Global Poker review: What bonuses are available?
Bonus offers can make a huge difference to your online poker experience. They can add value to your gameplay, allow you to try out new games and give you the chance to win some excellent prizes. This section of our Global Poker review will look at the promotions available for both new and existing customers at Global Poker.
Sign up offer
Because of the operator’s unique sweepstake system (more of that later in our Global Poker rating), Global Poker’s offer for new customers is somewhat different to what you will find at other operators, such as the latest Ocean Social Casino promo code we recently covered.
When you sign up at Global Poker and your account is fully verified, you will receive 100,000 Gold Coins and 20 Sweeps Coins.
In real terms, this equates to a purchase of $20. You will find that some competitors offer bigger welcome bonuses, but the great aspect of Global Poker’s offer is that you do not need to make an initial deposit in order to claim it. This gives you a great opportunity to try out the tables and discover what Global Poker has to offer.
Existing customer offers
After completing the Global Poker welcome offer, you can move on to their existing customer offers. The first bonus you can claim is a 100% boost on your first purchase of up to $20. In other words, purchase $20’s worth of credits and receive $40 to use in the casino.
Like many online poker sites, the majority of the customer offers at Global Poker revolve around tournaments. More specifically, they regularly offer special prizes for competition winners. Because of the unique way that Global Poker operates, these special prizes are usually along the lines of bespoke avatars and virtual trophies. This may come as a slight disappointment to players looking for enhanced cash prizes for tournaments, but it is just part of Global Poker’s emphasis on fun and casual gameplay.
Overall, whilst the offers at Global Poker may not be as lucrative as those you will find at some other poker sites, but you can always trust that Global Poker is reliable, by helping to add value to your gameplay, as well as an extra element of fun.
A close look at the Global Poker website
When playing online poker you need a fast, high quality and reliable interface. You need the games to run smoothly and you need to be able to easily find the options you are looking for. With that in mind, let’s have a look at how Global Poker stacks up in this area.
Software
Simplicity is at the heart of the Global Poker offering. Just like what we found in our Winstar Social Casino review, all of the website is browser-based so there is no need to download any software. This means you can easily play Global Poker on mobile devices using the website or the operator’s mobile app. More importantly, whilst Global Poker does not offer an especially innovative online poker interface, it is extremely reliable. You can play multiple games simultaneously without worrying about functionality issues or glitches.
Design
Again, simplicity is key to the Global Poker offering. Navigation around the site is extremely easy and locating the game or tournament you require is a simple process. As for the games themselves, Global Poker has gone for an uncluttered and basic appearance. Whilst this may not be amongst the most visually appealing of poker sites, it does make gameplay stress free and easy. Placing stakes and making decisions is easily done thanks to the well-laid-out screen, meaning you can give the games your full attention.
As you might expect from an operator that is focused on simplicity, Global Poker is not blessed with a multitude of special design features. That being said, you can select from a range of avatars for your in-game character, as well as pick up trophies when you complete certain in-game tasks.
Making purchases at Global Poker
When you make a deposit at Global Poker you do not add real money to your account. Instead, you purchase Gold Coins which have no monetary value but can be used for any of the tables. However, these Gold Coins carry no monetary value and cannot be exchanged for real money. At the same time, you’ll also receive Sweep Coins equivalent to the value of your purchase. These Coins can only be used at designated Sweep Tables, where they can be redeemed for monetary prizes. This unique system means that technically you are not gambling with real cash and is the reason why Global Poker can be played in 49 US states.
Making payments
In terms of the specific purchase methods available at Global Poker, you can currently purchase Gold Coins via the following methods:
- Skrill
- American Express
- MasterCard
Global Poker offers a number of payment packages that give you set amounts of Gold and Sweep Coins. For example, if you buy a $100 package you will receive 103 Sweep Coins in addition to 500,000 Gold Coins. If you are successful with your Sweep Coins, you can redeem them using one of the three methods listed above. All you need to do is visit the ‘Redeem’ section of the website and, using one of the three methods listed above, select the amount of Sweep Coins you wish to redeem. These coins are then converted to cash prizes.
Whilst this may sound like a slightly convoluted system, our Global Poker review found it to be relatively simple and easy to understand. The number of payment options is slightly smaller than what you will find at many other poker sites. But whilst it would have been nice to have discovered PayPal and other eWallet options, we found that Global Poker did offer extremely popular options that would satisfy the vast majority of players.
Customer services at Global Poker
If you run into any problem whilst playing at Global Poker, secure and reliable customer service options are readily available. The easiest option to use is email. You can contact the operator at [email protected] and as the service is operated around the clock you should receive a prompt reply.
Alternatively, you can contact Global Poker via the operator’s active social media accounts. Global Poker regularly posts on both Twitter and Facebook, so if you send them direct messages on those platforms you should receive a swift reply. There is also an in-depth FAQ section on the Global Poker website that will provide the answer to many of the queries you may have, which puts our Global Poker review in close competition with our Big Fish Social Casino rating.
Please note that Global Poker does not currently offer live chat or telephone support. If that situation changes in the future, we will update our Global Poker rating accordingly.
Just as we asked “Is DoubleDown Social Casino legit?”, we’re here to discuss the legitimacy of Global Poker. Licensing and security are fundamental to your online poker experience. You should only ever use operators that are fully licensed, as using unlicensed operators puts your financial and personal data at risk. Naturally, here at The Gruelling Truth, we will only ever recommend poker operators that are fully regulated and hold an active license.
So, with that in mind, is Global Poker legit? The good news is that Global Poker holds a full license from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA). This means that all of the games at Global Poker are legal, regulated and monitored. The results of the games are fair and reliable, meaning you can play at Global Poker with full confidence.
Rewards & loyalty programs at Global Poker
Many online poker operators offer rewards and loyalty programs to incentivize regular play. In most cases, these loyalty schemes award cash prizes or other rewards to players who complete specified amounts of play. Many online poker sites also offer VIP schemes for high rollers. These schemes often allow access to exclusive rooms and the chance to win exclusive prizes.
Sadly, because of the unique way in which Global Poker operates, they do not currently offer any such loyalty programs. As Gold Coins and Sweep Coins are not used for traditional real money games, there are no incentives available for regular play. Similarly, Global Poker’s focus on casual gameplay does not lend itself to VIP programs, so there is nothing along those lines available to players. Whilst it seems unlikely that this situation will change in the future, if it does, we will include full details in our Global Poker rating.
Global Poker verdict - A fun way to enjoy online poker
In conclusion, there is a lot to like about Global Poker. Once you get your head around the operator’s sweepstake system, and it’s pretty easy to do so, you will have no problem playing at the site.
Everything about the Global Poker offering is user-friendly and easy to understand. The gameplay is simple and intuitive, plus the additional elements of the site (such as customer services and payments) are all of a high standard. Best of all, Global Poker’s sweepstake system means that players from right across the country can play at the site, making Global Poker one of the very best options for players in the United States.
Everything at Global Poker is completely browser-based. In other words, you do not need to download any extra software programs to play at the site. What’s more, there is a Global Poker app that can be downloaded on both iOS and Android devices. Alternatively, if you prefer to use the Global Poker website whilst on the go, the operator’s website is fully mobile compatible.
The ‘cash’ games at Global Poker are played using Sweep Coins and there are currently around 100 active tables on the operator’s website. There are three types of poker games available: Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 and No Limit Hold ‘Em. There are no stud or draw games available, but the three versions offered are probably the most popular for players in the United States.
Tournament players have a huge array of options available to them at Global Poker. Their weekly schedule includes games that carry huge prizes of up to 2,000,000 Sweep Coins. Whilst for casual players there are plenty of lower stake options. For casual players using Gold Coins, there are also a lot of tournaments to try out. The most popular of these is the weekly SC5000 Bonanza which is open to any player who has played at least 500 flops during the previous week.
Despite the fact that you are not playing for real money at Global Poker, you do still have to pay a rake. This is capped at 5% regardless of the game type. Game limits are set at x25 and x100 for the small and big blinds in Sweeps Coin games. The Gold Coin games are far more varied when it comes to both rakes and limits, but the wide variety means that you will always be able to find games that suit your requirements.
If you are a casual poker fan looking for fun, then Global Poker really hits the spot. There are plenty of popular games to choose from, the gameplay is slick and the limits are not prohibitive. Of course, the sweepstake system used by Global Poker means that your opportunities to win big are somewhat limited, but this seems a small price to pay given that the operator is available in 49 states – more than any other operator in the country.