Sign-up Bonus 200% up to $2000
Sunday $100k guaranteed Great loyalty rewards program User friendly software
Not much high stakes action Does Not Accept US players
Cake Poker is one of the newer poker sites which is quickly gaining strength as word spreads of it's user friendly software and great loyalty program. A medium to small sized room, Cake Poker first went online in 2006 and as one of the few poker sites which still accept players from the US it has a very loyal group of players. If you prefer to play at a site where you can get to know the regulars, make notes on your opponents (and spot the newbies) then Cake Poker could be for you.
The lobbies are simple to find your way around, clearly displaying all the info you need to make an easy informed choice on which game to join. The software has been well thought out and has all the options you would expect from a high quality online poker room. Although there isn't an option to see your made hand (your best hand displayed as on the screen as play progresses). This option is great for beginners or players who enjoy multi-tabling so it's a shame it has been missed out.
The action preselect and betting options are very easy to use and include a sliding scale for betting plus 1/2 pot, pot and all-in buttons. Likewise the notes system is super easy and you can even colour code your opponents for easy recognition of your opinion of your opponents skill level.
Throughout every day Cake Poker players have the opportunity to play in an array of guaranteed prize pool tournaments which means that, no matter how many players register, there is an assured minumum payout. The largest guaranteed tournaments take place on Sundays including the $100k guaranteed with a buy in direct of $109 at 8 pm UK and the $70k guaranteed with a buy in direct of $530 at 9pm UK - satellites run during the week for these two Sunday biggies. For a limited time only these two top Sunday tournaments will be 'pro bounty', each week Cake Poker will announce of list of pros who will be playing with you and should you knock out a pro you win $500.
Overall Cake Poker has a lot to offer and offers a very slick and comfortable playing experience. I wouldn't recommend it for high stakes players as the action at the higher levels can be thin, but for low to mid stakes players Cake Poker is a first class online poker room.
Cake Poker Bonus
Cake Poker are currently offering a 200% of first deposit bonus up to $2000. The bonus can be claimed by using the bonus code VIP600 when signing up or registering for the first time. Full details of how this bonus works and how the bonus is redeemed can be found on our dedicated Cake Poker Bonus page.
Current Promotions
Cake Gold Cards
Cake Gold Cards are a great idea and I wish more poker rooms ran this kind of promotion. The Gold Cards are based on a deck of cards with some cards being more rare and hence more valuable than others (See website for more details).
You can earn Gold Cards by playing in any real money ring game (not tournaments). They are randomly distributed to players based on how much rake a particular table has accumulated. So if you're playing on a high stakes table more Gold Cards are awarded more often. The Gold Card appears over the dealer during a hand where a Gold Card is being awarded and any player who holds that card receives the Gold Card, this will continue to the next hand if no-one holds the card...and so on.
Gold Card Race (leaderboard style) starts on April 10th and will run until May 7th for all gold card earners. There's $30,000 to be won over the 4 x $7,500 weekly races - the higher the value of Gold Card won the more 'miles' you'll earn based on which table stake you're playing at. The more miles you earn the higher your leaderboard position and chance of winning up to $500!
The Cake Poker refer a friend scheme means that you can both earn up to $100 with each and every friend you introduce. Invite your friend to play at Cake Poker, then they accept and open a real money account and play for cash. Now the good bit - for every 500 Frequent Player Points your referred friend earns, $25 reward is released to you both until 2000 FPPs have been earned. You get 60 days to release the refer a friend bonuses from the time your friend opened their real money account, oh, and by the way, your friend has to reply to your invitation to join in the fun at Cake Poker within 14 days to qualify for this generous offer. Find the refer a friend form through the rewards section on the software where you can also track your friends progress towards the bonuses.
Loyalty & Rewards
Gold Chips
Introducing Cake Poker's Gold Chips - Cake's unique way of rewarding your regular play. Most poker rooms offer a points system for frequent play but Cake has one of the best programs as the rate you collect 'chips' increases the more you play.
You earn Gold Chips by automatically collecting FPP's (frequent player points) as you play in any real money game at a rate of 1 FPP for every $1 in rake and 7 FPPs for every $1 you spend in fees. FPPs are then exchanged at a rate of 100 FPPs = 1 Gold Chip.
At the Cake Shop you can swop your gold chips for bonus cash or tournaments tickets. If you decide to boost your bankroll with bonus cash, this is what you can expect:
40 gold chips = $10 bonus cash
100 gold chips = $25 bonus cash
400 gold chips = $100 bonus cash
If you prefer to swop your gold chips for tournament tickets this is the sort of deal you'll get:
130 gold chips = $3000 GTD / Sunday $12500 GTD R & A
240 gold chips = $4000 GTD heads up
325 gold chips = $6000 GTD
650 gold chips = $100K GTD
Live Game Satellites
Series 2013 Experience satellites are running now where you can win a $5,000 cash prize to get you to Las Vegas for WSOP 2013. The satellites are running now from just $0.60 leading to the Series 2013 $5k finals held every Sunday, starting April 21st, at 9pm UK.
Freerolls
Most freerolls at Cake Poker are reserved for those who have Gold Cards or Gold Chips, however they have a weekly $500 bankroll freeroll which you can only enter through satellites running throughout the week. There are also regular small PL Omaha and Texas Holdem freerolls throughout the week.
An important thing to point out about the freerolls at Cake Poker is that you will not be able to withdraw any of your winnings from freerolls until you have collected 2 Gold Chips. Once you have collected 2 Gold Chips any winnings from future freerolls will also be available to be withdrawn immediately.
First Depositor Freerolls
Cake Poker run a weekly $500 first depositors freeroll for, yes you guessed it, first time depositors.
Leagues and Leaderboards
There are currently no in-house leagues or leaderboards at Cake Poker.
Play for Free at Cake Poker
You can easily play for free at Cake Poker. Simply select 'Ring Games' in the lobby and then select 'play money'. You will find many active tables where everyone is playing with 'play money' chips. If you run out of chips then click the dealer sat in the top centre of the table and then click the 'add chips' button. This is a great way of getting used to the software and we suggest you play at least a few hands on the play money tables to get used to the software before you play on the real money tables.
Cake Poker Tournaments
Tournaments
Buy-in fee
10%
Disconnect protection
no
Registration time limit
2 hours
Final table deals allowed
no
Time bank
15secs
1x1 (Heads-up)
yes
Multi Table Tournaments Info
Payout displayed before
tourney
yes
No. of entrants displayed
yes
Level time remaining
yes
View own position
yes
All players position
no - top 40 only
Exiting players displayed
yes
Multi Table Tournaments
(MTT)
Lowest entry
$0.25
Highest entry
$208
Usual starting stack
1500
Usual level increments
12mins
Buy-in fee
10% avg (5-20%)
Standard No. seats
10
Sit and Go's - Single Table
Tournaments (STT)
Lowest entry
$1.10
Highest entry
$630
Buy-in fee
10% avg
Usual starting stack
1500
Usual level increments
6mins
Standard No. seats
6, 10
Satellites
Usual starting stack
1500
Usual level increments
12mins
Buy-in fee
9% avg
Standard No. seats
10
Cake Poker Cash Games
General info
Minimum
blinds
2c / 4c
Maximum blinds
$50 / $100
1x1
yes
Standard seats
2, 6, 10
Rake - No-flop, no-drop?
yes
Rake max.
$3
Lobby info
Players per flop
yes
Average pot
yes
Hands per hour
yes
Financial
Deposit / Withdrawal methods
Visa, Mastercard, Neteller, Ecocard,,
Moneybookers, Electron. eWalletXpress,
Also cheques for withdrawals
Voluntary restrictions
Self limiting budget
yes
Self exclusion
yes
Notes
Minimum deposit $25.
Customer Support & Background
Customer Support
Email only - support@cakepoker.com
Very quick response, with relevant answers.
Background
Established 2006
Licensed and registered in Curaçao
Independent network
Notes
No longer accepts US players .
* For easy comparison all data collected for our exclusive reviews refers to the most popular game, No limit Texas Holdem.