- Variety of tournaments for every buy-in level
- Tournaments with regular overlay
- Variety of tournaments for every buy-in level
- Cash game action up to $1000/2000
- Massive promotions
- Great for beginners
- No tracker support
- No Holdem HU tables
- Mixed games not yet available
Highlights
- Part of the largest poker network in the world
- Over $500,000 in daily leaderboards per month
- Over $1.8 M in weekly guaranteed tournaments
- Action-packed game formats like All-in or Fold
- Great option for Bitcoin user
Poker Room Details
- Network: GG Network
- License: Curacao
- Founded in: 2016
- en.ggpoker.com
- [email protected]
GGPoker Review
GGPoker is perhaps the most discussed online poker room in the Southeast Asian poker community. With their huge ambassador team and clever marketing campaigns, they’ve managed to grow into one of the biggest Asian poker sites. Natural8 focuses on things that all online poker players love to see at a poker room: Big tournaments with millions in guaranteed prize pools, fun & enjoyable table features, and last but not least, great action across all stakes and limits.
GGPoker has taken extensive steps to make the poker experience a great one, especially for recreational players. They have banned trackers, HUDs, VPNs, and all 3rd party assistance software. This is online poker at its best, natural & safe! Natural8 is licensed and regulated by the Government of Curacao. The real money poker games on Natural8.com are operated under their Master License of Gaming Services Provider.
GGPoker is popular among poker players from Asia although lately, they’re growing in Europe and other parts of the world as well. Many opponents you will play with at N8 come from countries like Hong Kong, Malaysia, and India. Promotions like Daily Leaderboards & Cash Prizes, High Hand Jackpots for Texas Hold’em and Omaha, and Weekly Spin and Gold Leaderboard keep attracting new players from all over the world.
We have compiled all the essential information you need in the format of Q & A. Let’s dive right into the most important features in our GGPoker review:
How to Sign-Up to GGPoker
You can sign-up on GGPoker with a few easy steps:
Step 1. Open an incognito window with your browser or delete cookies from your web browser.
Step 2. Visit GGPoker main page by clicking here:
Step 3. On the main page of GGPoker, you will see a red button text ‘Download Free App Now’. Click this button, and once the download is complete, click to Install and click red Sign Up button on the right side of the GGPoker App. From there you can fill your data on the new window that opens.
Step 4. Login to the GGPoker client on your desktop by using the email address or username and password you created.
Step 5. Choose a deposit method and first deposit bonus, make the deposit and start playing!
What Is The First Deposit Bonus on GGPoker
GGPoker offers a generous welcome bonus for you as a new player. The welcome offer is a match bonus of 200% up to $1000. The poker bonus is applied for the first deposit you make & given out in $5 increments of bonus cash for every $20 in rake. The value of the match bonus new players get? It gives an effective 25% of extra rakeback while you clear the deposit bonus with a minimum deposit of $10.
Alternatively, new players can choose up to $100 in free rewards instead of the matched bonus – an invigoratingly valuable offer you rarely find in the poker industry! With the Free Bonus, you’ll get rewarded with Spin & Gold tickets instantly and the chance to receive a $15 N8GGMasters Satellite ticket. To check your welcome bonus balance, click ‘My Promo’ and ‘Welcome Bonus’ in the Natural8 Poker client
Why Is GGPoker So Popular
- Fish Buffet Cashback program with a great welcome bonus
- Regular tournament series with millions in guaranteed prize pools
- Unique in-game features for social play
- 24/7 cash game action across all the stakes from micros to high stakes
- The poker home for many Asian players
- Fast-paced cash game formats: All-in or Fold, Rush & Cash
GGPoker UI
Functionalities and buttons inside their poker software are easy to grasp and use. By navigating the lobby for different sections like Hold’em, Omaha, or Tournaments, you can choose your favorite poker variant with just one click after logging in to the Natural8 poker client. When we tested the poker client, playing multiple tables went very smoothly. The UI is available in English and a couple of other languages as well.
In the main view of the lobby, you will see a slider containing the active promotions and tournaments. You can also click ‘My Promo’ to view the status of your bonuses. Want to view your statistics from the tables and analyse your hand histories? Just open up the PokerCraft functionality from the lobby, and you can find all the necessary information in one place.
What Are The Features Of GGPoker?
- Helpful tools: Make your gaming experience better with Pokercraft, Smart HUD, Smart Betting, Hand Moments, All-In Insurance, and other handy tools integrated into the software.
- Fun features: Feel the excitement with Straddle, Deal Choice, Rabbit Hunting, or other cools options. Try out the Card Squeeze to find out whether the river was a hit or miss!
- Tournament specials: Take advantage of the Tournament Staking feature to back your friends or your favorite Natural8 ambassadors. Got a buddy playing a huge final table in the evening and want to focus on watching him play? Place a final table bet by using the odds calculated by PokerShares!
PVI On The GGPoker Network
Anyone playing on the GGPoker Network will have heard the term PVI. Unfortunately, you won’t find any explanation there, so many players will not be familiar with what it is. It’s good to be properly informed of how things are calculated in terms of the deals/promotions we offer. You should also know that the PVI affects also how fast/slow you earn points for the Fish Buffet Cashback Program. So here’s YPD’s in-depth explanation of PVI.
It is important to know that everyone who plays on the GGNetwork, regardless of the particular poker skin, receives a PVI, or Player Value Index. Theoretically, this can vary between 0 and 2. For a recreational online poker player who enjoys the occasional session now and again, and who isn’t yet a winning player, the PVI should tend towards 2, while for winning players it should be below 1. Our experience shows us it is never higher than and usually always much less.
It is interesting that the PVI does not feature in all variants on the GGNetwork. No PVI is currently used for mtt tournaments, Flip&Go tournaments, or Battle Royale SNG (as of 15.01.2022). It is possible that this will change for these and other variants in the future.
How is PVI used?
PVI is used on standard Texas Hold’em cash game tables and Short-deck Hold’em as well as on Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) and Rush & Cash tables (Fast-Fold Poker). By the way also for the All-In or Fold Games(AoF)! However, only the GG network itself knows specifically how things are calculated, and there is no precise information.
We know that a player’s PVI can change after every session, and that Hold’em and Omaha games are divided into 4 Blind groups (VIP/High/Medium/Low), with every player receiving their own PVI for each Blind group. When a session ends, the PVI of the Blind group to which the session belongs is updated. That means the PVI can change every day, and even every session!
Nobody knows how much rake the network values for a player — not even the poker room itself. So it would be entirely possible for a player to be seen to generate $1k rake when it’s actually $1.3k due to the PVI or, in a negative case, only $500, for example.
Factors that are likely to affect a player’s PVI are:
- Playing behavior/number of tables
- Betting behavior
- Deposits and withdrawals
- Who money comes from (regular or casual players)
Similar models also exist in other networks – such as iPoker – but with a different name.
The PVI of a player also affects how quickly they collect points for the Fish Buffet. If a player’s PVI is very low this will slow down the process.
Experience With The PVI
We have analyzed hundreds of our players over a few months and have obtained the following results(see below). The first 3-6 weeks usually not much happens and the PVI usually stays in the range of 1 until it suddenly drops. For players who do not have a good run at the beginning, it is also not uncommon for the PVI to stay at 1 for longer. The PVI also increases slightly with winning players when they are stuck in a larger downswing.
Cash Game (NLH, PLO): The PVI fluctuates between 0.3 and 0.7 here. The average PVI for a good winning player is 0.5. The real crushers only have 0.35, which is rather rare but possible.
Rush&Cash: For whatever reason, it is actually standard here that all good winning players have a PVI of 0.35-0.4. Very few make it to 0.5.
Spin&Gold SNGs(Spins): The average PVI for a good regular player is 0,5. It fluctuates between 0,5-0,7.
Is the PVI on the GG Poker Network fair?
It is not good that not all rake is counted for a consistently winning player because it affects the poker room, the player and also an affiliate. Consequently, we would prefer that there is no PVI.
On the other hand, the players’ pool on the GGNetwork is very soft. There are many weaker players and beginners – even at higher limits. There are also numerous monthly promotions worth several million dollars, and these must be financed somehow.
Nevertheless, the issue is not the PVI itself, rather the lack of transparency in how it is calculated. We don’t want to judge whether PVI is fair. There are certainly arguments against PVI, but on the other hand there are justifications. Furthermore, the lack of transparency is a general problem in our industry, and definitely not an isolated case.
Ultimately, there are only two options: you accept it as it is and enjoy the many advantages that the GG network undoubtedly brings with it, or you play with another provider.
GGPOKER Faq
1. How We Evaluate
You want to play on online poker sites where your deposited funds are secure, your identity & privacy are protected, and you can play with full confidence. Luckily for you, we’ve done the hard work of reviewing online poker sites so you pick the best ones from our list. With our guide you’ll be able to pick up the most suitable poker site for you, which can mean winning more money in the long run. You can find our full evaluation criteria for rating poker sites explained in our article about how we review sites – here’s how we evaluate the most important factors in a nutshell:
- We register a poker account and make the first deposit
- We compare and evaluate bonuses & promotions
- We play cash games and poker tournaments
- We evaluate user experience, softness of games and many other things
- We test withdrawal speed and convenience
2. How To Find A Suitable Poker Site For You?
Choosing a suitable poker site is one of the most important steps that will affect how well you do in online poker. There are certain factors you need to consider before deciding what’s the best online poker site for you. You don’t want to be one of those players who just randomly pick one! Instead, do as our Beasts of Poker Team Pros have done to make their millions playing online poker at high stakes – which is making the decision according to these factors:
3. The Skill Of Game Selection
Game selection is one of the easiest tactics to win in poker. Quite paradoxically, it’s still probably the most underrated skills among online poker players, similarly to bankroll management. By game selection we are referring to the tables and stakes you choose to play within a chosen poker format. Here’s a typical situation that comes up in game selection. Let’s say you fire up the poker client and see there are multiple tough tables with mostly winning regulars running at some specific stakes like No-Limit Texas Hold’em with blinds of $1/2. Suddenly at the same stakes you can see one table that is truly amazing: Three beginners are limping pretty much every hand, and two weak-tight players are trying to take their money by flopping the nuts. This is a dream table with bad players, and you should immediately grab the seat before someone else does! Most players will miss this table though, since they just click a few tables open and don’t bother to keep an eye on the lobby. Don’t be that lazy player!
A great way to find the best tables as quickly as possible is to mark all players you encounter with a tag. This way you can keep track of skills levels of your opponents at different online poker sites. A simple system of three colors can do well, with one for good, players, one for weak regulars and one for the clueless fun players.
4. Game Formats And Player Traffic
An online poker room without good traffic and game variety is like a near-empty nightclub where the atmosphere is cold and just a few people are out on the dance floor. The traffic a poker site has is a key factor when it comes to choosing where to play, not to mention all different poker variants offered.
If you’re like most poker players, having the following game formats available is a must:
- Tournaments
- Cash games
- No Limit Texas Hold’em (NLHE)
- Limit Hold’em
- Pot Limit Omaha (PLO)
- Sit and Gos (SNGs)
- Spin and Gos
- Freerolls
- Omaha 8 or Better
Besides the usual game formats, exotic game formats can be quite profitable once you’ve become somewhat good in the most popular games like No-Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha. If you prefer to play a quick game of poker, you can try out speed poker formats like Fast-fold or Zoom where you don’t have to wait for the next hand to be dealt after the previous one has ended on your part. If you like some exotic game formats, you might also look for the following:
- Triple Draw Poker
- Open-face Chinese Poker
- Mixed Games
- Badugi
- Stud
- Drawmaha aka Sviten Special
- Scandinavian Stud aka Sökö
- Fast-forward or zoom poker
One thing to keep in mind is that a big number of registered players doesn’t guarantee good games at online poker sites. Sometimes you can find a truly amazing exotic game running regularly at a smaller traffic poker site – our Beasts Of Poker Team Pros have crushed games like these for big 5-figures or even 6-figures!
