More Sit N Go Reviews!
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US Players Are Welcomed At Cake – Here I Look In Detail At The SNG Tournaments + Benefits This Site Offer
Important Note For US Players: Cake Poker are no longer allowing US Players - though are still available as an international brand. My recommendation is for Lock Poker (who have bought the old Cake Network and renamed this as the Revolution Gaming Network). This awesome site have cool software and the biggest welcome bonus of any leading poker site! Read my Lock Poker 2013 Review here.
Quick Summary: Cake Poker are now part of the ‘Revolution Gaming Network’ which is good news for players for two reasons. First, more players = more choice of games and smaller wait times. Second, the competition with the rival Merge Network means bigger bonuses and better promotions for players!!
You will find No-Limit Holdem SNGs ranging from $3.30c right through to the high stakes, with a focus on the lower and mid buy-in games. In addition there are PLO, PLO8, Fixed Limit and NL Omaha Hi-Lo games running. Variations include a healthy heads-up range and double or nothing SNGs. Multi-table SNGs are less frequent, though satellite qualifiers (both for live event tickets and the Cake Sunday Majors) are busy – especially at the weekends.
New Players can grab a massively improved bonus which has gone up from 110% to $500 all the way to 200% to $2000 matched to your first deposit. Use Cake Poker Bonus Code SNGPLANET to claim your bonus. Loyalty rewards continue to be a strong plus for this site, I recommend you check out the Gold Cards and Gold Coins reward schemes – these are up there with the best in the industry. Promos have improved with the new network too. See the Cake Poker website for a list of the current offers.
This is more than just 'what is left' for US players, and is a great site in its own right. I strongly recommend you check out Carbon Poker for yourself now, wherever you are in the world!
Cake Poker Sit And Go Tournaments Review – In Detail
The review below is more detailed, and set up in my ‘standard format’ so that you can easily compare the sit and go offerings at the different poker sites. I will start with some screenshots, then focus on the 1-table SNGs, followed by variations of these, then multi-table games are covered after this. I finish this review with my ‘5 reasons’ summary.
Cake Poker SNG Tournaments Review – 1 Table Sit N Goes
Tables come in 2, 6 and 9 handed at Cake Poker, with buy-ins starting at $1.50c + 10c (lower for hyper-turbo and coin-flip games) and going all the way to the mind-blowing $5,500 entry games… most of the action is $22 and under, with some higher (mid-stakes) games kicking off in the evenings and weekends.
You will find a choice of speeds, with the ‘standard’ being 10 minute blinds (1500 chip starting stacks), then ‘Turbo’ at 6 minute blinds, hyper-turbo with 3 minute levels and 300 chip starting stacks and ‘coin-flip’ which is a simple gamble all-in every hand between 2 players. Fees for each game go down as the blind levels speed up – this reflects there being less time in the fast game for your skill edge to show!
These games are far softer than the equivalent buy-ins at Pokerstars. Over a small sample I found a few multi-tablers who seemed to know what they are doing, though a majority of recreational players. Bubble play was soft (the standard amateur ‘call too light, push too tight’ play. I would suggest anyone who has an understanding of SNG specific strategy can beat these games for a good profit!
Variations On 1-Table Tournaments At Cake Poker
You will find Pot-Limit Omaha, Fixed Limit Holdem and Omaha Hi/Lo variations on the Revolution Gaming Network’s Cake Poker. In addition the Double-or-Nothing (10 player tables, marked ‘DoubleUp’ in the lobby) are hugely popular. You can also find ‘steps’ SNGs at Cake, in the form of satellite qualifiers. There are plenty of standard satellites – with a focus on the big weekend tournaments such as the $110k guaranteed. Heads-up games are hugely popular and come in NL + Fixed Limit Holdem and Omaha / Omaha hi-lo format up to hyper-turbo speed!
Multi-Table SNG Tournaments at Cake Poker
While there are a good number of multi-table SNGs on offer, you will have to wait for these to get started. The growing player base on the new Revolution Network has not quite got to the stage where too many MTT SNGs can kick off at once!
These range from 4 players (2x heads-up shootouts), then 12 (2x 6-max), 18 (2x 9-max), and 45 (5x 9-max). There are some fun variations including the 25 player Kamizake games where everyone is all-in every hands. Buy-ins for the multi-table games have a narrower range, starting at $1.50c + 15c and going up to $60+ $4.65 for the biggest 45 player game (with heads-up shootouts going up to $500+).
5-Reasons To Choose Cake Poker For Your SNG Play
1 – US Friendly With A Solid Track Record: Cake have been welcoming US players throughout their existence. They have a solid record for deposits and withdrawals and none of the much publicized issues which other US friendly poker sites have experienced.
2 – Soft Games: Not the softest anywhere (that’s the iPoker Network or OnGame for my money!), however the games are definitely beatable. With a little time to get to know the regulars - and either exploit their leaks or avoid the good ones – Cake would be a solid place to build up a bankroll.
3 – Big Welcome Bonus: The 200% to $2000 is huge, and is designed to attract players from the rival Merge Network (Carbon Poker). Grab this while you can (with bonus code SNGPLANET), it might not last!!
4 – Slick Software: Impressive game play and a simple yet effective interface for the lobby. Much better than many larger rivals.
5 – Gold Cards and Gold Coins: These are two aspects of the loyalty program which Cake Poker run. You collect cards to make special hands and claim bonuses (up to $52k if you collect them all). Coins are more like loyalty points and can be exchanged for entries to tournaments (including SNGs) with some fat prize pools. These schemes are worthwhile checking out!
Cake Poker SNGs – My Overall Verdict And Next Steps
I was pleasantly surprised with how soft the games are in 2013, after assuming they might be tougher they turned out to be soft! Sure the huge volume of pre Black-Friday is not there, however you get a solid (and growing) choice at the lower to mid buy-ins and games which are easy to beat… a great combination for me! Add to this the generous bonus (200% on your first deposit) and top-rated loyalty schemes and I feel comfortable giving this site a very strong recommendation for both US and worldwide readers. Check out Cake Poker for yourself now!
