Full Tilt supports a range of different poker styles, including no limit Texas hold’em (NLH), pot limit Omaha (PLO), Omaha hi/lo, seven card stud, razz, and mixed games like HORSE (hold’em, Omaha, razz, stud hi, and stud hi/lo eights-or-better). Full Tilt offers both play and real money cash games and tournaments. Freeroll, satellite, sit-n-go, and multi-table tournaments take place throughout the day and often included participation from Full Tilt’s sponsored professionals.The site offers the following poker variations in limit, pot-limit, and no-limit: Texas Holdem, Omaha, and Omaha 8 or Better (a.k.a. Omaha hi/lo).
- Website:www.FullTiltPoker.com
- Established: 2004
- Network: -
- Multi-Tabling: 18
- Traffic:High
- Competition:Tricky
- Mac Compatible:Yes
- US Friendly:No
100% up to $600 Bonus
No Limit Texas Holdem Rules
Full Tilt Poker overview 2020.
Full Tilt is comfortably in the very top tier of Texas Hold'em rooms and is only second to PokerStars in terms of traffic. In a nutshell, Full Tilt is an ideal choice for both regular and new players looking for an all-round quality poker room.
- Second most popular online poker room.
- Great software and plenty of soft competition.
As a regular Texas Hold'em player, Full Tilt ticks all the key boxes for; soft competition, good rakeback deal and sleek software that is perfect for multi-tabling.
The only poker room that edges out Full Tilt Poker in the traffic and software department is PokerStars.
Full Tilt competition and traffic.
- Very high volume of traffic (#2 for traffic). Plenty of action at even the highest NL Hold'em tables.
- High volume of player traffic means that there is plenty of soft competition across all stakes.
- $200NL and $400 have a higher ratio of solid players due to rakeback. Table selection is key.
No Limit Poker Texas Holdem
As mentioned, the only poker room that has more traffic than Full Tilt is PokerStars, but when a room reaches these levels of traffic the actual number of players makes very little difference, as all of the most popular NL Texas Hold'em stakes (and many of the higher stakes) are saturated with enough soft competition to keep them profitable.
The fact that Full Tilt offers rakeback means that the $200NL and $400NL play host to a larger than usual number of solid grinders, which means that table selection is an important consideration if you are a regular looking to win money.
However, you can safely assume that there is going to be at least one fish at any random table at the $100NL limits and lower. Just be sure to watch out for all the tricky rakeback players. If soft competition and easy money is what you're looking for though, Bodog is the better option.
Full Tilt software.
The Full Tilt client is a prime example of how a great poker room should look and feel. The thing with great designs is that you never really appreciate them unless you find a different design doing the same thing, just worse.
- Awesome software. Perfect platform for winning money.
- PokerTracker and HoldemManager compatible.
- Table graphics a little cartoony. Not everyone's cup of tea, but not a big deal.
The Full Tilt software has always been fast loading, easy to navigate and I've never experienced glitches or freezing during play. The lobby is super responsive and makes it impressively easy to filter and sort the tables to find the perfect game. I really can't pick any faults with Tilt's software when it comes to usability (I did try).
The table graphics may be a little too cartoon-like for some, but then that's what gives Full Tilt its unique identity. I'd prefer a slightly more serious design myself, but at the end of the day it really doesn't take anything away from the gameplay, so I'm not going to complain.
Full Tilt Poker bonus.
100% up to $600 Bonus
The Full Tilt bonus is a higher than average (and easier to clear than average) 100% up to $600 match bonus. This bonus is available to all new players signing up to Full Tilt (even if you're a rakeback player).
Make sure you use the Full Tilt referral code RAKEBANK when signing up to get the rakeback to go along with the bonus.
If you use an alternate Full Tilt Poker referral code like the one here, you will not receive 27% rakeback. You will just get the Full Tilt bonus on its own (so make sure you use the RAKEBANK referral code).
Full Tilt bonus details.
| Bonus: | $600 |
|---|---|
| Match: | 100% |
| Time: | 180 days |
| Increments: | 10% |
| Referral Code: | RAKEBANK |
| Full Tilt Points earned per $1 rake paid: | 10 |
|---|---|
| Full Tilt Points needed per $1 of bonus: | 25 |
| Total Full Tilt Points needed to redeem bonus: | 15,000 |
| Total rake paid to redeem bonus: | $1,500 |
| Bonusback: | 40% |
Overall it is a very attractive bonus. It is one of few bonuses that is worth saving for until the time you are able make a sizeable deposit so that you can get the most from it.
Go back to the Texas Hold'em rooms.
Full Tilt Poker was once the second largest poker site in the world, largely thanks to its decision to continue serving poker players in the United States after 2006.
This is when online gambling legislation was introduced that led to many gambling sites withdrawing from the region.
Ultimately, however, the site suffered when its domain was seized by the US government and they transpired it, plus the site wasn’t able to pay its players their deposits back.
Today Full Tilt Poker is operational again and owned by the same company that owns PokerStars.
On this page we will look at the people that were behind the original launch of Full Tilt Poker. These include a number of the well-known poker professionals that formed “Team Full Tilt”.
Raymond Bitar
The parent company behind the launch of Full Tilt Poker in 2004 was Tiltware. This software company, based in California, was founded and run by Raymond Bitar.
He was one of the individuals who was instrumental in getting Full Tilt Poker off the ground. Bitar stated that he always had a keen interest in poker, which started when he began playing at age 12. Professionally, Bitar’s background is in trading equities.
He subsequently entered into a partnership with another company to open a new trading office which he ran. It was during that time that he met, and traded for, professional poker player Chris Ferguson. It was partly through that relationship that the idea for Full Tilt Poker came about.
In 2011, Bitar was one of several people charged by the United States government in relation to online gambling activities. Charged with five counts, including money laundering and bank fraud, he faced a maximum jail term of 65 years.
These initial charges were just the start; it was subsequently discovered that Bitar, along with others, had been using funds that were supposedly ring-fenced to cover customer deposits to operate the business and also pay large salaries and dividends.
After a fresh indictment was issued, Bitar eventually returned to the US in July 2012 to face prosecutors. He issued a statement, through his attorney, saying that he understood why people were angry at him and that he should never have let Full Tilt get in a position where it could not pay players their funds.
A plea bargain deal was agreed upon in April 2013, when it was revealed that Bitar was awaiting a heart transplant.
Howard Lederer
Howard Lederer, fondly known as the Professor of Poker for his analytical approach to the game, is one of the leading players who helped found Full Tilt Poker.
As a young college graduate, Lederer was hooked on chess and even made the move to New York to be closer to the active chess clubs in the city.
It was actually in the back rooms of one of these clubs that Lederer stumbled on poker.
Lederer was soon playing up to 80 hours of poker a week in a bid to become one of the best players in the world. His game improved significantly when he started to play at the world famous Mayfair Club in New York and rubbed shoulders with other pros including Erik Seidel and Steve Zolotow.
Lederer and his poker buddies were among the first in the world to try out the newly created No Limit Hold ‘em Poker and perfected the game to the format that we all know today.
Poker genius definitely runs in the family, since Lederer’s sister Annie Duke soon picked up the bug and started following her brother around on the circuit. Duke has gone on to become one of the highest paid women players in the world, no doubt thanks in part to her brother’s guidance.
In 1994, Lederer and Duke met at the final table of the World Series of Poker competition, the first time in history that a brother and sister have met across the felt at such a late stage in the tournament.
Lederer’s eyes, however, were set on the World Series of Poker tournament and his dream was finally fulfilled in 2000, when he won the $5000 Limit Omaha Hi Lo event, taking home his first gold bracelet. He had a pair after taking another event the following year.
Lederer went on to win more of the biggest live tournaments in the world, including the WPT Championship at Foxwoods in 2002, three Bellagio titles, and a host of others.
In 2008, he walked away with $1.25 million at the Aussie Millions competition, an event that had a whopping entry fee of $100,000. Having become one of the best-known names in the poker industry, he joined Team Full Tilt and helped to launch the new poker site in 2004.
In September, 2011, Lederer was named in a civil complaint filed by the US Department of Justice, accusing Full Tilt of defrauding players. A three way settlement between Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and the Department of Justice followed in 2012, when PokerStars agreed to purchase Full Tilt in exchange for providing the funds to pay back Full Tilt Poker players.
Subsequently, Lederer settled personally with the Department of Justice, admitting no wrongdoing and forfeiting assets of around $2.5 million.
Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey is another poker player who helped turn the dream of Full Tilt Poker into a reality. Ivey is considered one of the most brilliant poker players of all times and has been named “The Tiger Woods of Poker” by his contemporaries.
He was introduced to poker at the tender age of five by his grandfather, who probably didn’t realize that he had a legend in the making staring back at him across their makeshift poker table.
By 16, Ivey was ready to play where the big money was, and he faked an ID and made for the casino floors of Atlantic City.
He played so long at the tables that he was nicknamed “No Home Jerome” by the other players at the casino. His long hours and dedication to the game paid off and by 2000 Ivey felt that he was ready for the World Series of Poker. He took the leap into world of professional poker, at age 24.
Ivey’s first attempt at the $2,000 No Limit Texas Hold ‘em he achieved fifth place, but it was in the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha, where he won his first gold bracelet. Along the way he outshined some of the world’s most brilliant players at the time, including Phil Hellmuth and David “Devilfish” Ulliott.
2002 was an awesome year for the young legend, who was clearly enjoying his career. Ivey won three gold bracelets at the WSOP, a feat that has only ever been achieved by two other players: Phil Hellmuth and Ted Forrest.
In 2004, Ivey joined forces with some of the top names in the business to form Full Tilt Poker, and he became part of Team Full Tilt. His individual success didn’t stop though, and he won his fifth WSOP bracelet in 2005 in the $5000 pot limit Omaha event.
In 2006, Ivey won an incredible $16.6 million in a matter of three days after taking up a challenge put out by Texas billionaire Andy Beal. While Beal managed to beat players such as Jen Harman and Johnny Chan, he was no match for Ivey.
Ivey won his first World Poker Tour title in 2008 after making his record eighth WPT Final Table. His ultimate goal was to win the Main Event at the World Series of Poker, and he came close in 2009 when he made the final table.
His dedication to the game continued and he was playing frequently, both online at Full Tilt and live. He was fiercely protective of his private life and rarely gave public interviews. The spotlight was well on him and he was incredibly popular among aspiring amateur poker players.
Following the Full Tilt scandal he filed a lawsuit against the poker site, claiming breach of contract. He sought significant damages and asked to be released from his contract with the company.
Today, Ivey lives in Las Vegas and is still an active poker player. Indeed, he’s regarded by many as the best all around player in the world.
Chris Ferguson
Christopher Ferguson, nicknamed ‘Jesus’ because of his trademark long beard and hair, is another extremely talented poker player who helped launch Full Tilt Poker.
With his Texas style hat and sunglasses, Ferguson is one of the most recognized faces on the poker circuit and cuts quite a fearful figure at first glance.
Yet Ferguson is known as a ‘nice guy’ with an incredible knack for poker, and he has managed to make some of the highest cash in recent history.
Born in 1963, Ferguson grew up in a home where mathematics was a revered subject. His ability to observe and analyze games is credited to his early childhood, and these characteristics were put to good use in college where he studied Computer Science.
It was during his student years that Ferguson was introduced to an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel and became a highly ranked poker player. These were the early years of online poker, and Ferguson considered it a personal challenge to use this amazing tool to advance his skills so that he could eventually play in leading live tournaments.
Ferguson’s first World Series of Poker event was in 1995 and his results were poor. He realized that if he wanted to achieve his goals he had hard work ahead of him, and so he began to dedicate virtually all his time to poker from that point on.
By 2000, Chris Ferguson was a household name, having accomplished no less than seven World Series of Poker final tables and cashed in 12 events.
In 2001, Ferguson bagged the $1,500 Omaha Hi Lo Split bracelet, and two years later he won another two bracelets in another Omaha event, followed by the $2K Limit Hold ‘em and Seven Card Stud event at the WSOP 2003.
Eager to use his status to advance quality poker online, Ferguson teamed up with fellow poker players to launch Full Tilt Poker in 2004. He continued to push for the development and evolution of online poker.
He also regularly contributed to articles and publications on the subject. He managed to demonstrate the importance of bankroll management by turning $0 into $10,000 through his $10K Challenge, educating a new generation of talented online poker players.
Ferguson also continued to do well on the live poker tournament circuit, winning the 2008 NBC Heads Up Championship, taking down two finishes in the 2008 World Series of Poker event, and a second place finish in the Aussie Millions $10K HORSE event in 2009.
Texas Holdem Limit Games
He finished sixth in the 2009 LA Poker Classic, winning himself a quarter of a million dollars, and fifteenth in the 2009 WSOP Europe No Limit Hold ‘em event.
Following the Full Tilt Poker scandal, Ferguson denied allegations leveled against him relating to the misappropriation of funds. Through his attorney, he suggested that the issues were the result of mismanagement rather than malice.
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Ferguson is also proud of his other talents in life, such as ballroom dancing and stock trading. It’s believed he has plans to return to academia (where he spent many years) to become a professor like his father.
Masque Texas Holdem No Limit
There were a total of 9 members of Team Full Tilt at the time of Full Tilt Poker launching.
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In addition to Lederer, Ivery, and Ferguson, the team also comprised Phil Gordon, Jennifer Harman, John Juanda, Erik Seidel, Erick Lindgren, and Andy Bloch.
Texas Holdem No Limit
They all had roles to play and were all respected in the poker industry at the time. Phil Gordon was particularly involved in the development of the software and Andy Bloch is believed to have been key in recruiting some of the other members.