Carbon Poker has been around for a bit longer than most of the other sites within the developing Merge Gaming Network, but at the same time it has also been a website that has not really been able to find itself within the larger community of online poker as of yet. Once the site is able to appeal to a demographic and start growing a bit, it could very well become one of the better sites within the Merge Gaming Network and online poker at large.
| Cash Game Choice | 7.5/10 | Support Options | 8.5/10 |
| Cash Game Traffic | 7.5/10 | Financial Security | 9.5/10 |
| Cash Game Competition | 8.0/10 | Deposit and Withdrawal Choices | 8.5/10 |
| Rake Costs | 8.5/10 | Overall | 8.2/10 |
Cash Game Choice – (7.5/10)
One thing that Carbon Poker really has going for it at the moment is the large amount of choice that people get for gaming when they play on the Merge Gaming Network. In addition to the common variants of Hold ‘Em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo, you can expect the following uncommon variants to be available in cash games at Carbon Poker:
A-5 Triple Draw
2-7 Triple Draw
Razz
HORSE
HOSE
HA
5 Card Stud
5 Card Draw
Cash Game Traffic – (7.5/10)
Even though the cash game choice that is present at Carbon Poker is quite something, the fact of the matter is that cash game traffic at Carbon Poker is not that impressive. It is a function of what you get from the Merge Gaming Network and at the current moment in time the Merge Gaming Network is pretty small as far as cash games are concerned. On average, you can expect 400 to 600 people to be on the cash game servers at Carbon Poker. Around 450 to 550 of those people will be engaged in Hold ‘Em while the remaining will be playing Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo. It is rare for you to find a game of Seven Card Stud available and even rarer for you to find any of the other great choices that Carbon Poker has available.
Cash Game Competition – (8.0/10)
One of the good points about Carbon Poker is that their type of small traffic is not the type of small traffic that comes with lots of sharks muddying the waters. In fact, Carbon Poker has many new players that don’t like the stress of situations created by the larger websites and choose to play their casual poker online at Carbon Poker instead. Mopping these people up in cash games is a lot easier than you might think given the small traffic numbers that Carbon Poker currently has.
Rake Costs – (8.5/10)
The rake costs that you can expect to get from Carbon Poker are basically competitive with the rest of the market. You’ll never have to pay up more than $3.00 in rake at a single table and you’ll never have to pay more than $1.00 per hand per table in games with stakes that are $1/$2 or lower. It is actually quite friendly to your wallet in comparison to some of the other sites around.
Support Options – (8.5/10)
Carbon Poker has three general support options available to someone that would like help with some aspect of their online poker operation. The easiest option to pursue is to try and troubleshoot the problem on your own through the use of the help and FAQ section of the Carbon Poker website.
If you’d like some direct support from one of the customer support representatives at Carbon Poker, you can send an e-mail to them directly at support@carbonpoker.com. At the current moment in time, Carbon Poker has a stated goal of replying to all e-mails within 48 hours no matter when those e-mails are sent.
Finally, for someone that prefers the ease and simplicity of one-on-one instant messenger discussion, there is live chat support. This is available 24/7 from the help section of the Carbon Poker website and is also a relatively fast method for you to get support for any of the problems you might have.
Financial Security – (9.5/10)
Thawte and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission can vouch for the financial security of Carbon Poker. With two excellent regulatory agencies behind it, one can certainly trust this particular online poker website.
Deposit and Withdrawal Choices – (8.5/10)
The following deposit methods are available:
NETeller
Click2Pay
ECO Card
Fonelinx
Moneybookers
eWalletXpress
Pindebit
Visa
MasterCard
The following withdrawal methods are available:
NETeller
Click2Pay
ECO Card
Moneybookers
Check By Mail
Overall – (8.2/10)
Carbon Poker has gotten off to a good start as an online poker website. However, it will need to get lots more traffic if it ever wants to grow to a level where it can be thought of as anything but a back-up choice.