The Bonus Hunter, Vol. 7 – Pacific Poker

The Pacific Poker initial deposit bonus is not the easiest bonus to clear, but there are a few reasons why I've chosen Pacific Poker for this week's column. The first of these reasons is that Pacific Poker has long had a reputation for having some of the softest games one can find online. This was largely due to Pacific Poker's long-term refusal to allow multi-tabling on their poker platform. This policy was changed recently, and you can now multi-table to your heart's content. Whether or not this will have the eventual effect of tightening up the games is up for debate. As it currently stands, the standard low limit games are still very soft, so there is great value to be had (at least in the short-term).

The second reason I'm reviewing Pacific Poker this week is that the Pacific Poker bonus is one of the rare bonuses that actually clear better playing No Limit than Fixed Limit. Almost all the bonuses I've reviewed are able to be cleared faster playing Fixed Limit, so it's only fair that we review a bonus which clears relatively fast playing No Limit.

The third, and most important, reason we are discussing Pacific Poker this week is because PokerNews have recently negotiated four exclusive freerolls with Pacific Poker. These online freerolls will send four lucky players to the blue ribbon tournament of the Australian Poker season, the $10,000 buy-in Aussie Millions Main Event in January 2007. New Zealander Lee Nelson, author of the tournament strategy book Kill Phil, won this event in January this year, beating a fast-finishing young gun (Robert Neary from the US) and picking up over $1 million in prize money for his win, but in 2007, the winner could be you if you are able to score a spot on Team PokerNews for this $10,000 tournament (prize packages include money for airfares/accommodation).

Each of the four packages are worth US$12,000 and the remaining freerolls will be held on the following dates (adjust for your local timezones):

• October 21 – 3pm EST


• November 18 – 3pm EST


• December 16 – 3pm EST

The Pacific Poker initial signup bonus:

If you use the bonus code POKERNEWS, you'll get an initial signup bonus of 60% to $100 at Pacific Poker. So deposit $167 to get the max bonus. This bonus code will also make you eligible for the upcoming Aussie Millions Pacific Poker freerolls.

Clearing Rates:

The Pacific Poker initial signup bonus is cleared differently to most standard online poker bonuses. They calculate clearing rates using turnover rather than raked hands, so you can play any game or limit to clear the bonus. As turnover is used rather than raked hands, you can actually clear this bonus a lot faster playing No Limit as opposed to Fixed Limit. For every dollar in bonus money, you'll need to wager (turnover) $25 in raked pots. For the full $100 bonus, you'll need to wager $2500 in raked pots before you can withdraw.

You'll clear the Pacific Poker initial signup bonus at a rate of $5/hour/table playing $1/$2 No Limit Hold'em. If you play $2/$4 No Limit, you'll clear the bonus twice as fast, at $10/hour/table. Compare this with the clearing rates for Fixed Limit Hold'em: $1.50/hour/table for $1/$2 Fixed Limit and $3/hour/table for $2/$4. As you can see, this really is a bonus for the No Limit players. (Note: These figures are rough estimates for average playing styles. Your true clearance rate will be different based on how tight or loose you play.)

Quality of Games:

As previously discussed, the low limit games at Pacific Poker are of a higher quality than most comparative games on other online poker rooms. It's hard to predict how long the games will stay soft now that multi-tabling has been introduced, but it's probably better to clear this bonus sooner rather than later just in case the games do slowly tighten up.

Other Important Info about Pacific Poker:

As always, a savvy bonus hunter takes extra value into account when choosing which bonuses to clear and in what order. Here is what Pacific Poker has to offer:

• $12,000 Aussie Millions freerolls – only 250 Player Points needed to be eligible after depositing using bonus code POKERNEWS.


• Comp Points – These points are earned at a rate of 1 Point for every $10 you wager. You can convert 100 Points into $1 in cash.

Pacific Poker online support is fast and of a high quality.

Cashout times are slow – it takes up to 4 days for cash-outs to be processed to your NETeller account.

Strategy Tip 4 – Table Image:

In previous weeks, we've discussed basic blind-stealing strategy and we also briefly discussed how we should best defend our big blinds against stealers. Until now, we haven't discussed a very important aspect of gameplay which we should all be aware of regardless of position – the concept of table image.

Table image deals with how we present ourselves to our opponents. Mike Caro once wrote: "Good players present themselves not as they are, but as they wish to be perceived." To play winning poker, we must be able to present an image to our opponents that will give them the wrong idea about how we'll play future hands. In addition, we must be able to designate our opponents as having certain playing styles: tight, loose, aggressive, passive and combinations of these styles. For example, someone that sees a lot of flops and showdowns but rarely raises is loose and passive. There is no real point in trying to bluff these players as they will call you down more often than not.

Once you've played with your opponents for awhile, you can start to put together pieces of information which will enable you to designate them as having various playing styles. Once you have them pegged, you will then need to be able to alter your playing style depending on which style they seem to be employing. Against loose players, you can tighten up and get paid off on your strong hands, but against tight players, you can loosen up a little and run some bluffs and semi-bluffs.

When playing poor players, you can usually play textbook poker with limited bluffing and stealing – they'll simply pay you off when you hit your hands. However, against intermediate and expert players, you'll need to be aware of your own table image. It's not just important to be able to work out your opponents' playing styles – you need to be aware of how your playing style is being perceived by your opponents. This does not mean you should start exposing your hands when you don't need to (although, if you know what you're doing, this can be a valuable way of building a 'good' table image if you show down strong hands all the time). What we're mainly discussing here is your understanding of how your opponents view your play – you need to be able to get inside their heads and work out what they think of you. Good players will vary their styles of play to best combat the way you are playing and to counter-act that, you'll need to know which style they have you pegged as utilizing.

If you're raising to steal the blinds every time it's folded around to you, eventually the good players on the table are going to work out what you're doing. One of the secrets of winning poker is being able to judge the point when they will work out your strategy, and you'll need to be able to stay one step ahead of them. This is called changing gears. Sometimes, gear changes are obvious – if you try and steal the blinds with 97s from the button and hit a full house, you might be forced to showdown your hand after the river. Good players will think back to your preflop steal with 97s and realize that you have a liberal stealing range from late position. If it's folded around to you next hand in the cutoff and you have J8o, it might not be a good time to steal as your raise might not get the respect it otherwise deserves, based on the fact that you had to showdown 97s the previous hand.

In summary, always try and be aware of how your opponents are viewing you and your play. If you have been ramming and jamming a lot and players are taking you to showdowns, it might be time to start tightening up. Alternatively, if you've picked up rags in the hole for a few orbits, you can start aggressively stealing, as you likely have a 'tight' table image and your raises should get respect.

Doyle Brunson once stated: "You have to give action to get action." This statement is very true – if you give a lot of action, players will start to lose respect for your bets and raises, and they will give you action back. Understanding table image (both your own and your opponents') will enable you to manipulate and control the action. Once you understand this important concept, your play will become less robotic and more fluid – you'll be able to induce action when you want it and avoid action when you don't.

Good luck and happy bonus hunting!

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