PokerStars Michigan Review

PokerStars welcome bonus in Michigan

PokerStars offers two attractive bonus offers for you to choose from depending on your preferences. Pick the offer below that best suits your circumstances, and use our link and the relevant bonus code to activate the offer.

• Bonus code STARS600  gets you a 100% match up to $600 on your first three deposits in your first 60 days at PokerStars.
• Bonus code FREE30 lets you select $30 in free play with a $20 deposit.

PokerStars online poker bonuses in Michigan

This poker bonus for Michigan players provides you with up to $600 deposit bonus. Here are some additional relevant details:

• In order to release the bonus, you need to earn 180 redemption points (RPs) before $10 releases.
• For each $1 paid either in raked ring games or tournament entry fees, you receive five RPs.

You must deposit within your first 60 days, and you have four months to clear the bonus. After that it will expire, but you did keep the amount you’ve cleared to that point.

Get $30 in free play

This technically is not a single cash payout type bonus. Instead, this bonus is distributed over a period of six days broken down either in the form of Spin & Go tickets or cash.

• Day 1: Receive five $1 Spin & Go tickets.
• Day 2: Receive five $1 Spin & Go tickets.
• Day 3: Receive five $1 Spin & Go tickets.
• Day 4: Receive a $5 cash bonus.
• Day 5: Receive five $1 Spin & Go tickets.
• Day 6: Receive a $5 cash bonus.

Read more about the Spin & Go formats in our poker games review section below.

How to sign up at PokerStars

The process of signing up for a new player account at Poker Stars couldn’t be simpler. You can use this link to join PokerStars and create your new account.

Geolocation requirements dictate that you are within Michigan’s borders. However, you don’t need to be a resident of the state as long as you are physically located in the state when you sign up, deposit, and play.

Make sure to enter in your personal information in order for PokerStars to determine not just your identity but also your age. Your email must be valid because PokerStars will send a validation code that you need to enter before submitting a new account.

PokerStars loyalty program

Technically called the Stars Rewards program, it is really different from other online poker rooms. Mainly, it revolves around earning RPs to unlock chests. Each chest contains some type of cash that equates to rakeback or even Spin & Go tickets. Depending on your chest level color, cash prizes can range from as little as $0.50 up to $700.

• Blue chest: Prizes of $0.50.
• Bronze chest: Prizes range from $0.60 to $12.
• Silver chest: Prizes range from $1.50 to $30.
• Gold chest: Prizes range from $5 to $100.
• Diamond chest: Prizes range from $12.50 to $250.
• Black chest: Prizes range from $35 to $700.

Based on a 28-day cycle, you need to earn 10 chests in order to move up levels over that time period. These chests also don’t just award cash prizes, but you can also receive RPs. Check your progress bar to see how close you are to earning chests.

Also, you don’t just have to earn RPs at poker, earn them while playing in the casino and sports betting platforms, as well. However, for poker specifically, you earn 100 RPs for each $1 in ring cash game rake or Zoom poker. For tournaments, you earn 45 RPs for each $1 paid in fees.

Excluded from earning RPs are no-limit and pot-limit higher stakes games such as $5/$10 and higher. For limit and 8-game, blinds of $20/$40 and higher are excluded as well.

Finally, each player’s progress bar is different, so it is very difficult to determine how much rakeback you’re actually getting.

Best Features of the PokerStars App

The PokerStars App has a lot to offer, and we would certainly recommend giving it a try if you’re looking to play for real money in the Great Lakes State. Here’s a rundown of some of its top features:

• Large Player Base: PokerStars has been around for a long time, and they are one of the biggest names in online poker. As you might expect, they attract one of the larger player bases of any online gaming host. They were also the first legal online poker site to launch in the state of Michigan, so they got a leg up on some of the competition. If you are looking for a busy and dependable game, day or night, Poker Stars will almost certainly have you covered.
• Tournaments: Poker Stars is widely recognized as one of the premier tournament destinations for online players in the Great Lakes State. They have tournaments running constantly, from smaller daily tournaments to bigger weekly events. So no matter your bankroll, you’re going to find a tournament that’s right for you. Their sit and go buy ins range from $1 up to $500, and their weekly scheduled tournaments feature a wide range of buy in amounts as well.
• Software: Easily one of the more intuitive and attractive poker apps available, the Poker Stars software is definitely one of its best features. Poker Stars has invested time and money into making their program a pleasant destination for Michigan players, and the results definitely show. The table and deck graphics are fully customizable, so you can choose your favorite appearance whenever you sit down at the felt. This also helps players who have certain visual impairments such as color blindness. The graphics overall are clean and modern, and the intuitive interface makes accessing your favorite games fast, easy, and fun!

How Could PokerStars Improve

While it is doubtless one of the best destinations for online poker in the Michigan marketplace, there are certain areas where PokerStars could improve:

• Game Variants: While technically the app offers cash games in a large number of variants, the chances of actually getting a good player base for some of the odder variants is slim. If you’re looking to play Omaha or Hold ‘Em, you’ll certainly be able to find a table. Razz or Stud players, on the other hand, may be waiting a while for the cards to fly. Poker Stars can address this shallow player base by offering promotions for other variants which encourage players to broaden their horizons and try out other games.
• Confusing Rewards Program: Kudos to PokerStars for offering a rewards program to keep players coming back, but the program is definitely a bit tricky to comprehend. There are two different currencies in play (Rewards Points and StarsCoins), so tracking your balance is not very intuitive. In addition to this, you need to fill “progress bars” in order to open chests with randomly assigned prizes inside. Unlike other sites, you can lose this progress if you do not play very often, or if you wait too long for the points to accumulate. And even once you fill up your progress bar, the reward you receive will most likely be underwhelming. Poker Stars should take a cue from other poker sites and implement a simpler, more fulfilling way to reward frequent players.
• Promotions: Poker Stars is relatively new in the state of Michigan, so I’m willing to give them a pass on their lack of promotions. Right now, the only promos are welcome bonuses for new players. Hopefully in the future, they will institute some fun promos to build up Rewards Points faster, or generally make the experience a bit more robust. There are plenty of poker sites which offer clever and unique promos for their players, and Poker Stars can certainly take a page out of their book to keep players engaged and coming back week after week.

How to download the PokerStars app

Just head directly to the Michigan PokerStars website and from there, click on “play poker now.” You’ll want to make sure you are downloading the Michigan app and not the free-play version or a different state.

PokerStars desktop version for Windows and Mac

From there, click on “run” and the process starts automatically. The entire setup may take a few minutes and then you are prompted to agree to the “end user license agreement.” Finally, launch PokerStars by double-clicking on the desktop icon.

PokerStars mobile app

The PokerStars app is available for either Apple or Android devices.

For iOS, the process also begins automatically.

For the PokerStars Android app, you may need to disable and re-enable your phone security settings for download. This isn’t because of anything that PokerStars has done. However, the Google Play Store does not allow real-money gambling apps.

Poker games at PokerStars MI

Remember that PokerStars is considered king of the online poker world. While the traffic in Michigan obviously won’t compete with its global counterpart, you can expect to still find plenty of action.

Cash games will typically have more players on a Friday night than say on a Monday morning. Look for player traffic to peak around 7-8 p.m. Whereas tournaments peak on Sundays, where you will find the highest guarantees of the week.

As far as poker game types and formats, there is certainly no shortage here. You can find even variants that most people have never heard of.

Cash games

There are so many types of formats that it is dizzying. Below we cover all the different types of cash games starting from the most popular.

Hold’em

Obviously, hold’em is most popular, with no-limit being the preferred game of choice. Stakes available range from as little as $0.01/$0.02 to $25/$50. Choose from either a full table of nine max, six-max or heads-up. Typically during high traffic hours, you will see stakes running up to $1/$2 on a consistent basis. For anything higher, games are difficult to start and find.

For limit hold’em, stakes run all the way up to $100/$200, but don’t expect to see this nosebleed game run except maybe at heads-up.

Omaha

Choose from pot-limit, hi/lo, five-card Omaha, five-card Omaha hi/lo, or Courchevel and Courchevel hi/lo.

Pot-limit is by far the most popular form. Again, stakes available range from as little as $0.01/$0.02 to $25/$50. Stakes actively running tend to be a bit lower, usually up to $0.25/$0.50. Although the available spread of Omaha games is impressive, it is rare to find any other type of variant running.

Courchevel is an interesting variant of Omaha where there are five cards dealt and the first flop card is face-up from the start of each hand.

Other games

It must be said that on this list, stud is the most popular. Most of these games rarely, if ever, run.

• Stud
• Stud hi/lo
• Razz
• HORSE
• 8-game
• Five-card draw
• 2-7 triple and single draw
• Badugi

Zoom

Fast fold or quickly fold your hand. Essentially, you join and are placed at a table. As soon as you fold your hand, you are moved to a new table where a new hand immediately starts. In this manner, you don’t need to wait for the hand to play out. Thus, there is no waiting.

Although Zoom poker is popular on PokerStars’ international market, it doesn’t seem to be popular here in the US yet. Possibly, if the shared liquidity or a player pool comes to pass, this poker format could catch on.

Sit-n-go (SNG) tournaments

At PokerStars, you can choose to either fill a single table or up to three tables for sit-n-gos. Also, you have a choice between NLHE, PLO and PLO8. Then, you can pick between six-max or heads-up. Available stakes range from as low as $0.25 up to $500. Obviously, the micros and lower stakes will have a better chance of filling versus the high limits.

Spin & Go tournaments

Known as PokerStars’ tournaments with their own unique spin, these tournaments tend to be more popular than the traditional sit-n-gos. Tickets for these tournaments range anywhere from $1 up to $25.

The format is three-handed, and the spin on the prize pool can range anywhere from 2x to 1,000x your buy-in. The spin begins as soon as the tournament fills. Typically, you will receive a spin of 2x.

Please note that historically, Spin & Go tournaments were not available right at launch in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. Thus, we would expect Michigan to be the same.

Multi-table tournaments (MTT)

There are tournaments, particularly the no-limit hold’em variety, that run pretty much every few minutes.

The Daily Bigs

Don’t miss these daily freezeouts that give you a 10,000 starting chip stack along with eight- to 12-minute blind intervals.

The Hot Turbos

KO Fever

Known as a Progressive Super Knockout, this format sees all players having a bounty placed on them. So, if you eliminate someone, you get their bounty, which is a cash prize. For each player you knock out, your own bounty increases.

Nightly Stars

This tournament runs nightly with a fantastic $10,000 guaranteed. Buy in for $100 at 7 p.m. ET.

Moonlight Express

This is a late-night poker tournament with a hyper-turbo format, which means blind levels only last three minutes. Buy in for $20 at midnight ET with a guarantee of $1,500.

Change-Up

Are you looking to play something else besides no-limit hold ’em? Then this is the tournament series for you! Choose from Omaha, Omaha hi/lo, or stud.

Sunday Majors

No doubt about it, if you like playing tournaments, Sundays are PokerStars’ biggest day.

Banking at PokerStars

As expected, there is a wide variety of banking options associated with PokerStars MI.

How to deposit

Do keep in mind that there is a minimum $10 to deposit for most methods.

• Skrill
• Bank transfer
• Visa and Mastercard
• PayPal
• Stars transfer
• PayNearMe
• VanillaDirect
• Casino cashier cage (if available)
• Play+ card

Note that VanillaDirect is not available on mobile.

For a fast deposit experience, we recommend Skrill, bank transfer, and Visa/Mastercard. However, there is typically a high rate of declined transactions when you directly enter your Visa or Mastercard info. This is because most credit card purchaser agreements blocking any transactions deemed to be gambling.

How to cashout at Poker Stars

There are fewer methods available for withdrawing, but rest assured that your funds are completely safe and secure. Most importantly, your funds are held separately in segregated bank accounts and never used for any operational expenses. Again, we can’t stress enough the importance of playing at a fully legal and regulated poker site.

• Skrill
• Bank transfer
• PayPal
• VanillaDirect
• Casino cashier cage
• Play+ card

From the poker client lobby, click “cashier” and then “withdraw.” Enter your desired amount and click “submit.” For first withdrawals, there will very likely be an additional review. However, do note that PokerStars always reserves the right for any additional reviews for withdrawals, and this process takes time.

Also, PokerStars always credits withdrawals back to the method(s) you chose to use for deposits. This isn’t due to PokerStars, but rather this is a regulatory requirement.

Bank transfers typically take anywhere from three to 10 business days after approval to arrive in your account. Whereas, Skrill and PayPal appear within minutes, almost instantly. For the casino cashier cage, this typically takes around two hours. Thus, there are definitely pros and cons associated with banking methods as far as how fast you need your funds. Personally, we highly recommend Skrill and PayPal for deposits and withdrawals based on how fast you can move your funds.

Poker Stars customer support

You really only have one method of contacting support, which is through email. Fortunately, it appears that PokerStars is typically responsive and can solve most issues in a timely fashion. There is also an extensive help section listed on its website for more common questions or concerns.

PokerStars is owned by The Stars Group. In fact, PokerStars worldwide is so dominant, it is responsible for over two-thirds of the online poker market. Previously, PokerStars gained notoriety when Chris Moneymaker, who won the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event, satellited in through an online qualifier. This kicked off the online poker boom called the “Moneymaker effect,” and PokerStars was at the helm of the online poker craze.

PokerStars was forced to leave the US market in 2011after the Department of Justice shut down online poker in the US, an event known as “Black Friday.” But as states slowly choose to legalize and regulate online poker, PokerStars has begun to return to the US.

Already operating in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, The Stars Group launched here in Michigan in January of 2021. The Stars Group has partnered for its Michigan license with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Gaming Authority.

Is PokerStars the best online poker room in Michigan?

Given that competition in the Great Lakes State is limited at this time, it’s safe to say that PokerStars is the best online poker site in Michigan. They have had years to hone and perfect their product, and the fact that they were the first to launch in the state gives them an advantage over any site which came afterwards. Time will tell if they are able to fend off big name competitors who are entering the market now that legislation has permitted online gaming in Michigan to commence.