Once the bitterest of rivals with PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker now joins the site under the Amaya Gaming umbrella to provide Australian players with an unrivalled gaming experience from a company they know they can trust. Featuring the widest selection of games outside of PokerStars and a top-notch loyalty programme, Full Tilt Poker provides a great alternative to the market leaders.
Launched in the summer of 2004, Full Tilt Poker was initially conceived by owner Ray Bitar as a site where amateur poker enthusiasts could take on pros like Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer and Jen Harman.
Growing exponentially after its launch, Full Tilt Poker rapidly established itself as the #1 rival to PokerStars, with both sites continuing to operate in America after the passing of the UIGEA in 2006.
Their empire came crashing down in 2011, however, when the site was indicted by the US government and further investigations revealed Bitar had grossly mismanaged the company’s funds.
Shut down indefinitely to begin with, the site was purchased by the Rational Group – then owners of PokerStars – in a settlement deal, but since 2014 both sites have been operated by Amaya Gaming.
At the time of writing, Full Tilt Poker are some way behind market leaders PokerStars and 888poker in terms of traffic with a seven-day average of 650 users compared to 15,000 and 2,200 respectively.
Full Tilt Poker’s 24-hour peak for that period was 1,106 players – again lower than the averages of both the leaders – though the site does have a consistent level of traffic at its cash game tables.
Full Tilt Poker features a wide range of games, all of which are available at a variety of stakes, with limits usually starting from as little as $0.01/$0.02 in cash games and $1 in tournaments.
The highest stakes currently available in big bets games are $250/$500 with no antes, while the limit games go up as high as $1,000/$2,000. Both of these are, however someway down on the old limits.
The biggest weekly guaranteed tournament on Full Tilt Poker is the $40,000 guaranteed Sunday Major – which features a buy-in of $250 – but there are a number of smaller events during the week.
Every day you’ll find a range of tournaments boasting guaranteed prize pools from $250 to $5,000 and all of these come in a variety of formats and buy-ins to ensure all players are well catered for.
Known primarily as a cash game site in its heyday, Full Tilt Poker still boasts a loyal contingent of ring game players that frequent its tables, especially for the original fast-fold variant, Rush Poker.
Beyond that industry game-changer, you’ll find everything from standard NLHE to a 10-game mix available on the site, with tables including full-ring, short-handed and heads-up at a variety of limits.
Full Tilt Poker features a variety of Australian-friendly deposit methods that includes the standard Visa and Mastercard credit card options and a range of leading eWallets like Skrill and Neteller.
These methods can also be used to withdraw, though players can also choose to have their balances issued by wire transfer or sent by cheque, although these methods are certainly less time-effective.
During the classic Full Tilt Poker/PokerStars rivalry of 10 years ago, many players believed the former to boast the superior software – and the good news is that great user interface remains intact today.
Featuring easy to navigate lobbies, customisable filters and re-sizable tables, even new players should find Full Tilt Poker incredibly easy to use. What’s more, the site can also be accessed from any Apple, Android or Windows smartphone or tablet with optimised touch-screen functionality.
Full Tilt Poker is famously generous for its welcome offer to new players, with first-time depositors being able to benefit from a 100% match bonus up to $600.
Released in chunks of 10% as you play, this offer can take a long time to clear, but you’ll also get to enjoy 30 days worth of free-to-enter tournaments where you can play for $200 in tickets every day.
| Ukash | VISA | MasterCard | Laser Debit Card |
| Cheque | POLi | Neteller | Skrill |
| Bank Transfer | Wire Transfer | EWire | CashUp |
| Entropay | ClickandBuy | NetPay | PayPal |
| PayBox | Diners Card | PaySafeCard |
Yes. Full Tilt Poker is fully licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission and run by the hugely reputable Amaya Gaming, who also own industry leaders PokerStars.
Full Tilt Poker offers a wide range of games including Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo 7-Card Stud, HORSE and many others. Fast fold versions are also available for some games.
Yes. Full Tilt Poker is a download-only client and you will need to install the software on your chosen device to access any of its games.
Yes. Full Tilt Poker can be played on iPhones, iPads, Android phones and tablets and a number of other leading smartphones. Again, a software download is necessary.
No. While deposits and withdrawals can be made in AUD, these amounts will be converted to USD when you play on Full Tilt Poker. An exchange rate may also be charged on withdrawals.
All withdrawals at Full Tilt Poker are subject to an authorisation process, but once approved, you will be credited very quickly, particularly using an eWallet, which usually gets credited within 24 hours.
Yes. You do not need to deposit at Full Tilt Poker to try out the site’s software as a range of freeroll and play money games are available to all players.
Yes. Full Tilt Poker boasts one of the widest selections of tournaments of any poker site and these include both satellites and big guaranteed events.
