.01 | $0.30 in Pot | $0.50 | |
| 3 – 4 | $0.01 | $0.30 in Pot | $2 | |
Customer Support:
Although Full Tilt Poker was once the second largest poker room and now actively trying to redeem its position, we are a bit disappointed when it comes to the customer support. At the moment Full Tilt Poker only offers support through e-mail and although our early statement, they are doing that line of support very well. However, we do feel that a large poker site such as Full Tilt Poker should offer their customers more options to handle any support queries.
As a poker player you want to be able to resolve your issues as quickly as possible, therefore we feel that Full Tilt Poker should offer Live Chat support to receive top score in our books, which is a service most of the other top poker rooms offer these days.
Poker Promotions:
Full Tilt Poker offers a nice 100% first time deposit bonus up to $600 and you are also able to collect FTP (Full tilt points) by playing on the platform, which you can exchange for casino chips, tournament tickets, ring game tickets, merchandise or a cash bonus at Full Tilt’s Diamond Edge Store.
The brand these days focuses heavily on promoting their large guaranteed tournaments as well the FTOPS, which has been and remains one of the most popular online poker tournament series.
Security:
Due to their recent past history, with the brand being out of action for almost two years, security has understandably become one of the absolute biggest priorities for Full Tilt, in its drive to redeem its good reputation. Thus the poker room has a large security department, working around the clock, to assure that all game play is played correctly and free of collusion. In addition they ensure that all transactions, such as deposits and withdrawals, are made in a safe and secure environment.
Also since the brand now holds a license in Malta, this ensures that the Malta LGA (Malta Lotteries & Gambling Authority) are able to regularly review the operation of the site, ensuring that the site is operating in the correct manner. This also means that it is tax free to play on Full Tilt for all European poker players (some jurisdictions still only allow their residents to play on sites regulated in their own specific countries, notably France, Spain and Italy).
Summary:
Although the site’s reputation was left in tatters following their closure by the US authorities, with Full Tilt Poker now being part of the very reputable Rational Group, our team has no concerns about Full Tilt as it exists today and we were happy to do this in-depth review of the brand.
The results are that Full Tilt is back on track. Although, they may never get all of their old players back, the brand is attracting new customers and once again are able to offer some of the largest guaranteed online poker tournaments.
The design and user-friendly software makes the overall feeling of playing at Full Tilt Poker an enjoyable one. For tournament players, the brand is truly an excellent choice and offers plenty of chances to play for large prizes for small buy-ins. So with great software, a huge range of games to choose from, softer games than there was a few years ago and under secure management and regulation there has never been a better time for you to play on Full Tilt. We wish you the best of luck!
