PokerPlanets Review
Independent (separate player pool) · 0 ambassadors · Last updated April 2026
The room built on PokerStars Sochi's player base - softer fields, crypto-first banking, honest rakeback
PokerPlanets launched in May 2025 as the direct successor to PokerStars Sochi, inheriting a player base of recreational Eastern European and CIS grinders. It runs EvenBet software under a Curacao license, takes crypto deposits in under a minute, and caps its loyalty program at a transparent 40% rakeback. Small but genuine.
Visit PokerPlanets →Claim the 100% Bonus up to $600 PokerPlanets welcome bonus with code MAXBET
Deposit between $10 and $600 and PokerPlanets matches 100% as a release-based first deposit bonus. The bonus clears at $3 for every $12 in rake generated - a straight 25% rakeback equivalent - over 120 days. Enter the promo code MAXBET in the cashier drop-down when you make your first deposit. Crypto deposits ($25+ minimum) are processed in under a minute with no transfer fees.
01 At a glance
02 What PokerPlanets actually is - and who the player pool comes from
PokerPlanets is not a typical new poker room launch. When PokerStars' Russian Sochi license expired in April 2025, PokerStars transferred its entire Sochi player database and balances directly to PokerPlanets. That is an unusual origin story: the room inherited a ready-made player pool before running a single hand of its own, which means the recreational base skews toward CIS-region players who were previously grinding PokerStars Sochi - a population known for loose passive play at micro and low stakes.
The practical consequence is that when you sit at a NL10 or NL25 table on PokerPlanets, you are more likely to face VPIP 50+ players with incomplete stacks than you would at a comparable stakes game on GGPoker or 888poker. GipsyTeam's October 2025 test drive confirmed this directly, noting that 'at every table there are amateurs with zero PFR and VPIP 50+, many sitting with incomplete stacks and without automatic rebuys.' For a micro-stakes recreational player or a low-volume grinder looking for soft spots, that is a meaningful structural advantage over most alternatives.
The room is run by a team with prior experience in the Sochi casino and online poker industry. It operates under Curacao license OGL/2024/1469/0855, with RNG certified by iTech Labs. It accepts players from 60+ countries, deliberately excluding US, most of Western Europe, and regulated-market jurisdictions where Curacao licensing is insufficient. The target market is Eastern Europe, CIS states, Latin America, South and Southeast Asia.
03 Software and platform: EvenBet, Teleport, and what's missing
PokerPlanets runs on EvenBet Gaming software - a B2B poker engine used by multiple operators globally and actively updated through 2025-2026. The client is available on Windows, macOS, Android (APK direct from the site), and iOS (App Store in Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Canada). A browser version is also available. The interface is dark, clean, and resembles the classic PokerStars design - familiar enough that ex-Stars Sochi players find it immediately navigable.
Feature set at the tables is solid for a new room: Run It Twice, Rabbit Hunting, All-in Insurance, Bomb Pot tables, Straddle, and a four-color deck option are all present. The built-in HUD tracks VPIP, PFR, ATS, 3-Bet, and hands played - statistics only relevant for the current session at a specific table, not cross-session tracking. External trackers (Hand2Note, PokerTracker, DriveHUD) are prohibited, and the rules explicitly warn that running tracker software for use on other rooms simultaneously can result in account suspension - a stricter enforcement posture than most competitors.
Two genuine software gaps worth noting. First, bet sizing can only be set in big blinds - there is no percentage-of-pot button, which forces manual slider adjustment in multi-street spots. Second, table selection is inconvenient: you cannot choose a specific table; you are auto-seated and see your opponents only after sitting. The lobby does display nicknames and stack sizes for the selected limit, which partially compensates. The Teleport fast-fold format (Hold'em from $0.01/$0.02 to $2.5/$5, 5-max) exists in the lobby but had no active games during GipsyTeam's week-long test in October 2025 - indicative of the traffic reality at this stage.
04 Rake and rewards: the math is transparent, the MTT fee is high
Cash game rake is a flat 5% across Hold'em, PLO, and PLO5, with player-count-dependent caps that are competitive at every stake level. At $0.25/$0.50 with 5+ players, the cap is $4; at $1/$2, it is $6; at $2.5/$5, it is $8. There is no preflop rake on 3-bet pots (unlike GGPoker) and no admin fee deducted from prize pools. For a new room, the rake structure is clean and easy to verify.
Tournament rake is 11% across the board - higher than the 6.7-8.7% tiered structure at GGPoker and meaningfully above PokerStars' rates. Spin&Win takes 8-9% depending on buy-in. If tournaments are your primary game, this is the most important cost difference to factor in. The Sun Cup Super Bounty ($5K GTD, $11 buy-in, last Saturday of the month) is the flagship weekly event - all final tablists receive 100% rakeback for the following month, which is a genuine value add for MTT regulars.
The PokerPlanets Rewards loyalty program is chest-based and works on a 28-day cycle. Every 1 cent of rake earns 1 Poker Point. Collect enough points to unlock a chest, claim it within 28 days, repeat five times to advance a level. The system is transparent and predictable - no PVI weighting, no hidden multipliers, no jurisdiction-dependent adjustments. The catch is the 28-day expiry on uncollected chests, which creates dropout risk for players who take breaks.
PokerPlanets cash-game rake caps - Hold'em 6-max
| Stakes | Rake % | 2-player cap | 3-player cap | 5+ player cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.01/$0.02 | 5% | $0.08 | $0.15 | $0.30 |
| $0.05/$0.10 | 5% | $0.37 | $0.70 | $1.45 |
| $0.25/$0.50 | 5% | $1.00 | $2.00 | $4.00 |
| $0.50/$1 | 5% | $1.20 | $2.50 | $5.00 |
| $1/$2 | 5% | $1.50 | $3.00 | $6.00 |
| $2.5/$5 | 5% | $2.00 | $4.00 | $8.00 |
| $5/$10 | 5% | $2.50 | $5.00 | $10.00 |
| $10/$20 | 5% | $4.00 | $6.00 | $12.00 |
PokerPlanets Rewards loyalty program
| Level | Points per chest | Chests to next level | Chest value | Effective rakeback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Satellite | 2,000 | 5 | $3 | 15% |
| Comet | 6,000 | 5 | $12 | 20% |
| Asteroid | 20,000 | 5 | $50 | 25% |
| Moon | 50,000 | 5 | $150 | 30% |
| Planet | 120,000 | 5 | $420 | 35% |
| Star | 250,000 | - | $1,000 | 40% |
The 100% first deposit bonus (use code MAXBET) effectively adds 25% rakeback on top of your base loyalty level for the first 120 days - because the bonus releases at $3 per $12 in rake, which is 25%. At the Satellite level (15% base), a new player clearing the full $600 bonus is earning the equivalent of 40% combined during the clearance window. That is a genuine value for a micro-stakes grinder planning consistent volume over four months.
05 Who PokerPlanets is for - and an honest comparison with bigger rooms
The case for PokerPlanets is specific and narrow, which is not a criticism - it is an accurate description of what a new room with ~250 peak concurrent players can offer. The room is a strong fit for: (1) micro-stakes recreational players in CIS, Eastern European, and Asian markets who want soft tables, instant crypto deposits, and a clean mobile app without HUD pressure from regs; (2) low-to-mid-volume grinders who want to add a room with demonstrably weak lineups to a multi-room schedule, particularly during European evening hours; (3) players who were previously on PokerStars Sochi and want familiar software with an inherited player pool.
The room is a poor fit for: high-volume cash grinders who need deep pools above NL50 (those tables almost never run); Omaha specialists (PLO is rarely offered at multiple tables simultaneously, PLO5 is even scarcer); players who need US-accessible banking or regulated Western European markets; anyone whose primary game is MTTs above $55 buy-in (fields are tiny and the 11% rake is punishing at that level).
Against GGPoker, the comparison is straightforward: GGPoker has 40x the peak traffic, the deepest international MTT schedule, and a more advanced software client. PokerPlanets wins on player pool softness at micro stakes, faster crypto withdrawals (same-day vs. GGPoker's 1-3 day processing), and no preflop 3-bet rake. Against WPT Global or 888poker, PokerPlanets has softer lineups but meaningfully less traffic and a more limited tournament schedule. Against other EvenBet-powered rooms, PokerPlanets competes on the strength of its inherited Sochi player base and the dual welcome bonus structure.