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OnGame Poker Network

As of 2011, the OnGame Poker Network is a popular European poker network, currently number five in terms of traffic. The OnGame poker network is made up of 28 online poker rooms and is owned by BWin Interactive Entertainment. The OnGame network is unusal among poker networks in that it contains a lot of online sportsbooks that are trying to break into the online poker and casino business.

This means that much of the poker play is loose, made up of sportsbook and casino customers trying their hand at poker. It also means that poker players who like to bet on sports can join OnGame and get everything under one roof. The biggest names on the OnGame network are Bwin Poker, PokerLoco and Hollywood Poker.

OnGame built their first poker room in 1999 for PokerRoom.com. OnGame rooms use Java-based software, so Mac and Linux users can play. Mobile phone gaming is a possibility with most OnGame network rooms, and another unique feature are the Texas holdem and Omaha games where small blinds and big blinds are of equal value.

Competition at the Ongame Poker Network

OnGame has a large number of mediocre poker players that play way too conservatively. There are a few decent players to be found, especially at high-traffic times. The presence of big-name bookmakers like Bwin and Bet24 have greatly increased the traffic volume, and most of these players have no idea what they’re doing.

Having said that, the high-stakes poker tables on the OnGame Network are stuffed with some of the best online poker professionals in the game, so stick to low-stakes games if you want to take money from weaker players.

Ongame Poker Software

The biggest knock on the OnGame software is two-fold–players complain of software lag, especially at peak play times, and say that there are far too many graphics and flashy bits of animation that take away from gameplay.

Thankfully, the interface is customizable, giving you the ability to remove player avatars for example.

OnGame Network poker rooms are Mac-friendly and available in no-download Java versions, so you can pick your own play style fairly easily. As for play features, you get what you’d expect from a top-five poker network, like notes, a long list of poker statistics, chat functions, and on and on. OnGame allows you to create your own tournament or cash-game tables, and are compatible with mobile phone play.

OnGame’s latest software version is called “P5″, though it hasn’t hit every member poker room yet. OnGame makes the claim that P5 is “one of the most advanced pieces of online poker software available today,” though that’s probably just bluster. The 3D avatars that OnGame made famous have been revamped, though you can turn them off if they’re distracting or annoying.

Traffic at the Ongame Poker Network

During peak play times, the cash games feature an average of 5,000 poker players, with tournaments averaging just 15,000 players, far fewer than other top-five poker networks. Traffic on the OnGame network is mostly concentrated in Texas holdem and Omaha, like most poker rooms.

Signup Bonuses at the Ongame Poker Network

The bonuses offered at the most popular poker rooms on the OnGame network are a little more lucrative than at other popular poker networks. For example, HollywoodPoker’s first deposit bonus is good for up to $500, with a 100 % match. PokerLoco, another popular OnGame room, offers up to $1,000 with a 100% match. Other rooms on the OnGame network have bonuses that more closely align with the rest of the industry, like a $500 first deposit bonus on a 100% match.

Ongame Poker Tournaments and Games

The most popular tournaments at OnGame poker networks are sit and gos, though MTTs are also big. Buy-ins on sit & gos range from $2 up to $500, with buy-ins at MTTs going from $1 up to $300. There are occasionally big tournaments with buy-ins up to $1,000. One strange feature of OnGame sit & go tournaments is the fact that the $2 SNGs are ‘winner takes it all’, and this may be why the $2 sit and gos are lacking a bit in player volume.

Like other European poker networks, the poker game variety is limited. You can play Texas hold’em, Omaha, Omaha hi-lo, seven card stud, seven card stud hi-lo or five card draw. All games come in no limit, pot limit, and fixed limit versions, with stakes ranging from $0.25/$0.50 up to $500/$1,000 for some holdem games. It is important to point out that the competition at those higher limit games is particularly tough, made up almost exclusively of poker pros.

Ongame Customer Service

Customer service may be the soft underbelly of the OnGame network–outside of the FAQ section of their website, your only option for having your questions answered is to send them an email. There is no customer support telephone number, live chat option, or even fax question-and-answer line.

Some of the member poker rooms have a live chat feature, but it runs independently of the OnGame network, and none of them are open 24 hours a day. It may be hard to get hold of someone at OnGame when you have a problem.

Pros and Cons of the Ongame Poker Network

The number one black mark on OnGame is the software, which tends to be slow and clunky, especially for a top-five poker network. Since OnGame doesn’t accept wagers from American players, a big chunk of the online poker world is left out in the cold.

Players on the OnGame network also suffer from a lack of customer service options–you can only use email to get in touch with OnGame customer support, there’s no phone number or live chat option at all. The pros are simply that OnGame is a high-traffic poker network with lots of soft play, and the network is compatible with both Holdem Manager and Poker Tracker 3 software. Unless you’re really concerned with software that doesn’t lag, you’ll probably enjoy the OnGame poker network poker rooms.