Hollywood Poker's claim to fame is that players can play poker against famous poker players and Hollywood celebrities of various magnitudes such as James Woods. Hollywood Poker was launched in 2004. James Wood and Vince Van Patten are spokesmen for the site, which promotes itself as being an online poker hangout of the celebrities. It also hosts a forum for poker enthusiasts called the Hollywood Poker Lounge and published an online poker magazine through the site. Hollywood Poker is a participant in the "Ongame Network." It consists of a poker room and a related online casino. Ongame Network, Ltd., a Gibraltar company, provides the software for the site as well as a large network of players and assistance with promotions, tournaments, deposits and withdrawals. bwin Interactive Entertainment AG (until 2006 known as Betandwin.com) of Vienna, Austria is the owner of Ongame e-solutions AB. It is a listed company on the Vienna exchange. Ongame e-solutions, through a Costa Rican subsidiary (SafePay Int. SRL), owns Hollywood Poker. The poker part of Hollywood Poker's site is licensed in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake. Hollywood Poker participates in eCOGRA, and its card shuffling practices are subject to audit by that organization.

No U.S. Players

Players based in the United States are not accepted on the website.

Software

Hollywood Poker uses Ongame's software platform and shared player base, a proprietary technology, said to have been designed by Net Entertainment Software. A flash version (browser-based) with Java interface and a downloadable package for Windows are both available. The downloadable version is about 35 meg. Mac and Linux operating systems can execute the browser version. Many European languages and Chinese are supported in the signup process and/or in the interface. Play is conducted in US dollars. The sound and graphics are widely respected as among the best in the online gaming industry. Execution, especially through the Java interface is a bit slower than on competing sites. A mobile version of the software is available for cell phones and PDA's. The software permits players to schedule private tables for pre-arranged ring games.

Games Offered

Games on the Hollywood Poker site include Texas Hold'em, of course, and Omaha & Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven-Card Stud & Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo. Five Card Draw is also offered Tables are available in Limit, Pot Limit and No-Limit, full, short-handed and heads up. Stakes go from nickel-dime up to $500/$1000.

Ring Games

Ring games are plentiful around the clock, with the most traffic in Hold'em. Omaha and Stud are increasingly attracting players as well. As of September, 2008, peak hour traffic had reached around 9,000 players. Private ring games can be arranged.

Rake

Hollywood Poker follows a "no-flop-no-drop" policy. (In Stud the "flop" is considered to be fourth street.) The house collects a 5% rake in principle, with a cap. The cap can vary among different levels of stakes and numbers of players. The cap is $3 for a full ring game at the higher levels.

Tournaments

Through Ongame, Hollywood Poker is able to offer its clients many tournament options. Tournament participation is high, reaching a peak of 45,000 players (September, 2008). Sunday's No Limit Texas Hold'em may be the richest. The prelims are held for three weeks, and then on the third Sunday of the month, the finals result in a prize pot of $500,000. A WSOP bounty tournament is also offered, with two free rides to the Las Vegas main event. Other qualifying tournaments are organized through the Ongame network as well. Many other tournaments of smaller scope are organized for customers of the site every day, ranging from single-table "Sit 'n' Go" tournaments to frequent multi-table competitions with a large number of registered entrants. Many formats are offered (such as rebuys, freeze-outs and turbo). Even league play is possible. Private single-table tournaments can be organized in a manner similar to a private ring game (using the Home Game Organizer plug-in).

Competition

The presence of a related casino on the Ongame sites means that sometimes people who enjoy playing negative-edge games show up to play cards. The competition can thus be soft at times, particularly at the micro-levels, especially in tournaments. At higher stakes, however, most of the players are experienced and able, so the competition can be lively and occasionally downright hard. Flop percentages are usually in the 35% range, but can creep up into the 40% range or higher.

Player Benefits

Bonus money is awarded for signing up and for other prizes in tournaments. The bonus money is converted to cash in accordance with the customer's number of player points. Player points are accumulated by risking real money in real games. Points not only convert bonus dollars to cash, they also qualify a player for prizes, special tournaments and additional bonuses. Players can chose which of several sign-up bonuses he or she wants to receive, each with minimum deposit requirements. Each bonus level also has conditions for redeeming or "clearing" the bonus, and they become more stringent as the size of the bonus rises. The top level is a 1000% bonus up to $5000. Also included are tickets for a drawing on prizes (like an iPhone), tickets to a welcome tournament, and items from the online poker store. The bonus is released at 8 Player Points per dollar, with sixty days to work off the bonus in wagers made. The bonus is released in segments of $1250. The Club Hollywood Poker Walk of Fame Players Club also offers member benefits, including competitions and special promotions. Reload bonuses and referral bonuses are also offered.

Customer Service

Hollywood Poker's customer service starts with the website, which contains a lot of information about procedures and game rules, and tries to address many questions as they arise. Live customer support is available 24/7 by email, telephone and live chat.

Deposits and Withdrawals

Click2Pay, Visa / MasterCard, NETeller, Moneybookers, ClickandBuy, WebMoney and Instacash are the methods of making deposits and the preferred withdrawal facilities as well. Withdrawals by check (mail or courier (at a $30 fee)) can also be executed,

Security

As an eCOGRA-certified site, Hollywood Poker can assure patrons that the games are fair (with random shuffles and deals) and that the poker operator is honest in maintaining customer accounts, calculating rakes, and generally managing the web site. The software is periodically checked and accredited by independent testers. All financial transactions are processed using secure socket layers and digital encryption.