One of the most notorious victims of the 2006 UIGEA, (and also one that suffered the biggest losses caused by it) SportingBet Plc. has turned its sights towards Europe. This Company is the owner of Paradise Poker, an online poker room, which has recently become a member of the Boss-Media network.

Paradise poker used to be the scene of many quite unusual virtual poker happenings. For one, it had the only one million dollar freeroll in the world. It still pays special attention to combat problem gambling, by setting limits on players’ deposits, and it hosts some poker variants few other poker rooms can boast, like 5-Card Draw and Pineapple.

Chip dumping takes on a new meaning here. Players are actually allowed to transfer cash to their friends.

Paradise Poker is known as a “tropical” tournament destination, one that features plenty of action as well as some pretty good players. Heads up though, that might not necessarily qualify as a good thing for you. Rest assured however, competition at the lower limit tourney tables is fishy enough to provide some good value.

Software-wise, Paradise Poker is your standard online poker operation. It is not the visual overload that PKR presents its players with, and it’s not 3D either, but the good old Boss Media software does a good job providing a stable, reliable and attractive-looking poker platform.

Sound and animations are all right, and the cards are well-visible (as you can see in the annexed screenshot)

Paradise Poker is one of the online poker rooms founded well before the Boom of 2004. It has a history stretching back all the way to 1999, and thus, quite naturally, player traffic is not a problem for them. They are one of the bigger poker rooms on the internet, with up to 9,000 cash game and tournament players in peak hours. Worry not about the action. This here is one poker room that won’t need prop players any time soon.

Texas Holdem tables hog most of the action, but other poker variants see a fair amount of it as well. Their heads-up tourney tables are some of the most popular ones.

Unfortunately, tournaments only feature Holdem, Omaha and Stud, but nonetheless, you’ll find that their STTs are excellent bankroll-builders. MTTs also get good action, and their promotions make sure it remains that way.

Again, if cash-games are your thing, and you feel like you’re not exactly what you’d call a reasonable poker player, stay away from high stakes tables. There is good action over there too, but mind you, that most of those involved in that action know what they’re doing. Better stick with the small and micro limit tables until you pump some spinach into that poker-muscle of yours.

Paradise poker features a pretty unusual first-deposit bonus. As a matter of fact, it might just be one of the most lucrative ones in the industry. Deposit a minimum of 5 EUR, and you get 100 EUR in your real money account right away. That’s right. Deposit 100EUR or 5 EUR, you still get the bonus.

You’ll be able to unlock it for 90 days, after which it expires. In order to redeem it, you have to generate 100 Frequent Player Points for every 5 EUR of your bonus. When you do unlock it, the FPPs that you have gathered in the process will not be lost, and will be usable as currency to buy into some of Paradise Poker’s FPP tourneys.

The PokerLadder promotion will give away prizes worth about EUR50K each month, to those who win the most cash-game hands.

There are three "divisions”: Low, Medium and high. Players who make the top 20 of the ladder they belong to, will share 6,400 EUR each week, so no matter if you’re a low or micro limit player or a high-roller, you still get your shot.

Paradise Poker support is one of the most reliable in the business, and it is reachable through phone, e-mail or even live chat.