Carbon Poker Software

Carbon Poker’s software and backend for their players is at the top of the industry. Games offered, rules, pending bonuses, and promotions are all easily accessible once players log in through the Carbon website.

Their software is smooth and fast, even when playing a large amount of tables. The lobby filters are easy to use and quickly make it easier to find the types of games or limits you are looking for. Resizable tables and mini tables make multi-tabling simple. The bet sliders are easy to use and the button layouts are placed perfectly.

Carbon also adds “Deal it Twice” option something that is rare online and often reserved for live poker. In all in situations, players both will have the option to deal the turn and river twice. Both players must agree to deal it twice or the cards with be dealt at normal.

Also, you can toy with your opponents on Carbon using the “expose one card” feature. After the hand has ended, players have the option to expose one of their hole cards to opponents to get them thinking about what they had or show off a supposed bluff.

Third party programs such as Holdem Manager and Pokertracker are great with Carbon and the network happily allows players to use them. Heads up stat displays are in compliance with network rules and importing hands into databases is a painless process.

Support

Carbon’s support may worry some because they don’t have a phone number and support is done solely through email. Though this is the case, their support is some of the fastest and most helpful we have found in the online poker industry. They quote a 48 hour response time for each email but we’ve gotten replies in just minutes.

Carbon also has representatives at major poker forums across the internet that you can message for help. They respond quickly and are extremely helpful. Other Merge Network sites have had problems with their support staffs but Carbon’s is on top of their game.

Deposits/Payouts

As we mentioned previously, Carbon is mostly used by US players but does accept players internationally. Due to recent US government laws against online gambling, US players have much fewer options available to deposit versus their international counterparts.

International players have a large assortment of available deposit options. Neteller, Instadebit, Moneybookers, Credit Cards, and Bank Wires are only some of their options. The consensus choice amongst non-US players is normally the e-wallets of Neteller or Moneybookers, as they are cheap and quick ways to get money online. Deposits are instant and payouts from Carbon are done within 48 hrs. Both methods have no fees for depositing and withdrawing.

On the other hand, US players only have three options for depositing on Carbon Poker. Credit Cards are the most used option and have a pretty decent success rate. They are instant and there are no fees for depositing using a credit card. Click2Pay is an e-wallet similar to Neteller and while it does charge fees for funding, Carbon charges no fees for making a deposit. It is not widely used but is still an available option. Cash transfer is the last option and this involves sending a Western Union or MoneyGram transfer. This will take slightly longer for the money to hit your account, usually a few hours. Carbon will refund your deposit fees if you email them the receipt of your transaction.

Payouts for US players are much longer than the suggested timeframe for the rest of the world. Once again, due to US laws, withdrawal options for US citizens are limited. The only current withdrawal option for US players is paper check. These will take 4-6 weeks to reach players, have limits of $2500 per check and come with a $15 fee. Recent reports and forum posts suggest they are getting closer to the 4 week mark, so this is a positive sign. Carbon has a strong track record in the industry and has always paid their players, even in the uncertain climate of online poker in the United States.

VIP and Bonuses

Carbon offers a great rewards program to its players. The VIP program at the highest levels on Carbon is better than having rakeback on the Merge Network. It consists of 6 tiers of rewards, all based on how much you play. With the highest tier getting players 35% daily cashback, with a VIP points to cash exchange rate of 10%, totaling 45% cashback.

Players will earn VIP Points for tournaments and ring games. In ring games, for every $1 in rake paid, a player will earn 10 VIP points. For every dollar paid in tournament fees, in Sit’n’Goes or Multi-Table Tournaments, a player will earn 10 VIP Points. These points can be exchanged for cash, at different rates, depending on the player’s VIP level. VIP points can also be spent in the VIP Points Store, where players can choose from a number of different items including live poker seats, electronics, and luxury items.

Carbon is currently offering a great 100% up to $600 first deposit bonus for new players. In addition to that, they offer frequent reload bonuses to existing players and thousands of dollars in new deposit freeroll tournaments for new players.

Cash Games

Carbon’s Merge Poker Network has the largest player base for US players and is ranked in the Top 10 in world’s most populous poker sites. Carbon has about 3,000 real money players at peak hours. They offer nearly every type of poker game with the most popular being No Limit Hold Em’ and Pot Limit Omaha. Action at No Limit Hold Em’ is consistent each night up to the $5/$10 level. It is hit or miss from there, with the occasional few $10/$20 games. $50/$100 does go occasionally, as some of the Merge Network’s top professional players face off.

Limit Hold Em’ is popular up the $10/20 and $15/$30 level on most nights and games will occasionally get up to the $30/$60 and $50/$100 level. Pot Limit Omaha will always have a few $1/$2 and $2/$4 games going, much more than most US facing sites. Carbon is a must for PLO players, who want to multi-table.

Overall, the level of cash play at carbon is hit or miss. Since, it is the largest US poker site it will draw “grinders” or professional level players but even though it has its fair share of multi-tabling pros, the games are still somewhat fishy. It is important to understand what a good game is when playing on carbon and to actively seek out the fish.

Tournaments

In addition, Carbon has a large tournament player base so all tournament types will normally have a lot of action.

The Multi-Table Tournaments are the best available for US players. Carbon’s biggest weekly tournament is the Sunday 150k Guaranteed, the largest weekly tournament for US citizens. They also have many other smaller nightly tournaments throughout the week and seasonal promotions.

Sit ‘n’ Go tournaments have pretty consistent action up to the $55s. The lowest buy in level is $2 and SNGs go as high as $2240. There are also Double or Nothing tournaments at nearly all levels. These tournaments end when half the field is eliminated and the remaining players double their buy-in. Nearly all Sit ‘n’ Go tournaments are available in heads up, 6 max, and normal 9 handed format.

Overall

Carbon is a great option for poker players. They have one of the best VIP programs available at any site and have the most game variety for US players. If you are looking to multi-table or just want a ton of different options, you can’t beat Carbon Poker.