Any time you play for real money, you’ll earn rewards points as part of the impressive Stars Rewards Program. Every time you earn these points, you will see your on-screen progress bar fillplete the progress bar and you’ll win a chest. There are six different chests in the game. The rewards get bigger as you move through the levels.

• Level 1: Blue Chest – An award of $0.50
• Level 2: Bronze Chest – An award of between $0.60 and $12
• Level 3: Silver Chest – An award of between $1.50 and $30
• Level 4: Gold Chest – An award of between $5 and $100
• Level 5: Diamond Chest – An award of between $ and $250
• Level 6: Black Chest – An award of between $35 and $700

As you play you can move up and down between chest levels. Win a single chest within a 28-day window and you’ll remain at the same level. Earning no chests in that time will demote you to the next level down. However, if you win 10 chests in the same 28-day period, you’ll be promoted to the next level, where bigger and better awards await.

Exactly What is in the Chests?

The rewards contained in each chest are tailored to individual players. You might find Stars coins in the chest, which can be converted into cash, or entry into tournaments. Alternatively, there might be a variety of tickets and items related to the specific games you like to play.

How to Earn PokerStars Reward Points

At the poker tables you’ll earn the reward points at a rate of 45 points for every $1 paid in scheduled tournament fees, and 100 points for every $1 paid in rake at cash/zoom games and any other tournament fees. The Stars reward program isn’t just open to the poker side of the operation either. Players at the sportsbook and the casino will also earn points – making it ideal for those players who like to mix and match their betting.

Other Bonuses and Promotions at PokerStars

This site is well known for offering regular players a lot of different promotions and specials. These are sometimes tied in with their tournament events – for example entry to satellite qualifiers. There are also cross-over promotions for BetStars and the Stars Casino. With leader board contests, incentives to try out the latest games and plenty of seasonal offers, I recommend you keep an eye on the promotions page at .

There are more games and more poker variations running at PokerStars than on any other online poker site. You’ll find descriptions of the main games below. When you account for different table sizes, speeds and stack sizes – the choice can be bewildering.

To get access to the most variations, you should download the software client onto your laptop or desktop. Many games are also accessed via apps and instant (in-browser) play.

The different game types are separated by a series of tabs at the top of the downloaded software. Here is an explanation of each game offered at the site. This covers the tabs as they are listed from left to right.

Cash Games

Perhaps the most popular games of all, the ‘cash’ tab is up first. The default setting for the real money poker games is ‘No Limit Hold’em’ and here you’ll find games ranging all the way from $0.01/$0.02 games through to $200/$400.

Two, six and nine player games are offered, and within these you’ll find capped games, games with an ante and games in different currencies (aside from the standard dollars). Click on the game filter drop down menu and you’ll find a whole range of other games too, including varieties of Omaha, Draw, Stud and Mixed games. Within each variation you will find more choice (hi-lo, 5-card Omaha and so on).