Part Two of our series highlighting the best options for players in this post Black Friday World features Cake Poker. Cake Poker is the flagship site on the Cake Poker Network and it is likely one players are very familiar with. They just announced they will be open to US players, so this is the perfect time to look at their network.
Network: Cake Poker Network
Skin: Cake Poker
Rakeback: 33%
Bonus: 110% up to $600
Cake Poker seemed to be a juggernaut in 2007. It expanded very quickly and became the third or fourth largest network open to American players in a year’s time. A combination of rakeback, fish and frequent bonuses seemed to position the network as a major player for years to come. That is until software problems killed their momentum and delays in rolling out new software drove players away.
As it stands today, Cake is a slowly rebuilding network, but that is to the player’s advantage in most aspects. Traffic is obviously down from its hey day. The network was maxing out at just below 2,000 players in prime time before Black Friday and since then is closing in on 3,000 again.
The software has been drastically improved with Cake 2.0. I have had almost zero problems with the software since the transition although there have been reports of glitches and crashes the old software suffered. Overall I think the software is no longer a negative and is in some ways a positive although the front lobby is a bit annoying.
The promotional end is where Cake really shines. As they tried to stop the bleeding they introduced the Gold Stacks program which pays out gold chips, revamping their store and cash bonuses to players. They stopped rakeback deductions and started once again offering frequent reload bonuses. Players can earn well over 50% rakeback between 33% rakeback, bonuses, the Gold Stacks program and Gold Card promotions. While traffic will continue to increase on Cake in the near future, these promotions will remain so players will get the best of both worlds, a site offering small network promotions but boasting a larger player base.
On top of this we will be offering exclusive promotions to our rakeback players. Want a taste of those promotions? Check out our exclusive 200% up to $1,000 reload bonus!
Cake Poker also provides the most reliable payment processors. They have been adding payment processors in the last few months while other sites have seen their payment processing options reduced. That means it is easier to deposit and with draw from Cake.
If a player is returning to Cake they will likely notice one other negative. Cake was offering large guaranteed tournaments before their decline, but their guarantees are now much smaller. Rather than a Sunday $250,000 Guaranteed, it is now a $25,000. I expect these to increase as the player base continues to, but for now that is one thing to keep in mind. Cake has also branched off to offer new games such as Cake WAR which is a take off on the classic card game War, and new tournament features like Kamikazes which are all in flip-a-ments.
Interested in signing up? Click here for more information on Cake Poker or to sign up for 33% rakeback.
