Carbon Poker Vs Cake Poker

Carbon Poker Vs Cake Poker 2023 Review

Written by: Randy Layman

Cake Poker and Carbon Poker have always competed for the same players. Both of these rooms are U.S. friendly and are the flagship room of a poker network. Cake Poker is part of the Cake Poker network and Carbon Poker heads up the Merge network. They only control a small fraction of the global market but as far as US poker rooms go Carbon Poker wins, since Cake Poker stopped accepting players from the US since September 2012.

Carbon Poker receives around 4 times more traffic than Cake Poker with 13,000 players logged in during peak hours compared to ~3,000 at Cake Poker. The stats that only count real money players are much closer, showing around 2.5 more traffic at Carbon Poker. Carbon Poker has many advantages over Cake Poker but this comparison is still going to be a close one.

There are several things Carbon Poker does very well with but there are a couple of others that they score very low on. Cake Poker cannot compete with Carbon Poker’s advanced software but they are one of the easiest poker sites to win money at these days. This Carbon Poker Vs Cake Poker article will not tell you which room is better.

I’m simply going to cover the strengths and weaknesses of each room so you can decide where you want to play at. As with all rooms reviewed on this site, we have personally played at these rooms and we are confident your bankrolls are safe.

Cake Poker Vs Carbon Poker – Deposit Bonuses

Cake Poker’s first deposit bonus is slightly better than Carbon Poker’s if you just look at that. Cake Poker is offering a 110% match bonus up to $600 and Carbon Poker offers a 200% match bonus up to $5000. That extra 10% probably isn’t going to make a whole lot of difference but it is still something to consider. Both of these welcome packages include more than just the bonuses.

Carbon Poker: 14 tickets to the daily $500 GTD freeroll for new depositors
Cake Poker: One ticket to a $500 GTD Saturday freeroll for new depositors

As you can see Carbon Poker is giving new players 14 tries to win some extra money via freerolls. Cake Poker’s bonus is a lot easier to clear though. Here are the bonus requirements:

Cake Poker: You will clear $.06 in bonus money for each FPP you earn. This bonus is credited in $5 increments and they give you 90 days to clear the whole bonus. That adds up to 83.3 FPPs per $5 increment.

Carbon Poker: You need to earn 75 VIP Points for each bonus $1 and they will credit it in $5 installments just like Cake Poker. This means that you will need 375 VIP points in order to receive a $5 bonus installment.

I didn’t say that Cake Poker’s bonus is easier to clear because of the difference in points/$1. Each of these rooms distributes points differently so that is irrelevant. I have a lot of experience with each of these rooms and I personally feel that you have to play twice as much at Carbon Poker to clear the same bonus at Cake Poker.

Carbon Poker Versus Cake Poker Promotions in 2023

Carbon Poker has always excelled in the promotional category. They have a set of regular promotions that are fun and rewarding. They also run monthly and seasonal promotions that help ensure that you never get bored. Cake Poker’s promotional line-up is almost non-existent. Here is an overview of major promotions available at each room.

Carbon Poker: The world’s largest Badbeat Jackpot, numerous sitngo and freeroll promotions and more freerolls than almost any other online poker site.
Cake Poker: Other than a rake race and a leaderboard there isn’t much going on here.

Carbon Poker also dominates Cake Poker when it comes to VIP programs. The Cake Poker rewards program consists of Gold Cards and Gold Chips. It is more of a gimmick than an actual value based loyalty program. Carbon Poker’s VIP program is much more comprehensive.

It has six separate levels and each has two major benefits: cashback and an increased conversation rate for when you turn in VIP points for cash. The overall cashback value ranges from 12% to 45%. There are several other perks including freerolls, bonuses, poker training classes, free check cash-outs and concierge service.

Carbon Poker Vs. Cake Poker – Cash Games and Multi-Table Tournaments

At Cake Poker you will only be able to play three different card games: Hold’em, Omaha and Omaha HL. Carbon Poker is home to 10 different card games and a wide range of mixed games. Both of these poker sites have built-in Blackjack but Carbon Poker also offers Roulette, Caribbean Stud and three video poker games. The action at Cake Poker’s ring tables is significantly softer, according to common consensus, than Carbon’s.

If you are a sitngo or tournament player you should definitely consider Carbon Poker over Cake Poker. They run at least 5 times as many tournaments per day and the prize pools are much higher because of the increased traffic.

Carbon Poker: More games, sitngos and tournaments
Cake Poker: Softer Texas Hold’em and Omaha poker

Cake Poker Versus Carbon Poker Deposit Options and Cashouts in 2023

Carbon Poker has had troubles with payouts for a very long time. You won’t have to worry about not getting paid, just plan on it taking 4-8 weeks via paper check. Cake Poker is slightly faster regarding payouts and they both accept a moderate number of deposit options.

Carbon Poker’s software has more special features than any other poker room I have played at while Cake’s is extremely basic and hasn’t changed much in years. The support at Carbon Poker usually responds very quickly for emails and they also offer Live Chat. Cake only offers email support and they can be somewhat slow at times.