Cake Poker is a relative newcomer to the online Poker world, but its traffic has been increasing as of late. Since Rakefreeze was offering a good sign-up deal with Cake, I thought it would be time I took a look. Cake Poker is a mix of good and bad, but it is likely to continue growing thanks to good marketing and promotions.

Software

Cake Poker’s interface should look familiar to anyone who played on Party Poker or Pokerroom while they were still in the US market. Their buttons are well placed, and it’s usually easy to find a table without looking too hard. However, players who enjoy multi-tabling may have a few complaints. It is not currently possible on Cake to resize the tables or to select table position, both features of more popular sites like PokerStars or Full Tilt. However, the tables do automatically cue players to the next action, so players with high-resolution monitors may not have a hard time multi-tabling. Those players who only play one table at a time, however, will likely enjoy Cake’s software, as it is easy and convenient to use. Additionally, depositing and withdrawing from the site is fast and reliable, and Cake still accepts most methods of deposit. Finally, many serious players should take note that Cake Poker does not allow the use of PokerTracker, PokerAceHUD, or other tracking programs. Some players may find this poses a problem for them, while other players may enjoy the freedom to play without being subject to data mining. Overall rating: B

Promotions

One of the best features of Cake Poker is its commitment to providing quality bonuses and other promotions. The site currently offers a 100% deposit bonus up to $500, easily competitive with many of the top sites. Additionally, serious players will be happy to find that Cake Poker frequently has the top percentage of rakeback available for US customers. Also, Cake Poker has a host of freerolls available for frequent players via their gold card and gold coin programs (both of which are explained on the site, albeit with some confusion). Although their VIP program does have the wide array of items available on, say, PokerStars, Cake Poker offers excellent bonuses for a smaller site. This year, CakePoker is also offering a huge promotion offering a seat to the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event for the person who gains the most referrals. Overall rating: A-

Game Selection

Here is my most serious complaint about Cake Poker. Although they spread many No Limit Hold’em games at a variety of levels, their range of other games is somewhat limited. Limit Hold’em players will sometimes have trouble finding a game, and although the site purports to spread Omaha and Stud games, I have yet to see any Stud running, and their Omaha tables are extremely limited. Also, players will sometimes have to sit on waiting lists during peak hours, as Cake does not automatically generate new tables when their existing games are full. Cake’s Sit-n-Go system is not quite as well organized as those of the major sites, and its tournaments are simply not up to par with Full Tilt or PokerStars (but honestly, no one is). Overall rating: C+

I enjoyed my few weeks on Cake Poker while I earned my bonus and rakeback, but I will not likely be back, as the larger sites still have much better amenities and a wider selection of games, which make up for the impressive bonuses and high level of rakeback on Cake Poker. Overall site rating: B