HighStakes Poker Review

HighStakes Poker is a young poker room. It was originally launched in 2018 and was presented as a new convenient site for nosebleed games. The famous British online professionals Luke Schwartz and Joseph Chong (3rd place in the ME WSOP in 2010) were invited to the team.

After visiting two networks: GGNetwork and TonyBet, the room closed in 2020, declaring itself bankrupt and not returning bankrolls to many players. Two years later, 180 Holdings N.V., a company registered in Curacao, revived the brand.

The main problem of HighStakes Poker after the "reboot" was the withdrawal of funds: many players complain about unmotivated delays and cancellations of cashouts, threats to close their account due to “spamming the withdrawal system,” and constantly changing requirements for wagering cashouts (50%-100%).

But HSP keeps attracting risky bonus hunters to its tables due to tournament overlays, weak villains at cash tables, and good promotions.

Bonuses and promotions

All newcomers get a 100% first deposit bonus of up to $2,000. Payments are resealed in chunks of $5 for every $25 rake (20% rakeback). The wagering time is 90 days.

Regularly, High Stakes Poker offers:

• Monthly tournament leaderboard ($8,385 prize pool and tickets for the TOP 58).
• Monthly rake race for cash games ($1,135 prize pool and tickets for the TOP 30).

An AoF jackpot is triggered when the player gets a straight flush (Hold'em) or a royal flush (Omaha). The winner receives a payout from 0.02% to 1% of the jackpot amount, depending on the stake.

HighStakes Poker rake and rakeback

The rake is 5% with the same caps across all stakes from $1 to $3, depending on the number of players at the table. In the All-in or Fold tables, a fixed rake is charged at each pot:

The MTT rake is about 10%.

All players get a fixed 27% rakeback credited to their account every Monday.

Games and traffic

In HighStakesPoker, the traffic is meager. Even during peak time, no more than two dozen tables at NL5$-25$ in 6-max and AoF can be spotted in the lobby.

Expensive games are sporadically played at incomplete tables.

Tournaments (MTT)

The daily tournament grid in HighStakes Poker consists of several dozen MTTs with buy-ins of $1-$110 and guarantees up to $2,500. There are daily freerolls with tickets added, but you should avoid those.

Main Sunday Events:

• $5,000 GTD $339 Sunday HR
• $5,000 GTD $55 Sunday main Event
• $30,000 GTD $1,333 Sunday High Roller

Spin&Go is played across five stakes from $1 to $100 and HU SnG for $1.02-$102.5.

HighStakes Poker software

The client of the room is based on the TonyBet software in black tones. Windows and macOS are compatible; you can play via the web browser on other devices.

The interface is minimalistic. Four tabs for different types of poker (Tournaments, Cash, Spins, SnG) without extra filters. It is possible to view tables from the lobby, and there are waiting lists.

Additional settings are available: layouts, bet sizing, and hotkeys. Run it Twice can be used, and chips can be shown in BB. There is no HUD support.

Reliability

The weakest side of the room. The Curacao license listed on the website is expired, and Quinel Labs, the Italian company quoted as an RNG certifier, is not known in the poker world. Moreover, there is no direct link to the certificate, as well as to the license page.

Also harmful to the HighStakes Poker reputation is its current past and problems with cashouts, which we wrote about at the beginning of this review.

Deposits and cashouts

Luxon and cryptocurrencies (BTC, USDT) are available for deposits/withdrawals. The minimum transaction is $10.

Cashout limits:

• $5,000 per week.
• $30,000 a month.

No more than one withdrawal can be made every 5 days. The terms specifically stipulate that if a player does not benefit the ecology of the room (participates in freerolls and overlaid tournaments), he may be required to wager 50% of any cashout.

Pros and cons of playing HighStakes Poker

On the bright side:

• Tournaments with overlay.
• Fixed 27% rakeback plus races.
• Weak field.

However, the room has more disadvantages:

• The site was closed, keeping the players' bankrolls.
• Constant problems with withdrawals asking players to rake more.
• Low traffic.
• License issues.
• Unknown RNG certificate.

We do not recommend playing at HighStakes Poker, but if you are still tempted by its field and bonuses, do not deposit more than the minimum, immediately pass verification and avoid playing in freerolls.